Private matters

Hello dear reader, 

 

This is likely to become a series, since I have come along various private matters recently. 

 

October has been golden and the  city never ceases to surprise me. 

 

 

This housing project caught my eye. It is located in the far East of the city where the City of Vienna ends and Lower Austria begins.   

 

The project has been built 1997-1999. 

 

A boulevard cuts through the neighbourhood. The front doors are decorated.

 

Some of the building lots were originally equipped with concrete walls high enough to provide privacy.

Architects hope for lively neighbourhoods when they leave out the concrete walls. They do communicatie, not quite they way intended ...

The metal fence depicts where the original intention (waist-high) fell short of reality.

I like the way the residents communicate from a design point of view.

 

 

The main reason for all the fencing is the need for privacy. But the fences also show the need for originality. More or less.

 

 In 2021 the look across the road offers vastness, fields. The future will tell ...

Speaking of vast fields: these fields are meant to last. Which was by no means sure at all 8 years ago! 

 

I like to dedicate this posting to Christine. 

Christine is a blogger who lives in London. Her blog is interesting, precious and enjoyable. We share our love for the small things in life. I want to gice something back in return, starting with today's posting. :-)

Have a cozy weekend!

Paula

Strolling Around the City Centre

Hello!

What looks like a memory of my student years: Michaelerplatz in the early morning hours after a night out is actually a weekday evening, around 7pm.

This can't be. 

Michaelerplatz. Definitely surreal. Those post apocalyptic movies where ... surprisingly accurate.

Michalerplatz shoud be crowded, people heading home, tourists enjoying the last sunbeams, happy crowds. Happy, because they made it here before the hundreds and thousands of Easter tourists from all over the world arrive in Vienna. Around 7pm shops would be closing their doors - until the next morning. You who has visited the City of Vienna before know the lively heartbeat of the city centre.

The orange paper bag marks shopping with style: Meinl am Graben is a posh supermarket where posh people buy their groeries during the lockdown in Vienna.

Lichtensteg, next to Lugeck.

The bright screen is what is left for the moment: ice cream parlor "Zanoni" at Lugeck

The "Schwarzes Kameel" to the left has endured pest & cholera. It will outlive this lockdown fo sure. The Schwares Kameel dates back to 1618.

Not sure what YSL feared then they cleared the shelves? Broken glass? Dust?

Louis Vuitton (to the left) also cleared the shelves. But the left the lights on.

Wow. What a beauty. The "bazaar" inside the Palais Ferstel at the Freyung.

The impressive Schottenkirche at the Freyung.

At last, some normalcy! Olafur Eliasson's Yellow Fog at Am Hof. Well, it turned cherry blossom pink. I don't mind at all.

PRADA comes with a glimpse of normalcy, too. Offering window shopping at nighttime, including calming blossoms.

Good news: Spring is happening. And it's just beautiful.
Paula

Living Room

Hello!

So we have come to terms with this endless winter. How to spend an entertaining afternoon - or evening - away from your sofa when the park benches are covered with snow?

Good to know Vienna holds plenty of decent answers, such as a traditional Viennese Café:

Café Prückel in Vienna

This old fashioned Café is a place where you can easily spend 2 hours, maybe 3 or even 4 hours with good company. Is it already listed on the UNSECO Intangible Heritage list, such as Pizza? 

Fair prices on the menu encourage consumption. Not to forget vegan options that go beyond french fries and bread rolls, a real kitchen with actual home made dishes and pastries.

Such traditional Cafés can not be taken for granted in times where truly disappointing options pop up every other week, targeting at tourists with convenience food for $$$. 

An oldfashioned Café is a good location for any late afternoon

Why not remain in the time travel mode and see "The Shape of Water" on the big screen?

By big, I mean really big! Mr Paula suggested the Gartenbau Kino for this particular movie and he was right!

This movie theatre opened around the time where "The Shape of Water" is set. The scenes up on the screen mirrored the design of the movie theatre. It was 100% perfect, just like an excetion of the setting we found ourselves in.

The barriere-free stair lift is a recent adaption.

Interiors from the 1960's

Picure me, admiring the beautiful setting

The big screen at the Gartenbau movie theatre

But sometimes the best living room is the one that welcomes you in your pyjamas. 

I can spot a connection to the 1960's setting at the Gartenbau.

Once again, stay warm!
Paula

PS:
I changed the image settings from "Lightbox" to "clickable", so you can enlarge the images if you want to.
Good idea? Not so good, because you prefer to just swipe through the gallery? Let me know!

Venice Travel Diary Part 4: Taking Your Time

Hello again!

today I'd like to take you back to our first day in Venice, when we started our Venice experience at the Palazzo Santa Sofia, better known as "Ca' d'Oro", facing the Canale Grande.

The lion at Ca' d'Oro is not too fond of the waterbuses, moving thousands of tourists and a few locals through the canal.

You can tell I have been travelling with company. This trip comes with a lot of "Making of"-shots. Some of them ... staged. aheem. ;-)

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! The palazzo is right at the Vaporetto stop Ca' d'Oro.

The terrace with the scenic views are a tourist attraction at the palazzo, but it would be a pitty if you missed the inner yard at Ca' d'Oro which dates back to 1430! Almost 600 years ... *sigh* Reading how old this place is, moves me to tears. As does the sight of the Palazzo Ducale in the morning sun. There is something about these pure old places ... I find them very, very touching. 

Detail at the inner yard at Ca' d'Oro

Me, uplifted after the visit at Ca' d'Oro

Such a typical sight. We obviously did not visit Venice during off-season.

"Do not disturb", aka Paula is taking a picture

A very rare moment of zen in a calle (calle=alleyway)

I was sooo uplifted, I even enjoyed the sight of waste in the San Marco basin. Well, those green, yellow, red and brown leaves and cedar needles DID look nice. I missed the plastic.

The famous spot in front of the Punta della Dogana at the Fondamenta Salute (fondamenta = path along a canal) in the late afternoon sunlight. Me, queueing up for the scenic shot with no one in the photo except for me. Mood: relaxed

The crowds at the Fondamenta Zattere, close to the Punta della Dogana were not that bad. But it was so quite warm in the bright sunlight, so we decided to take a waterbus and cross over the San Marco basin and pay Giudecca, an island in the south ot the basin a visit, where the Fondamenta is facing north.

Old structures at the Giuletta, vis a vis the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice (not pictured)

Italy in Venice: Campo S. Gerardo/Giudecca in bright sunlight, later in the day, late October

Doing what locals do: resting on a bench, still at Campo S.Gerardo/Giudecca

View towards the cruise ship terminal with a private yacht in front. Not any yacht, but Heidi Horten's Carinthia VII

Looking at the Università Iuav di Venezia (architecture school)

Locals love plants. One pot is never enough. :-)

Remote calmness around the corner

Fondamenta Zatere just one stop away #waterbuslove (panorama: Mr Paula)

Now that I have completed this posting, I see that the first day turned into a veritable "whereabouts: Venice". Now I see why I enjoyed the day so much.