The signs of modernity – literally and figuratively – often smother the old, as if progress is always better. Or maybe progress is just ill defined…? In the photo above, I definitely prefer the old: This corner building, with its … Continue reading
This shop drew me in, step by step with curiosity: its old, sombre green façade packed with large windows; a slanted roof reaching up; a large clock below it with golden hands, ticking to its own time; another clock reaching … Continue reading
While I’ve heard, and sung, the Christmas carol about roasting chestnuts, until I came to Vienna I never knew that people still actually roast them! I never had a chestnut before, and my first exposure was at one of Vienna’s … Continue reading
There are so many things I miss when I am away from Vienna – which I am at present – such as the architecture, music, culture, art, dancing, cafés, shopping, walking, streetcars, people… I could go on! One of the … Continue reading
They’re often not thought of past walking through, or pausing in front of whilst searching for the keys, but here we give attention to another of the city’s subtle celebrations of detail, or “the functional aesthetics of unnecessity”. Whether waiting to … Continue reading
When I walk down my street here in Vienna, it is not unusual at all to hear classical music being played, performed or practised—the music flows out of the open windows as if composing their own gentle breezes to be … Continue reading
Performer and filmmaker Tav Falco has described Vienna as both “merry” and “sinister”—this face in the photo appears to be more on the sinister side. He does have an animatedly lurking quality to him, although endearingly so. Viennese architects and … Continue reading
It was in my first German class that I first heard of Liebe Augustin, or “Dear Augustin”, when our teacher had us learn to sing the famous Viennese folk song that bears his name. The legend of Liebe Augustin goes … Continue reading
Well, I had Mexico on my mind at the time, but I was really in Vienna on the way to visit some of Mexico’s fine gastronomic ambassadors… It does seems that one can go on a walk to anywhere in … Continue reading
With my undying love for curry, if I lived above this restaurant I think I would be hungry all day. The scent of Indian spices carried down the street, luring me to this place with its inviting entrance and the expresive … Continue reading
It really is a great feeling to eat a meal using food you have grown: planting the seeds, watering, tending, watching and waiting… Then picking it at the right time and savoring every fresh bite of it. Unfortunately since I’ve … Continue reading
The rounded-out sculpture adorns the Baroque and Biedermeier-styled “St. Leonhard House” (Haus zum heilige Leonhard), in honour of St. Leonard of Noblac, patron saint of prisoners. Leonard, a French nobleman who entered the monastery, was known for securing the release … Continue reading
The dimly lit façade, above and below, of the “Hildebrandthaus” is intriguingly morose in a stimulating way, dating to 1721. The building it fronts dates even further back to the 16th century. I probably would’ve stopped there, except I was … Continue reading
This entrance seems to have been worn and weathered for a while, but it only adds to its delicate charms: The Art Nouveau door framed by historicist elements, the darkness of the windows contrasting the pale colors, and the long … Continue reading
One good place in the city to smell the flowers, get some sun, sit out in the shade or lie on the grass letting a fountain spritz you with water is the Weghuber Park (Weghuberpark), alongside the Trautson Palace (Palais Trautson). … Continue reading
