Fotoeins Fotografie

Bahnhof Köln Messe-Deutz. At left is the memorial plaque: Gedenktafel NS-Deportation Köln-Deutz. Below the wall plaque on the pavement is a stone marker: “Nie wieder” (never again), by Helga Eitz (1993).

On the east bank of the Rhine was the Kastell Divitia Deutz (Castrum Divitensium), a late-Roman fortress completed about 315 AD/CE. This structure formed a part of the fortifications along the Roman Empire’s northwest border. This frontier region is also called the “Lower German Limes” which in 2021 was inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At dusk in the city’s 5th district.

Wattmanngasse 29., in the 13th district. In 1914, Ernst Lichtblau, one of Otto Wagner’s architectural students, designed and built this 3-storey apartment building in the Art Nouveau style with the exterior covered by a chocolate-brown Majolica frieze.

“Summer”, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, completed in 1563. A woman is represented by the products of a plentiful harvest with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The painted face is neither smooth nor continuous with the inclusion of pears, cherries, gherkins, peaches, garlic cloves, an open pea pod, and wheat shafts. Arcimboldo “weaved” into the straw their own name and the year on the neck collar and shoulder, respectively.

Baden bei Wien: Hauptplatz. The main plaza in Baden’s Old Town is part of the inscription area for Baden’s inclusion in “The Great Spa Towns of Europe”, a 2021 UNESCO World Heritage Site incorporating 11 spa towns across 7 European nations. Composer Ludwig van Beethoven spent 3 summers from 1821 to 1823 in an old coppersmith’s house where he composed a part of his 9th and final “choral” Symphony.

Julius Meinl (am Graben), initially founded in 1862, is one of the oldest coffee roasters in Europe. At lower right is a bee representing “life and growth” for the 1st Austrian Savings Bank (1819) which is now 1st Bank Austria.

Inside the north entrance at Vienna Hauptbahnhof (central station) is the lion of St. Mark, a sandstone sculpture created in 1873 by Josef Leimer for the city’s 2nd Südbahnhof (South train station), which was completed in 1874. With the Südbahnhof as a starting point for southbound destinations, direct train service to Venice was symbolized by the St. Mark’s lion; 8 of these sculptures graced the top of the train station. Only 2 of the 8 lion sculptures survived; one “returned” to its original location, placed on the ground floor of the new Hauptbahnhof in late-September 2014.

Minona von Stackelberg memorial, at the former Bánffy grave (48A/G1/2) in Vienna central cemetery.

St. Michael’s Church has roots dating back to the 13th century, but its present-day appearance is mostly a late 18th-century work of renovation. Directly above the entrance portico is a 1725 Lorenzo Mattielli baroque statue, depicting archangel Michael casting the devil into hell. Michael’s shield carries the Tetragrammaton YHWH/YHVH (‫יהוה‬‎).

Israeli artists Maya Gelfman and Roie Avidan created the Mind the Heart project in 2009 with their works appearing around the world. In 2019, they created this piece, “mantra”, in the 1st district near the south end of Salztorbrücke. Birds made with black yarn are connected by a thread of red yarn.

Sigmund Freud often made the trek from his home in Alsergrund north to the foothills. In the summer of 1895, he stayed at Schloss Bellevue where on the night of 23 July he interpreted his dream as some form of wish fulfillment. In the place of the demolished palace, there’s a small memorial dedicated in 1977 to Freud with a view of Vienna.

The green city, on foot or by bike; northwest view over the New Danube in the city’s 21st district.

1., Schreyvogelgasse 8 (Mölker Steig): that famous doorway from “The Third Man”.

1., Rauhensteingasse 3. This door to the Freemason’s Grand Lodge is across the street from where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived until his death in 1791. Himself a member of the Freemasons, Mozart embedded Masonic imagery in his opera “The Magic Flute” (Die Zauberflöte, K.620). At the centre of the highlighted door is a star with rays radiating out to a square. Hanging over the door is a large stone block (“Rauhenstein”) held between metal calipers. Geometry, symmetry, and calipers are Freemason symbols for “order and balance”. The three white knobs is a Freemason “three-dot” pattern similar to the mathematics symbol for “therefore” (∴). The bottom knob is an electronic “pad” or device for keyless entry.

Siemens technology at Technisches Museum (Technical Museum): green “go” pedestrian-signal with two women. In May 2015, Vienna hosted the annual Eurovision music and television extravaganza. The city took the occasion to make a statement about equality and tolerance to residents and visitors. Many of the city’s pedestrian crossings with solitary male figures were replaced with hetero- and gay-couples, in both red (stop) and green (go). With the post-Eurovision plan to remove these fixtures rejected, the “Ampelpärchen” (traffic-light couples) remain popular today.

Between Easter 2021 and September 2022, Billi Thanner’s sculpture had been installed inside and outside St. Stephen’s Cathedral. At night, the installation on the cathedral’s south tower was visible far and wide, appearing like a beacon.

University of Vienna’s library and reading room; keeping pristine and (relatively) bug-free: no carry-bags, no jackets, no food.

Just about everybody who makes the cakes and pastries here are retirees. There’s outdoor seating by the sidewalk, but I’ve walked inside into a family room, decorated by someone’s grandparents who’ve lived long lives, complete with knick-knacks collected over years and decades. The sight and warmth hit a chord, as I barely knew my elderly grandparents.

Born in Frankfurt, Anne Frank is one of almost 12-thousand people whose names are memorialized here at Neuer Börneplatz.

At the southeast periphery of Frankfurt Airport, the Berlin Airlift Memorial is accessed “landside” from Zeppelinheim. The two planes on display are: 43-49081 Douglas C-47D Skytrain (foreground) and 44-9063 Douglas C-54E Skymaster. On 25 June 1948, Soviet forces in East Germany blocked road, rail, and water access to West Berlin. From their airbases in West Germany, the United States and United Kingdom began airlifting food and fuel supplies to West Berlin for almost one full year. On 12 May 1949, the blockade ended when Soviet forces reopened access by land to West Berlin.

Illuminated in morning light: Altstadt (Old Town), “Mainhattan” bank towers in the background.