Work in Progress #2

Here's another mural that was created during the "Calle Libre Festival". It's a work by Austrian street artist HNRX whose favourite themes are every day objects and whose main purpose is to put people in a good mood.

Work in Progress #1

From last Wednesday to Sunday Vienna hosted the "Calle Libre - Festival for Urban Aesthetics": Six street artists were invited to create murals in public spaces in the 6th and 7th district. In this photo KASHINK, one of the few French female street artists, is working on her colourful mural.

Monday Blue(s)

I still don't know why I have this thing with tables and chairs... But this arrangement in the Kagran School Gardens was just too eye-catching to be ignored...

Sunday Flowers #161

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift." - Albert Einstein

The Tasting Goes on

There are so many new ice cream parlors in town! And this summer I want to test as many as possible. Some days ago I went to a new italian ice cream parlor in the 7th district. Unfortunately they didn't have two of my favorite flavours, but I found three others that I liked a lot.

Looking for Shady Places

Vienna has been suffering from a heatwave for more than a week. Today's temperature forecast: 39°C (102 °F)!! That's the first time in my life that we have temperatures like this... I think everybody is now looking for shady places. A nice and quiet place to stay is the outdoor area of the teahouse of yesterday's ice tea photo, hidden in a courtyard and behind the fence on the right side in this photo.

Let's Have Some Ice Tea

This advertisment for ice tea in the window of a tea shop/teahouse in the very city center recently caught my eyes because of its soft colours and retro design.

Bright Colours

I'm not only obsessed with sunsets, but also with bright colours. One of my preferred combinations is green and pink. In this case I also like the yellow and the purple.

Evening Acquatics

The New Danube is popular for sailing and now also for stand-up paddling. Yesterday it was a little too calm for sailing. Shortly after I had taken the photo the people in the boat pulled out the rudders...

Running Test Shoe Vending Machine

Saturday evening I discovered the world's first "running test shoe vending machine" on the banks of the Danube Canal. You just have to choose your shoes, enter your mobile phone number to receive a text message with a PIN code, enter the code and  test brand new running shoes. After the run the shoes can be returned in a flap of the vending machine. There are also lockers where you can store your "old" shoes while testing the new ones.

Sunday Flowers #160

"How sociable the garden was.
We ate and talked in given light.
The children put their toys to grass
All the warm wakeful August night." - Thomas Gunn

Museumscafé

From the lounge of the Kunsthistorisches Museum you have a beautiful view of the café in the cupola hall. For another photo of the café please click here.

Museumslounge

On Sunday a friend of mine took me to the "lounge" of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Only the annual ticket gives access to this quiet area where you can relax, browse catalogues and enjoy a beautiful view of the museum's cupola as well as the Naturhistorisches Museum on the opposite side of the square.

Vegan Ice Cream

I'm not vegan, but some weeks ago I ate for the first time this vegan ice cream. It was really good!

Sunday Flowers #159

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." - Vincent Van Gogh

August Theme Day: Bicycle

This interesting bicycle indicates a repair shop in the 15th district that is run as a collective.

#Respect Diversity

I discovered this graffito on a wooden pavillon next to my place yesterday evening.

Nonnenstöckl

Originally the "Nonnenstöckl" was the access yard of a monastery in the 19th district, today it houses a viticultural museum.

Sunset Obesssion #19

One of the last sunsets I saw before my vacation. If I remember correctly it was a very hot day...

Déja Vu

Did you miss me? I was on vacation and didn't have the time to publish photos here. But now I'm back, and we start with this orange bull that I discovered four years ago. During my last walk in the 18th district I noticed that he is still there. I still have no idea why he was put on the balcony...

Sunday Flowers #158

Cross-Stitch Street Art

During my last walk along the Danube Canal I discovered this work of cross-stitch street art. It was the first time that I saw this kind of street art and liked it at first sight. Maybe because I loved to cross-stitch myself when I was younger?

Beach Cake

The "Patisserie zum Schwarzen Kameel“ was opened in 2007 and offers sweets, cakes, confectionery and desserts to take away or to be eaten as a quick snack. The perfect cake for summer is of course a beach cake...

Zum Schwarzen Kameel

Being founded in 1618, the restaurant "Zum Schwarzen Kameel" enjoys a long tradition. There's also a gourmet food store and a wine tavern. Since the street where it's located has been converted in a pedestrian area you can have your meal during the summer months in a relaxed atmosphere.

Judenplatz

In the Middle Ages Judenplatz was the center of Jewish Life and the Viennese Jewish Community. Today the Jewish Museum Judenplatz, the Holocaust Memorial and a monument to the German poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (not in this picture) still relate to this past. The Holocaust Memorial was designed by British artist Rachel Whiteread and is the central memorial for the 65.000 Austrian victims of the Holocaust.

