Communicating

Hello!

Weekends are always welcome for an afternoon at the museum. The Belvedere museum is located in Vienna's 3rd district, situated in Baroque palaces. The two palaces (Upper & Lower Belvedere) and the garden are listed as a UNSECO World Heritage Site.

Challenging barrier-free exhibition design as seen at the exhibition "Aging Pride"

Not all cafeterias at museums offer vegan dishes. That's why I always bring a snack.

And bottled water. A must.

Exhibit at "Aging Pride" by Brigitte Kowanz

Exhibit at "Aging Pride" by Brigitte Kowanz

The route along the exhibition leads visitors from standard white rooms, film projections rooms and black corners (see above) straight into a Baroque garden room.

Not what I expected. Warm sunlight on a late afternoon, early March

The source of the shadow on the wall

The atmosphere in the hall was just beautiful. I stayed a little longer.

Not every visitor shared the experience.

Time to explore the garden. The unfamiliar location* got me into "exploration-mode".
* Schönbrunn garden is my homebase

More people focussing on their screens. What might be more interesting than this view?

Typical garden bench and best blue sky in ages and unusual plant designs in the background

The design. Hm. Ok. I don't get it.

Great tit solo, accompanied by a lute.

Timeless branches. Some sights never change.

The hazy light reminded me of winter afternoons 20, 30 years ago. Not a lot has chanced.

A crow taking off. The enormous wall in the background called for my attention.

What a wall! Exterior wall of an adjacent building.

Built history. Excellent!

As always, I did not take any pictures with my phone.

My phone receives calls, dials numbers, receives and sends texts.

"Please, this is 2018. Really. Now. Go and get youself a Smartphone ! !"

In case we've met before, you probably know my answer. My rejection is not coquetry. It's an opinion I've built over time, based upon 

# my responsibility I know about the production conditions. Plus the lack of sustainabiliy. My current phone is a keeper.

# the effects The people I see on my way to work, in the street, in shops, at museums etc live under the influence. I love to communicate. Still, I take the liberty to live with a phone, a camera and an outdated agenda.

The agenda is coming to an end.

New edition is in the starting blocks. One word love: Handwriting!

Unfortunately my outdated lifestyle excludes me numerous instant communication channels. This blog is one way to stay in touch with dear family and friends. Wait. A blog? Seriously? I know. It's 2018 ...

OK. Lets end this with this outlook: We still have the call.

Thank you for being patient and staying in touch!
Paula

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.

Hundertwasser-Krawina-Haus, formerly known as Hundertwasserhaus

Hello!

You've probably heard about Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The I knew there is the "Hundertwasser-Krawina-Haus" in Vienna, an apartment building in the 3rd district nearby the city centre and that Hundertwasser is a well known global bran, but I had no idea, how important his heritage is to tourists and what a major tourist attraction the Hundertwasser-Krawina-House actually is.

Hundertwasser-Krawina House in the back, tourists taking photos of the "Villlage" ...

The "Hundertwasser Village" is everything tourists look for ... and it's nothing like Vienna.

One Mozart is never enough ;-)

The scenery inside the Village reminds me of a mall in Odaiba, Tokyo, where everything is artificial. Even the (day) light. Motorway service areas look similar.

I had an appointment nearby, it was early in the morning, before opening hours of most of the museums in Vienna. The scenery was interesting: it was really crowded, but very quiet at the same time. I was surprised how disciplined the groups behaved. The atmosphere was almost calm and all the kiosks around the Hundertwasser-Krawina-House reminded me of the corners close to the Vatican museums in Rome. 

Groups everywhere

A pleasant autumn morning in Vienna's 3rd district

Basic needs

In the 1980's, when the tourist attraction opened, busses drove through the narrow streets. Today the busses are banned and halt nearby. The neighbours in the residential area say "thank you far walking a few metres".

A Klimt is never far ...

September has been a golden month with warm days and mild nights.

Lets see, what October has to offer. Loden weather ahead. :-)


xo
Paula