Quick tips for a brief trip to Vienna

I was due to attend the European Congress of Radiology next week, but I learnt this morning that it had been cancelled due to the current coronavirus situation. I have cancelled my visit but a friend and colleague who was due to attend and present a paper has decided to carry on with the trip, and have a holiday instead. I've been to Vienna quite often, on the pretext of attending the congress, but it's her first time so here are a few very brief tips, off the top of my head, based on my own experience, and my personal inclinations.

Getting there from the airport

There is a special airport train, the CAT, but check out the regular Austrian Rail service which is much, much cheaper. Visitors from the UK will be shocked by fares of around 5€. It might even stop closer to your hotel.

Things to see

Imperial Vienna

The Habsburg Empire ended in 1918, but Vienna proves that you don't need a reigning monarch to wallow in full blown Royal and Imperial (Kaiserlich und Königlich, or K&K) tourism. The imperial palaces, starting with the Hofburg, are worth visiting. Among other things, you can see in the palace museum the folded dinner napkins, still used by the Republic for formal occasions, whose technique remains a state secret. Throughout the city there are establishments styled "K und K" for Kaiserlich und Königlich, or Royal and Imperial, including pastry shops, shoemakers, barbers and so on.

Architecture

There is the great gothic cathedral of St Stephen, of course, and there are the grand baroque palaces, but unique to the city are the buildings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the Viennese Secession, such as the Looshaus opposite the Hofburg (now a bank), the Secession Building (also an art museum), the Postal Savings Bank, and the Majolikahaus by the  the Naschmarkt, to name a few Which brings us to the museums.

Museums
Note: most museums are closed for one day each week

For an overview of early modern art and design, there are permanent displays at MAK and the Leopold Museum (you can get a combined ticket).

MAK is the museum of applied art, whose construction was inspired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and serving a similar function. The Leopold Museum has as its focus Austrian art of the late nineteenth century and Modernism. It is located in the MuseumsQuartier where there are other excellent museums with a modern or contemporary focus, notably mumok (modern art), Kunsthalle Wien (contemporary art), and AzW (the Viennese Architecture Centre).

The Albertina houses the worlds largest collection of graphic art and there are always big and excellent exhibitions. A modern art branch opens on 13 March 2020.

Across from the MuseumsQuartier, and facing each other, are the magnificent Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History Museum) and the Naturhistorisches Museum Natural History Museum, both with excellent collections.

Food and Drink

The Viennese cafe has been listed by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural Heritage of mankind. They are places where you can sit for as long as you like with your coffee. Most have food and cakes.  Coffee in Vienna comes in a range of styles that you might not be familiar with: see this guide and this one. The visitor is advised to do a bit of online research and visit a few establishments. My list of famous Viennese cafes is on this google map.

Looking for something light and economical? The bread here is superb and there are bakeries everywhere which also sell sandwiches and pastries. The big chains like Der Mann and Anker are good value.

Close to St Stephen's cathedral, the unpronounceable Trześniewski, on Dorotheergasse serves delicious small open sandwiches with soft toppings at 1.40€ each which are highly recommended. I'm really fond of this place and I made a guest appearance on television when Rick Stein was filming there. Let's just say I didn't think much of his commentary when I watched the programme.

Don't forget the sausage stands. They are generally pretty good.

As for restaurant food, that's for another post. But before ending, I must mention the Loos American Bar, designed by the famous architect Adolf Loos in 1908. It's tiny, the smallest bar in Vienna, but beautiful, and the cocktails are excellent, if you can get in.

Art et Marges Musée; Outsider art in Brussels

We discovered this little museum on a trip to Brussels back in April. Housed in a rather nondescript unit in a row of shops, with its entrance at street level in a brick and concrete slab block, it's easy to overlook. The museum is dedicated to "outsider art": work created by untrained artists outside the mainstream, often with social problems, learning difficulties or psychiatric problems. 

During our visit, there was a joint exhibition by Guy Brunet and Josselin Pietri, both self-taught artists and cinema enthusiasts.

Guy Brunet (b 1945, Viviez-Aveyron, France) is the son of cinema operators. After doing a variety of jobs, and becoming unemployed in the 1980s, he decided to become a one-man filmmaker. He produces his own handcrafted films, writing his own screenplays, and using cardboard cutout characters and sets constructed from cardboard. 

Josselin Pietri (b 1973, Parilly, near Lyon, France) creates sculptures and pictures, also using cardboard and also inspired by the movies.

It was an amazing display. The artworks were beautiful and wonderful creations, made from the most commonplace of materials. The exhibits perfectly captured the spirit of the movies. Many of them had lots of charming details, and all were very inventive.

The first floor gallery showed works by other artists. I'm ashamed to say I failed to record the names of many of them, but it was a marvellous and varied display, of which this is a selection.

