A Special Guided Tour

On Sunday afternoon I participated for the second time in a guided tour at the Kunsthistorisches Museum by drag queen and art educator Tiefe Kümmernis. This time the focus of the tour was on the fashion in the paintings. It was an interesting afternoon, and the styling of the drag queen was as spectacular as always.

Vienna Ice World 2018

Currently the City Hall forms the backdrop of the "Vienna Ice World". There's not only an ice rink in front of the City Hall but also an ice path winding trough the City Hall park. Restaurateurs pamper sportspeople and onlookers with regional delicacies at various outdoor booths. The ice rink is open until March 4 from 10 am to 10 pm.

Drag Guided Tour

Yesterday afternoon I participated in a special tour at the Kunsthistorisches Museum: Drag queen and art educator Tiefe Kümmernis did a tour about gender stereotypes. I had expected that mostly young people would take part in this kind of tour, but the group consisted of persons of any age. The drag queen constantly moved, this is the less blurred photo I was able to take.

Long Night of Museums

Tonight the Long Night of Museums, organised by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF, takes place for the 18th time. 129 museums all over Austria open their doors from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and can be visited with only one ticket. Usually the museums offer a varied programme during this special night. The ticket is also valid for the shuttle busses that facilitate the commuting from one museum to another. This initiative brings a lot of people into museums that usually don't have a great interest in culture. And for me it means that I'm on duty from 4 p.m. to 1.a.m...

Life Ball

Tonight the Life Ball, one of the biggest AIDS charity events in the world, will be held at the City Hall for the 24th times. This flashy, colourful and loud party promotes public awareness of HIV and AIDS and generates donations for AIDS relief projects. The opening show will take place on City Hall Square with numerous performances by international stars. When I passed by the City Hall last Monday, the installation of the stage (set design by Amra Bergmann) was still going on.

Vienna Citrus Days #3

Citrus fruits are often used in still lifes. At the "Vienna Citrus Days" a baroque still life was recreated.

Vienna Citrus Days #2

There are a lot of different citrus fruits. At the "Vienna Citrus Days" they were displayed on a table with Meissen porcelain.

Vienna Citrus Days #1

Last weekend the "17th Vienna Citrus Days" took place at the Schönbrunn Orangery. The information and sales exhibition presented a historic collection of citrus trees. The program included also lectures and tastings of culinary specialties.

Vienna City Marathon 2017

Hi there! My vacation is over... I started the first morning back to Vienna watching the 42.766 participants in the 33rd Vienna City Marathon pass under my window.

Vienna Design Week 2016 #2

The Austrian designers Nadja Zerunian und Peter Weisz give traditionally handmade objects a place in the design world. They work with a cooperative of Roma craftspeople throughout Romania. The new PICNIC series, presented in the headquarter of the Vienna Design Week, harks back to the nomadic tradition of the Roma. Just as friends meet for a picnic, the PICNIC series represents a meeting place: Works by different craftspeople complement one another, sets can be used themselves alone or in combination.

Vienna Design Week 2016 #2

This typographic work was created by British designer Morag Myerscough especially for the headquarter of the Vienna Design Week. I love the colours!

Vienna Design Week 2016 #1

This year the Vienna Design Week, Austria's largest design festival, takes place for the 10th time. In collaboration with museums, product manufacturers, and designers the ten-day festival offers a variety of opportunities to learn more about the theme of design, with over 150 events, exhibitions, installations, tours and plenty of parties. All venues of the festival are indicated with a chair, every year in another colour and another style. The Kollektiv Fischka created this collage of the different chairs from the last ten years.

China Magic

Tomorrow the light show "China Magic – Festival of Light" will celebrate its European premiere on Vienna’s Danube Island: Up to 20m tall buildings, dragons, famous personalities and artworks in silk and bamboo have been set up and will be illuminated. The festival will also offer an insight into the typical culture of China with dance shows, music and food. Chinese lantern festivals have a history going back over 2.000 years and traditionally bring the New Year’s festival lasting several days to a close. The show on the Danube Island involves 25 km of silk, 20 tonnes of bamboo and steel as well as 18.000 LED lamps. It has taken 30 days to set up the more than 30 artworks. During my bicycle tours I passed by several times and could watch how they were set up. The festival runs through October 9.

Ice Cream Festival

On Saturday and Sunday the first Vienna Ice Cream Festvial took place in Burggarten. Eleven ice cream and frozen yogurt parlors (three of them from Germany) presented their range of ice creams. A good possibility for an ice cream tasting! For those who needed in between some spicy snack, there were also "normal" foodtrucks. I passed by in the late Saturday afternoon when the park was crowded with ice cream aficionados.

CityWave #2

Most of the group of sufers I was watching, were complete beginners so their "ride" didn't last very long. This guy was the best of them, I think he has already had some lessons...

CityWave #1

Surfing in the very city center? Yes, that's possible! In Schwarzenbergplatz an artificial water wave has been erected. The citywave machine creates a consistent water pressure and a constant 1,4m high wave that can be surfed using regular surfboards. Anyone can learn to surf the waves in this area spanning 1.000 m². An hour of surfing costs € 39,-, including surfboard and helmet. Admission into the grounds is free – those who don't want to surf can watch the surfers and enjoy the sun deck, with sun lounges, music, and culinary delights in the food area, or can shop for surfing accessories and streetwear.

Brass Band Festival

We had a lot of events last weekend, one of them was the Brass Band Festival on Saturday. 15 brass bands from all over Austria took part in this event. The bands from the provinces performed on several squares in the city center before all the participants did a joint concert in front of the City Hall in the afternoon. 

Friday Night Skating

"Friday Night Skating" is an event, held every Friday from May to September: The roads are specially blocked off and a different route is organized every week. The meeting place is in Heldenplatz, in the very city center. Participation is free, cyclists are also welcome. Last Friday the participants passed through my street.

Disco Atmosphere in the Museum

We are still at the "Kunstschatzi" event at the Kunsthistorisches Museum on Tuesday evening: With the loud music and the mirror ball there was an unusual disco atmosphere in the cupola hall of the museum.

An Evening at the Museum

Yesterday evening I attended the "Kunstschatzi" event at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. Art lovers could not only take part in guided tours with such appealing titles as "dressed - undressed" or "good looking guys", but also enjoy cocktails and music played by a dj.