the urban village

[walk in the streets]
[w/e in b&w]

Viennese duality

Viennese fairy-tale

The Christkindlmarkt in front of the Viennese City-Hall.

white lace, black velvet

Votivkirche, Vienna.

Grinch and the Christkindlmarkt

 Yesterday I took the Grinch to the Christmas Market in front of the Viennese City-hall. I tried to offer the Grinch some Punsch or Glühwein, some Langos or some sweets. No way! Slightly annoyed, the Grinch complained about the high prices, but also about the fact that some of the huts are offering the same products like last year. The wind was also on the list, as well as the cold.

 It was only the snow that saved the day from the Grinch, and the Grinch from himself. With a sigh he admitted that the Advent is a beautiful season.

Faxi? No, fenks!

Who can understand them? They look, they take a picture of me - but no one needs a faxi. Although they all speak about ecology and protecting the environment, they still prefer the cars - the taxis. They say that they feel like exploiting me if they jump into my small vehicle, but how about the poor horses standing not far away from here, begging for some shadow next to the Stephansdom? Don't they feel like they are exploiting them too? At least I am here due to my very own will. Did anybody ask the horses?

yes, this weekend we see the things in black & white only. no room for negotiation.

Faxi = Fahrradtaxi (DE) = bicycle taxi (EN)

it makes me wanna smile

There is a big difference between men and women, they say.
So big, that when one talks about allegedly very important things, the other one hears just blahblahblah after a while.
So big, that the cap of the toothpaste tube can become an apple of discord.
So big, that if one begins to stare into a blank space, the other fears immediately a lack of love.
So big, that sometimes one fights with another for nothing, just because they speak about the same thing, but in a different language.
So big, that it makes me smile.

Show your world!

summer in the city

For those still confused, there have been some signs installed to give directions where to find the summer at its best. Nevertheless, the city itself screams with sun and hot weather. Sweaty tourists carrying bottles of water walk like zombies towards the next museum. The shadow provided by art is very sought-after these days. Picasso must be happy. 

lookin' for the road

A simple story: the road you should walk on is yours to find. No one can point it to you on the map. You have to fight and struggle and cry and scream to find it, and once you've found it, oh, well... just keep it.

At crossroads, decisions don't come easy, but they are better that no decision at all.

My road was long ago already found. Somehow, I chose to lose it. From an unjustified fear, I guess. And now I must chase the dust away from my compass, and even from my old map, and try to find it again. If I could only shake the fear away! I'll get a good hold again on my trusted guiding hand (hold me tight!), I'll accept the fact that some things cannot be changed. But no one can show me the road. I and only I am supposed to sniff the old traces leading me back. With a new mind.

(Don't mind the words, I just had to say it. Even thou I know it makes no sense to you :)... My World is a bit confused right now.)

Drachen Sachen and Other Wondrous Things about Summer

Stories about kites and other flying dragons? What are these people thinking about? I cannot deny that maybe up there, in the wind, the sun burns not so hot. Or that you can take a sip from a cloud somewhere, tasting like some other continent. Who knows what stories these flying things can tell? But, well... you know... I choose to think about more serious and down-to-earth things... like sipping a marvelous ice coffee at one of these bars in MuseumsQuartier...

another day, another crowd

Crowds - one would say - are perfectly homogenous gatherings, where one can get lost and mingled. Mixed too - more like mixed up... It's hard to get a face - especially if they are crowds of tourists, since all their faces are turned to some amazing statue or the like. But then, in all this confusion of hair and caps and hats, some faces show up, a bit bored perhaps, or drowned in boredom. Boredom? In Vienna? don't think so... Maybe just dreaming of another Leberkäsesemmel ;)...

In the sun, at Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria.

All these tourists...

Vienna is packed with tourists. They flock especially downtown, where most of the attractions are. All nationalities of the world come together in a Babel-like chaos. Every here and there a red umbrella shows you not that it's going to rain, but who's the guide of the group. And the locals? Mostly indifferent, already used with the exclamations of the foreigners, they cannot help sometimes to wonder: "Where do all these tourists come from?"...

For B & W Weekend.

savoir vivre a la Viennese

Having a sun bath, reading the newspaper, surfin' the internet, gossiping with your friends or simply sleeping in the grass. You can do that in Vienna and nobody will think you're crazy. They'd probably think that if you don't do it :)).
PS: the guy in the second photo does not have a beer next to him, but a bottle of Hohes C orange juice :))

best place to be

On Friday was really hot. So was on Saturday and Sunday. Today I got soaking wet when a huge rain came down unexpectedly. I felt like these guys in the fountain! But I'm telling you, on Friday I envied them for being in that fountain...

Photographed at Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria. For Watery Wednesday.

Schönheit in Bewegung

Summer in the city. Short skirts and pretty girls. And, of course, the admiring public. That's my world - not only on Tuesday - that's Vienna in the summer.

Belvedere: beautiful views

The beautiful gardens of Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria. For Today's Flowers.

the weekend sounds so good

A lazy summer afternoon. What to do? What to do? Sit back, relax and enjoy the sun. Happy Sunday, everyone!

looking over Bäckerstraße: Old Newspapers

click on the "old newspapers" label below to see the series.

careful: old newspapers

Monochrome weekend again... from the Viennese Genuss festival (the man is slicing prosciutto :) ).

To see the other photos in my "old newspapers" series, please click on the label under this post.

joie de vivre or the Princess of Pumpkin: old newspapers

In Vienna, the Imperial city, Sissi is not the only blue blood royalty walking around...