7. Bezirk | Fotoeins Fotografie

25T76 Please, Vienna: may I have a Leica?

E75, V23.

I don’t want to be a king; oh no.

But I am a man of wishful thinking, at least for the duration of this entry.

In Vienna’s 7th district on Westbahnstrasse, there are a couple of city blocks that’s essentially “camera & photography row”. Personal highlights include the Westlicht Schauplatz für Fotografie, which promotes the visual medium as an art form with key exhibitions; and next door a Leica store, one of two direct brand-to-customer shops in the city.

I have a second-hand Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime compact camera that’s always been fun to use, because it’s small, light, and wide. Remaining strong in its 8th year with a shutter count past 110-thousand, I’m thinking about what might be next. There are some choices, and going “fixed” again to the X100 series would be fine, but I think the model’s 35-mm focal length is too long compared to my sweet-spot between 24- and 28-mm. Leica’s exquisite quality control in all phases including parts and production has always been a key selling point, but realistically, their suggested pricing is usually beyond my limit. (That D-Lux 8, though …)

I press my nose (or in this case, mobile) against the window of the closed shop, and dream about what it’d be like to hold, carry, and photograph with one of these beauties in my hands. Fortunately, the shop is closed for the day, eliminating for today any chance for temptation.

The answer to the very first question is a solid and confident “no”. 😅

*Westbahnstrasse in the 7th district: Leica store Wien West (left) and the Westlicht Museum for Photography (right).*

*Didn’t I just see in person here in Vienna* *a print of this very famous image?*

*Leica M6 10557P “PROTOTYPE-like”: 5700€.*

*The shop has other products, including the Rolleiflex Tele: 1560€.*

*Ducati Sogno “Per Collaboratore”: 1560€.*

*The word “Leica” is an amalgamation of the company name **Lei**tz and the word camera.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 22 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

25T66 Vienna: concrete flak towers in the 6. & 7.

E65, V13.

In the 6th and 7th districts stand two massive flak towers, each over 40-metres (130 feet) in height. Including the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, the Nazis ordered construction in Vienna 3 pairs of flak towers. One pair (“pair number 5”) was completed by mid-1944. In each pair, one tower is the “Leitturm” or lead/control tower, and the other tower is the “Gefechtsturm” or gun tower. “Flak” is an abbreviation for the German word for “anti-aircraft gun”: Flugabwehrkanone.

Because of their near-indestructible nature, all 3 pairs or 6 flak-towers today are incorporated into the modern urban landscape of Vienna. The former Leitturm in the city’s 6th district is located in Esterházypark, and is home to the aquarium Haus des Meeres (Home of the Sea), including a historical description of the towers. The “partner” Gefechtsturm is located in the 7th district about 500 metres to the northeast within the Stiftskaserne complex, now in use by the Austrian federal ministry of defence and closed to the public.

*“Haus des Meeres”, former Leitturm or control tower for “pair 5” in Esterházypark. The height is 47 metres (154 feet).*

*“Haus des Meeres”, as seen from below on Gumpendorfer Straße.*

*At the back is the former Gefechtsturm or gun tower for “pair 5”, now located in the Stiftskaserne. The tower height is 45 metres (148 feet).*

*The view east of the Gefechtsturm (gun tower) at upper-centre is from Lindengasse towards Stiftgasse.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 12 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

25T58 Vienna’s Eisfuchs: ice fox, ice cream

E57, V05.

Yesterday, I had lunch at one of my favourites at Yak+Yeti. Today, I revisited another favourite that’s Eisfuchs for their homemade ice cream. Nowhere as toasty as yesterday’s +35°C, today’s +25°C is plenty warm for a sweet cold treat.

Similarly to Yak+Yeti, I also discovered Eisfuchs for the first time in 2022, when I made the short walk up Neubaugasse from the 6th into the 7th district. I’ll always try something new, but every year since, I’m gonna have my two scoops: “Cheesecake Marille” (apricot cheesecake) & “Tarte Zitrone” (lemon tart).

There’s no inside seating, but there are benches on the street outside, as Neubaugasse is essentially restricted to buses, taxis, and service vehicles. I’m in the city for a month: multiple visits to the fox are an essential requirement.

*Eisfuchs, on Neubaugasse just south of Westbahnstrasse.*

*Sweet, creamy, tart, plus the crunchy bits.*

I received neither support nor compensation for this piece. I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 4 July 2025. This post composed within Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T69 One final full day in Vienna

E68 V35

Travel day 69, and day 35 in Vienna: the final full day in the grand city for this crazy ride. Another hot humid day in the books further emphasized my wish to travel/visit “small and close.” I managed to return to some of my (new) favourite places, and to consciously see everything I possibly could in “one last light.”

After 3 consecutive summers and over 100 days in stay, Vienna is very much now a part of me, although I seriously doubt the reverse is true. The city’s reputation is justified: people here can be grumpy and “unfriendly,” but I’ve gotten to know a few people and I’ve seen many different beautiful charming sides to the city across all 23 districts. I’ve no regrets, but what’s bittersweet is I don’t know when I’m coming back.

*In Rathauspark: #Wienliebe / #ViennaLove.*

*Heldenplatz: at what is Archduke Carl looking in the distance?*

*He’s looking northwest at buildings now related to the Federal Chancellery. At left in the background is the Minoritenkirche.*

*Inside the church is a grand copy of “The Last Supper” which Napoleon tried but failed to deliver back to Paris.*

2nd time here this visit, once again for their weekday lunch specials. I read a copy of today’s “Kurier” print newspaper, completed a couple of postcards for Canada, and checked online my travel plans beyond Vienna. Eating at a cafe or restaurant is neither rapid nor rushed.

*One last look at this part of the Innenstadt.*

*One last look towards Leopoldstadt, from Schwedensbrücke.*

Discovered many years ago on a visit to Berlin, Buchhandlung Walther König (WK) is one of my favourite bookstores. With a location in Vienna’s MQ (Museums Quartier), the shop is full of books on art, architecture, design, arty and artful looks at Vienna, and, naturally, photography.

*Seen in the MQ. “Steadily grumpy, but content” is the way I feel about this past month in Vienna. Nods to the fine actor Danny Trejo.*

*One last look at Ringstrasse architecture, with late-day light on the Natural History Museum, from Volkstheater.*

I made all photos above with an iPhone15 on 15 Jul 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T56 Vienna: “tell these people who I am”, by Iris Andraschek

E55 V22

In 2011, Vienna-based artist Iris Andraschek produced a series of installations as “carpets inscribed” into the pavement at 3 separate locations in the 7th city district (Bezirk Neubau). Each “carpet” highlights a woman’s story and her important contributions to the city’s history.

Landmarks – a series of art works, for example – provide impetus for exploring and discovering parts of a city. That’s been my approach to Vienna’s districts over the last 3 summers. Adding to memories I’m making, I keep finding the new, even in places I’ve passed through many times before.