Wieder Hier in Graz (15th-16th July 2014)

Here again in Graz! Back to my Austrian home to show my family around. It's funny because I never really did one proper photo album of Graz the way that I did the rest. Guess it's because of the "home city" syndrome. Regardless, this was one shot at it, albeit with my little sister's camera.

Coincidentally, as I'm uploading these, it's also the start of the new term in Graz this week. While it's a little emotional to bring these up again, I'm just thankful of all the wonderful brothers and sisters who made Graz my second home! I've intentionally left out tear-jerking photos.

The icon of Graz may be the Uhrturm but I chose the Graz Rathaus as the album cover because this was the first Graz landmark I set foot upon on a freezing cold and rainy evening when I first arrived.

Das Grazer Rathaus is actually the new town hall because the old one, built in the Jewish quarter was too small. It was built in a Renaissance style in 1550. It is now the office of the Graz mayor, council and city administration. They've kept up Graz's student city tradition

Here's my day in Graz with my family, after we took a 45-minute drive from Maribor up north into Styria.

With my family just outside FH Joanneum. It's older than SMU alright, just 5 years older though. Best part of this was that home was just next door at Greenbox :)

Brought them up to Schlossberg via the Schlossbergbahn because it's not easy to convince all of them to climb up.

Another one with my family. This time, with the iconic Uhrtum!

Graz is Austria's second largest city at 127.56 kilometres square. The entire city along with Schloss Eggenberg is on UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage Sites,

Glad I got to say goodbye to Chris, Daniel, Nora and Julian before heading off. Here's the Rainbow that said goodbye to me just before we drove out of Graz.

Seeing the rainbow brought tears to my eyes. But I was certain they were tears of joy. While it's sad to say goodbye, I was joyful, grateful and thankful for everything I've learnt and experienced. The brothers and sisters I've met made it all the more special. You have all been a blessing to me!

Graz, danke für alles. Tchüss baba, bis bald!

Archive: From 24th June 2014 in Wien

Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (Society of Friends of the Music in Vienna) and the Wiener Musikverein. The "Great Hall" (Groß Saal) is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and is one of the finest concert halls in the world.

Archive: From 24th June 2014 in Wien

Karlskirche (St. Charles' Church) seen from Karlsplatz. One of the most outstanding Baroque church in the whole of Vienna. Regarded as one of the greatest buildings in Wien, it is famous for the 2 flanking columns of bas-reliefs along with its dome, which has the form of an elongated ellipsoid.

After leaving Graz in the evening on 15th, it was straight to Vienna for the night before getting ready for the next leg.

Still had a bit of time in the morning on 16th so I brought my family to the Hofburg to have a look around.

Seen here is the Wien Äußeres Burgtor, which translates to "outer castle gate". It is the "gate" by which you enter Heldenplatz towards the Hofburg from Ringstraße.

The section of the Neue Burg that leads to the rest of the Hofburg. On the inside, it houses the Festsaal (Festival Hall), the biggest hall in the whole of the Hofburg.

And that was it for Wien, as we headed to Schwechat, where the airport was for an outbound flight to България Bulgaria!

Wieder Züruck (9th-11th July 2014)

Back again to Wien, Hallstatt and Salzburg. Marked the beginning of an ambitious 3-week long road trip with my family and relatives. I kid you not, being the driver and the guide is no easy task but it sure was a lot of fun. Started it all off by leaving Graz on ÖBB's RailJet to pick them up at Vienna Airport. Condensed all of this into a day and a half because you've got to factor in the driving time from each city. That made it incredibly rushed but it was still enough to capture the essence of these 3 places.

Seen here in the album cover is the signature shot of Austria: Hallstatt. First time I came here was with my Singapore brothers on our own road trip in the first week we arrived. It was all foggy and freezing then. This time, it was much better.

Wieder Züruck, translates to "Back Again", because I'm revisiting these places again, with the hope that I might chance upon something new. Maybe I did...

Lens upgraded to an 18-200 and tripod upgraded to a more sturdy one... so there's going to be a lot of group photos featured. Starting with this one: where the Schönbrunn Palace is in the background.

Another one, this time with the Gloriette.

Another group shot which I guess is an inevitability... With the Schönbrunn Palace again but you can finally notice the pretty flowers in the gardens.

Honestly, I'm still not very impressed by the Schönbrunn Palace but the third time coming here has helped me realise it actually is pretty big. Perhaps coming here early in the morning meant there were less people crowding around so that can only be a good thing!

Maybe the warmer weather made the flowers in the gardens prettier. Or maybe it's cos my little sister and I were in pretty colours. But yeah... the Schönnbrunn was a little more beautiful this time round, especially without the blazing hot afternoon sun.

En Route to Hallstatt, a short stopover at Gmunden's Hauptplatz by the Traunsee. Was on the opposite side of the Traunsee with my SG brothers in February which was where my previous cover photo was taken. The mountains still look as magnificent, but the clarity is way better this time.

Finally got a decent shot with my family in Hallstatt.

Group photo for the young people. I guess you could say that my sister and I are the "much younger" two then :P

Hallstatt, the symbol of Austria, on most travel guide books. It's always crowded, regardless of the weather or time of the year, so you've got to pick the right time and the right places to get a good photo ;)

After Hallstatt, it was a drive up to Salzburg for the night before going up the Fortress the next morning. Here's something that I missed out the first time I came here: Mozart's statue. Nothing overly impressive, but still significant enough to include here.

