Today's flowers

Last week's snowflakes have not harmed all the flowers and leaves in the center of Vienna!
I took these pictures Saturday morning after a rainy night.

In den Praterauen

I took a long walk with my dog this afternoon in Vienna's Prater, along the old arms of the Danube, close by the centre of the city.
Come with us and enjoy the Autumn colours, and imagine the smell of decaying leaves!

A heron rose when we entered this magical world.

Vienna, Prater, Heustadlwasser
(Please enlarge the pictures!)

Today's flowers

Winter came very early this year,
and after the first snowfall, the last flowers look a little withered!
But their colours are still wonderful,
they seem to rival the changing colours of autumn leaves!

Look for flowers all around the globe!

Autumn skies over Schloss Belvedere

The story behind:
Last Sunday morning we went to see an exhibition of one of Austria's most famous painters of the 19th century, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, in Vienna's Schloss Belvedere.
As it was the last day of the exhibition, we came very early, to avoid the crowds!
We were one hour too early, in fact!
First we strolled through the gardens of Schloss Belvedere, and as there was still plenty of time left, we went over to the neighbouring Botanical Garden.

A red brick wall that separates the two gardens, and behind the wall you see the copper domes of Schloss Belvedere.

Between two rain showers, the Autums sky changed from pale to dark blue,
and made the scenery really thrilling!

It was great fun to take pictures when the Autumn light was so special!

By the way: in the meantime WINTER has come to Austria, we had the first snowflakes today! They did not last in Vienna, but the surrounding countryside is painted white!

Here is a link to the exhibition Waldmüller,
and here are two of his paintings.

Watch the sky ...

... all around the globe!

Autumn Flowers in abundance

Today we visited Vienna's Botanical Garden.
There were plenty of flowers,
and I picked some of them for YOU!

Visit our meme Today's Flowers worldwide!

Vienna Skywatchers

This year summer ended on 8 October!
That's what we call a mediterranean climate!
It is the hottest 8th October in Austria since 1959!

But today, Autumn has come overnight!
The bright sunny skies belong to the past!

And we really enjoy our first
COSY COOL AND BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN WEEKEND!
Happy Skywatch Friday, Happy Weekend!

Burg Greifenstein and another view over Vienna

Go by train to Kritzendorf, 10 miles northwest of Vienna,

follow a steep path through the wineyards up the hill.

Pause for breath and look back over the large floodplain of the Danube,
stretching between Bisamberg on the northern side (left)

and Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg on the other side of the river (right).

Walk on and soon you get a nice view of the towers of Klosterneuburg and of the skyline of Vienna behind!

Take a two hours walk through the Vienna Woods, then slowly descend towards the Danube,
and take a rest at the medieval castle of Burgruine Greifenstein!

Enjoy the beautiful view and, if the season permits, take a refreshing swim in the Danube's old arm!

I hope you enjoyed our walk!

For a more detailed view, please enlarge the pictures!

http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Autumn roses

The pink colours of the roses are slowly shading off.

But they are still beautiful!

And the Autumn colours and spider webs are taking over!

Visit the global flower shop:

Autumn crocus and a nice view over Vienna

Last Sunday we took a walk in the outskirts of Vienna.
The meadows of Schwarzenberpark were full of autumn crocus!

We walked on towards the soft hills of the Vienna Woods.

From time to time the woods opened and we stepped out on the steep meadows.

People were squatting in the grass, enjoying the sun and flying their kites.

The autumn air was quite clear, we could see St. Stephen's Cathedral in the distance!


http://www.scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Today's flowers - Autumn Sunflower

Autumn has come to my part of the world,
and it paints the world golden.

Take a trip around the world in our virtual flower shop!
http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Thank you

LUIZ SANTILLI JR. - DENISE GULLICKSON - LAERTE PUPO - VALKYRIEN
for hosting this wonderful meme!

A Sunday trip to the pine woods of Bad Vöslau

Dear friends, I caught the flu last week, but now I'm back!
This is a report from our last trip through the woods near Vienna!
Enjoy!

Bad Vöslau is a small town 25 miles south of Vienna.
It is situated on the slopes of the Vienna Woods and it is famous for its hot springs and its red wines.
And also for its lovely old architecture from around 1900.

But last Sunday we came to Bad Vöslau to take a stroll through the large pine wood forests around.

Before we entered the forest, we enjoyed the view over the wineyards.
Here the red wine was cultivated on a large scale as early as 1770.

