Sunday 25 May 2008

To the Market, the Viennese Way


Shooting the Breeze
Comtemplating how to catch a flying pig
with a butterfly net?

Marktgebiet - Market Area
To the Market
From the Market
with Flowers

A Bouquet of Peonies
Two Euros
How many bouquets
would you buy?


Serious Marketing
going on here.
What else?
Note:
This image and the two above it
are all but two sides
of the same 30 feet of market street.

And I Thought
someone had turned up the volume
of the radio
when I heard a beautiful soprano voice
rise above the corroboree of the market place
while drinking coffee at a coffee bar
nearby.

Singing and Waltzing
I sort of had suspected that the Viennese
were able to turn even foraging
for food into a party!

The Proof
Saturday morning flower power:
Why buy fruit and vegetables
when there are flowers to be had?
Ever wondered why Viennese restaurants
are filled with families
when Sunday lunchtime rolls around?
Because they forgot to buy fruits and vegetables
Saturday morning,
that's why!

Coffee and Potatoes
Did you really think the potatoes
were there for sale?
No, they are there
so you can contemplate
if you are going to have
them served in a salad or French fried or
buttered and parslied
along with your Sunday Wiener Schnitzel
in the courtyard or garden
of your favorite Grinzing restaurant!
(There is a reason
why the downtown Schwarze Kameel is closed on Sundays:
Viennese take a break from the city
on Sundays
!)
Btw, does anyone remember
how to spell Quail potatoe?

First Paradeiser of the Season!
Apples of Paradise Tomatoes can be eaten
without turning up the heat
in the kitchen!

Watch Your Pocket!
Click on this image
and tell me if you think
that the owner of the wallet
could possibly be the one
with the fingers in his pocket.
The price of those tomato plants
could have been stiff.


Life's A Bowl of Cherries
Sometimes even a whole crate
and plenty of parsley
on the side!

She Agrees!
Buying flowers for your home
beats cooking on Sundays.

Peonies and Wine
Yes, a little wine on the side,
straight from the vintner and peony grower.
Who said it must be wine and roses
all through the year?
May is for peonies,
after all!

More Cherries!
We know by now that this
farmer is against slaving in the kitchen
on Sunday mornings!
The cherries are straight from his trees,
all they need is a little rinse,
and if you really want to show off,
put them in your Bohemian hand-cut Crystal bowl
with a few ice cubes.
(I forgot to ask whether the parsley
goes with the peonies or the cherries
.)

Don't Leave the Peonies Behind
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Photographed Saturday Morning
at the Yppen Platz
Farmers' Market

16th District

26 comments:

  1. Anonymous25 May, 2008

    Ah..Sunday morning yes is for refreshing flowers,and a glass of Gruener Veltliner in the sun!

    Such happy pics (though the pickpocket is a worry!).

    Thanks for sharing blooms & cherries.

    K.

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  2. You are welcome!
    The peonies I took home yesterday greeted me with ever more blossoms open this morning, a sight to behold.
    That pickpocket is a stark reminder that crime can happen anywhere. I deliberately published the picture, as a warning. I have suffered the loss of my wallet in each of the three big cities I have lived so far, always in situations where I least suspected anything. It's better to be aware and beware (and not only on the ides of March, or May for that matter!) than sorry afterwards.

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  3. Oh wow, that was wonderful - what a treat, Merisi, those glorious pictures and witty commentary. Amazing shot of the pickpocket at work!

    And aren't peonies just gorgeous. We seldom get them here and I was delighted to find some this summer - bought three bunches and relished them while they lasted!

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  4. Well, if that's the wallet-owner's hand, his thumb is on the wrong side. Great pictures!

    Word verification: irstl. Is that related to a wurstl?

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  5. a lovely sunday morning at the market..thanks for sharing ..and I think its someone else's fingers in the pocket :)
    Lakshmi

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  6. The pig was wonderful and I would have bought LOTS of peonies......

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  7. A great series; I felt waltzed through the market!

    Were you able to alert the one whose pocket got picked?

