Wednesday 8 January 2014

Vienna in Winter: Prince Eugene's Belvedere
The Privy Garden on a rainy Winter Day

At Prince Eugene's Belvedere
A walk in the prince's
Privy Garden on a rainy day
at the end of February

A glimpse of the
Salesian Church on Rennweg

Garden walls and a wrought iron gate
that leads to the terraced gardens beyond,
connecting the Lower Belevedere Palace to
the Upper Palaces on top of the hill

Stone steps and brick walls
with espaliered trees

A view of from the Privy Garden
of the Lower Belvedere's Orangerie

A Hooded Crow,
reflected in a rain puddle
in one of the garden's fountains

Photographed in the afternoon of 28 February 2012
For a sunnier view, click here: Belvedere in Autumn
or on the "Belvedere" label below, for an even longer walk. Enjoy! :-)
Images and Text © by Merisi

12 comments:

  1. Dear friends,
    it is another grey day here in Vienna. At the Belvedere, lunch hour walks in temperate weather conditions pure joy, though. Prince Eugene's summer residence, with the two palaces, the Upper and the Lower Belvedere, the extensive gardens, the whole Baroque assembly such a gift from a great hero of Austria's past, reaching out to us with beauty that warms the heart, several centuries later. I wished I would be there right this moment, there,
    "where restraint and order bless
    luxury and voluptuousness"
    (Charles Bauelaire, Invitation en Voage)

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  2. Invitation to the Voyage
    Think, would it not be
    Sweet to live with me
    All alone, my child, my love? —
    Sleep together, share
    All things, in that fair
    Country you remind me of?
    Charming in the dawn
    There, the half-withdrawn
    Drenched, mysterious sun appears
    In the curdled skies,
    Treacherous as your eyes
    Shining from behind their tears.
    There, restraint and order bless
    Luxury and voluptuousness.
    We should have a room
    Never out of bloom:
    Tables polished by the palm
    Of the vanished hours
    Should reflect rare flowers
    In that amber-scented calm;
    Ceilings richly wrought,
    Mirrors deep as thought,
    Walls with eastern splendor hung,
    All should speak apart
    To the homesick heart
    In its own dear native tongue.
    There, restraint and order bless
    Luxury and voluptuousness.
    See, their voyage past,
    To their moorings fast,
    On the still canals asleep,
    These big ships; to bring
    You some trifling thing
    They have braved the furious deep.
    — Now the sun goes down,
    Tinting dyke and town,
    Field, canal, all things in sight,
    Hyacinth and gold;
    All that we behold
    Slumbers in its ruddy light.
    There, restraint and order bless
    Luxury and voluptuousness.
    Translation, one of my favorite English versions, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Flowers of Evil (NY: Harper and Brothers, 1936)

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  3. The beauty of the original cannot be translated into any other language, if you ask me. Here, Charles Baudelaire's own words:
    L'invitation au voyage
    Mon enfant, ma soeur,
    Songe à la douceur
    D'aller là-bas vivre ensemble!
    Aimer à loisir,
    Aimer et mourir
    Au pays qui te ressemble!
    Les soleils mouillés
    De ces ciels brouillés
    Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
    Si mystérieux
    De tes traîtres yeux,
    Brillant à travers leurs larmes.

    Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
    Luxe, calme et volupté.
    Des meubles luisants,
    Polis par les ans,
    Décoreraient notre chambre;
    Les plus rares fleurs
    Mêlant leurs odeurs
    Aux vagues senteurs de l'ambre,
    Les riches plafonds,
    Les miroirs profonds,
    La splendeur orientale,
    Tout y parlerait
    À l'âme en secret
    Sa douce langue natale.

    Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
    Luxe, calme et volupté.
    Vois sur ces canaux
    Dormir ces vaisseaux
    Dont l'humeur est vagabonde;
    C'est pour assouvir
    Ton moindre désir
    Qu'ils viennent du bout du monde.
    — Les soleils couchants
    Revêtent les champs,
    Les canaux, la ville entière,
    D'hyacinthe et d'or;
    Le monde s'endort
    Dans une chaude lumière.

    Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté,
    Luxe, calme et volupté.

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  4. Happy New Year Merisi. My son recently visited Vienna and assures me that it is every bit as beautiful as it appears on your blog. Maybe I will be lucky enough to see it myself one day, in the meantime I shall enjoy it through your eyes.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, and a very happy Happy New Year to you and yours! :-)
      Yes, Vienna is a very beautiful place to visit, and to live in.
      And yes again, you must come and see it for yourself.
      Hugs,
      M. xxx

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  5. Love the birdie shot.
    It does look cold there...

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  6. You make rainy days look beautiful - I love the soft tones and the amazing architecture. Happy 2014, hope it's off to a good start!

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  7. Another wonderful visit to Vienna through your wonderful captures, Merisi!! I do love the bird, too!! A delightful way to start my day!! Hope your week is going well!

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  8. Who'd have thought that walls, trees and winter could have provided such a beautiful horizontal 'study in beige' ...

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  9. Great pics! I like the emphasis on line especially.

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  10. the "glimpse" composition and able to spot the reflection of the bird two more reasons why I love your photos :)

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  11. The gates alone are beautiful, but getting a look inside is spectacular!

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