Heart of Vienna Reflected

 Vienna, 2011

Reflections of the heart of Vienna, Der Graben, including its most famous landmark Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral) in store hours sign and store windows. [Better seen enlarged.]

Below is a longer view of the pedestrian street with the once exclusive apparel and fine linens store E Braun & Co established in this building (with the tower) in 1893, now the Swedish mid-range fashion chain store H&M.

Linking with reflections seekers at Weekend Reflections.

Auto Reflection

Exploring the city of Vienna on foot last April, I spotted this squeaky clean car offering a funky view of the old buildings on this street. I just like the lines of the building design coupled with the bare trees.

Vienna, 2011

I prefer this scene in monochrome. My honey disagrees; he says the original color photo is almost black and white already and the blue sky adds to the story. Mouse over my image and you can see the color version. What do you think? Don't worry, you are not taking sides in any domestic dispute... this is a friendly discussion. Really... LOL!

Today I link with memes Weekend Reflections, Weekend in Black and White, and Walk in the Street.

Yellow Wheels

Vienna, 2011

Visitors to Vienna can hop on a horse-drawn carriage and get a guided tour around this beautiful historic city. The old-fashioned carriages can be found parked on Stephansplatz I introduced earlier, right beside the famous cathedral.

There are people who oppose the use of horses for this purpose, no matter how well the animals are treated or protected by laws. In New York City, for instance, a bill has been introduced to ban them. 

What is your view on this topic? Is this an issue close to your heart, either way? The newly wedded couple of Britain greeted their well-wishers in a royal carriage. Was that a sweet nod to tradition or just painfully old-fashioned? Or does it matter at all?

These bright yellow wheels join Mellow Yellow Monday.

Crossing a Canal

On foot or by subway... crossing a canal in Vienna.

 Vienna, 2011

For Sunday Bridges.

Anchor Clock

The famous Ankeruhr (Anchor Clock) forms a bridge between two buildings of the Anker Insurance Company located in the oldest square of Vienna, Hoher Market. 

 Vienna, 2011

Franz von Matsch designed this elaborate clock in the Art Nouveau style I introduced here. It was built in 1917 to commemorate twelve famous Austrian personalities, such as Prince Eugen, Empress Maria Theresa, composer Joseph Haydn and others. 

Each hour, one of the figures moves across the bridge. If you enlarge the image, you can better see that I took the photo at about 17:40, but I can't tell you who this figure represents. At noon, the historical figures are all displayed together; I missed that show.

Linking to the community fascinated by bridges at Sunday Bridges.

B is for Busker

Stephansplatz (St Stephen's Square) is called the heart and soul of Vienna. The cathedral is the key historical landmark, and an imposing one it is. 

Yet for me it's the various street entertainers there who put the smile on my face. I  admire the courage of these buskers in displaying their talents to earn a living only from the generosity of appreciative audiences.

 

Vienna, 2011

B is the letter of the week at Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday and I link to the players with these buskers.

[MyWorld] Schönbrunn Palace

Some people can escape the hot city life in summer to a small cabin by the lake (just saying). Other people go to a summer residence on a massive acreage. Like the 1400-room Schönbrunn Palace in Austria. But you'd have to be royalty.

 

 Vienna, 2011

 

Between the palace and Neptune Fountain are 32 statues of deities and virtues. And behind the fountain, still farther up on the hill, is a rather useless structure, in my opinion, called Gloriette, designed and built to glorify Habsburg power. Today it is a café serving the throngs of locals and tourists ambling the grounds.

Looking back down from the fountain you get a better picture of the size of this palace. Contrast it to the buildings in the city behind it.

The history of this imperial summer residence goes back to 1569. It holds various  styles of large gardens, an arboretum and a forest that was used as a hunting ground.  But the only animals I saw wouldn't be of much interest to hunters. Oh, and there is a children's zoo that I did not enter.

Call me crazy, but given a choice (and I've been told I do have a few drops of blue blood in my veins), I'd take the cabin. The trappings associated with this life are much too restrictive for my tastes.

And this was part of my world this week, so I am linked with MyWorld Tuesday where many others share a peek into their corner of the world.