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  8. Beautiful post and this was a touch of genius:

    ``Btw, does anyone remember
    how to spell Quail potatoe?''

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  9. Peonies are in abundance in our New York farmers markets, too, but we must pay more than you.

    We must wait weeks for the arrival of fruits and vegetables.

    I visit your beautiful part of Vienna, courtesy of Elizabeth in Marrakesh. Many thanks to both of you.

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  10. Anonymous26 May, 2008

    What a lovely post.

    As for the pickpocker, to me it looks like the wife helping herself to hubby's wallet.

    www.thequietone.net

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  11. Absolute Vanilla (& Atyllah):
    Thank you!
    How wonderful that peonies would grow in the warm climate of South Africa!

    Steph:
    Virstl! *giggle*

    Backpakker:
    You are welcome!

    Elizabeth:
    Oh, yes, I did take home an armfull of peonies! :-)
    Q: When will pigs fly?
    A: When they drink Red Bull!


    P.S.: I am going to visit M. in Salzburg (home of the Rupertinum and of Red Bull *grin*)!

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  12. tut-tut:
    I did not realize that there was something fishy until I looked at the picture at home. :-(

    That market lifts you up, each and every Saturday morning! :-)

    David McMahon:
    *chuckle*
    Those were the days, my friend! Such were the worries of this world, that a simple spelling mistake made the headlines (above the fold!!!) of major newspapers all over! Back when we were oh so ...

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  13. Frances:
    Welcome! :-)
    Oh yes, I remember, back home in Washington DC, a single stem with one half withered peony blossom cost 4 or 5 Dollars, and I remembered how you could get an armfull of those for the same money at Rome's Mercato Rionale in Via Cola di Rienzo! I am so happy the same goes for Vienna now. :-)

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  14. Cathy:
    Thank you!

    Your "Wife Theory" could explain why that other hand sort of caresses the pocket to the left! ;-)

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  15. Cathy:
    I keep thinking about your "Wife Theory" - I remember being surprised that such a young guy would buy a tomato plant, and he seemed to be without female company. But then again, I didn't notice a pickpocket either. :-(

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  16. Yum, yum, yum! I love markets. This one looks fabulous. (And I'm now seriously considering painting a flying pig on my wall somewhere...)

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  17. "She agrees" captures a beautiful smile that seems to represent the spirit of this sequence of extraordinary photos.

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  18. These photos are wonderful. The pickpocket capture is incredible and I just LOVE the image of the older woman selecting tomatoes, the child smelling flower and the lady laughing behind the white flowers. You sure gave us a good feel for the activity and mood of the market. A great choice for David's Post of the Week.

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  19. It just goes to show me that people are the same everywhere...looking for fun, looking for food, looking for survival within the crowd...what a fun Sunday we've had in Vienna...thanks to the marvelous talents of our Merisi! Congrats on top spot with David, my friend...and whenever your camera needs to take a trip across the sea, my door is always open
    Sandi

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  20. Anonymous26 May, 2008

    I love the looks of those cherries. I'd buy a LOT if I were there!

    Paz

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  21. Ah Quayle and his potatoe

    What a wonderful photo essay .. I would buy at least 5 Euros worth of flowers .. I love flowers..

    :-Daryl

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  22. Wow, what a delightful Sunday morning tour. I love your style and the pictures make me feel like I'm right there.

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  23. Simple beautiful images, so colourful, capturing the joie de vivre of Viennese life...and your amusing witty text with it.

    Love it!

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  24. Flying pigs in the market!!

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  25. I have to agree with Cathy about the "Wife Theory" on the pickpocket picture. The victim seems too calm, and the pickpocket's other hand is also gently placed on the victim. If it is a female, her technique isn't bad; notice how she only has three fingers instead of five in the pocket. Something tells me she's done this sort of thing before! ;-)> All great pics merisi, but that one definitely intrigues me the most!

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  26. Some of these make me catch my breath! Oh, the lovely characters you catch with your camera...I really get a sense of the life here...I am transported with delight! ~Janine XO

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