I was particularly taken by these guns and rockets by André Robillard (b 1931):

When you visit the museum (which you must), look in on the nearby Cité Hellemans, a beautiful art nouveau-influenced social housing complex built in the early 20th century. Also close to the museum are the eclectic furniture and antique shops on Rue Haute and Rue Blaes.

Art et Marges Musée

Rue Haute, 314

1000 Brussels

http://artetmarges.be/en/musee.html

Practical Guide to Truffles (Book Review)

I don't know much about truffles. I've eaten some dishes containing truffles, but that's about it. However I've always been a bit curious about them, given all the fuss that people make, and recently I had the opportunity to learn a bit more.

On a recent trip to the South West of France, I chanced upon this slim volume in the gift shop of the Chateau of Monbazillac. It is well-written, informative and unpretentious, and I strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about truffles It's definitely worth reading if you are planning to spend your money on them.

A few interesting things which I have learnt:

There are several species of truffles, of which only two are of gastronomic interest: the black Périgord  truffle (Tuber melanosporum), and the white Alba truffle (Tuber magnatum).

Other species are either not very interesting, i.e. not very aromatic, or even unpleasant. This is worth knowing as an ill-informed buyer could end up paying a lot of money for something of no value.

Black and white truffles are quite different in the way they should be prepared.

Black truffles may be fresh, or preserved. Fresh truffles do not last for long: not more than a week when carefully packed stored in a refrigerator. So if you have spent a wad of cash on your fresh truffle (hopefully Tuber melanosporum and not one of the inferior or nasty varieties), you should prepare it and eat it immediately. Preserved truffles, it should be noted, are in no way inferior, merely different. The book describes the dishes for which each type is most appropriate.

It has become fashionable to shave raw truffles over food, but this practice, I have now learnt, is only appropriate for the white Alba truffle, because the black Tuber melanosporum only releases its aroma at 40C, so shaving a raw black truffles over your pasta is a complete waste. The Alba truffle, on the other hand, does not stand up to cooking, and should only be consumed raw, as a condiment, so if you have one of those, shave away.

As for truffle oil, this is neutral vegetable oil to which synthetic truffle aroma has been added. The ingredient was discovered in the 1980s in the course of biological research into truffles, and is identical to its 'natural' counterpart, in that it is exactly the same chemical. If you see something in your bottle of truffle oil that looks like a piece of truffle, it's just there as an ornament, or to mislead the customer, and does not contribute to the flavour or aroma. It might even shorted the shelf life of the oil if it degrades more rapidly. For more information on truffle oil, there's an interesting article in Wikipedia.

There's lots more in the book about the history, biology, selection, purchase, preservation, preparation and cooking of truffles, all written in an easy-to-read and engaging style. I now appreciate that its worth learning a bit about them before seeking them out in order to avoid disappointment. This book concerns itself almost exclusively with Tuber melanosporum, so I think that anyone wanting to go into the Italian Alba truffles should probably look for a similar sort of book on the topic.

Practical Guide to Truffles - Truffle is a simple product
Pierre-Jean & Babeth Pébeyre, Sophie Brissaud
Féret . Published 21/03/2014
http://www.feret.com/livres-gourmands/practical-guide-to-truffles.html

New edition (in French)
Manuel de la truffe, nouvelle édition - La truffe est un produit simple
Auteur : Pierre-Jean et Babeth Pébeyre, Sophie Brissaud
Date de publication : 15/11/2016
http://www.feret.com/livres-gourmands/manuel-de-la-truffe-nouvelle-edition.html

Review: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes, BBC2

I chanced upon this television programme the other day, the first in a 4-part series, and I've been hooked. The Series is presented by actor and property developer Caroline Quentin, and architect Piers Taylor. In the first episode they visit some extraordinary houses in mountainous locations, and I found it engrossing.

All the houses were utterly modern, and completed within the last 10 years. They were located in different locations: mountains in New Zealand, California, the Arizona desert, and the Swiss Alps. Each one was a response to a different environment. One of the houses had a roof made from an old Boeing 747 wing. Another had walls made of rammed earth. They were all very different and all very beautiful.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/07/the-worlds-most-extraordinary-homes-review-grand-designs-on-a-grander-scale

http://www.theartsdesk.com/tv/worlds-most-extraordinary-homes-bbc-two

It was especially interesting to have the architect explain, with the aid of sketches showing the plans and sections, how each house worked, and how the design adapted to the surroundings. At a time when many people are hostile to the idea of modern construction in the countryside, this programme shows how the best architecture of our time can surpass that of the past. It was good having a pair of presenters, one an architect and the other an enthusiast, to bounce ideas and responses off each other.


Here is a BBC preview and discussion about the series:

The next episode is about house in the forest, and I look forward to watching it.



