Winter at the MQW 2016

If you are not into kitschy Christmas markets, the MuseumsQuartier Wien (MQ) is the perfect address for you: In the inner courtyard you can find so called "ice pavilions" where you can savor unusual punch specialities, listen to a varied mix of music provided by djs and have a look at artistic projections on the facades of the MQ.

Christmas Bow

This bow is the eye-catching Christmas decoration of a clothes store in the very city center. Pleae click here for a nightshot.

4th Sunday of Advent

"Each sight, each sound of Christmas

And fragrances sublime

Make hearts and faces happy

This glorious Christmastime" - Carice Williams

2016 Christmas Illuminations #4

The not so restrained Christmas lights of a confectionary in the city center.

2016 Christmas Illuminations #3

The famous Café Central in the city center is decorated with rather restrained lights.

Locked Cookies

The Christmas window display of the Imperial and Royal Confectionary Bakery Demel shows cookies in cages. Who wants to free them?

2016 Christmas Illuminations #2

The Christmas lights in the upscale shopping district "Golden Quarter" in the city center.

2016 Christmas Illuminations #1

During the Chrismas season the Ringturm (which houses the headquarter of an insurance group) is decorated with lights in the form of a Christmas tree.

Christmas Outfit?

The perfect outfit if you want to feel like a living Christmas tree... 

3rd Sunday of Advent

"As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is." - Eric Sevareid

Christmas Cookies

When I was a child a highlight of the Advent season was the baking of Christmas cookies with my mother. I haven't baked cookies for years, but I still like to eat them and luckily my mother still bakes a variety of cookies...

Behind the Scenes #3

The Theater in der Josefstadt has an own workshop where the stage design is created. There we discovered a drawer unit with colour powder. I fell in love with this bright pink.

Behind the Scenes #2

The last preparations on the stage of the Theater in der Josefstadt. Everything has to be in the right place.

Behind the Scenes #1

I am late with this photo from September... Back then I participated in an instawalk at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Founded in 1788, it is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. Our group got a guided tour behind the scenes, we could even take a look from the sky-high fly floors at the stage.

Saint Nicholas Day

Today is Saint Nicholas Day: During the night Saint Nicholas checked up on the children if they were good, polite and helpful last year and if so, he filled the children's boots with gifts and sweets. Saint Nicholas is accompanied by Krampus, a demon-like creature, who warns and punishes bad children by putting a tree branch in their boots. On Sunday I discovered this advertisement in front of a candy store, it prompts the passers-by to buy sweets for Saint Nicholas Day.

Cold Sunday

I'm sorry if I'm boring you with all the photos of the Old Danube, but after a busy week I'm in need of tranquillity and in this situation the view onto the water and the swans is just perfect for me... If you look closely, you can see that yesterday the water was partially frozen.
On a side note: Austria has a new President!! As I told you here the elections were rather complicated, but yesterday Austria finally voted for the independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen. I'm relieved.

2nd Sunday of Advent

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale

Winterly Bathing Bay

No swimmers at the bathing bay of the Old Danube at this time of the year...

Badger Mural

This badger mural on the banks of the Danube Canal was created by Belgian street artist ROA.

December Theme Day: Transitions

I wasn't very inspired by today's theme, but then I saw this escalator: taking it and going from one floor to another is also some kind of transition...
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.

Bookstore

A small bookstore in a quiet street in the city center... I've never been inside although it looks very inviting...

November Atmosphere

November atmosphere along the Old Danube last Sunday...

Bright Spots

I wasn't the only one who did a walk in the rain along the Old Danube yesterday afternoon. The two umbrellas were bright spots a very dull day.

1st Sunday of Advent

Christmas season is here... Today is the first day of  Advent, casually speaking the countdown for Christmas... In Austria it's a tradition to buy an Advent wreath and light one candle on the first Sunday of Advent, two on the second and so on, until on the last Sunday before Christmas all four candles are lit. I like this tradition, even if currently I don't have any Christmas spirit...

Tree Creature

Interesting street art on the banks of the Danube Canal. 

A Place to Relax

I know I'm repeating myself, but I love the usually quiet atmosphere of the Old Danube. It's such a good place to relax.

Another Walk Along the Old Danube

Last Sunday I did another walk along the Old Danube. I just can't get enough of this area...

Eyecatching Lampions

The eye-catching lampions of a Japanese restaurant in the 2nd district.

I Love Chairs

And that's how the chairs look when the tavern is closed...

