Vienna / Austria
Day 1
Vienna, Austria’s capital. A capital steeped in artistic and intellectualy history. It was our first stop of a three city weeklong Oktoberfest trip. Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Frued all called Vienna home at some point. The architecture and schnitzel are also highlights. The three of us, Monita, Leah and myself arrived Wednesday night, with Monita on a later flight. We got to our Airbnb and headed to bed after a long day.
Rising early, we headed to Ulrich for breakfast, a trendy spot where you needed a reservation. Reservation, for breakfast. First for everything I guess, but they kindly gave us a spot inside. We walked into the center of the city area and met Pete and Leah outside St. Stehpen’s Cathedral. The current state of the impressive gothic style church was completed in the late 1400’s. And the original site had a church that was consecrated in 1147. The five of us wondered the streets of the city. We walked through parks and dodged the midday sun. The afternoon was spent in the park with a few drinks, many laughs which followed into the evening.
Day 2
We took a gamble on how we spent Thursday, luckily it was worth it. We did a full day bike tour with Vienna Explorer. It was 25km of biking through the Wachau Valley, Austria’s most famous wine region. A train took us west an hour were we started riding alongside the Danube River. It was such a nice change to be out of the city and in the countryside. Monita and I even climbed a hill in the town Durnstein to check out a ruined castle. We made it back down just in time for lunch, caught our breath, then carried on our tour. It’s fair to say we earned all the wine we drank, and on the train journey back to Vienna was a quiet sleepy one.
Day 3
We had most of the day in Vienna before taking the train to Munich that evening. After we checked out, we dropped out bags at the station and headed to Schönbrunn Palace. An absolutely stupid huge palace with 1441 rooms. And it was used as a summer palace for the Habsburg monarchs. The gardens surround the palace are impressive to say the least, covering a square kilometer! Again we wondered the streets and found the Hundertwasserhaus. An apartment house built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We than grabbed some lunch and boarded the train for Munich. Link at the end.
I love creating images that speak to me.
I grew up in a small town that nobody really knows about, Levin. Spent a good ten years in Hamilton making some of the best friends anyone could have. And now I’m living, working and playing in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. Also a small country that people have trouble locating – I’m looking at you America!
Life is about stories, and that’s what I love to capture and document. My shooting style is unobtrusive. You may be a natural in front of the camera, or have no idea what to do but before we even start I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and relaxed.
Things I love: Travelling to wherever I can, my partner Monita, homemade burgers, wood fired pizzas, the smell of rain on a hot summers day, mountains, the snow, sunsets and sunrises, star gazing, natural light, the aesthetic of wood, crashing waves and day dreaming.