Palais Trautson

The Baroque Palais Trautson was built in 1712 and owned by the noble Trautson family. Since 1963 it has housed the headquarter of the Ministry of Justice.

Bread Automat

This is Vienna's first bread vending machine, launched in October 2014. The idea is to reduce food waste: The automat works only at night and provides baking goods of a bakery nearby that have not been sold during the day. A very good idea!

Sweet Girl

"Süsses Mädel" (Sweet Girl) is the name of this children's fashion store in the city center. The business was founded in 1900 and has been run since then as a family business. I love the old-fashioned storefront characters.

Girl With Long Hair

Some weeks ago I discovered this female figure by Greek street artist Sonke on the backside of a bathing hut on the banks of the Old Danube.

The Gloriette

The Gloriette was built in 1775 according to the plans of Austrian imperial architect Johann Ferdinand Hetzendorf von Hohenberg as a "temple of renown" to serve as both a focal point and a lookout point for the garden of Schönbrunn Palace. It was used as a dining hall and festival hall as well as a breakfast room for emperor Franz Joseph I. The dining hall, which was used up until the end of the monarchy, today houses a café, and on the roof an observation platform overlooks Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palm House

Emperor Franz Joseph I commissioned the construction of the Palm House in 1882. With a length of 113m, a 28m high central pavilion and two lateral pavilions, it is the largest Palm House on the European continent. I took this photo more than two weeks ago when Vienna was under a thin blanket of snow.

Sunday Flowers #138

"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart." - Victor Hugo

Your Smile

A nice compliment on the façade of an apartment house in the 7th district.

Bar Love

I just stumbled upon this photo, taken some months ago in a furniture shop. I really like these letters with light bulbs. Too bad that I'm living only in a small apartment with no appropriate walls...

Music in The Street #2

Last Friday I was a little angry because I left the office later than intended, but then I saw this band who was playing soft music, stopped and listened for some minutes... and my mood changed... By the way, it was not the first time that I saw this band, they seem to be regulars in Kärntnerstraße, as you can see here.

Futuristic Elegance

The current installation in the window of the Swarovski store was created by the internationally renowned art director and set designer Simon Costin and shows his idea of futuristic elegance.

Winter Sky

A beautiful winter sky...

Vienna is Still Charlie

There are still a lot of signs of solidarity with the victims of the attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in front of the French Embassy...

Upper Belvedere at Night

The Upper Belvedere at night - a beautiful view...

Sphinx at Night

 One of the sphinxes located in the gardens between the Upper and the Lower Belvedere

Moonstruck

The almost full moon and the spire of St. Stephen's Cathedral on Sunday before last.

Sitting by the Water

On the recent public holiday everybody enjoyed the beautiful weather. These two girls had a chat sitting on the banks of the Old Danube.

January Sunset

Even in January the sunsets are beautiful...

The Countdown has Begun

Last year in May, Austria's contestant Conchita Wurst has won the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Copenhagen, Denmark - a major event as Austria has won the contest only once, in 1966. According to the guidelines, the winning country has to host the contest the next year. So in 2015 the ESC will be broadcast from Vienna. The very first sign of this big event appeared last week in form of an 8m tall countdown clock covered in LEDs, installed at the Vienna City Hall Square. On Sunday the countdown showed 132 days until the grand final. Please click here for Conchita Wurst's winner song, if you are not afraid of a young men dressed like a woman.

Vienna is Charlie

After the Islamic attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, Vienna's City government had a "Je suis Charlie" poster hung on the frontwall of the city hall as sign of solidarity. I took this photo yesterday at 3 p.m. when the march of unity in Paris started. An hour later there was a solidarity rally in Vienna, attended by 12.000 people.

Albertina - The Billard Room

The palace residents and their guests would gather in the "Billard" Room for after-dinner entertainment. Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen preferred a game of billiards over cards...

Albertina - Hall of the Muses #2

A detail of one of the candelabras in the Hall of the Muses.

Albertina - Hall of the Muses #1

The Hall of the Muses forms the centrepiece of the Habsburg Staterooms. It was used as a dining room and as a glamorous venue for soirées and balls. The hall derives its name from the life-sized sculptures of Apollo and the nine Muses.

Albertina

The Albertina museum was erected on one of the last remaining sections of the fortifications of Vienna. It houses one of the largest and most important graphic art collections in the world with 50.000 drawings and watercolours, as well as some 900.000 graphic art works, ranging from the Late Gothic era to the present. The palace takes its name from the collection’s founder, Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen (1738-1822), a son-in-law of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. He is depicted in the monument in front of the museum.

Sunny Holiday

In Austria yesterday was a public holiday and, luckily, a sunny day too. My last walk of the old year was along the Old Danube and being not a very inventive person my first walk of the new year lead me once again to this stretch of water which is partially still frozen. In the background you can see the DC Tower, Donau City, the UNO City and the Donauturm.

Spoilt for Choice

That's only a selection of the cakes availabe at the "K.u.K. Hoflieranten". It was really hard to make a choice... (I'm sorry for the bad quality of the photo, I took it with my mobile phone.)

New in Town

Yesterday afternoon I treated myself to tea and cake at "K.u.K. Hoflieferanten" in the city center. This place was opened a month ago and is a joint venture of the confectionary Gerstner and the Schlumberger Winery.  In the shop on the ground floor you can purchase selected Gerstner and Schlumberger products, on the first floor you can either sit at the bar or in the lounge area. If you are lucky enough to get a seat at a window you can also enjoy a beautiful view of the Vienna State Opera.

Snowy Water Front

I wanted to publish another photo today, but then I looked out of the window and noticed that it's snowing again. So here is a photo taken during my walk along the Old Danube on New Year's Eve. I really fell in love with this stretch of water...

Volksgarten in Winter

Volksgarten is one of three parks in the very city center of Vienna (the other two are Burggarten and Stadtpark) and I often take a stroll there. The Theseus Temple always catches my eyes. The building in the background is the City Hall.

Good Luck!

In Austria it is the custom to present friends with lucky charms (for instance horse shoes, chimney sweepers, fly agarics, ladybugs, pigs, lucky clovers) at the beginning of a new year. For those who have a sweet tooth there are even sweet lucky charms. I hope that they bring good luck to my dear readers. I'm very much looking forward to sharing with you my view of Vienna for another year!

January Theme Day: Photo of The Year

After ending the year 2014 with a December sunset, let's start the new year with a summer sunset. Regular followers know that I love to spend the summer evenings taking a ride with my bicycle and taking photos of sunsets. I have been living nearly 20 years close to the Old Danube, but I "discovered" this dead end of a former river branch of the Danube with its calm atmosphere only last summer... I'm very much looking forward to this year's summer and more cycling in this area!
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.