Sunset Obsession #7

I'm not very inventive in terms of my recreational acitivities, and so I once again grabbed my bicycle last Sunday and did a tour along the Old Danube to take advantage of the great weather.

Siesta in The Park

After a rather overcast and chilly week, yesterday the weather was again sunny and warm, and everybody was out and about. Some people even made their siesta in the Stadtpark.

Sunday Flowers #129

"Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you."- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Giant Ferris Wheel

The Giant Ferris Wheel  (Wiener Riesenrad) is located at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in the 2nd district. It was constructed in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I. In 1916 a demolition permit was issued, but (fortunately) the Ferris Wheel was saved from destruction due to a lack of money. 

Mirò Staircase

The external staircase of the Albertina museum once again has been covered with an artwork to attract the attention of the passers-by to one of its current exhibitions. This time it's "The Gold of Azure" by Joan Miró. A welcome splash of colour on dreary autumn days. Please click here, here and here for photos of former artworks on this staircase.

Friendly Colours

I can never resist taking a photograph of bright coloured tables and chairs...

Sunset Obsession #7

The Donauturm and some buildings of the Donau City at sunset last Sunday.

Interesting Garden

During my bicycle tour along the Old Danube on Sunday I discovered this cute little house and its interesting garden: cobblestones instead of grass, and flower pots.

Indian Summer Evening

This past weekend we had perfect Indian summer weather. Yesterday evening I seized the opportunity to do another bicycle tour along the Old Danube. I don't want the summer to end...

Sunday Flowers #128

"The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly." - William Wordsworth

Freyung

Freyung is a square in the city center. In the 12th century, Irish Monks arrived by invitation of Duke Henry II of Austria to build a monastery. The monastery is called Schottenkloster, meaning Scottish Monastery, as Ireland at that time was known as New Scotland. The name Freyung has its origin from the old German word "frey", meaning "free". Since the monastery had the privilege of freedom from ducal authority, as well as the right to grant protection to fugitives, the square gained its name from its proximity to the Schottenkloster. Since the Imperial Palace was not far, in the 17th and 18th centuries many aristocrats established their city residences at the square,

Breaking The Rules: Schloss Hof #3

Flowers and benches in front of the orangerie in Schloss Hof.

Breaking The Rules: Schloss Hof #2

The sala terrena is the “ground floor” of Schloss Hof palace, it connects the interior of the palace with the garden terrace. This kind of room is a characteristic of Baroque palaces. 

Breaking The Rules: Schloss Hof #1

Some weeks ago a friend of mine and me made an excursion to Schloss Hof in Lower Austria. The grounds of Schloss Hof extend over more than 50 hectares of land. The magnificent ensemble with its lordly palace, beautiful terraced garden and idyllic manor farm was laid out in the late 1720s as an impressive country home and hunting lodge for Prince Eugene of Savoy. In 1755 Empress Maria Theresia acquired the complex from Prince Eugene’s heir and presented it as a gift to her husband, Emperor Francis Stephen. The generations of Habsburg emperors and archdukes that followed showed little interest in their Marchfeld summer residence and increasingly allowed nature to do its destructive work. In the late 19th century Emperor Francis Joseph I turned the complex into a military training ground, and the already heavily damaged imperial splendour almost entirely disappeared.
During and after the two world wars Schloss Hof was exposed to more disinterest and inappropriate use. Only in 2002 a society founded solely for the revitalization, undertook the needed measurements for the restoration of this precious monument of Austrian cultural heritage. In May 2005 the ensemble was opened to the public.

Karlsgarten

The Karlsgarten is a very special urban garden. It's located in Karlsplatz, a busy square in the very center of Vienna, and was opened in May 2014. It is not only a public garden, but also an urban laboratory. More than 50 sorts of organic fruits, vegetables and cereals are cultivated, supplemented by bees, snails and insects. The association that runs the garden wants to enhance the awareness for urban food production with an extensive program of events, workshops and guided tours. Furthermore, they analyse in a co-operation with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences which growing methods and which plants are suitable for exposed urban sites.

