June 2018 – A Photo a Day

Based on a promise to ‘Pay Attention‘, this is one of six blogs with the good intention is to publish a photo a day of my six month adventure in Vienna with a caption and thoughts on the image. Note that the publication date and the date when the photos were taken are not the same. Enjoy my (manly) scrap-book for future memories… take that future dementia!  June I plan to have a few themes which will be: recreation in Vienna, a bit of military history and a few bridges (someone wants some bridges for their painting classes).

PS… Be patient and wait for the pictures load.  Also because June is a thematic month, it is best to view the images from the bottom to the top.

June 24-30: For these days I plan to post photos of either Viennese Stolperstein (my blog on the same topic) or other monuments from the period of occupation by the National Socialists in Austria.  While it is a risk to engage in ‘war pornography’ my intent is to show this period of Viennese history that is still raw and felt to today and to also give the individuals listed on the stone a chance to have their names spoken again.  To this end, was you are reading the names, consider saying the names out loud.

June 30: Anna, Josefine, Helene, Margarete, Max, Emma.

Anna, Josefine, Helene, Margarete, Max, Emma.

June 29: Szhul, Martha, Jakob, Erna, Rosa, Josef, Malvine.

Szhul, Martha, Jakob, Erna, Rosa, Josef, Malvine.

June 28: David, Marja, Therese, Theodor, Hilda, Leib, Paula, Kitty.

David, Marja, Therese, Theodor, Hilda, Leib, Paula, Kitty

June 27:Leopold, Martha, Nute, Aaron, Hersch, Malka, Mirjam, Mordechai, Rosa, Gitta, Sali.

Leopold, Martha, Nute, Aaron, Hersch, Malka, Mirjam, Mordechai, Rosa, Gitta, Sali

June 26: Elsa, Nehnrich, Elise, Dorthea, Gisela, Leo, Bronis, Norma, Leopold, Elga, Berta, Fritz, Wilhelm, Zidda, Johanna, Malvine.

Elsa, Nehnrich, Elise, Dorthea, Gisela, Leo, Bronis, Norma, Leopold, Elga, Berta, Fritz, Wilhelm, Zidda, Johanna, Malvine.

June 25: The standards used to establish a traditional Stoplerstein which appear to be largely used by the Vienna association.

Stolperstein: Erich, Gisela, Freida, Arthur; Emil, Simon, Luise and Bernard.

June 24:Three local monuments or plaques in Vienna.  The bottom left to the Gestapo headquarters and top left a series on a local government building describing the 369 weeks Austria was held under National Socialist occupation.  The Stolperstein are for Erna, Chaje, Gittel.

Erna, Chaje, Gittel

June 23: A chimney sweep off to eternal work against a bright blue Vienna Sky.

Chimney sweep off to work.

June 22: More building murals and public art.  This time a mosaic on the right and a flat sculpture on the left.  If you notice the left photo, two things of note.  Firstly the year of commissioning, 1960, and secondly the green plaque next to the door.  This plaque indicates that the former house that stood here was destroyed and replaced by the current building.

Two different type of art murals in Vienna.

June 21: At the corner of Burggasse and Neubaugasse, two public art knights do eternal battle over a hardware store.

Knights locked in eternal battle over a hardware store.

June 20: an inner courtyard near ‘my’ bicycle shop.  The greenery are grape vines and courtyard provides a welcome relief from the summer heat.

An early morning shopper entering the cool of an inner court yard.

June 19: Most street art although this time of a more commercial variety.  Nevertheless I like the shot as there are a few ‘easter-eggs’ to look for in it…

Public art on an office building… with a few Easter eggs.

June 18: A great street scene with lots going on.  Firstly the street tram (long since disappeared from most North American cities), a bit of graffitti, an open window for the muggy Vienna day and the mix of commercial and residential in one spot.

Urban Street Scene – Vienna

June 17: What better way to show off my Father’s Day Gift from my son (the Canadian Flag at the back of the bike with the name ‘Frank’) than to do it next to a statute of a 24,000 old female fertility figurine!

Venus of Willendorf

June 16:The Anker Clock in the inner city.  Built as a piece of public art on a passage (aka pedway) between two buildings of the Anker Insurance company in 1912-14.

Anker Clock with the hours it plays listed on a placard below (inset to the left)

June 15:Looking down through a car park into a central courtyard likely shared by a few buildings.  The advantage is that this creates a cool core for the buildings and an oasis for the tenants so as to leave their hot apartments for a few hours.

A shaded refuge for the 30C summer heat.

June 14: Another cycling journey this time on the Marchfeld Canal.  An agricultural canal that brings water into the plain north and east of Vienna.

Feral Cherry Picking on the Marchfeld Canal

June 13: If you are a cyclist and you find yourself in Austria, the must ride tour is the 40km route from Melk to Krems.  A small glimpse of the excellent services and scenery to expect.

Melk to Krems cycling route.

June 12: Okay, the last one I promise of the Weißenkirchen in der Wachau but this one a bit closer to the nose in question.

The giant a (FPÖ’s) nose.

June 11: Looking North towards Weißenkirchen in der Wachau and the opposite to the picture below.  You can just see the eye in the bottom left side of the picture to the left of the ferry jetty.

Looking North to Weißenkirchen in der Wachau.

June 10: Look are looking through an piece of art shaped as an eye on the north side of the Danube near Weißenkirchen in der Wachau looking south to a giant (FPÖ’s) Nose on the opposite bank.

An eye on a nose on the opposite bank of the river Danube.

June 9: Think of Austria and your probably think of the Alps, skiing and mountains.  Vienna in this respect is apart from much of the rest of Austria in that it sits on a flat plain carved out from the Danube and past glaciers.  The following photo is taken from the Jubiläumswarte or Harzberg tower. The insert photo is looking approximately NE towards south Vienna and Danube.  For a better perspective, view the tower relative to Vienna and the Danube in Google Earth.

The Danube Valley south of Vienna.

June 8: The Alser Street Station (U-bahn).  Built in 1898 for a steam train system it now services the U-Bahn.

Alser Strasse Station.

June 7: Two vignettes of a quiet moment in the Pötzleinsdorfer Schlosspark.  If you look in the background of the first photo you will see one of the quartet of statues that survived an 1874 fire in the Vienna Ringtheater.

June 6: A wonderful albeit classical piece of building art.  I was trying to discern the nationalities of the horsemen, as they look classical=Greek.  Unfortunately no explanation near the wall art.

Unknown warriors off to battle?

June 5: This was on the top ~6th floor, a small garden oasis taking advantage of a sunny southern exposure.

A sunny balcony oasis.

June 4: I admit it, I have a soft spot for secret corridors and inner court yards.  In this one a series of bistros, well light and very secluded and quiet.

Weissgerberber Stube, Sünnhof Landstraßer Hauptstraße 28

June 3: This is a montage of recreation along the Danube.  The background is taken upstream of Vienna while the two foreground pictures on an old arm of the Danube now residential and used for recreation.  In one picture I managed to get: swimming, cycling, paddle boarding, kayaking, relaxing, sun tanning, and a place for picnic – how is that for value for money!

Recreation on the Danube.

June 2: This is the aged gate in front of the Josephinum; Collections of the Medical University of Vienna.  I will need to go and visit this museum in the fall when I am looking for a place to escape an Austrian winter.  In the meantime, I have enjoyed walking by the neo-classic building and the long since dis-used gates and fence that once protected it.

A long dis-used gate protecting the Josephinum.

June 1: Really, old shoes, is that how you want to start June off?  Actually it is.  The pair on the right I brought to Vienna and figured they would last until I got back home.  The pair on the left I had to buy here.  According to the trusty Fitbit I have put on 1,151,950 steps since mid-March.  In context I target a minimum of 4 million steps per year so in about 1/5 of a year I managed to put on more than 1/4 of the steps.  Not bad.

The first casualty of Vienna… the old shoes on the right.

Leave a comment