Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas Decoration #4

May I present to you "Miss Vanillekipferl"? I discovered her in the window of the confectionary Demel. Vanillekipferl are small, crescent shaped biscuits traditionally made at Christmas. They are usually made with ground almonds or hazelnuts, flavoured with vanilla and have a heavy dusting of powdered sugar.
And now let´s change the subject: I hope you all enjoy New Year´s Eve and wish you a very happy new year!!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas Decoration #3

White Christmas in the window of the Chanel store... Aren´t the Coco dolls cute? I would love to have one of them! Unfortunately I don´t know if they are only for decoration or also for sale. (Even if they were sold, I couldn´t possibly afford one of these dolls.)

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Decoration #2

Do you believe in unicorns? Currently you can see two of these mythical creatures in the windows of the department store Steffl on Kärntnerstrasse. Here´s one of them...

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Decoration #1

A bakery in the city center used a lot of Christmas tree decorations to create a festive window. If you zoom in, you will see how many different decoration pieces have been used.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #7

I hope you aren´t yet fed up with Christmas, because I still have some christmassy photos to share... This oversized coffee cup is a part of the Christmas decoration of the confectionary Oberlaa in the city center. It is 2,8 m high, has a diameter of 3,5 m and consists of 5.800 LEDs.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #6

I like the colorfoul lights on this balcony on Neuer Markt in the city center.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #5

I think the huge chandeliers on Graben in the city center are Vienna´s most gorgeous Christmas illumination. They even have a facebook fan page!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas tree on Stephansplatz in the city center, right next to St. Stephen´s Cathedral... In Austria we are celebrating Christmas this very night: The presents are placed under the Christmas tree which is lit for the first time and the whole family gathers to sing Christmas Carols. Young children believe that the presents are brought to them, as a reward for good behaviour, by the "Christkind" (Christ Child) who is also responsible for the decoration of the tree. My very personal programme for today: In the morning I will have brunch with some girlfriends and in the evening I will celebrate with my parents.
I wish you all a very merry Christmas!! Frohe Weihnachten!!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Tree Decorations #3

You can get these handpainted Christmas tree decorations at the Christmas Market in front of Schönbrunn Palace. This market is the only one that is open until December 26, all the other markets will close on Christmas Eve.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #4

The festively illuminated entrance of the Grand Hotel Wien, a 5* Luxury Hotel in the city center.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Sweet Christmas Decoration

Christmas trees and houses made of chocolate in the window of the confectionary Gerstner in the city center. Gerstner was founded in 1847 and appointed Imperial Court Confectioner in 1873.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

4th Sunday of Advent

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." - W.T. Ellis

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Christmas Tree Decorations #2

How about decorating your Christmas tree this year with little dogs? I discovered this cute doggy at MQ Point in the Museumsquartier.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #3

This eye-catching bow currently glows on a building vis-à-vis the Vienna Sate Opera.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Gingerbread Angel

I stumbled upon this cute gingerbread angel at one of the stands of the Christmas Market in front of Schönbrunn Palace. I would use this angel as decoration, I could never devour it.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Little Table, Spread Yourself

I love this richly spread table in the window of a clothes shop in the city center.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #2

This illuminated glass bridge connects the Palais Corso and the Kärntnerringhof which together form the shopping center Ringstrassen-Galerien in the city center. I took this photo Sunday evening, that´s why the bridge is deserted, on weekdays it surely looks different since currently everybody is hunting for Christmas presents.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

3rd Sunday of Advent

A good possibility to spend the Sunday afternoon during the Advent Season is the visit of one of Vienna´s numerous Christmas Markets. My favourite market is the one in front of Schönbrunn Palace. You can find there handicrafts and original gifts such as hand-made Christmas decorations and mangers, but also food and drink stands. If you want to know where the most important Christmas Markets are located, please click here.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Crhistmas Trees #1

Christmas trees welcome you at the Café Mozart in the city center. The first coffeehouse in this location was opened in 1794 (three years after the death of Austrian composer W.A. Mozart), it was a popular meeting point for writers, artists and actors. After the old baroque house had been torn down in 1882, the present building was construted and the newly opened café was named after Mozart in 1929. Graham Greene worked here on his screenplay "The Third Man" in 1947.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Christmas Tree Decorations #1

Some decorations for the Christmas tree that I discovered at MQ Point in the MuseumsQuartier in the 7th district. This shop is a very good address if you are looking for unusual decorations.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Poinsettias

Poinsettias are my favourite flowers during the Advent Season.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Gingerbread House

A gingerbread house in the window of the confectionary of the famous Café Central. Today, in theory is holiday in Austria (The Immaculate Conception of Mary): Offices, bank companies, schools, universities are closed, but since 1995 the shops are open because of the Christmas trade.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Christmas Illuminations #1

A lot of Viennese streets are currently decorated with Christmas illuminations. In this photo you can see the lights on Kohlmarkt in the city center. If you have a lot of money to spend, Kohlmarkt is the perfect place for you: it´s the home of some of Vienna´s most expensive shops.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Saint Nicholas Day

The Greek Saint Nicholas (Nikoloas of Myra) had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus. In Austria we don´t have Santa Claus, but today we are celebrating Saint Nicholas Day, an important day for children: Yesterday evening they prepared their boots and during the night Saint Nicholas filled them with gifts and sweets, and at the same time he checked up on the children if they were good, polite and helpful last year. If they were not, they will have a tree branch in their boots instead.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Surprise

The new installation in the main window of the Swarovski shop on Kärntnerstrasse in the city center, called "Surprise", shows a magical ice cave which is also an advent calendar - if you zoom in you will discover parcels one of which will be unwrapped every day until Christmas. I took this photo last Sunday, before the first parcel was opened.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Advent Wreath

The Advent wreath is another important item in the Austrian Advent Season: it symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the lithurgical calender of the Catholic Church. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wealth with four candles. The first candle is lit on the first Sunday of Advent, the next one on the subsequent Sunday and so on, until, by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit. In this photo you can see a rather modern Advent wreath that I discovered in a flower shop near my place.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Advent Calendar

An important item in the Advent Season is the Advent calender, especially for children: this special calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. The first "window" is opened on December 1, the last on December 24 (Christmas Eve), each "window" reveals an image, a poem or a small gift such as a toy or a chocolate item. There are a lot of different designs, personally I prefer the antiquated looking calendars.
I thought it would be nice to transform this blog into an Advent calendar, so stay tuned and discover every day within the next few weeks a new "christmassy" photo .

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

December Theme Day: Time

Last Sunday I passed by an Italian café/bistro in the city center called "Il Tempo" (= time). Through the windows I saw that inside the café is decorated with a lot of clocks which explains its name. Unfortunately my attempt to take a photo of the inside didn´t work out, so I just can show you the sign of the café.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants