Friday 9 November 2007

Zustände


Zustände
State of Things

The Big Picture

Photographed yesterday
2.30pm

Subtitle:
In dire need of coffee

16 comments:

  1. yikes! I wonder what happened there! :-o

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  2. OH, you want to surprise us today :O
    No Austrian serenity served up with a hot schocolade mit schlagg...
    Can this picture really be Vienna?
    Still a lovely abstraction...Ah Vienna after all!

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  3. ANN:
    This is a view of the North Wing of the Künstlerhaus, which is currently being renovated. The building is the seat of Vienna's oldest artists' association, founded in 1861 (the building dates to 1868). It's located on the Ring-Street, Karlsplatz 5, next to the famous Musikverein (musicians' association) building, home to the Viennese Philarmonic Orchestra.

    I had visited an exhibition called "exitus" and, upon spotting the bike, wondered if this would have been the getaway bike (the exhibition being about images of death). ;-)

    Clicking on the link above, you'll see the whole building, the North Wing's to your left.

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  4. I'm not so astonished about the theme of your exhibition! There is a strange athmosphere in this photo, interesting, the mood and the shooting!Well done!

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  5. PARIS BREAKFASTS:
    Well, if not Austrian serenity,
    then maybe Viennese humor? I wasn't quite sure how to interpret the strange position of the bike. Has the owner chained it that way or an unsuccessful thief left it like this in frustration?

    Anyway, it made me smile (I concede that my sense of humor may be a bit twisted *g*).

    Speaking of humor, especially the Viennese kind, while walking through the exhibition "exitus" with its somewhat macabre subject,
    I was reminded of the Viennese song "Ach, du lieber Augustin!".

    Augustin was a musician during the late 17th century when the black plague was beleaguering Vienna. One fine evening he consumed too much wine, fell asleep on the sidewalk, and ended up being taken for dead and collected with other plague victims by the mortician's carriage.

    Waking up the next morning at the bottom of a mass grave, the legend goes, he started playing his bagpipes and singing a Viennese version of the Blues, a humorous lament, reflecting about the much too good life he had lived and how he had lost everything:

    Jeder Tag war ein Fest,
    Jetzt haben wir die Pest!
    Nur ein großes Leichenfest,
    Das ist der Rest.

    Loosely translated:
    Everyday was a feast,
    Now we've got the plague!
    But for a great wake
    Nothing is left.


    Passerbys heard him and helped him out of his uncomfortable situation. Soon rumors began to circulate that is was the wine that had saved dear Augustin and his spunk and sense of humor had sent Frau Pest (Madame Plague)scurrying out of town, mumbling "I can't stand this Viennese sense of humor!"

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  6. .....in dire need of one less glass of white wine.......relaxing Friday night here, and while the kids and my fusband enjoy Norwegian Idol and chocolate fondue I prefere some classical music and a glass of white wine :-)

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  7. Fuzz band! Could help but smile at the typo, Britt.
    Yes, a glass of wine, definitely.

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  8. BRITT-ARNHILD and CREAM:
    Laughing and typing at the same time, I managed to write "Britt-Arnhold. What is it with this post? ;-)

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  9. Oh my! ;-)

    Paz

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  10. I actually felt a bit sad when i saw this picture. Its like there is an unfinished story there and perhaps the outcome wasn't to good.

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  11. PAZ:
    *smile*

    PHOTOWANNABE:
    I tend to think that it was the owner himself who chained his bike that way. Probably nobody else noticed it, it's only a bike, after all. ;-)

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  12. What do you mean, it's only a bike? Bikes are lovely precious things! I love my bike!
    What's all this about geese in pots?
    Lorenzo.

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  13. It certainly makes you wonder! There could be all kinds of back stories here!

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  14. That is so funny...But I wonderful what really happened with that! Lots of subtitles for this one! Happy weekend ((HUGS))

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  15. Did you drop your bike off and race for your coffee? Hehe! Always like your photographs Merici!
    There is aways a surprise here.
    Constance

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  16. lorenzothellama:
    Oh, I am sorry, I apologize to all the bikes out there! ;-) They are the best thing after chocolate, aren't they?

    Why the Martini Gänse? It's St. Martin's Day tomorrow! Here some information from Wikipedia:

    On St. Martin's Day, children in Flanders, the southern and north-western parts of the Netherlands, the Catholic areas of Germany and Austria participate in paper lantern processions. Often, a man dressed as St. Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession. The children sing songs about St. Martin and about their lanterns. The food traditionally eaten on the day is goose. According to legend, Martin was reluctant to become bishop, which is why he hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location to the people who were looking for him.

    Becca:
    You know, I am tempted to go check if the bike's still there. ;-)

    Tracy:
    Thank you, may your weekend be a good one too! :-)
    I had been planning on photographing the scene even before the bike appeared there (all these different patterns and materials). The bike then stole the show. ;-)

    rochambeau:
    It could have happened that way!
    Thank you, Constance, for your always so encouraging comments.
    It's my pleasure sharing "my Vienna" with you all.

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