It's not easy trying to get a shot with everyone from at the top of the Fortress, so I'm glad this worked out!

Salzburg, translates to Salt Fortress in English, is the capital of the State of Salzburg and is the 4th largest city in Austria, after Wien, Graz and Linz. 

This iconic view of Salzburg from atop the Festung Hohensalzburg features the Salzach and the Salzburger Dom among a host of others.

Was nice to be back here again just to get the road trip started on places familiar to me.

From here on out, it's mainly covering new grounds. Next up, Innsbruck, the capital of the state of Tyrol (Tirol, in Deutsch).

Wien: City of Dreams (7th-9th June 2014)

Spent most of 7th getting to Vienna from Stuttgart and most of 9th in Eisenstadt so 8th was probably the only full day in Vienna.

Vienna's legacy of music has left itself a "city of music" title but because Sigmund Freud used to call this place his home, it's also known as "City of Dreams". And I'd like to remember it that way as well because the beauty and all the good things said about Vienna is only in your dreams.

Before coming to Austria, I had always looked forward to seeing Vienna. But after travelling to so many other beautiful places, I set the bar pretty high for Vienna and was rather let down by it.

I've tried my best to pick the best out of this bunch but that's it, I'm afraid. The coldness, unfriendliness and obvious nationalistic attitude among the Viennese is sad because they ruin what is a beautiful city.

Although Graz is way smaller, with much less things to see, my best memories will always be from there. If you've gone to Vienna and say that you've already been to Austria (and think that it is indicative of Austria), you are gravely mistaken.

A city is only as beautiful as its people. Buildings stand out with beauty when the people around give you a warm and friendly feeling. I'm afraid this was not the case for the so-called "City of Dreams". It's just too bad that multiple transits and trips here have only served to enforce this perception.

(7th-9th June 2014)

Wiener Rathaus (Vienna City Hall) is the seat of the mayor and city council of the city of Vienna. Housed within the Rathaus is the famous "Wiener Rathauskeller" restaurant.

Located near the Volksgarten ("people's park"), the Volkskirche is just another one that's under construction and is now used as an advertising board by chips with ridges...

Österreichisches Parlament (Parliament of Austria) at Innere Stadt. In front of the Parliament building is the Athena Fountain where the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena stands on top of a column. She's dressed in armour witha gilded helmet and carries a spear as well as Nike, the Goddess pf Victory.

Mister, I think what you're looking for is up there. Look!

The Hofburg Palace used to house some very powerful Austrians and Europeans, especially during the Habsburg Dynasty. Apparently the Habsburgs came here during the winter because the Schönbrunn was their preferred summer home.

At Heldenplatz with the Archduke Charles of Austria statue and the Volkskirche at the back. Otherwise known as Heroes' Square, this plaza or square is notorious for being the place where Mr Adolf announced the Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich.

Stephansdom (St Stephan's Cathedral) is right at the heart of Vienna in Stephansplatz. It is considered to be one of the most iconic symbols of Vienna.

The unique, patterned and multi-coloured roof features a mosaic of a double-headed eagle, which was the symbol for the Habsburg Dynasty.

A return to the Gardens of Schönbrunn. First time I was here was for the Summer Night concert so it was a privilege to see it in the day. I must admit that I was a little disappointed because I thought it would be more colourful. Make no mistake though, it still is beautiful.

Take a short little stroll up past the Neptune Fountain all the way to the Gloriette. It was built because Maria Theresa wanted to use it to glorify the Habsburg Dynasty.

Schloss Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Palace) which honestly can't compare to the beautiful Ludwigsburg Palace in Stuttgart. Still quite impressive I must say :P

I know this only as the church at Antonsplatz in Antonspark. Unfortunately, there was no name attached to it...

Das Wiener Rathaus in der Nacht, sponsored by Gösser...

A little bit of Graz in Wien as Opus (a band that came from Graz) performs live at the Vienna Festival.

After the day trip to Eisenstadt, there was still time to head to Schloss Belvedere for a quick few shots. Here's the Lower Belvedere as seen from the Upper Belvedere.

The Upper Belvedere, taken from the gardens. Both the Upper and Lower Belvedere are Baroque palaces. Honestly, expected much better, considering I took a 30 minute walk to get here so this was quite a let down.

Oh well, that was it for Vienna this time round and I must admit that I felt a bit let down the capital. Had very high hopes for it. Guess I was getting too comfortable with the homeliness of Graz...

Sommernachtskonzert der Wiener Philharmonic Schönbrunn (29th May 2014)

My dream finally came true!!! My real reason for coming to Austria was for the annual Sommernachtskonzert der Wiener Philharmonic Schönbrunn!

I ventured down all on my own and left my friends at the Gloriette and felt so bad after that. Thankfully, they still managed to enjoy the music. Ever so grateful to Marcello who made this dream possible because he offered to drive up to Wien from Graz.

You may notice that a lot of people are still in winter wear... even though it's supposedly Summer. That's because it was cold that night, just under 15 degrees. And they said it was Summer... First, Spring didn't come and now even Summer is not coming. My goodness, looks like it's going to be Winter all year round in Austria.

Jokes aside... folge der Musik:

The 2014 Summer Night Concert at the Schönbrunn featured Lang Lang on the Piano along with der Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

(Written on 29th May 2014)