Stolen Art at Museum Judenplatz Wien

The Jewish Museum of Vienna is a fascinating and well curated collection. The displays are thoughtful and well presented. Although some sections brought tears to my eyes. Some I viewed with amazement. One area did both.

This is a picture of one part of the 4th floor archive archive. It is filled with all the valuable Torah decorations that the Nazis stole form the European Jews. They burned all the scrolls but kept all the decorations made of gold and silver.

It bears repeating that this picture is only one section. The whole third floor of the museum is filled with other glass cases just like this.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Stolen Art

St. Stephen’s Cathedral Roof

St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna is like no other because of its glorious tiled roof. The south side of the Cathedral has the choir loft covered with 230,000 glazed tiles. The mosaic forms the the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the Habsburg dynasty. The roof is so steep that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and it is never covered with snow.

This photograph only shows one half of the roof. I would have needed a crane to capture the entire roof.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

St, Stephens Mosaic Roof

Mozart Lives!

Every big city has its street hustlers. In NYC there are the guys selling fake Rolex watches, in Honolulu it’s guys selling cruises and snorkel tours but Vienna has its own breed. Many guys of different appearance in white wigs and costumes selling tickets to Mozart concerts.

Vienna is a city of music and every night at multiple venues there are different concerts of mostly Mozart. Mozart is a really big deal in Vienna where he lived for a period. The hustle is the same but it does seem to be slightly higher class.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Mozart Lives

Acid Rain at Saint Stephens

Of course I am not a Catholic or Christian for that matter but appreciate visiting ancient churches. Cathedrals in Europe are some of the most wonderful examples of architecture in the world. I also had a special interest in Stephansdom. Stephen is my middle name and Saint Stephen is one of my favorite Grateful Dead Songs.

In any case I was shocked to see the toll acid rain has taken on the cathedral when we visited in 2016. I was use to seeing this on other cathedrals in Europe but because of the colorful special roof of this edifice it was even more disheartening.

As you can see they are making progress in the restoration but like other ancient structures it is a constant battle.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Acid Rain at Saint Stephens

Waiting in Isolation

Outside of St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) in Vienna the carriages wait for tourists. I saw a number of the drivers looking at their cellphones like this man. It occurred to me that in other times the men would probably gather together to share stories while they waited. There might have even be laughter or shouting as they shared the trials and tribulations of their jobs.

In our new society of isolation each man is alone with their virtual self and waiting for the world around them to deliver a fare. Forced isolation rather the sharing brotherhood with their fellow horsemen.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Waiting in Isolation

Lunch in The Park Vienna

Vienna reminds me a little of Paris. The Architecture, streets and even the underground are similar. In both cities it is also popular for workers to take their lunches in the many city parks weather permitting.

This young lady was enjoying a quiet moment on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Lunch in The Park Vienna

Mayor Dick Caliguiri”s Statue

I recently went by the Court House Downtown and walked by the statue of Pittsburgh”s former Mayor. I had driven by or walked by the statue countless times but never really studied it before. It is truly a great likeness of one of Pittsburgh’s best Mayors.

Caliguiri became mayor in 1977, and was reelected twice. He died in office in 1988. Under Caliguiri’s leadership, Pittsburgh began its second “Renaissance”.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Mayor Dick Caliguiri

Beautiful Barstow California

Not every place in California is beautiful. However even the Mohave Desert that runs between Pasadena and Las Vegas has some beautiful and unusual spots. Barstow however is not one of them.

It lies about halfway between the two cities and a lot of people stop there for gas, food, and Alien Beef Jerky. It is a town famous for UFO sightings.

Around town you will notice drawings of aliens and strange men drawn on deserted buildings. There are many of them. This is an abandoned gas station on the outskirts of town. In my opinion, it’s best to drive through Barstow and stop at Peggy Sue’s Diner.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Barstow CA

Summer at The Phipps

Its still not to late to see the Summer Garden at The Phipps Conservatory. In addition to all your summer favorites, there are some less flashy yet interesting plants to see.

I especially like plants that look like other things. This bromeliad looks like a star. And the plant below that almost looks like lace. The Phipps is one of Pittsburgh’s cultural treasures and deserves at least a couple of visits each year.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

Bromeliad

Lace Plant

Allegheny Goatscape at The Waterfront

The other day we decided to walk along the Monongahela River on the trail at the Waterfront in Homestead. We have not been there for a while. We knew that last year they got rid of the feral cat preserve they had along the river. I think insurance had closed that down.

WE were surprised to see goats and and a donkey roaming the trail along the river. They were being used to maintain the vegetation by the river behind Mitchell’s and other restaurants along the river. Improving the view and providing entertainment seemed to be the goals. It definitely made our walk more entertaining.

To see other images and buy apparel or prints, please visit my commercial gallery.

<

a href=”https://imageryphoto.net/?attachment_id=5886&#8243; rel=”attachment wp-att-5886″>