Wednesday 6 April 2011

An Enchanted Evening
in Vienna's Josefstadt


School of the Piarists
It is through this portal - leading up from
the square in front of the church of Maria Treu -
that the eldest son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
must have stepped through many times
when he went to school here in the 1790s.
Every time I walk by
I imagine Wolfgang Amadeus waiting
by those steps to pick up his son.
So far,
I have missed him,
but who knows,
one fine day ...
I keep on looking

Maria Treu Church Square
To the left, again the school entrance,
under the old chestnut trees to the right,
the outdoor tables of two restaurants
beckon to sit down and enjoy
the feeling of being transported
to some southern land -
one of those magical places in Vienna
where you turn a corner and suddenly
are not sure anymore whether you
are now in Italy.
That feeling still takes me
by surprise, its intensity
something I'll never get used to.

Beyond the chestnut trees,
a glimpse of the white painted façade
of one of Vienna's most beautiful Baroque churches,
the Piarist Church of Maria Treu,
while under the trees
restaurant patrons enjoy
among other delicacies,
what is in my opinion Vienna's
best pizza, an authentic Italian one
from the wood fired pizza oven
of Sestante restaurant

Lingering a bit more
in the evening light,
over an espresso un caffè,
brewed from coffee beans roasted in Venice,

the shadows
slowly encroaching on the church square,
the waning Golden Hour
painting the sky in the bluest blue,
before ceding to the Blue Hour
and then night falls,
in Vienna

*

Photographed
at Jodok Fink Platz
Josefstadt
8th District
© 2011 by Merisi
Repost


9 comments:

  1. Just a little bit more to the South than Warsaw and it's so much warmer there and greener. Let me know if you see Mozart. I'd love to see him too.

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  2. What a nice place, Merisi. We saw The Marriage of Figaro recently: such a delight. There are some places in Venice also, where there are no tourists and where you can enjoy a peaceful hour.

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  3. Good eye on that stroller on the steps. A little weird.

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  4. Beautiful views, I enjoy them, Merisi!

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  5. Perfect platz for a warm day ... I'll have my pizza with a Trummer Pils - another Salzburger in Vienna.

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  6. So beautifully written...

    I love 8 district. It´s one of the most charming in Vienna! And I will definitely try Sestante! Thank you for the tip ;-)

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  7. Zosia,
    those pictures were taken last August, but we do have summery temperatures right now, 24°C or 75° right now, Friday, shortly after 1PM.


    Simona,
    I am glad Vienna has places like this one,
    such a comfort when Italy starts pulling at my heartstrings. ;-)

    I agree about Venice, it actually takes so little to enjoy it sans tourists.


    Charles Gramlich,
    one certainly would expect something more ... hm .,, like a musical instrument? Oh well, ...... ;-)

    Pietro,
    great, I send greetings towards beautiful Torino (where I have never been, what a shame, and to top that I always think of Nietzsche instead of the beautiful cafes I know are there, among other places I'd love to see one day).

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  8. Andy Nash,
    Trummer, isn't that also the name of the lake near Seekirchen? Wallersee? (I spent my childhood summers with my grandparents in Salzburg, and many lazy days at lakes around there.)

    Svet,
    you are welcome!
    Have un caffe' for me there, please (I am afraid it will be July until I'll find the time to return there, time right now is running through my fingers as I type, and really fast at that).

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  9. GAWD it looks like SPRING there!!
    it's chilly and damp here...
    The lion is still with us.
    Where is the lamb?

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