Wow, so another year is over! I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a sweet 2019!
Since 2006 Vienna's most georgeous Christmas lights can be found on Graben in the city center. Each of the 10 chandeliers weighs 400 kg and consists of 20.000 LEDs. Tomorrow they will light the "New Year's Eve Trail": From 2.00 p.m. until 2.00 a.m. the city center will transform into a giant party zone. Dozens of gastronomers will serve punch and culinary treats, there will be numerous entertainment areas with show programs, waltzes, operetta, rock, pop, DJ lines and hit music. In the afternoon Vienna's dance schools will offer crash waltz dancing courses on Graben and transform it into an idyllic open-air ballroom.
This huge bow on a building opposite the Vienna State Opera is not only an eye-catcher but also one of Vienna's most photographed Christmas decoration.
The red Christmas lights in Rotenturmstraße are rather impressive - every year again. Some years ago an ex colleague of mine called the huge red balls "frightening" ;-)
Even the five star Hotel Sacher in the city center was decorated with Christmas lights. Can you see the two nutcrackers at the entrance?
As the weeks before Christmas are usually rather stressful at work, I don't have the time to go to Christmas markets. Luckily, the market in front of Schönbrunn Palace is open until December 26... So I braved the strong breeze yesterday and headed to Schönbrunn.
While in other parts of the world Christmas is celebrated today, for me it's already over as my family is not very much into celebrating exentensively... I'm still on vacation though and will enjoy Christmas Day as best as I can...
In Austria we celebrate Christmas this very night: Traditionally we set up the Christmas tree and light it for the first time, gather around the tree, may sing some Christmas carols, unwrap the presents, have Christmas dinner and maybe go to the Midnight Mass. In case you are interested in my programme: I will start the day with a brunch at my aunt's and spend the evening with my parents. I hope you a merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten!
"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
The Christmas lights in Mariahilferstraße, Vienna's biggest shopping street, haven't changed in quite a while... Today will be a very busy day in all shopping streets and centers as it's the last day with normal opening hours before Christmas. In Austria the shops are closed on Sundays and on Christmas Eve they will close in the early afternoon.
If you don't like kitschy Christmas Markets, you can enjoy the "Winter at the MQW": in pavilions in the inner courtyard of the MuseumsQuartier Wien you can savour punch specialities while listening to a diverse mix of music provided by DJs, or you do some ice curling or pilot remote-controlled cars on a a race track. There are also video projections on the facade of the Leopold Museum.
It's time to get into the Christmas spirit! We could do that by singing the Christmas carol "Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht")... It was composed 200 years ago by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in a small town in Salzburg, Austria. The carol has been translated into about 140 languages and was declared intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by a large number of singers, the version sung by Bing Crosby allegedly is the third best-selling single of all-time. The window display of a confectionary in the city center shows a sweet version of the parish church where the carol was first sung in 1818.
The way up the hill to the Gloriette was rather icy on Sunday. Whereas I managed to go up quite easily, I then slipped on the flat ground... The children had a lot of fun sliding down the hill towards Schönbrunn Palace...
During the night from Friday to Saturday we had the second snowfall of this season. Let's hope that there will be more snow around Christmas! When the city is covered with snow I usually take a walk in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace...
"Christmas gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect on the important things around us." - David Cameron
The current installation "Northern Lights" at the art space of the Swarovski Kristallwelten store in the city center was created by Austrian fashion designer Susanne Bisovsky. The installation evokes an arctic storm blowing open the doors and windows of an imaginary Russion dacha. The ladies of the house are wrapped in glittering robes that sparkle with thousand of crystals.
The new quarters that I showed you the past days are located right next to the large Prater park where the trees currently look like this...
"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,
and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale
The current window display of the K. u. K. (Imperial and Royal) Confectionary Demel was inspired by the exhibition project "Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty" at the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts. The exhibition investigates why people feel attracted to beauty, how they can deal with it and which positive effects beauty can have. I haven't yet seen the exhibition, so I dont't know which role plays this pink car, but it's definitely an eye-catcher.
Here's another photo from last Saturday when the city was covered with a thin layer of snow.
If you take a close look you can see that the snow - and the rather cold temperature - didn't prevent some people from cycling and jogging...
That was what we woke up to last Saturday. December started with the first snowfall of the season.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent which means that every good Austrian lights the first candle of the Advent wreath. Every Sunday until Christmas we light another candle so that on the last Sunday before Christmas (which we celebrate on the evening of December 24) all four candles are lit.
December 1st is World AIDS Day, an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic and mourning those who have died of the disease. In Vienna you can currently see the posters of the new "Know Your Status" campaign that focuses on the UNAIDS 90-90-90 objective, according to which 90% of people with HIV who know their status should be receiving anti-retroviral treatment. Therefore the campaign deals with the steps that need to be taken after the diagnosis and creates awarenss for what the afflicted are facing on a personal, social and medical level. The testimonials of the current campaign, shot by Austrian photographer Andreas H. Bitesnich, are Paris Jackson and Austrian actor Philipp Hochmair (in this photo).
