Thursday 14 January 2010

Which Hands In My Pocket?


Zu jeder Zeit
At any time,
said the dream within a dream,
hiding the clock's hands
in the pocket

Eric Panigl
"Triest Wien Marienbad"
The names of those cities -
once upon a time all part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire -
writ there as a reminder of Vergänglichkeit -
evanescence - or of permanence?
Vienna, thy streetcar may be named
"Transience", but you are sending
her around the city in a circle
with no end station!


Well, every now and then,
the streetcar stops long enough
to let you hop off and
drop off your fineries
at the cleaners

Punsch Karitativ
Drinking for Charity
Michaelerplatz
Well, that was during Christmas season,
lifting mugs of mulled wine
for a good cause,
building good will
for posterieternity


Dolce e Gabbana
Offering sweet temptations
in their shop window:
Alas, only sweet dreams,
faux ones, their permanence untroubled
by the ravages of time
!

Walking under these streetlights
always puts me in a meditative mood:

The lights illuminate
the façade of the Jewish Synagogue,
designed in the 1820s by one of the most
famous architects of his time, Joseph Kornhäusl.

On the other side of the lane, Seitenstettengasse,
the Ruprechtskirche, its parish reaching back
almost 1,300 years, to 740 AD.

Under Emperor Claudius -
less than half a century into the Christian era -
the area around these two historic buildings
was part of the Roman military settlement Vindobona.

Is it any wonder
one feels as if walking
on hallowed ground,
especially at twilight when
every shadows seems to cast forth
a vision of the past
?

"Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"
*

*

For more information about the history
of the Jewish Synagogue at Seitenstettengasse,
Saint Ruprecht's Church and Vindobona,
the Roman military base and town in Pannonia Superior,
click on the respective names.

*) Quoted from the poem
"A Dream Within A Dream"
by Edgar Allan Poe

Images and Text
© by Merisi 2010


22 comments:

  1. I often drink for charity.
    What a beautifully illustrated and informative post. It is a pleasure to come here.

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  2. You are posting early just to confuse me!

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  3. Cheers to you, Seattle! :-)


    Badger,
    i had no reason to go take a walk at lunchtime,
    a pot of tea and putting the post together was way more fun! :-)

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  4. OK I will do a special Friday post for you. And by the way - I have the cat movie!

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  5. Badger,
    oh goodie, I am looking forward to that!
    Which movie house are you going to show the movie?

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  6. What luscious photographs and words!

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  7. Oh my, I think you've outdone yourself, Merisi! The words truly fit your beautiful pictures. That's one thing that never fails to astound me about Vienna - how many layers of history there are. I'm in a constant state of awe when walking her streets. Thank you so much for these lovely posts! :)

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  8. the Roman link is fascinating, I grew up near here...
    http://www.roman-britain.org/places/viroconium.htm
    Those Romans got around...Now if only they had had cameras!!!

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  9. How witty, colourful, and wonderful. Thanks Merisi in particular for pointing me to Ruprechtskirche...one of those visible churches in the city I have never managed to find the path towards ! Fascinating to read about it.

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  10. Lovely and informative..I enjoyed the way you put this together- including the soft photo- have a great weekend-

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  11. What a wonderful post. Very well presented.

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  12. Very fun post, beautiful city, I especially like the dreamy streetlights. :)

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  13. l love coming for my daily walks with you.....watching and listening

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  14. Beautiful. And, the reference to mulled wine brought back memories of winter and the Christmas season in Vienna.

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  15. Oh, these are so enticing. How to get there!

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  16. Especially fine and evocative -- and those three names: Triest, Wien, Marienbad continue to echo in the strangest way for me.

    Many layered history of a many layered city -- thanks, Merisi!

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  17. a dream within a dream? your pictures sure are a part of that dream...

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  18. Noticed you on Daryl's site and wanted to say how much I enjoyed my visit today. Beautiful photos, tasty treats and prose to last the whole day. Many thanks!

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  19. I do so love my far-too-infrequent visits to your place. Lovely.

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  20. Where you LIVE!
    It cannot be the same world as the rest of us!

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