Beethoven's Residence

That's the building in which 1802 the composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament. Heiligenstadt, at that time situated far outside the city limits, has long since been incorporated into the city as part of the 19th district. The testament is a letter to his two brothers and reflects his despair over his increasing deafness and his desire to overcome his physical and emotional ailments to complete his artistic destiny. Beethoven kept the document hidden among his private papers for the rest of his life, and probably never showed it to anyone. It was only discovered in March 1827, after Beethoven's death.

Petite Party

The window display of the Swarovski store in the city center always catches the eyes of the passersby and is a a popular  photo subject for tourists. The current display was created by set designer Stuart Henry and shows dressed up girls sitting on a glittering carousel.

Sunday Flowers #157

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Boat Rentals

There are several boat rentals along the Old Danube. You can opt for a rowboat, a pedal boat or a motorboat. During the summer months the boat rentals extend their opening hours at full moon so that romantics can float along the Old Danube in the moonlight... Many years ago I had a picnic on a pedal boat (but not at full moon)...

Fishing Boat

There are several fishing boats like this along the Danube Island. To go fishing in Austria you require a "fishing card", and with privately owned or rented waters, you have to find an agreement with the landlord. Carp, luce, pikeperch, perch and eel are some of the fish species living in the Danube.

Sunset Obsesssion #18

The sunset over the Danube last Sunday, a very hot day...

French Windows

I love French windows! As I told you I would love to have a balcony, but I would even content myself with some French windows. Unfortunately in Vienna you don't see a lot of them...

A Shady Place

With the current heatwave it's good to know places where you can cool off. This outdoor area of a restaurant in the 7th district is not only covered with a "roof" of Virginia creeper but also located in a quiet courtyard.

Summer Pleasures

In the past seven years it has become a tradition that the Ringturm, which houses the headquarters of an insurance company, gets wrapped with an over-sized artwork during the summer months. This year the work "Sommerfreuden" (Summer Pleasures) by Croatian visual artist Tanja Deman was chosen for the wrapping. This photo shows only a detail - with the current heatwave I would like to jump in a swimming pool to cool off a little like this woman. If you want to see the whole wrapping please click here.

Sunday Flowers #156

“I'd love to have the whole place swimming in roses." - James Joyce

Organic Ice Cream

It's currently very hot in Vienna - the perfect excuse to cool down by eating some ice cream. "Eis Greissler" in the city center sells organic ice cream, made only from fresh ingredients without additives, some flavors are even vegan or lactose free.  The ice cream is very popular, usually there's a long waiting line...

Let's Have a Beer

I don't drink beer, but I guess the beer lovers can relate to this blackboard...

Balcony #12

I would love to have an apartment with a balcony, even a tiny one - just to put a table, a chair and some flowers on it - and I would spend each possible moment out there. Up to now I have to content myself with watching the balconies of other people...

July Theme Day: Upside Down

Well, I know, this photo isn't  very inventive, but I couldn't find a better one.... and I think squirrels are cute.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.

A Quiet Square

My favourite square in the 2nd disctrict seen through a Lomo filter on a quiet summer Sunday... I like the atmospere of this place, even when the restaurants are open...

Look up!

The Haas Haus in the city center is always a good photo subject. I love how the parasols of the restaurant on the top floor stick out against the sky.

Sunday Flowers #155

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June."- L. M. Montgomery

Regensburger Hof

The beautiful Regensburger Hof in the city center was erected in 1897. The life-size statue on the façade represents Emperor Frederick III.

Surfing

The current window display of the department store Steffl was developed in cooperation with the 21er Haus – Museum of Contemporary Art. Austrian artist Hans Weigand presents highlights of his installation “Surfing” which is currently shown in an exhibition at the 21er Haus. As you can see from the stickers on the surfboards, sale has already started...

Sunset Obesssion #17

Yesterday I had to work long hours, and on my way home I was so busy looking at my mobile phone that I got off the subway one stop late. Thanks to this moment of abstraction, I was able to take another sunset shot ;-)

Dragon Bicycle

Amongst the 7.000 people who took part in Sunday's bicycle parade I discovered these young men with their eye-catching dragon bicycle.

Batman & Poison Ivy

What an honor! Batman and Poison Ivy left Gotham City to take part in the bicycle parade on Sunday. Don't they look good on their bicycles?

Bicycle Parade

Yesterday's public bicylce parade passed through my street. The parade started at the Burgtheater and ended in the Prater park with a picknick. Several bands along the route entertained the cyclists. I loved the percussion group underneath my windows.

Sunday Flowers #154

"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

Welcoming Herbs

Herbs in cans at the entrance to a community garden in the 22nd district. What a nice idea!