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Showing posts from September, 2007

When autumn falls 秋來‧秋去

Autumn is a season full of fluctuations, changes and transitions. The weather this September fluctuates from one extreme to another. Bright sunny days are lovely, cosy and last for a few days. But when it's the turn of gloomy rainy days, they last just as long and come with a bite. The dark clouds and chilly air are certainly taking their time and are not leaving this place in a hurry. But they don't really need to now - in the coming few months, they can stay here and linger on as long as they wish ... (I don't want to think what it will be like ...) The sustained spell of rain at the start of month brought about some new colours to the land. The maple trees on the streets put on a mixed palette with different shades of red, yellow and green which look especially brilliant and lively under glorious sunshine. The second bout of rain, however, has undone the good job of the previous one. The green colour is hastened into yellow and the red is fading fast, as the red leaves t

Vienna, of history and music (2) 歷史悠遠、樂聲悠揚的維也納(2)

Vienna is home to another oldest existing amusement facility apart from the zoo, namely the Ferris wheel in the Prater Park. Actually, the Ferris wheel was damaged in World War II but was quickly restored as a symbol of the reconstruction of Vienna. Before boarding the wheel, there was an exhibition on a brief history of Vienna and Austria. This is no ordinary exhibition. The centre of the exhibition hall is a rotating stand, and at its perimeter cabins from the previous Ferris wheel were installed for displaying models depicting the development of Vienna and the Prater. On the walls above those cabins, there was a continuous piece of drawing illustrating the important events and personalities in the history of Vienna and Austria. The easiest way to see the picture, of course, is to stand still and let the rotating stand take you around it. 除了動物園,維也納有另一樣全世界最古老而仍保存至今的東西,就是柏拉特公園(Prater)的摩天輪——其實摩天輪曾遭二次大戰的戰火破壞,但之後以短時間修復,是維也納戰後復興的一樁大事。未登上摩天輪前,有展覽介紹維也納及奧地利簡史,這個展覽可算別出心裁,場館中央是個轉盤,轉盤外圍設置了好幾個從前是