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Nippon Ya HandelsgesmbH
Faulmanngasse 5
1040 Vienna
01 5861084
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A great way to spend the evening without spending much...watch an Opera for free at the Vienna State Opera lawn (Wiener Staatsoper). 

Wien ist anders. This has been the slogan that the city has lived with through the years. In many ways this is true. Vienna as a city is different when it comes to childcare policies, family support, cleanliness maintenance, transportation system and a lot more. This is after all the city named this year's number 1 for having the best quality of life of any city in the world.

Red is the color of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (Social Democratic Party of Austria), one of the oldest party in Austria dating back to the post-war era. (More about them soon, the elections were held last Sunday and I had long wanted to write something about it.) Above, you can see a campaign poster of the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Haüpl. I didn't realize that it was caught in the picture until I was looking for today's post. This is the old tram that was used for the long nights at the museum, open doors and wooden interiors differentiate it from the trams of today.

As mentioned last post, Saturday was the yearly Lange Nacht der Museen in Austria (Long night of the museums). Now on its 11th year, there were over 650 participating museums...the number grew through the years. The event starts at 6pm and ends at 1 am, you pay 13 Euros for your pass which serves as a bus ticket and entrance ticket for all museums, special prices of 11 or less for students, handicapped and senior citizens...while kids below 12 (born October 1 ,1998 onwards) are free!

For a total of 7 hours how many can you visit?

My 9-year-old daughter and I only managed to visit 7 because we started at 7pm and ended at 11:30 but hey, 7 museums for 13 euros, cheap and really worth it. It was not a good idea buying the ticket on the day itself though. I should have reserved at least the day before.

There were buses number 1 to 5 from the startpoint (below post) that take a specific route to drop visitors to different museums. If one is adept with the train routes then it's easier to travel because the buses are full and take longer too. 

Now, I wouldn't feature the museums according to sequence, I just happen to pick Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's house for today. This was actually our last stop for the night. The Mozarthaus is located at the back of the Stephansdom at the city center and a 5-minute-walk from the trainline U1 Stephansplatz.

The building houses a cafe  and a souvenir shop on the groundfloor and the first floor extension, respectively. The first floor is the apartment where Mozart and his family lived with its original division. There were only speculations as to where the actual kitchen, workroom, living room and bedroom could have been...the building stood since the 17th century afterall. Mozart lived here from 1784 to 1787, the first floor was opened to the public in 1941, 150 years after his death. The whole building was then opened as a centre dedicated to the musician/composer's life and works in 2006, on his 250th death anniversary. The third and fourth floors exhibit letters, photos and other mementos of Mozart's friends and colleagues as well as a 3d presentation of the Magic Flute.

I knew for sure that photos would be prohibited but I saw a woman taking shots so I took 3 at most hurriedly and was soon told by an attendant not to. :D (The other woman got lots though lol.) Apart from a portrait of Mozart painted by a friend and the stairs photo above, this is the other one, a red and a black coat/tunic (I'm lost as to what this is in English) the composer wore.

 Join us...

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Ruby Tuesday

I love to draw. As a kid, drawing was one of the three things I enjoy at school (the other two would be English and Sports - volleyball, basketball, chess -?-). I remember too that I'm ok with an HB pen and I'd draw things I like. I once attempted Van Gogh's Irises and it was one of the best watercolor I had. Then, I outgrew the hobby, I started to like reading and writing more and I ended up not drawing or painting but writing about paintings and painters. Well, I enjoy that part too and kept in touch with my favorite painters who used to be students but are now professionals in their field...

The trip to the Kindermuseum was one of the many that I had planned to do but never happened. I've listed down the museums I plan to visit with the kids and so far, only two have been in fruition :D Come October would be the Lange Nacht der Museen, an annual event where enthusiasts can visit the Museums in the city for a discounted price. Hopefully I'd be able to do it this time.

So to the photos, the kids can draw something related to water or things that they relate to water in the Museum --- See the drawing tent here.

One that impressed me was the drawing below the two in this photo, not just because it was nicely done but because of the message it relays.