Friday 5 October 2007

Reflections


Victoria Textile Design
Corner of Berggasse 21/Porzellangasse

This is one of my favorite fabric shops
here in Vienna.
Their motto, "The Art of Textile",
emanates from every arrangement,
each corner of the store.
The window decorations and the store's interior design
create such a wonderfully charming
and mesmerizing atmosphere,
you desperately want to be a fairy tale princess
and buy it all to finally decorate your palace in style.

Looking through the open door,
the sight of the fabric bolts leaning just beyond the threshold,
the giant vase filled with the most beautiful flower arrangement,
the chandeliers hanging from the stuccoed ceiling,
all make you stop, breath slower,
forget whatever you were supposed to do,
because a soporific spell pulls towards the door
and, as if hynotisized,
you step in.

If only you had known
that Dr. Freud practices next door,
at Bergstrasse 19
!

Augarten Manufaktur
Stock-im-Eisen-Platz

No circus in town
and yet, the elephants are loose
within sight of St. Stephan's cathedral!

Tiffany
Kohlmarkt

A closer look
reveals a reflection:
Somebody almost kneeling,
trying not to keel over
(been there, done that
twice already
).

Framer's Shop
Teinfaltstrasse

Teinfaltstrasse runs from Löwelstrasse
to Herrengasse and beyond.

This is the sober,
straightforward description.
I approach this street differently:
Leaving the Volksgarten's Rosengarten through the
Burgtheater exit, you turn right,
walk past the prosaic looking gas pump
to your right,
cast a glance at the "Bühneneingang" of the
Burgtheater to your left
(don't be tempted, we will visit
the wonderful world of theater
hidden behind
at another time),
and you will find Teinfaltstrasse
with it's many hidden beauties
to your right.

You cannot find Teinfaltstrasse
in your tourist guide?
Stay tuned,
this framer's shop is only one
of the many treasures that this street
reveals to those who
walk with open eyes.

Palais Porcia
Herrengasse

Palais Liechtenstein
Fürstengasse 1
9th District

Demel on Clouds
Kohlmarkt

J. & L. Lobmeyr
Kärntnerstrasse

Sacher
Kärntner Strasse

This is a good example
of what I like about window reflections:
Even to the discerning eye,
it may be difficult to distinguish
between reflection and the wares
in the window.
In this particular case,
I had to take a second look
to realize that the image
of the front of the Sacher hotel
was actually painted on the tin can.
Had to be,
the front of the Sacher
is around the corner!

Pfiff & Co
Kärntner Durchgang 10

Note:
It's Saturday,
I am still trying to finish
this post.
Ah, time, such precious commodity!
Thank you for your patience.

22 comments:

  1. You still haven't gone to bed?
    You'll turn into a pumpkin!
    I love the clouds - are they meant to be clouds?
    And what does Pfiff & Co do?

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  2. These are absolutely wonderful shots of reflections. Very arty and composed so well.

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  3. Merisi,
    I love the first photo and the photo of the carriage with the reflections of the windows. All these photos are wonderful!

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  4. Lovely reflections.

    Paz

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  5. wow.... how can you think about this idea?! This is great reflection.. I am amazed..

    Trinity from Rooms of My Heart

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  6. FREEFALLING:
    Sometimes you need to be tough to hold on to that Coach status. *grin*
    After I had stolen five hours to simply walk and walk from one end of the city to the next (it was a gorgeous Indian Summer day, excellent weather for outdoor research!), I had to continue to run at home, to get my home and dinner ready for our guests. I had fun doing both and felt very clever having taken advantage of the sunny day (today is Saturday, and I will be dutifully at work til around five, when I will walk from museum to museum til one in the morning, it being "Museums Night").
    I didn't have the time anymore to ask about the Demel's new window decorations. These are definitely clouds, with porcelain animals sitting on them.

    PHOTOWANNABE:
    Thank you. :-)

    MELISSA:
    Thank you! :-)
    The first photo is also my favorite. The carriage, in that palace, like being in a dream!

    PAZ:
    Thank you! :-)

    TRINITY:
    Welcome and thank you!
    Reflections on windows are like a second reality, aren't they? :-)

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  7. Hey, did you look at my blog recently? I might give you more answers for the clouds in the schau Fenster, since I was making them...:))

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  8. This has worked so well and it certainly the gift of a good photographer to walk with open eyes.

    Poor you. I have only seen Chesapeake Bay from the air and it fascinated me and made me want to be there.

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  9. TEA:
    I have ventured over to your blog (dear readers, I invite you to follow my steps, Tea is one of the Demel fairies). I have a question for you: How on earth can one make a sugary cloud of such beauty and yet so strong to hold big porcelain figures?

    BARBARA:
    Thank you. :-)
    The Chesapeake Bay is certainly one of my favorite spots on earth, my little sailing adventure nonewithstanding. Quite the opposite, I wished I could sail from little bay to little bay, Choptank river included, right now. :-)
    (Dear Readers,
    here's another blogger, who know how to tell a great story - swing over and read how she sailed the Atlantic and the New England Coast!)

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  10. Great pictures! Would love to enter in Pfiff & Co. looks very charming!

    Have a lovely weekend!

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  11. These are amazing! Almost ghostly. I love how you see the world around you!

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  12. Mmmmmm, shopping.

    I wish.

    I sit at my desk to shop (food shopping).

    Palais Porcia on Herrengasse looks really interesting. A must visit if one were in Vienna . . . I wish

    :))

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  13. What a beautiful photo blog you have here! I'm thrilled that David made a comment in one of my photo blogs, and I came over to his... And there, found your comment. And thus, found yours.

    Just what I *need*! Yet another glorious blog to visit! >,-) But what can I do???? So many wonderful blogs, so little time to visit all of them. :-)))

    Mari-Nanci

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  14. Walking Wien with you, learning to open my eyes for hidden reflections......I think I am becoming addicted.

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  15. Sonia:
    Why don't you come with me?
    I haven't been there either.
    So many place to go here ...
    I have been told that it is a charming little place to have some great beer and good Viennese cuisine.

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  16. Steph:
    Thank you. :-)
    You should have seen me, crying my little heart out, on the way from the airport, at the sight of this ugly city on my first visit, when I knew we'd move here. ;-)))

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  17. Sally Cawford from London:
    Food shopping via internet? Pleeease, let that temptation pass me buy. :-)))

    Palais Porcia nowadays houses the administrative library of the Office of the Federal Chancellor. I have more photos in store ... ;-)

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  18. smilnsigh:
    Welcome and thank you! :-)
    Yes, you are right, so many blog, so little time. ;-)
    Still, one of those days I shall travel over to yours. :-)

    Britt-Arnhild:
    *chuckle*
    There's one radical cure: Come and see for yourself! :-)

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  19. Merisi,

    Of course you can link my clouds to your clouds :))
    I am sorry we didn't meet last night, but I came home at about 8:30 after being out for the whole day! And it would've been also late for me...So how was it?! I definitely had fun with chocolate, hehe :)

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  20. What elegance! I am really getting a feel for this city now, and it has gone up in my top five places to visit one day when my ship comes in...

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  21. TEA:
    Thank you, I will put the link with my next Demel post! :-)
    I imagined that the chocolate fair would be more than enough in one day! I am looking forward to your chocolate tour essay. :-)
    I managed to tour the museums until midnight,
    then I had image overload (my daughters and guests held out another hour *g*).

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  22. PG:
    Thank you, Gretel! :-)
    I am sure you'd many more nooks and grannies to your liking. Check out Ryan Air! ;-)

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