Sunday 23 February 2014

whereabouts: Meidling

This is the southern part of Meidling. Meidling is the 12 district in Vienna which is famous also known for its peculiar accent. Be aware: those who are able of speaking Meidlingerisch will beat you in any Russian course. No Viennese will pronounce Yalta as sweet and lovely way as the Meidlinger does. Classic exampe for a disadvantage becoming an advantage.
Huge spotlight from the right

Speaking of disadvantages: I did not want to leave the house late, because I was missing a beautiful day out there. Unfortunately work kept me busy at home and it was already late in the afternoon when I got on my bike. The disadvantage turned out to be a wonderful advantage, speaking in terms of light. On my way to my parent's place I was just in time to catch a late glimpse of this day full of sunshine.
 Who would have known that dirt can lead to interesting structures and effects on glass?!

The building is the underground station "Meidling Hauptstraße" in Vienna, designed in the 1970's, opened in the 1980's. In case you are from Vancouver and this station looks familiar to you: You are right! The AGU (short for Architektengruppe U-Bahn) from Vienna also designed the stations in Vancouver.

In case you don't see why I halted  - and you were hoping for nice photos of Schönbrunn and other scenic spots in Vienna -  my apologies, you might have to come back another time. btw: Schönbrunn is only one stop away. 
This is my understanding of scenic and nice and it looks exactly like this:
Some say dirty windows. I see layers of light and shade. You can't see what you see, even though you know what you see. Confusion and calm together.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did enjoy the light and being in the right place, at the right time. 
And this is the full picture:
I really did catch last glimpse of sunlight. By the time I arrived at this spot, the sun was already set. 

Across the stream you find the remains of the Jugend&Volk publising house. (not exactly Meidling any more, but "Rudolfsheim Fünfhaus") Today the colour of the storage building and the pale blue sky above the building reminded me of the flags I found to be draped around so many balconies and poles in the Ukraine, back in 2013, in another world. 
Back in the 1980's, this publishing house hosted a book club. Together with Sabine, Walter, Norbert and Martin I joined the club, (wow, I actually do recall their names! Do those names only sound serious to me? I mean Walter and Norbert.) These where our pre-teenage years:
It is amazing, how we always seem to be 1 decade late. The 1980's look quite 1970's.
What you also can tell from the photo: We were serious about books. Totally normal, no? A group of 11/12yrs old children, talking about books for fun.
Just kidding - this does not seem normal at all. It seems to come from another world. Our understanding of fun did change over the period of lets say 30 years.

Sentimental greetings,
Paula

PS: I happily inaugurate a new label. I have been thinking about "Vienna" for some time, it did not feel right for postings like this one. The Vienna you get to see here, does not ressemble the Vienna, which people usually have on their minds, when they picture their "image of Vienna". Long story short, from now on, "whereabouts: Vienna" will present you the not so touristic views. Maybe I will go through the archive and re-label old postings. The still tiny "whereabouts: Vienna" will grow in no time.

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