Skies just skies....

In Patagonia skies manifest themselves in a lot of fascinating ways. Evening, early morning or daytime, be prepared for some fantastic shows.

Clouds like rays coming from behind the mountains.

Or piles of cotton wool hanging above the landscape.

Turning more and more golden and orange as the sun sets very slowly.

Now this looks like an airplane to me..... it was flying over the Beagle Channel.

Something falling out of the sky? 

The unobstructed views are awe inspiring.

Sunset....

 ...... or sunrise; the skies are magnificent.

 The morning sun reflecting on the mountains.

But the most fantastic show I ever saw, was a long time ago in Puerto Natales. One evening the clouds looked as if they were on fire. Imagine people being inside their homes and missing this....

  

Snow, Sacher Torte and golden plates

In Europe winter is almost past. The statue Danubius (personifying the river Danube) and probably his wife or some river nymph don't seem to care much about their little layer of snow. Imagine Danubius trying to get her attention for something really important. Maybe the fountain is frozen? She pretends to listen but in the mean time she waits for the opportunity to have coffee and a piece of Sacher Torte with her friends .....



Further down the Burggarten is transformed into a winter fairytale. The empress Sissi must have seen it like this more than 100 years ago (ahh without the waste paper basket ...).

The snow keeps falling and the wind makes nice patterns on the steps. 

The giant glass house (Palm house) looks even better with this thin layer of snow.

 Sissi lived just around the corner in The Hofburg, a huge palace well worth visiting. 

There is an enormous collection of glasses, plates, dishes, candlesticks; anything related to the wining and dining of the Habsburg family.

Glasses rimmed with gold.

Gilded plates, dishes and bowls for banquettes. They have been used often. You can clearly see the wear and tear on the plates. There are also silver plates and fine porcelain for lesser occasions.

The art of folding napkins this way was a secret that had to be kept within the Hofburg. 

On the tables were exuberant conversation pieces.

Maybe they had Sacher Torte for dessert....  Nowadays the original Sacher Torte is to be had at the Cafe Sacher in the Sacher Hotel. Just across the street at the fountain of the nymph and her Danubius.

More about Sissi and Sacher Torte