Garfield Cake

Are you looking for a fancy cake for a children's birthday party? This Garfield cake might be the perfect choice.

Green Door

This green door gives access to an impressive apartment building in the 3rd district.

Sunday Flowers #67

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity." - John Ruskin

Let´s Sit Outside Again

In Vienna the cafés and restaurants are legally obligated to close their outdoor areas every year from December to February. But now we have March and when the weather is nice enough the sidewalks are again populated with people enjoying their drink or meal outside.

Breaking The Rules: Excursion to Linz #3

The Trinity Column on the main square of Linz is 20 metres high and made of white marble. It is a typical symbol of the baroque period and was erected in gratitude by those who had survived a variety of disasters. The column should also protect the citizens from war, fire and plague.

Breaking The Rules: Excursion to Linz #2

Façades in the city center of Linz.

Breaking The Rules: Excursion to Linz #1

Some weeks ago I made an excursion to Linz, the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria. In this photo you can see a small street in the city center and the spire of the New Cathedral. With 20.000 seats, the cathedral is the largest, but not the highest, church in Austria. The originally-planned, higher spire was not approved, because in Austria-Hungary at the time, no building was allowed to be taller than the South Tower of the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. At 135 m, the New Cathedral is two meters shorter than the Viennese cathedral.

Façade Detail #20

The Wienzeile n° 38 building was designed by famous Austrian architect Otto Wagner, the beautiful golden ornaments  were done by Koloman Moser.

Snow Caps

The snow is already gone, but I still want to show you this photo because I think that these snow caps look very cute.

Sunday Flowers #66

"To create a little flower is the labor of ages." - William Blake

The Gloriette

A last picture of my recent walk in the snowy gardens of Schönbrunn Palace: The Gloriette was originally built as a view point and "temple of glory". Later on it was equipped with glass windows and became a location for dinner and festivities, today it houses a café.

March Theme Day: Café Chairs

Okay, I have to admit that the chairs in this photo don´t belong to a café but to a French bistro at Palais Ferstel, but you can find these kind of chairs (and tables) in a lot of Viennese cafés.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Snowy Artwork

During my last walk in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace, I saw a lot of snow men. These three young people didn´t content themselves with creating an ordinary snow man, they were working on a real piece of art.

Z Loves C

A (temporary) sign of Z+C's love on a tree in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. I don´t know them but I wish them all the best.

A Walk in The Snow

The gardens of Schönbrunn Palace are always a good place for a Sunday afternoon walk, especially when they are covered with snow.

Snowy Trees

Snowy trees on Ringstrasse last Saturday.

Sunday Flowers #65

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” - Anne Bradstreet

It´s Snowing Again

While I´m eagerly waiting for spring, winter doesn´t want to end and covers the city again with snow. I took this photo some weeks ago in Stadtpark, but looking out of my window, I´m pretty sure that it looks exactly like this today.

Christopher Columbus

This sculpture of Christopher Columbus welcomes the students of the Vienna Business School in the city center.

21er Haus #6

The bookshop at the 21er Haus was conceived as an art project. The "Salon für Kunstbuch" is a "sculpture in which people gather for discourse and in which existing forms of organization are tested". Well, the only thing that I noticed, is that the books and magazines are arranged by colour.

21er Haus #5

The 21er Haus also houses the estate of Austrian sculptor Fritz Wotruba (1907-1975). Some of his sculptures are shown on the terrace in the basement.

21er Haus #4

The day before yesterday I was at the 21er Haus, a museum that focuses on Austrian art from 1945 to the present day. The building was originally constructed for the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958.

Régalité

In october 2012, the renovation of the educational center of the Vienna Chamber of Labour has been completed by erecting the installation "Régalité" by Austrian artist Hans Schabus (*1970) in front of the building. The name of this huge bookshelf is the mix of the German word for "shelf" and the French "égalité" (equality) and emphasizes that education has to be accessible for everybody.

Sunday Flowers #64

"The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination." - Terri Guillemets

Liechtenstein Garden Palace #2

The Liechtenstein Garden Palace last Saturday. Last week we had more snow, but by now it is mostly gone.

First View

Despite the winterly weather the department store Steffl in the city center is offering a first view of the spring fashion trends.

... can´t buy me love

"I'll give you all I've got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give but what I've got I'll give to you
For I don't care too much for money, for money can't buy me love." - The Beatles 
Happy Valentine´s Day to my dear readers!

