Chandeliers on Graben

The huge chandeliers on Graben are Vienna's most gorgeous Christmas illumination. Tonight they will light the "New Year's Path" that will transform the city center into a giant party zone: dozens of gastronomes serve punch and culinary treats, numerous stations provide humorous entertainment with a show program, waltzes, operetta, rock, pop and folk music as well as a DJ line-up.
I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and wish you all the best for 2014!

Last Christmas (Tree)

At the beginning of this month I showed you a photo of the Michaeler Passage. At a later date it was decorated with a Christmas tree.

Upside Down

In a new high-end shopping arcade in the city center the Christmas trees seem to "dance" around the top beam.

Sweet Snow Princess

The windows of the K. und K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionary Bakery "Demel" are often decorated with figures completely made of sugar. Currently passers-by can marvel at Anaïs, the Snow Princess.

2013 Christmas Illuminations #5

The eye-catching Christmas illuminations on Rotenturmstraße in the city center. Some weeks ago, when I took an evening stroll with one of my fellow workers, she called these huge red balls "scary".

2013 Christmas Illuminations #4

The Christmas illuminations on Tuchlauben in the city center.

Christmas Ornaments

Beautiful hand painted Christmas ornaments at the Christmas market in front of the Upper Belvedere.

Merry Christmas!

I have just finished wrapping the Christmas presents. In Austria we are celebrating Christmas this very night: The tree is set up and lit for the very first time, the Christkind (Christ child) places the presents beneath the tree, bells announce the arrival of the Christkind into the house - when he arrives the family gathers around the tree and sings Christmas carols. The presents will be unwrapped and a lot of families will eat a baked carp for Christmas dinner.
In case you are wondering how I will spend this day: In the morning I will have brunch with some girlfriends and in the evening I will celebrate with my parents, just the three of us. No carp, but salmon.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas!! Frohe Weihnachten!!

The Angels' Bakery

In the window of a confectionary in the city center the angels are preparing the last cookies for Christmas.

3rd Sunday of Advent

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas." - Calvin Coolidge

2013 Christmas Illuminations #3

The illuminations at the luxury hotel The Ring in the city center look like a huge blue curtain.

Uppere Belvedere in Advent

The beautiful and atmospheric view of the Upper Belvedere during the Advent season.

Christmas Carols at the Christmas Market

When I was at the Christmas Market in front of the Upper Belvedere, some brass musicians played traditional Austrian Christmas carols. Isn't the palace a gorgeous backdrop?

Rudy, the Red Nosed Reindeer(s)

At the Christmas market in front of the Upper Belvedere children can take a ride on Santa Claus's reindeers or even in his sleigh  - although Santa Claus is no local tradition, Austrian children get their presents usually from the Christkind.

Inside the Vienna State Opera

Yesterday evening I watched a "ballet hommage" at the Vienna State Opera. The building was designed by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll in the Neo-Renaissance style and constructed from 1861 to 1869. While some parts of the opera house have been affected by the bombings during World War II, the central staircase (in this photo) is still presevered in its original state.

Christmas Cookies

It's high time to bake - or at least to buy - Christmas cookies. I stopped baking some years ago, but I still like to eat cookies...

3rd Sunday of Advent

"When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness." - Bob Hope

Christmas Circus

The Christmas windows of the department store Steffl in the city center are inspired by the  theme "circus".

2013 Christmas Illuminations #2

Habsburgergasse in the city center is illuminated with crowns. In this photo you can also see two fiaker, two-horse carriages, a characteristic "part" of Vienna.

Hands up!

Fancy gloves as a present for Christmas?



Imperial Palace by Night

From 1438 to 1583 and from 1612 to 1806, the Imperial Palace was the seat of the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, thereafter the seat of the Emperor of Austria until 1918. Today it houses not only the offices of the Federal President, the ministers of the chancellor's office and the secretaries of state but also the Imperial Apartments, the Imperial Silver Collection and the Sisi Museum. Please click here for a photo of the Imperial Palace by day.

Trying to Catch The Last Sunrays

As I love to sleep in and linger about on Sundays and the days are short in winter, I hardly get out of my apartment before sunset. The other Sunday I was on my way just in time to catch the last sunrays with their special light. I didn't want to miss it, so I didn't look for a particular photo subject but only pulled the trigger. I like this photo anyway...

A Little Chat by The Pond

Sunday afternoon - the perfect time for a girl talk. I would rather have chosen a cozy café, but these two girls braved the cold and had their chat by the pond  in Stadtpark.

2nd Sunday of Advent

"Christmas - the very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given - when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes." - Joan Winmill Brown

2013 Christmas Illuminations #1

During the Advent and Christmas season a lot of Viennese streets are decorated with illuminations. This photo shows the lights on Kohlmarkt in the city center. If you have a lot of money to spend, Kohlmarkt is the perfect place for you: it´s the home of some of Vienna's most expensive shops.

Saint Nicholas & Krampus

In Austria today is Saint Nicholas Day. During the night Saint Nicholas filled the children's boots with gifts and sweets, and at the same time checked up on the children if they were good, polite and helpful last year. Saint Nicholas is usually accompanied by Krampus, a demon-like creature warning and punishing bad children. If the children were not good, he puts a tree branch in their boots. The figures in this photo, discovered in the window of a confectionary, represent Saint Nichoals and Krampus and are made of marzipan.

Winter in the MQ

Even during the Advent season, the MuseumsQuartier is a favourite place to meet. "Winter in the MQ" (until December 23) offers plenty of activities: unusual punch varieties and delicious treats are served up in so-called "ice pavilions",  there are an ice curling rink and a racetrack for remote-controlled vehicles, on the weekends live djs warm up the guests and video projections on the façades bathe the MQ in a special light.

Do You Have a Sweet Toth?

In case you have a sweet tooth, the K. und K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionary Bakery "Demel", founded in 1786, will feel like paradise for you. I would love to taste every cake on display...

Michaeler Passage

I love courtyards and passages... Last week I had to run an errand for the office and took a short cut through this small passage in the city center (between Habsburgergasse and Michaelerplatz).

Wiener Musikverein

The Wiener Musikverein, a concert hall in the city center, is the home to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The building was designed by Danish architect Theophil Hansen in the Neoclassical style of an ancient Greek temple and inaugurated on 6 January 1870. It includes a concert hall as well as a smaller chamber music hall. The famous annual Vienna New Year's Concert is held in the concert hall, the Golden Hall.

December Theme Day: Looking Out

For lack of time I come back to a photo already published here two years ago and a literal realisation of this month's theme day.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants.