Vienna is doing what Vienna does in November and December (and sometimes in January and February). I like it. I find the mistiness soft and gentle, but, as you can see, it can go on for days at a time without a change. This explains why the Vienneselike to go to the mountains. Anyway, typical.
I was talking over the weekend with a friend who was visiting from London and mentioned that Carnival (Fasching) starts on November 11th. I’ve so internalized this, still remember having a member of the seminar hotel waitstaff bring a bottle of bubbly into the seminar room in the middle of a session, that I was surprised that he was surprised that this should be the case. I decided to explore.
After a quick search and skimming articles, I see that often Carnival really doesn’t start until Shrovetide starts, although there is a bit of disagreement as to when that is. (Some sites say Shrove Saturday, or the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, and some say Shrove Sunday — three days before Ash Wednesday.)
Fasching, however, is a different story. According to the website feiertage-osterreich (or Austrian holidays), Fasching does really start on November 11th at 11:11 a.m. Legend has it that on November 11th, the fools are woken up. The partying isn’t supposed to start until January 7th — the day after Three Kings — but time is needed for the preparations. It’s interesting to know that on November 11th the Head Fool (Obernarr) traditionally was given the key to the city and took over the government. (Some would argue that the Head Fool rarely leaves!)
Apparently this tradition comes from the Rhineland and didn’t make it to Austria until the middle of the 20th century. It certainly has become embedded (see hotel story above) since then, possibly because it aligns with St. Martin’s Day, which has long been a part of Austrian culture!
For German speakers, there are a few more details here: https://www.feiertage-oesterreich.at/festtage/faschingsbeginn/
The info screen on the tram is telling me that the Wiener Staatsoper reopened on this day in 1955. It was bombed in the final days of World War II. The auditorium and backstage area were completely destroyed. The Viennese are said to have wept openly in the streets as they watched it burn.
The opera chosen for the opening of the rebuilt house was “Fidelio” by Ludwig van Beerhoven, a story about unlawful imprisonment, courage, and justice.
A mild November Sunday and I took a walk with friends to the highest point in Vienna, the Habsburgwarte in the 19th district. Altitude: 542 m. I’d been to the Warte before but never when it was open. This time, I was able to climb the tower and admire the view from the top. What an amazing city! ❤️
Why am I grumpy? Because that, ladies and gentlemen, is a photo of a Christmas market to be. When I arrived in Vienna, many years ago, granted, there wasn’t a Christmas market in every corner of the city and, if I remember correctly, they didn’t open until the First Sunday in Advent. At last, I thought, I’ve found a land unmoved by the consumerism of free-market capitalism.
Well, it was too good to be true. For a number of years, the Christmas markets have opened the middle of November. This year they seem almost to be striving for a pre-Halloween date.
Grant (a.k.a. grumpiness).
https://orf.at/av/video/onDemandVideoNews53058
The magazine Condé Nast Traveller has released the results of their survey on the friendliest city in Europe. (We beat out Lisbon!?!) I hardly know what to say. Friendliness is fine, but the famous “Grant” (grumpiness) in Vienna also had something.
Makes me think of the Boston Globe (New York Times?) headline when the Red Sox finally won the World Series after well over 70 years of not winning it: Now just a team like any other?
Maybe the Russians were involved?
No Woman Could Have Painted This, They Said. They Were Wrong. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/arts/michaelina-wautier-kunsthistorisches-museum.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qE8.pgi-.lpf6oiJmjsKM&smid=nytcore-android-share
As women’s rights are once again endangered, it is encouraging to me to see that some long-past wrongs are being righted. (The painting that led to this re-assessment was discovered in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum [museum of fine arts] in Vienna.)
This one in Tokyo (the World Championships). Julia Mayer, who was the first Austrian woman to cross the finish line in the Vienna City Marathon in 2023 and 2024, came in 33rd. Might not sound like much to a Kenyan or Ethiopian, but Mayer said afterwards that she was absolutely satisfied and could not have done any better. It sounds like quite a dramatic race for her on a hot and muggy day. At the 20-kilometer mark, she was 46th (already better than her results in the World Championships in Budapest two years ago) and worked her way up slot by slot.
I’ll be very curious how she does in the VCM 2026, if she runs it.
Here the ORF story (in German; from September 14th — it’s taken me a while to find time to write): https://sport.orf.at/stories/3145551
Here is my report on the VCM 2023: https://ecbinvienna.com/2023/04/23/vienna-city-marathon-2023/
And on the VCM 2024: https://ecbinvienna.com/2024/04/21/vcm-2024-vienna-city-marathon/
A friend and I have been keeping an eye on this villa in Neuwaldegg. We’ve seen too many treasures over the years been allowed to decay to a point when they could legally be torn down. Invariably, they were replaced with faceless, cement structures that were, possibly, quite nice to live in but brought no joy to the folks out front.
This one sat on a construction site for about two years, and for a while it wasn’t clear which way the project was going to go. Then it started to look promising. This time when I walked by I was treated to the fully renovated version.
If the person who invested the time, money, and care into restoring this property ever reads this — thank you! Not only did you save a beautiful piece of Viennese history. You restored a tiny bit of my hope in people.
ecbinvienna 