It's About the Colours

As you may already know, I never can resist taking photos of bright coloured chairs. In this photo I also love the blankets and the striped awning.

Sunday Flowers #213

"I love to smell flowers in the dark ... You get hold of their soul then." - Lucy Maud Montgomery

Autumn Foliage

Most trees have already lost their leaves and there are piles of foliage everywhere...

Autumn in the Japanese Park

Autumnal colours in the Setagaya Park in the 19th district. I took this photo at the end of October, meanwhile the trees have lost their leaves...

Autumnal Virgina Creeper

The façade of this mansion in the 19th district is completely covered with Virgina creeper. In autumn it looks quite spectacular!

View of the Town #15

On the public holiday on November 1st, I climbed up Kahlenberg and on my way I saw the town getting smaller and smaller...

Eye-Catching Mural

During my last walk along the Danube Canal I discovered this eye-catching mural by Peruvian artists Entes y Pésimo.

Afternoon Walk

If you want to, you can walk along the Danube Canal from the very city center to the outskirts. I did so on the last Sunday in October...

Sunday Flowers #212

Excursion to Graz #6

The Schlossberg is located in the very city center of Graz. The city owes its name to the castle, which was built in the 16th century on this hill. From the Slavonic word Gradec for "little castle" later emerged Graz. After a victory over the Habsburgs in 1809, Napoleon demanded the demolition of the fortress. A huge amount of money paid to the French by the burghers of Graz could prevent the Clock Tower (in this photo) and the Bell Tower from being destroyed. The Clock Tower is a recognisable icon for the city, and there's a special thing about it: the clock's hands have opposite roles to the common notion, with the larger one marking hours while the smaller is for minutes.

Excursion to Graz #5

The construction of the "Landhaus" started in 1557. The prestigious building for the Styrian estates was designed by the Italian architect Domenico dell’Allio, even today it is the seat of the regional government of Graz. The building has a beautiful Renaissance-style arcaded courtyard.  

Excursion to Graz #4

The State Apartments of Eggenberg Palace are a series of seven interconnecting rooms, decorated with red silk damask and matching white-gilt seating.

Excursion to Graz #3

The Bel Étage of Eggenberg Palace has remained almost unchanged since the 18th century. Furnished with original 17th and 18th century designs, furniture, tapestries and decorations, the circle of 24 state rooms is among the most significant ensembles in Austria. The highlight of the state rooms is the Planetary Room, completed in 1685. The name derives from the cycle of paintings by the court artist Hans Adam Weissenkircher. With its complex artistic programme, which merged astrological and hermetical ideas, number symbolism and family mythology to form a complex allegory to glorify the Eggenberg dynasty, the Planetary Room is ranked among the most impressive pieces of early Baroque interior decoration in Central Europe. 

Excursion to Graz #2

Eggenberg Palace was built post-1625 by Italian architect and artist Pietro de Pomis as a residence for the imperial governor Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg. The edifice was designed as a huge allegory, a symbolic representation of the universe, where the erudite client set out his notion of an ideal world in an age of chaos and disintegration.

Excursion to Graz #1

This week I take you to Graz, the capital of the federal state of Styria and Austria's second largest city where I spent the weekend before last. Let's start our tour with the city hall: It was designed by the Viennese architects Alexander Wielemans von Monteforte and Theodor Reuter and completed in 1893. In the 20th century the main facade was radically simplified.

Sunday Flowers #211

"Flowers are the music of the ground

From earth's lips spoken without sound." - Edwin Curran

Green Door

Green is one of my favourite colours. Therefore I was happy to discover this green door in the 4th district.

The City at Your Feet

When you have reached the panorama terrace on top of the Kahlenberg the city lies at your feet...

View of the Town #14

Tuesday was a public holiday (All Saints' Day) in Austria and as the weather was great, I decided to climb up the 484m "high" Kahlenberg in the northern outskirts. During my walk I enjoyed this beautifiul view of the town. The skyscraper on the right side is the Millennium Tower, the island between the Danube river and the New Danube is the Danube Island where I take my after work bicycle tours during the beautiful season.

A Walk Along the Danube Canal

The other Sunday I took a walk along the Danube Canal. Most of the walls on the banks of the canal are legal graffiti walls where the sprayers can go wild without fear of breaking the law.

November Theme Day: Out of Focus

It's not my photograph that's out of focus but the painting itself that I discovered during  a recent walk along the Danube Canal.
Click here to view thumbnails of all participants in the theme day.