You only see what you know (Goethe)
Architecture buffs will indentify three different eras in this photo. In the foreground, you see the decoration of a park near the Augarten porcelain manufacture. In the background, you recognize an air defence tower of World War II and the chimney of a garbage incineration plant designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Tonight I am a guest at the Hotel am Konzerthaus invited by 50plus Hotels Österreich. The hotel is very special, it is decorated in the style of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) and all rooms are filled with reproductions of that period. So I got inspired to have a small walk through Vienna visiting some venues showing works by Klimt.
The bronze sculpture ‘Hill Arches’ was designed by Henry Moore in 1973. It stands in a water basin in front of the Baroque Karlskirche in Vienna. Some criticize the contrast between classical and modern. Me, I enjoy the artfully curved lines in both works. [German]
In Austria, many trains have unique names. Today I came across an interesting one: Chris Lohner. She is that lady whose voice one can hear at the recorded announcements of the railway stations and on the Railjets.
Do you know this phenomenon: You can only spot things you know they are around you – If you don’t know their existence you’ll overlook them. After many years leaving my train at railway station Meidling the sound of church bells made me aware there is a church next to me. Well, do you see the church?
An unusual view of the Austrian parliament taken from a rooftop café at the 25hours Hotel in Vienna. The church (Minoritenkirche) in the middle of the photo houses an amazing mosaic: A replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’.
In the station of Volkstheater, you find a 360 m² glass mosaic providing the passengers with a dose of public art. It was made to designs by the artist Anton Lehmden in 1991. He is considered a member of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. [German]
Sometimes you see Hungarian trains driving through the East of the Austrian rail network. For example, this diesel railcar numbered GySEV 247 509 is about to leave the Meidling station in Vienna.
As a fan of the movie “The Third Man”, you may like the Burg Kino in Vienna. This cinema still performs this classic movie on a regular base. By the way, Vienna even offers a Third Man Museum telling about life in Vienna in those years the movie is playing.
This sundial you can see at the Amalienburg in Vienna. The Amalienburg is a wing of the Hofburg area and is named after Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
At the gallery Westlicht I visited a retrospective with works of the American photographer Ascher (Usher) Fellig better known as Weegee.
Today, I visited an exhibition named ‘Architecture for Place’ about the Australian architect Glenn Murcutt at the AZW. I was very impressed by his work. I spent two hours clicking through Powerpoint presentations telling me details about the buildings he has planned.