architecture, Vienna

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By day, the Uniqa Tower is a very impressive, 20-storey, modern office building but after dark, it becomes a wonderful work of art.

In 2006, 180,000 LED lights were installed from top to bottom and they 'perform' sequences of different patterns and different colours each evening. I wasn't able to take any good photographs of it at night but there are plenty on the Internet and you can see a video of it on the link I've pasted below. However, none of them does it justice. The many sequences are truly stunning and you have to see it for real to appreciate the full impact. Our hotel was right next door to it and every night when we came home, it was doing something different.

You'll find it on the edge of the Ringstrasse, on Aspernbrückengasse.

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The Mocca Club is Vienna´s Speciality Coffee House & Bar, featuring the biggest selection of single origin coffees. The Mocca Club offer over 45 freshly roasted single origin coffees and blends from all over the world. The Coffee can be Jamaica Blue Mountain, Kopi Luwak, or coffee beans from Hawaii, Kenya, Colombia, China, Costa Rica, Yemen, or Australia.

Besides the speciality coffee, they have a selection of creamy, hot-chocolates, whole leaf teas, pastries, international chocolates, breakfast and small snacks day and night, cocktails for the evening hours and world music all day round. Happy hour is from 6 -8 pm; 50% off the cocktail prices.

Another nice thing about this Club is the colonial hardwood furnitures that decorate the interiors. You can sit in these furnitures, enjoy your coffee or chocolate or cocktails, and/or relax, read a book, etc.

Mocca Club is located at Vienna´s Naschmarkt, on Linke Wienzeile 4, 1060 Vienna (6th district); next to the Wine & Co. Wine bar.

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There are three such a small shops in a raw offering classical look cloks made by the local craftsmen. I cannot say much of its location, but it is definetely in the centre of the town and in a walking distance from the cathedral. Clocks like this one might be a nice memory from Vienna.

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Two of the most unusual structures in Vienna are the two Flak towers (Flakturm) in the Augarten Park. These anti-aircraft towers where constructed in WWII, and thought to be bomb proof. The physical size of these huge structures is quite daunting and to watch people in the park playing and picnicing next to these structures is just amazing.

There is six towers still remaining in Vienna, the two in Augarten are in a bad state and fenced off to the public. Fortunatly a visit to a flak tower is possible. A vivarium (Haus-des-Meeres) has been constructed in a Flak tower in Esterhazy Park, it's just off Mariahilfer Strasse (one of the Main tourist shopping areas) and it is well worth a visit.

A structure has been attached to the tower and access was need to be cut through the walls, at this point you can see how well the tower has been constructed - we were just dumbfounded at the thichness of the walls.

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Day 2 : Spittelberg area

To end my second day of Vienna sightseeing, I took the underground (U-Bahn) from the Rathaus-station towards the Volkstheater-station.

Like this I arrived at the corner of Museumstrasse and Burggasse, opposite the street was the Volkstheater (Neustiftgasse 1).

Of course there are many theatres in Vienna, and it is said that most of these theatres are among the best in Europe.

The plays can vary from classical drama till Avant Garde.

The Volkstheater is an old theatre, but mostly they are playing modern performances, but now and then they are also programming a classical play and even sometimes a light opera.

I continued my journey along the Burggasse.

There is a tenement house quite near Stephansdom where Mozart used to live during his residence in Vienna . He wrote "Le noze de Figaro" at this house.
As today there is the 250th Anniversary of Mozart's Birthday (he was born on 27th January, 1756) I thought I would add this part.
Vienna (although Mozart was born in Salzburg) is often called as Mozart City. You can get a lot of stuffs connected with him from the chockolates called Mozart-Kugeln till the mugs with the design of his face and other ones.
The city is full of history, visiting the emperiors' palaces you can follow Mozart's ...

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The Anker Clock is a piece of Art Nouveau in the centre of the city. You will find it on Hoher Markt.
It is a clock from 1914 year projected by Franz Matsch. It was on the building which owner was an Insurance Firm called Der Anker. There are figurines which you can see at each hour and at noon listening to the music you can see all figurines, their parade.

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Look for the ornaments in Palmenhaus im Hofgarten - they were recently totally restored.The Palmenhaus also offers a great restaurant with a terrace to have coffee in the atmosphere, the emperor and his noblemen used to enjoy . Opposite of palmenhaus you will find one of the few places in the centre of Vienna, where you may spend the day, sitting on the grass of the park called Hofgarten.
Palmenhaus is behind of Albertina and in the backside of Hofburg - it is best to enter it from Ringstrasse.
Next to Palmenhaus you may see the "Schmetterlingshaus" - a building full of exotic butterflies - NOT dead like in Naturhistorisches Museum, BUT alive and flying around !