Impressions were collected in late November around Prater and Donaucity.
Finally! After experimenting with different themes and playing around with them, I decided to give my little photography blog (which turned 1 today, by the way!) a fresh new design. The theme I choose is the beautiful “Portfolio” by The Theme Foundry. I think it is perfect for showcasing photography cleanly and simply. So let me guide you quickly through the new website. You will find four pages in the upper right corner next to the logo. The Featured page is also the homepage, usually displaying the four latest posts with a visually pleasing slider in the center. In the Gallery, you find all posts sorted chronologically in a grid. If you prefer the classic browsing via lists and categories, help yourself by clicking on Sitemap and Archives. So effectively, there are three ways to use the website. I like to see it as a shop with an inviting display, a back room, and a showroom. I hope you want it! I definitely do. If you have feedback, you can leave me a message on the page @ Contact or directly comment on this blog post.
Largely unnoticed, the new university campus of the Economic University of Vienna (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) was built in a relatively remote part of the city. So, most of us knew about the construction plans, but little did we know about the futuristic character and the sheer extent of the sight. What a surprise! The campus consists of about 6 to 8 buildings constructed by different architects in different styles. In common, they have a modern and environmentally friendly approach. They are centered around a student plaza, effectively creating a public space for its “citizens.” There are also a couple of cafés and shops there. One is the “Campus” (shot 4), with a mixed approach of modernism and natural elements of wood and plants. The centerpiece of the campus is the library (as it should be). It was designed by an architect from Hamburg and is simply astonishing (shots 2 – 3 exterior, shots 7 – 9 interior).
The so-called Prater is a massive park in the 2nd district of Vienna, and just a relatively small part of it is actually an amusement area. As a kid, I loved going there; it was our miniature version of Disneyland without Micky. Interestingly, the Prater hasn’t changed much since back in the 90s (still many Spice Girls and lousy techno music is played at the attractions astoundingly), and kids continue to love it. My first roller coaster ride was on the “Wilde Maus” (picture 2), and I will never forget how my father and I went lost in a house of horror, using a lighter to find the way out. Or how we used to get there on the 1st of May with friends. A construction of steel spinning around its axis was always somewhere in the background, with small red wagons attached to the outer frame. The beating heart of the park is the so-called “Riesenrad.” One of the oldest Ferris wheels in Europe is still standing and is also one of the defining landmarks of Vienna (picture 5).
The Stadtpark of Vienna is the green lung of the city center. It was inaugurated in 1862 to redesign the so-called Glacis, the previously abandoned area in front of the dismantled city walls of Vienna. The sight was planned in the English landscape style and architecturally enriched around 1900 when the Wienfluss, a river going through the park, was finally regulated and the City Railway was built. You see the river in the second picture and the modern iteration of the City Railway, our Metro line number 4, in the third picture. It always amazes me how this piece of artificial nature can snatch you from the urban madness of a concrete jungle and calm you down almost immediately, may it be just for a couple of minutes. A green lung, truly.
This is one kind of “The Viennese Central Cemetery Part 2,5,” or the outtake. Two shots I really liked but which didn’t fit into. In the second picture, you see the fabulous Karl-Borromäus church in the center of the cemetery. Plus, another shot from Vienna’s streets captures autumn’s colors.
Michael Hoffman Photography 