A Few Of My Favorite Sights

Looking Up
Karlskirche

Karlskirche
St. Charles Bartholomew
Karlsplatz
4th District

Musikverein
Home of the Vienna Philharmonics
View from Karlsplatz

Imperial Stables
Spanish Riding School
Reitschulgasse

Vienna State Opera
Opernring

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I took these pictures
Sunday afternoon,
a splendid spring day
in Vienna

28 March 2010
© by Merisi

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Clicking on the
SkyWatch icon

takes you straight to
Sky Watch Friday Headquarters
from where you can journey on to visit
hundreds of skies around the world!

Yellow and Blue

Construction Site
Kärntner Strasse

Painted Nougat Eggs
L. Heine Confectioner
Kärntner Strasse

Building Cranes
Kärntner Strasse

Photographed
28 March 2010
© by Merisi

Monday

You too?

Toiling
in the vineyards?

Cleaning out
your boat?

All the while dreaming
of going sailing?
That's the way
it is
with Monday's,
right?

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Photographed
40 miles south of Vienna
around Lake Neusiedl
Burgenland
© by Merisi

First Sunday In Spring

Cherry Blossoms
Mariahilf
6th District

Cherry Tree
Mariahilf

Outdoor Café
Hotel Sacher
Philharmonikerstrasse
1st District

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Photographed
28 March 2010
© by Merisi

Painted Skies

Looking Up
Hietzing
13th District
Vienna

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Clicking on the
SkyWatch icon

takes you straight to
Sky Watch Friday Headquarters
from where you can journey on to visit
hundreds of skies around the world!

A Photographer's Prayer

Oh, please, deliver me
from out of focus pictures!
Focusing as the Golden Hour is easing into
the Blue Hour at Yppenplatz
16th District

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Wednesday evening
24 March 2010
© by Merisi

One Last Espresso

One Last Espresso
Closing time at
Demel's
Kohlmarkt 14

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26 March 2010
© by Merisi

Spring It Is!

Viennese Spring
with an Italian touch:
Thanks to Paolo Bortolotti
and his Italian gelato
Mariahilfer Strasse
Vienna

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Photographed
25 March 2010
© 2010 by Merisi
And no, not my gelato:
I asked permission
from the two very kind gentlemen
who were enjoying this treat
in the late afternoon sun

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Gustav Mahler
and spring revelers
added Saturday:
That was the scene in
front of Bortolotti's
on the day I photographed
the gelati bowls above.

Easing Into A Perfect Spring Evening The Viennese Way

Moon in Blue Sky
Nussdorfer Strasse
4:19pm

Blues and Beer
An-Do Café
Yppenplatz
5:26pm

Shop Window
Yppenplatz
5:33pm

Market Halls
Yppenplatz
5:30pm

La Salvia
Yppenplatz
6:38pm

Photographed
24 March 2010
© 2010 by Merisi

Café de Paris in GenevaDrinking Coffee elsewhere

Once upon a time,
at the Café de Paris

Rue du Mont-Blanc 26
1201 Genève
Switzerland

Opening time,
and the first guest
has already settled down with coffee
and the morning paper

Croissants,
under covers,
awaiting their ultimate destiny:
Who said mornings
speak of joyful anticipation?

The waitstaff
has barely arrived
and some patrons are already
lost in an intense card game!

My double espresso
with hot milk on the side:
Never attempt to order a "Viennese Mélange"
when in France or Switzerland!
Never even utter the words "Mélange" + "coffee"
in the same sentence and do not think "Viennese" -
unless you want to have a lengthy conversation
in a language you definitely are not the master of!

How to Order Coffee
I had already had my first lesson
in coffee ordering
a few mountain ranges earlier, in Feldkirch,
one of the westernmost towns of Austria:
There, a Coffee Mélange arrives
in a tall glass looking suspicially like
a classic Italian or Viennese caffè latte.
The waitress - in a small bakery,
at 7 in the morning - was offended
when I tried to explain that
I had not ordered a caffè latte!
Quelle horreur!
!!!Viennese Java Assumptions
are déplacé that far to the West!!!
Imagine if I had asked for café-au-lait,
secretely hoping to get one like
they serve in New Orléans?

Memo to myself:
Trade carefully when speaking of coffee.
Calling that venti latte the wrong way
nowadays could as easily provoke a war
as a defenestration in Prague
in the good old times!

Café de Paris
Genève

Photographed
in the early morning of
13 March 2010
© 2010 by Merisi

Dreaming of France

The Colours
of Lyon
in the early morning hours

Shades of Red
from Burgundy

to Purple
from Phoenician Shores

A carousel
in slumber still,
dreaming of
the merry rounds
the day will bring

12 March 2010
France

© 2010 by Merisi

Viennese Escapes:Going West Over The Mountains

Arlberg Pass
The Arlberg mountain range
divides the Austrian states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg,
and if you want to drive from Innsbruck to Switzerland,
you'll have to cross these mountains at some point.

The 14km long Arlberg Road Tunnel
is the way to go if you need to journey the fastest route,
while the slower old pass road -
with an elevation of 1,793 m (5,883 ft) -
offers the traveler gorgeous views
of valley and of mountain peaks.
It was late afternoon by the time I reached
the pass, the sun was obscured by dense fog.

I reached the small town
of Feldkirch in Vorarlberg -
close to the Swiss border -
as the sun was setting behind the mountains.
I took this picture at a gallery
around the corner from my hotel.
I liked how the reflections of treetops
played with the tree-lined road
in the painting, teasing the eye.

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Photographed
at the Arlberg Pass
and Feldkirch
10 March 2010
© 2010 by Merisi

Affinities

Tulips
on top of the cake vetrine at
Café Prückel
Vienna
Late afternoon of
16 March 2010
Vienna
Austria

My First French Breakfast
Early Morning in a small café
12 March 2010
Lyon
France

At First Light
Crossing a foot bridge
and looking at reflections
in the water
Sunday morning
14 March 2010
Venice
Italy

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Images
© 2010 by Merisi