Friday 9 May 2008

A Late Afternoon Dream


Zum Garten
Into the garden ...

... under the arbour
and by the fountain

... a haven
for work

... and study

... a place to
sit in the sun

and contemplate,
perchance to dream ...

"Wohin am Wochenende"
... of what the weekend will bring ...

A cup of Melange
a pot of Earl Grey,

letting your
eyes feast ...

and the waiter perform
his dance between the tables

all the while
seriously studying the scene,
wondering
whether Johann Strauss ever knew
that his waltzes
had turned into curlicues
on those chairs ...

... an ice cream sundae
entering the stage
like a prima ballerina
or a strawberry fairy

... joined by a sister,
but oh so swiftly
evil hands
appearing from nowhere,
sweeping both of them up and away!
Drosselmeyer?
The waiter?

"You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
"

(Quoted from
E.A. Poe's "Dream Within a Dream")

*

Photographed at
Café Dommayer
Auhofgasse 2
13th District (Hietzing)
A short walk
from the west entrance of Schönbrunn Park.

23 comments:

  1. P.S.:
    Clicking on the first five pictures will take you .... you know the drill, don't you? ;-)

    A wonderful weekend to all of you!
    We will celebrate our daughter G.'s college graduation. Magna Cum Laude.
    Can't hide the joy. :-)))

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  2. Oh Merisi, wieder einmal wunder-wunder-wunderschön! Ich liebe diese Stühle! Und der Blick in den Garten - nur du kannst so normale Sachen so wiedergeben, dass man sich dann fragt ob man je Wien bewusst wahrgenommen hat!
    Eine schöne Feier! Musst mächtig stolz sein!

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  3. Anonymous09 May, 2008

    What a wonderful event to celebrate.

    And what a perfect place in the sun to celebrate it in.

    x x x and hugs,
    Sally

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  4. Makes me want to go out for a café stop your blog. I just need to find someone available this morning!

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  5. Those sundaes look sooooooo good
    :-)

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  6. What an enchanting dream indeed! You have an amazing way with words. Strawberry fairy...Strauss waltzes turned into curlicues on the chairs.....just amazing! So glad that this is the spot that I start my day!! Congratulations to your daughter. It's a proud moment for mom and dad, too! Enjoy the weekend.
    ~Allie

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  7. Gorgeous. Would love to be writing at one of those tables.

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  8. Anonymous09 May, 2008

    Congratulations to you and you daughter! I'm sure you're very proud of her.

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  9. Oh, what a wonderful dream you can conjure. Kudos to your daughter.

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  10. Pink pink strawberries...
    YUM YUM YUM
    ZUM ZUM ZUM
    :)
    I'm reduced to idiocy by your beautiful pictures..

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  11. Dear friends,
    your comments humble me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sweet thoughts.
    As you may imagine, I am a little short on online time these days. We had a wonderful evening yesterday, at the Bösendorfer Saal (more on that Viennese institution in a future post), surprise included: G. was not only awarded the academic honour but also a departmental one.
    In a few hours, the official graduation ceremony will take place, and this being Vienna, the venue is named after W.A. Mozart. ;-)

    Since all good things come in threes, our youngest is taking part in a softball tournament, and the parents are expected to show up at 4pm at one of the Prater meadows in the 2nd District (Augarten).

    Now I have to figure out how to dress so that I can walk right from the graduation to the playing fields. Any suggestions? ;-)
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    wherever you are,
    and a Happy Mother's Day
    to all the mothers among you,
    M.

    P.S.:
    I will spend Mother's Day morning at the Museum of Natural History here in Vienna. It will start at 9am with a special Champagne breakfast in the museum, followed by a guided tour, leading all the way up to the attic and to the roof terraces which offer a beautiful view over Vienna and beyond.

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  12. Merisi, congratulations to your daughter! You must be very happy!
    And again thanks for your wonderful blog!
    You make even a Vienna resident see the city with different eyes... I should walk around more relaxed, not hurrying along as I always do!
    Today I bought for my mother truffle goodies at SchokoLadenWerkstatt! ;)Thanks for the hint!
    Happy Mother's Day to you!
    Regards, Maria

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  13. Another lovely cafe and great portrayal of it.
    The 2 rose pic is anothe brilliant shot.
    Have a great weekend.

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  14. This is an absolutely gorgeous post, I have wandered all through its ramifications and enjoyed it all.

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  15. Congratulations to you and your daughter.
    what a wonderful cosy pictures.
    I want coffee now! Vienna is so beautiful My mum is taking us there, Me and my daughter, when we go to Holland next year.

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  16. Congratulations to you and your daughter.
    what a wonderful cosy pictures.
    I want coffee now! Vienna is so beautiful My mum is taking us there, Me and my daughter, when we go to Holland next year.obtyho

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  17. Oh I just love these shots, Merisi. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but my grandfather was Viennese and whenever I see shots like this, there is such a strong heartpull to Vienna! I'm hoping to take my husband to the "heimatsland" in the not too distant future!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  18. BULGARIANA:
    Dankeschön,
    es freut mich sehr, daß dir meine kleinen Wienminiaturen gefallen.
    Was unsere G betrifft, freuen wir uns irrsinnig, daß ihre Leistung anerkannt wird. Sie hat hart dafür gearbeitet.

    SALLY:
    The (late) afternoon was given to me thank to my youngest, who needed a break from studying. ;-) The Big Girl's celebration were held at two different, yet very Viennese venues, the Bösendorfer Hall and the Konzerthaus's Mozart Hall.

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  19. Thank you all,
    Marja, Maria, Maalie, Barbara! :-)

    ABSOLUTE VANILLA:
    Even though I did not know Vienna, wherever I lived, Rome or Washington, when I heard a waltz playing, especially the Blue Danube, I felt that same pull on my heart strings. Now I feel very much at home here, afer only two and a half years of living here. I hope you can realise your dream of coming to Vienna very soon!

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  20. Merisi,

    I am perhaps the last to wish. Hearty congratulations to you and your daughter for the honours. Delighted to hear you had a wonderful evening. :)

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  21. tkfp
    I love this viennese "art de vivre "

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  22. Oh Merisi! I so much enjoyed this post. It felt like walking and siting and lazing around. Thank you, and Congratulations!

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  23. Great poem for a great post. Even before you started writing about drams I felt i was in one. What a place to sit and think and write and watch the passing parade, especially with that Icecream contection.

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