I discovered this blackboard in front of a café in the 4th district. Isn't this a cute way of advertising coffee to go? And don't you also want to eat a croissant right away looking at this drawing?
... in this colourful graffito on a garage door in the 7th district.
The Max Reinhardt Seminar is the School of Drama at the University of Music and Performing Arts. A "Lehrgang für Declamation und Mimik" (Course in Declamation and Mimics) had been in existence in Vienna since 1852. In 1929 Max Reinhardt received a call to the University of Music and Performing Arts to create a drama seminar. Initially, this Seminar was taught at the imperial theatre in the Schönbrunn Palace, in 1940 it moved to the nearby Palais Cumberland. The Seminar offers a four-year course taught by some 40 professors, many of whom are themselves notable actors and directors.
A beautiful Art Nouveau doorway in the 7th district. By the way, according to the Mercer 2014 Quality of Living Rankings, Vienna has been ranked as the city with the world’s best quality of living for the 5th year in a row. For more information please click here.
Vienna's smallest house is located in the 7th district. It was built in 1872 and designed by the architect Josef Durst. Its layout spreads on not more than 14 square meters. From the time it was built until today, the house’s name changed three times: first, it was called “By the white grapes”, then “By the golden lamb” and finally “By the golden deer”.
I have known this cute shop, located close to Schönbrunn Palace, from passing by for several years, but only last week I finally had the opportunity to go there during the opening hours. It's a very girly place, perfect if you are looking for a "special" gift.
After I had read about the association "Stadtschrift" that collects, preserves and documents historical storefront signs, I started to pay more attention to old signs and recently fell in love with the signs (characters) of the 1950s and 1960s. This café in the 7th district has been rehabbed some years ago and now looks inside pretty much as it must have looked originally - at least that's what I read.
"Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!" - Thomas Blackburn
In the early 20th century, most cities in Europe had gaslit streets. In Vienna 45.000 gas lamps were registered in 1913. Gas lighting for streets soon gave way to electric lighting, although the transition took decades to complete. In Vienna the last gas lamp was extinguished in the 13th district on 27 November 1962 by Mayor Franz Jonas. Now it is located in front of the Hietzing local museum.
Today is Valentine's Day! Did you know that it began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus? February 14th was first associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England it finally evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery and sending greeting cards. According to a recent survey Valentine's Day matters to only one out of three Austrians. Anyway, I think these sweet hearts would be an acceptable gift ;-)
A beautiful door with Art Nouveau ornaments in the 8th district.
The name (Griechengasse) of this tiny street in the city center refers to the greek merchants that resided here in the 18th century. There's still a Greek Orthodox church just around the corner.
These chairs in front of a Spanish restaurant in the city center seem to wait eagerly for better days. They have to be patient until March 1st when the gastronomes are allowed by law to open their outdoor ares.
The Broken Fingaz Crew is an Israeli graffiti crew consisting of four members. The crew was formed in 2001 in Haifa in Northern Israel. Some days ago I discovered one of their scary works in the 7th district. During my research on this piece of street art, I found out that the crew did also this one.
"Flowers are almost perfect; their only flaw is that they are weak;
they can’t protect themselves against the evil!” - Mehmet Murat İldan
The City Hall currently forms the backdrop for the "Vienna Ice World": The square in front of the building was transformed into a 7.000 sqm ice rink, an ice path snakes through the City Hall Park, and there are also six curling rinks. Hungry sportsmen and spectators can fortify themselves at various outdoor stalls with culinary delicacies and warming drinks. The Vienna Ice World will close on March 9.
These three chairs seem to admire the paintings in a gallery in the city center.
The façade of the recently mentioned UNIQA Tower was designed as media façade. A matrix of 160.000 individually controllable LED video pixels is attached to profiles in between the double layered glass façade and brings the building to life at night. Please click here to get a better idea of the light installations.
Usually I don't take photographs of escalators but the one in a design shopping center in the 2nd district looks really cool.
Reflections in a design shopping center in the 2nd district.
A beautiful window in Grünangergasse in the city center.
"Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all men for the beauty of their character, though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning." - Lydia M. Child
That's the entry to a "special" hotel: It was first documented as a tavern in the 17th century. At that time it was located next to a river connected to the Danube, allowing the dinghies of large ships to unload goods fresh from the Orient. Thus the tavern was quickly coined “The Orient”, a name it retained when it became a hostel in 1896. According to time’s aesthetic, the hotel was furnished in purest fin de siècle. The film "The Third Man" was in part shot here; Orson Welles was reputedly often a guest and enjoyed spending post-filming hours here as well. Rooms are mostly rented out by the hour, the Orient is known to be the most exclusive hot-sheet hotel in town.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.