The World's Most Extraordinary Homes, currently on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer

Piers Taylor, the architect and co-presenter, is the founder of Invisible Studio.

Houses featured:
747 Wing House, Malibu, California, USA
http://www.archdaily.com/165172/747-wing-house-david-hertz-architects

Tucson Mountain Retreat, Arizona, USA
http://www.archdaily.com/370237/tucson-mountain-retreat-dust

Te Kaitaka, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand
http://www.archipro.co.nz/inspiration-library/building/te-kaitaka-lake-wanaka-stevens-lawson-architects

House on the Rigi, Switzerland
http://www.archdaily.com/1461/holiday-house-on-the-rigi-afgh

Places, Politics and Printmaking – The Artwork of Imogen Thea Humphris

Guest post by Lynn Reynolds

It’s always a pleasure to discover art I’ve never encountered before, and the recent Festival of Print held by East London Printmakers was a veritable wunderkammer of talent.

Imogen’s work was on display at the Festive Open Studios segment of the event, modestly occupying the table furthest away from the nibbles and mince pies. The first thing to catch my eye was this:

 

It’s a map of the strip clubs of east London, produced for the East London Strippers Collective. The collective, I was delighted to learn, is a real organisation dedicated to improving the image of and working conditions for professional strippers in the capital’s easternmost boroughs.

And of course there’s a story behind the map. “I wanted to capture a snapshot of the strip club industry in east London as it was at the time, because Hackney Council (among others) is making it harder for these venues to become licensed,” said Imogen.

As I browsed through the other prints on Imogen’s stall, it became clear that her work is all about expressing the struggles and conflicts which happen in different places. One especially striking image, a photogravure, depicted a chaotic tower of shipping container-like structures reaching for the distant sky, a Heath Robinson-style tower of Babel.

 

Image: East London Printmakers

The whole thing is topped by a sign in Hungarian. Most of us can’t read it, because this is not a language we’re familiar with. This is the House of Refuge, a fictional structure created by Imogen to represent the experience of refuges travelling across Europe. It’s not clear whether the house is a sanctuary, place of hostility or all of the above. We’ll just have to wait and see.

It wasn’t surprising to learn that Imogen’s background is a rich one, filled with diverse influences. She studied architecture for six years, but knew early on that practising this profession wasn’t for her. Instead, she focused on international development and conflict, and set out to explore this specialist interest as a fine artist.

This strikes me as a timely decision.

We now live in a world where it’s hard to ignore the consequences of war, climate change, oppression and poverty. Our politicians are masters of chaos, and society is becoming ever more polarised.

It seems to me that we need artists like Imogen more than ever. The beauty and virtuosity of her work connects with the viewer on a deep level, and helps us move beyond the reassuringly simple ‘us and them’ perspective sold by the people in power.

When I went to the Festival of Print I didn’t expect to find a beacon of sanity for our times, but that’s exactly what happened. That’s why I hope ever more people get to experience the work of this fascinating artist.

Imogen Thea Humphris, Artist and Illustrator

Openness at the German Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2016

A thought-provoking, moving and inspiring display

For this year's Architecture Biennale in Venice, the Germans, with the permission of the authorities, created large openings in the walls of their listed Pavilion, to symbolise openness. The theme of the display was "Making Heimat. Germany, Arrival Country", an investigation of the "urban, architectural and social conditions of arrival cities in Germany".

Dsiplays on the walls of the pavilion illustrated eight principles pertaining to how things should be set up in "arrival cities", the places where refugees and migrants live. The points they made were sensible, well thought-out, and not always self-evident.

I found it an inspiring and moving exhibit, especially in the light of recent events in the UK and the US. It was a good symbol for a country which has now been thrust into the role of leader of the liberal and decent world. A refreshing change from the poisonous, xenophobic bigoted mood in contemporary Britain.

Here are some pictures I took. It's worth reading the text.

More information on the project is available at makingheimat.de/ .

Cadorin exhibition at the Fortuny Museum

Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) was born in Spain but settled in Venice, and is best known as a designer of beautiful textiles. He was also a stage and lighting designer, painter and a designer of interiors. His house and studio in Venice was given to the city by his widow in 1956, and is now a museum. It is used for temporary exhibitions during which works by other artists are displayed alongside Fortuny's own work, fabrics, and other objects he owned and produced.

This must be one of the most beautiful interiors in Venice. It is also a nice place to be reminded that artistic production continued in Venice after the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.

The museum is only open for temporary exhibitions. We visited it during an exhibition dedicated to the Cadorin family, which was marvellous, as are all the exhibitions held at the Fortuny.

For more details, see the Fortuny Palace website.

Here are pictures taken during our visit, presented without any further comment.

Palazzo Fortuny

Campo S. Beneto, 3780, 30126 San Marco, Venezia VE, Italy

http://fortuny.visitmuve.it/en/home/