Little Girl And Ducks

I took this photo some weeks ago when we had the first days of snow but I could have taken it yesterday because the snow is back. During my walk through a very winterly Stadtpark, this toddler in her pink dawn jacket caught my eyes and I stopped to watch how she had fun with the ducks.

Carnival Sweets

Today is Shrove Tuesday, the last day of the carnival and the last day before Lent. In other words: the last possibility to indulge in some carnival sweets...

A Walk in Snowy Volksgarten

Vienna is again covered with a thin blanket of snow.

Sunday Flowers #63

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Sphinx

One of the sphinxes located in the garden between the Upper and the Lower Belvedere.

Repair Shop For Dolls

During my last Sunday afternoon walk I passed by this repair shop for dolls in the 4th district. It´s good to know that there´s still someone who dresses the wounds of dolls and plush toys.

Secession Building - Detail #2

The motto of the Secessionist movement is written above the entrance of the building: "To every age its art, to art its freedom". The beautiful dome consists of 3000 gilt leaves and 700 berries.

Secession Building - Detail #1

Joseph Maria Olbrich integrated a very symbolic language in the building: The entrance area of the Secession building is decorated by the masks of the three Gorgons, which symbolise architecture, sculpture and painting. The side elevations also feature owls (not in the photo) - the Gorgons and the owl are attributes of Pallas Athene, the godess of wisdom, victory and the crafts. The photo also shows the dominant symbol in the building - the laurel leaf.

Secession Building

The Secessin building is an exhibition hall built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich as an architectural manifesto for the Vienna Secession (also known as "the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession") which was formed that same year by a group of Austrian artists including painters, sculptors, and architects. The first president of the Secession was Gustav Klimt, and Rudolf von Alt was made honorary president. The Secession artists objected to the prevailing conservatism of  the long-established fine art institution Vienna Künstlerhaus with its traditional orientation toward Historicism. The construction of the Secession building, a key work of Viennese Art Nouveau, was finished after only 6 months. Needless to say that the architecture didn´t meet the taste of that time: The building was dismissed as a "a bastard between temple and warehouse" and "a cross between a greenhouse and a blast furnace", the dome was compared to "a head of cabbage".

Sale is still going on

The new collections are arriving to the shops, but that doesn´t mean that sale is over...

Sunday Flowers #62

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."  - Hal Borland

February Theme Day: Umbrellas

As I didn't have neither the time nor the occasion to take a new umbrella photo, I decided to republish a photo taken in November 2010: A beautiful selection of umbrellas in the window of Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe, a company which has been offering a wide selection of the finest cloths, ties, scarves and accessories (as for instance handmade umbrellas in various styles and original designs) since 1881. Amongst the company's most famous customers were Empress Elisabeth and - in the 20th century - Franz Lehár, Arthur Schnitzler, Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan.

Matchstick Man

I discovered this matchstick man some weeks ago in the city center.

Winter Wonderland

By now Vienna is completely free of snow, but in the window of a confectionary there´s a still a winter wonderland.

Façade Detail #19

Caryatids on an apartment building in the 3rd district.

Inspiration?

In Vienna, the ball season is currently reaching its peak. The headdress and necklace of this vintage model might serve as inspiration for a ball outfit.

Sunday Flowers #61

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb from Guinea

There´s Still Some Snow

Whereas the streets are again free of snow, the lawn in the Burggarten is still snow-covered.  In the background you can see the Palm House (which houses a restaurant and the Butterly House.)

Sweet Lucky Charms

In Austria pigs symbolize good luck.At the K. u. K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionary Bakery "Demel" I recently discovered these meringue lucky charms.

Inside "Demel"

The K. u. K. (Imperial and Royal) Court Confectionary Bakery "Demel", founded in 1786, is the most famous pastry shop and chocolatier in Vienna. The waitresses address their patrons in the 3rd person ("He/She wishes"), which is the historical polite form of address in German.

Snowman

During my walk in Stadtpark last Sunday I saw a lot of snowmen. They were all different in size, physique and clothing - this fellow was one of my favourites. In the meantime the snow has melted and the city is back to its normal speed and winterly grayness.
Update 07.30 a.m.: Vienna is again covered with a thin blanket of snow.

Sledding Street

In Vienna there are two official "sledding streets" - streets that aren´t cleared from snow so that children can have fun sledding there. There are also hills in some parks that have been safety certified in accordance with official regulations. For more information please click here.

Bicycles in The Snow

This photo is courtesy by my aunt who took it last Friday in the courtyard of the apartment building where she´s living.