The sun casted lovely shadows on the grey trees, and the leaves on the ground were sweet with autumn.

We followed a path called "E2".
E2? Later on we found out that "E2" means
Esoteric path no. 2.
*lol*

Esoteric?
E2 turned out to be a truly romantic and solitary path
(which did NOT lead to Vöslauerhütte but near it)

but on its way we came across some old limestone pits,

and even some heaps of mighty granite rocks called "Hexenstein", Witchrocks.
E2 - Esoteric! *LOL*

I climed up on top of Witchrock,
and the dog was frustrated because it was too steep for her to follow.
:(

The wood was full of Cornelian Cherries,

and it was the first time in my life that I found them really sweet and overripe!

Cornelian Cherries, "Dirndln", are widespread in Lower Austria, they are used for making jam, and also for the delicious and rare Dirndlschnaps!

Autumn had also painted the fruits of the barberries red,
and made the flowers special.

A look up in the sky showed a different world:

the beautiful ornaments of the dark pine trees against the bright magic sky.

Our dog enjoyed the hike,

and when the forest suddenly changed from pines to beeches and oaks,
(which is not unusual in this region)
we were not surprised to find plenty of the wild growing Cyclamen persicum, Alpenveilchen.

Link to Google Maps Bad Vöslau.

Please find more contibutions to Scenic Sunday here:

THAT'S MY WORLD

http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

More Vienna pictures coming soon...

The "Old" Danube

Schloss Belvedere

The photographer;)

Back at the Danube again...

More Vienna photos coming soon :9

Today's flowers - "Sommerflieder"

Purple Buddleja davidii flowers,
growing wild at the bank of the Danube

Visit

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

A Sense of Autumn

This evening we visited our favourite "Gastgarten" in Stadtpark,
sitting under the sykamore trees, chatting.
On our way home we noticed that autumn is coming soon.

Even the statute symbolizing Autumn,
Herbst,
is smiling wistfully :)

Enjoy the last warm summer evenings!

Today's Flowers - Disteln und Enzian

Wollkopf-Kratzdistel (Cirsium eriophorum), the Woolly Thistle

And...
Schwalbenwurz-Enzian (Gentiana asclepiadea) - the Willow Gentian

On our hiking tour in the Austrian Alps near Styria's capital Graz,
two hours by car from Vienna,

we found many of these beautiful Alpine flowers
on the Alpine meadows of mountain Hochlantsch.

For more flowers from around the globe see http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Camera Critters - Summer fun with dogs

The old arm of the river Danube at Greifenstein near Vienna is a paradise for swimmers - and for dogs as well:)
I sat at the beach and watched a little dog trying to jump on his owner's airbed.
A second dog appeared -it ended up in a mess!

Happy summertime!

A Viennese Sunset at the New Danube

A Viennese sunset at Neue Donau, under Reichsbrücke at Underground Station U1,
5 minutes from the centre of the city (where I live).

I went swimming after work this evening, cooling down, relaxing, enjoying the sunset,

regenerating.

I do love Vienna!
With all my heart!

Have a nice weekend, my dear friends!

Today's flowers - Flowers and butterflies

On August 4, 2009 my friend Brigitte and I made a trip to a very flat hill called "Hundsheimer Kogel", situated about 50 km east of Vienna, overlooking the large wetlands of the Danube, and within walking distance of our neighbouring country Slovakia.


This unspectacular hill is remarkable for its warm and dry climate which is very similar to that of the grass covered plains of Eastern and South Eastern Europe, and of its specific flora.

That's what the butterflies love!

All pictures taken at Hundsheimer Kogel

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

SWF - A grey sky but...

The sky is grey in Vienna today, as you can tell from the water of the New Danube,
but we went swimming nevertheless!
AND STUNNING NEWS:
My dog can swim, too!

Afterwatching and trying to catch fish all the time this summer,
in vain, of course,
today my dog overcame her fear of water and swam out into the open FOR THE FIRST TIME !

Believe me, she is really proud about that!,
Well, a dog's life...

Watch the sky all around the globe and gather some stunning news now and then :)


http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Today's flowers - Mountain flowers

Please enlarge the photos for a better view of fairy land :)

We found Eisenhut, blue monkshood, and Sauerampfer, sorrel, growing in an altitude of about 1.800 m / 6.000 feet,
in a soggy meadow of Rax Alpe.

See more flowers from all around the worlde here:

http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/