Stadtlesen 2014

The past weekend the MuseumsQuartierWien hosted the project "Stadtlesen": an annual "reading pleasure tour" travelling through the country and turning popular locations into outdoor reading rooms where bookworms can choose from 3.000 books from a variety of genres and enjoy a good read free of charge.

Sunday Flowers #127

"What a pity flowers can utter no sound! - A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle ...  oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!" - Henry Ward Beecher

Commemorative Sculpture

Austria's Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938 had grave consequences for the country. A while ago the University of Economics has started a commemorative project that hopes to bring a measure of closure to this chapter in its history by researching and documenting the names and fates of those victims of the Nazi regime who were affiliated with the institution. Visible reminders are the online virtual Memorial Book and a commemorative sculpture by Alexander Felch, erected on the campus in May 2014. The sculpture is composed entirely of the names of the students, faculty and staff members forced to leave the university by the Nazi regime. The opening on one side is symbolic of the gaping wound left behind by the regime, both at the university and throughout society.

StadtBiotop #2

At StadtBiotop there are 3 container bars/cafés and also a bio community garden, made up of several wooden plant boxes available for rent.

StadtBiotop #1

StadtBiotop is a shipping container village in the 2nd district that houses pop-up shops and cafés. Stacked in an empty field across from the new campus of the University of Economics and next to the "Viertel Zwei" area, the shopping mall/pop-up party location is comprised of about 15 shipping containers. The grungy industrial junkyard aesthetic has a very special atmosphere.

Citybike Wien

The Citybike Wien public bike rental system was launched in 2003. You can hire a bike at currently 110 stations across Vienna and return it at any other station. The first hour of every ride is free of charge. Before hiring a citybike you need to register on the internet or directly at one of the terminals either with a credit card or an Austrian cash card. To my shame I have to admit that, although I love cycling, it wasn't until two weeks ago that I hired a citybike for the very first time. It was such a good experience that I have repeatedly rented a bicycle since then. It's perfect if you have lost the last subway...

Street Music

One of the music acts of last weekend's "Buskers Festival".

The Bubble Fairy

Last weekend the "Buskers Festival" took place on Karlsplatz for the 4th time. Artists from across Europe presented their wide-ranging repertoires at the open-air spectacle: musicians and drummers, fire artists, acrobats, pantomimes, jugglers, magicians, break-dancers... The Bubble Fairy enchanted young and old with her huge soap bubbles.

Sunday Flowers #126

"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." - Anton Chekhov

Interesting Installation

An interesting t-shirt installation, recently discovered on a building in the 18th district. Unfortunately I couldn't find any information about it. What are your thoughts?

Caution! Waiters Crossing!

I guess this is a sign that you don't see everywhere. It's located in front of this tavern, alongside the Eastern banks of the Old Danube. The waiters have to cross an alley to serve the guests on the terrace by the water.

Lazy Summer Evening

This is one of the last photos taken during my summer holidays when I cycled along the Old Danube and then explored the Floridsdorfer Wasserpark (Waterpark Floridsdorf). The park was installed in 1929, is located at the nothern end of the Old Danube and one-third of its size of 143.000 m² consists of water. I immediately fell in love with the colourful waved loungers, a perfect place to spend a lazy summer evening. Unfortunately it currently seems that this year's summer is already over...

Orange Scooter

This orange scooter caught my eyes not only because of its color, but also because of the "J'aime Paris" sticker - me too, I love Paris...

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of the new school year. In Austria it is a tradition to present children who start elementary school with a big cardboard cone ("Schultüte"), prettily decorated and filled with toys, chocolate, candies, school supplies, and various other goodies. At the K.u.K. Court Confectionery Bakery Demel you could have bought a school cone at the "bargain price" of € 51,- ($ 66,96).

September Theme Day: Rust And Ruins

Well, that's not really a ruin, but it has rusty elements... This run down building in the 7th district is all I could find for today's theme day. It has been in this condition for years now, I'm wondering how long it will take until it will finally be restored or torn down.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.