Vienna Bridges over Danube

According to this list, there are 20 bridges crossing the Danube in  the city limits of Vienna alone. Did I catch half of them in this shot I took this evening from Kahlenberg minutes before the sun said goodbye for the day?

This, of course, is for Louis' Sunday Bridges.

Happy Easter Sunday to those who celebrate!

Café de l'Europe Reflections

It's time for Weekend Reflections... and here is what I found in Vienna for James and our community of reflection hunters. 

Sitting on a terrace on a warm day to sip espresso and watch the world go by is as normal to the Viennese as it is to Parisians. Café de l'Europe on Graben, the most famous street in Vienna's city center, is enclosed in glass... giving me a wonderful reflection of the sun shining on the buildings behind, including  a spiral and the north tower of Vienna's landmark, Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral), on the right.

And a slightly longer view so you can see a bit more of the setting.

Vienna, 2011

As usual, image details are better seen when clicked to enlarge.

A is for Austrian Art Nouveau Architecture

You don't need to be an architecture buff to appreciate the work of the artistically avant-garde movement that appeared in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. The Art Nouveau movement followers subscribed to the principle that the essence of aesthetics should be sought in nature rather than ancient Classicist renditions.

In Austria, the movement of painters, sculptors and architects was established in 1897 and was first lead by the now famous artist Gustav Klimt. They were called the Vienna Secession.

Among the eminent architects of this movement was Otto Wagner. These are a few of the key buildings in Vienna he designed. As usual, photos can be enlarged.

The Austrian Postal Savings Bank, c.1906. The plain marble and granite exterior is embellished with aluminum ornamentation.  Wagner designed the inside, too.

 Vienna, 2011

The Karlsplatz Stadbahn Station (city train station), c.1899, steel framework and marble with stylized Hydrangea.

Wagner Haus, a white plastered façade with golden stucco elements (didn't find the year it was built, but probably 1898-99).

And right next to it, the Majolica House, c.1899, named after the flowered tile which covers the façade.

Both these buildings were considered "hideous beyond measure" at the time they were built. What do you think?

The Secession building - designed by architect Joseph Maria Olbrich, co-founder of the Vienna Secession - is considered by some the icon of the movement. Above its entrance was carved the phrase "to every age its art and to art its freedom".  The portal was designed by Klimt and the owls detail on the side of the building by artist Koloman Moser.

A is the letter of the week at Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday. And Art Nouveau is what I searched for on my walk through Vienna today. My walk was long, and so is my post. Does Art Nouveau appeal to you?

Reflection in a Konditorei

Vienna, 2003

This is the mirror in the Demel Konditorei. This rococo style bakery and pastry shop was Royal Patisserie to the Emperors of Austria a couple of centuries ago. Now it's merely the most famous and expensive shop of its kind in Vienna. But they still make everything from scratch and by hand - no machines in this kitchen.

Perhaps it is therefore tantamount to sacrilege for me to say that I did not enjoy my cake. Oops!

And in case you're curious, this is a(n unimpressive) view of the pastry shelf.

Posting this for James' Weekend Reflections.

Fixing the Fresco

While visiting my brother living near Vienna a few years ago, we explored one of the more important - and in my view impressive, in a city full of impressive - landmarks: the Karlskirche (St. Charles’ Church). This eclectic baroque white church with Trojan column replicas was built by Emperor Karl VI between 1715 and 1737 to honor the patron saint Karl (Charles/Carlo) Borromeo in thanks for deliverance from the plague of 1713.

Vienna, 2006

The grandiose verdigris green cupola is 72 meter (236 ft) high and contains 1,256 square meters (13,520 ft²) of fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr (pardon the wire).

The interior of the church had a soft and warm inviting glow.

Many cupids in this church.

It just so happened that the fresco in the dome was being restored, a fairly large undertaking, but rather than keep visitors out, they were well accommodated. There were stairs one could climb, but this time we wimped out and took the elevator up.

Had this not been a Sunday, we might have seen the restoration in process. It was a joy to get up close to the magnificent fresco.

We walked down.

This was certainly a very mellow way to spend a few hours and there's much yellow here to enjoy, and so I post this for Mellow Yellow Monday. Click the link for many more links to takes on the YELLOW theme.