Friday, October 31, 2014

Halloween Sweets

During my childhood and in my younger days in Austria we didn't celebrate Halloween, but since the 1990s it has gained ground and become a considerable business. For this year a turnover of € 42.000.000 is expected. In a confectionary close to my place I discovered these Halloween sweets. I still don't celebrate it, but if you do, have a happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Lower & Upper Belvedere

After a very cloudy week, on Monday finally there were some timid rays of sunlight. As I had the day off, I could take advantage of the weather and took another walk in the garden between the two Belvederes. From the Chamber Garden I enjoyed this look of the Lower and the Upper Belvedere.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Sunset Obsession #10

I still didn't run out of sunset photographs... Here's one of the Donau City and the UNO City at sunset, taken during one of my last bicycle tours.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

At the Chocolate Factory

Some weeks ago a friend of mine and me made an excursion to the Zotter chocolate factory in Styria. Zotter is a very famous company in Austria, the chocolate factory has ranked among the few quality chocolate makers around the world whose chocolate production processes are located under the same roof - from the roasting of the cocoa beans up to the finishing touches in the conching plant. Visitors can book a tasting tour that provides valuable information on chocolate as well as numerous creatively arranged titbit stations.

Monday, October 27, 2014

New Mural

Yesterday evening I discovered this new piece of street art by Australian multidisciplinary artist Shida. Unfortunately I couldn't find out the title of this artwork. This wall has already been covered with several murals, as you can see here and here.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sunday Flowers #133

"The tints of autumn...a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost." - John Greenleaf Whittier

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Historical Storefront Letters

The association "Stadtschrift" collects, preserves and documents historical storefront signs. Some of them have now been mounted onto a wall of a school in the 2nd district. I especially like the letters of the 1950s and 1960s and think this outdoor exhibition is a very good idea.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Autumnal Alley

We have been spoiled with a very beautiful and unusual warm early autumn, but two days ago there was a sudden change of weather and now it's cold and rainy. This photo was taken the other Sunday in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace when autumn was still at its best.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

New University of Economics #8

The new campus of the University of Economics and Business was opened in October 2013. Each of the six groups of buildings was designed by another architect of international repute. The Teaching Center was designed by Vienna-based architects BUSarchitektur ZT GmbH.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

A Different Angle

Do you remember the sculpture "Ligne indeterminée" by French artist Bernar Venet in front of the Upper Belvedere? I showed it to you some months ago. When I recently took a walk in the gardens of the Belvedere, the sculpture was still there, and I tried to photograph it in a different angle.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

DC Tower at Sunset

The DC Tower, Austria's tallest and newest skyscraper at sunset last Saturday.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Boat Traffic

Not only riverboats travel the Danube, but of course also cargo ships. As "Corridor VII" of the European Union, the Danube is an important transport route. Since the opening of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in 1992, the river connects the Port of Rotterdam and the industrial centres of Western Europe with the Black Sea and, also, through the Danube–Black Sea Canal, with the Port of Constanţa. The building in the background is the Millennium Tower.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Sunday Flowers #132

"If every plant and flower were found in all places, the charm of locality would not exist. Everything varies, and that gives the interest." - Richard Jefferies

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Row Your Boat

Last Sunday on a branch of the Old Danube... I like to watch people rowing a boat, maybe because in Vienna that's not something you can see frequently. 

Friday, October 17, 2014

Music in The Street #1

The other Friday I left the office earlier than usually, and in Kärntnerstraße I came across these musicians. They were just playing some soft music, a very nice start into the weekend.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sunset Obsession #9

Another sunset photo taken during a bicycle tour along the Old Danube some weeks ago.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

OFID Conference Room

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), founded in 1975, is an intergovernmental development finance institution, which works with other less-privileged developing countries to promote their social and economic advancement. The headquarter is located in the impressive Deutschmeister Palais that I visited on the "Day of the Open Memorials". Look at this gorgeous conference room!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Deutschmeister Palais

The last Sunday of September was the "Day of the Open Memorials", Austria's contribution to the European Heritage Days, an annual programme that offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. I visited the Deutschmeister Palais, originally the residential palace of Archduke Wilhelm Franz Karl of Austria and today the headquarter of the OPEC Fund for International Development.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Enjoying The Sun And The View

I don't know how many times a year I take a walk in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace... Thanks to the unusual warm temperature and the beautiful sunshine yesterday the alleys were crowded with people. Usually the caretakers chase off everybody who steps on the grass, but yesterday they seemed to make an exception... This is a really nice place to enjoy the view of the town.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Sunday Flowers #131

"The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises." - Leo Buscaglia

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Ship Ahoy!

The Danube is Europe's second longest river (2860 km) and very popular for river cruises. Yesterday, when I did another bicycle tour in the early evening, this riverboat was just arriving to the landing place.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Sunset Obsession #8

I still have some sunset photos to share with you... Here's another one of the Old Danube and the Donau City.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Palais Schwarzenberg

In 1697 Count Heinrich-Franz of Mansfeld hired the star-architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to design himself a fancy summer palace outside the city walls of Vienna. In 1715, the property was sold to Prince Adam Franz Karl of Schwarzenberg and the palais was finished as a gem of Baroque representation. Throughout the centuries, the Palais Schwarzenberg remained in the hands of the Schwarzenberg family. During World War II the palais was badly damaged, but rebuilt after the end of the war. It then housed a 5* hotel and a restaurant until 2006. To date the plans for a complete redesign didn't work out, which means that the palais is still vacant. Some rooms however can be rented for special events. Recently the palais housed the headquarter of the Vienna Design Week.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Sunday Afternoon View

Here's a view of my Sunday afternoon walk: the old building at the end of the garden is the Lower Belvedere, on the left side you can see St. Stephen's Cathedral and in the background Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Colours of Autumn

On Sunday afternoon, before I attended the Parallel Vienna, I took a walk in the Botanical Garden and noticed more signs of autumn... I like this time of the year only because of its colours...

Monday, October 6, 2014

Parallel Vienna

Yesterday I attended the Parallel Vienna, a platform for innovative forms of presentation of contemporary art that occupies a niche between emerging and established art practices. The artworks were... um... well... interesting...

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Contemporary Art

Last wednesday I attended the vernissage of the VIENNAFAIR, an art fair that presents a cross-section of Eastern and Southeastern European contemporary works of visual art, painting, graphics, sculpture, photography, installations and performances.
By the way, for art lovers there is another fixture tonight: the Long Night of Museums. Museums and galleries all over the city open their doors from 6 pm to 1 am and can be visited with only one ticket.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Vienna Design Week #2

"Soundweaving" is a student project at the Monoly-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest (Hungary) and conceived as an interdisciplinary, experimental artwork. Its core idea is to transform the traditional motifs and execution of cross-stitch embroidery familiar in Hungarian embroidery into sound by transposing them through a music automat with punch cards. The designers themselves punched holes with motifs from cross-stitch embroidery into the loops of the music automat. During the transformation, the embroidery became laser-fashioned textiles, the embroidery patterns melodies.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Vienna Design Week #1

Currently Austria's largest design festival, the Vienna Design Week, turns the whole of Vienna into a showplace and showroom for design (until October 5). At the festival headquarter an exhibition presents the young, contemporary design scene in Hungary.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

October Theme Day: Movement

I took this photo three years ago at the opening of the art fair VIENNAFAIR. After having marvelled at contemporary artworks for hours, a friend of mine and me fooled around with our cameras, trying to create our own "artworks". I kind of like the results and think this one fits today's theme quite well. Funnily tonight I will attend the opening night of this year's edition of this fair...
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.