Postcards from... Vienna (Austria)

April 29, 2017 • 3 Comments

Spending a couple days in Vienna for work this week, I managed to take a bit of time to walk around and discover…

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The city is literally dominated by its historical buildings, and in particular the 12^th century Saint Stephen’s cathedral.

Unsurprisingly, the view from its towers are breathtaking…

…and the 343 steep spiral stone steps of the North tower take a toll, literally knocking the breath out of even the youngest visitors…

The interior is quite grandiose as well. At the moment (April 2017), the cathedral hosts an art project by Victoria Coeln.

The effect is striking, both visually and symbolically, especially in the current global political climate… I find the notions of veiling historic Christian icons and of using survival blankets to do it both highly provocative and somewhat fitting the present times.

A bit further out, even ducks go for a stroll to enjoy the warm Spring evening…

… and I’m not the only visitor into photography.

The Viennese monumental architecture can be a bit intimidating…

And occasionally even violent.

Even though some locals may appear guarded…

… most are friendly ….

… and you’ll find some on the wild side as well, even right next to the palaces ….

… or on the banks of the not-so-blue Danube canals.

Might the gentle inner soul of the city be expressed by its traffic lights?

Signs of past tales abound. The Viennese Bailisk can be seen in many places. Half frog half rooster, and so ugly just looking at the beast would kill you. A clever baker reportedly eventually slayed him with… a mirror, enabling him to rescue the maiden…

In a blink, you can feel transported into a bygone era…

… in which doing maintenance on your engine had a whole different meaning …

…. But times have changed, and so have rides!

Projecting ourselves further forward makes for interesting contrasts😊

Incidentally, “brand safety” issues are not exclusively online: one could question the desirability of Samsung’s outdoor placement on Vienna’s Votive Church:

Not all Viennese architecture is austere. If you look hard enough, you can find Gaudi-esque creative expressions, like the “nature and human-friendly” Hundertwasserhaus.

Hey, it’s even dog friendly.

5am, Vienna wakes up after a freezing cold, rainy night, and I must run to catch my flight home….

At the airport, I am clearly not the only one finding the early rise rather brutal…

You liked this? Give me feedback in the comments, and check out my other "postcard" series from my travels around the world!

Thank you for reading,

Didier.

Keywords: english, travel

Comments

Alison Browning

Fabulous. You really captured the soul and atmosphere of the city and its people. I felt transported there, as though I was also sharing those intimate moments of connection with Vienna, its history and current vibe. Bravo!

Kriti(non-registered)

Wow Didier! We always used to talk about finding the story behind the numbers... and here you've knit such a beautiful story around your photographs too!

biancamaria(non-registered)

Bravo Didier, vraiment aimé ta carte postalede Vienna!

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Postcards from... Vienna (Austria)

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