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Nib & Ember

A nib is the steel tongue of thought.
An ember is the stubborn heart of fire.

✨ 2025 highlights ✨

🎶 A lot of good new music came out this year, but my absolute favourites are the new albums by Florence + the Machine - “Everybody scream”, and Tanerélle’s “Burnout”. ♥️
🎻 Speaking of music, my neighbour, who learns to play the violin, is getting better, but doesn’t practice as often (to my displeasure). 🧐
🏆 Won Mother of the Year Award by bringing my daughter to school on a school-free day. 🫠
🏊‍♀️ Almost drowned from laughter at the pool and that’s when I found out I cannot swim and talk nonsense at the same time. 🫣
🛌 Speaking of laughter, I woke myself up not once, but twice in my sleep, because I laughed out loud at a joke I cracked in my dream. Then I read that it probably means I have some neurological issues and I laughed even harder at THAT joke. I still choose to believe it just means that I’m funny. 😁
🤖 Spent many sleepless nights in the company of ChatGPT, mainly discussing the sounds of my heating system in November. It proved to be more useful than any man I know, helping me figuring out what the swishing sound was and telling me how to fix it. 👨🏻‍🔧
I also fixed many other things this year, literally and figuratively speaking. Others I left broken. Literally and figuratively.

Also…
Other things happened but they are sure not as important! 😉

Cheers! 🥂

✨ 2025 highlights ✨

🎶 A lot of good new music came out this year, but my absolute favourites are the new albums by Florence + the Machine - “Everybody scream”, and Tanerélle’s “Burnout”. ♥️
🎻 Speaking of music, my neighbour, who learns to play the violin, is getting better, but doesn’t practice as often (to my displeasure). 🧐
🏆 Won Mother of the Year Award by bringing my daughter to school on a school-free day. 🫠
🏊‍♀️ Almost drowned from laughter at the pool and that’s when I found out I cannot swim and talk nonsense at the same time. 🫣
🛌 Speaking of laughter, I woke myself up not once, but twice in my sleep, because I laughed out loud at a joke I cracked in my dream. Then I read that it probably means I have some neurological issues and I laughed even harder at THAT joke. I still choose to believe it just means that I’m funny. 😁
🤖 Spent many sleepless nights in the company of ChatGPT, mainly discussing the sounds of my heating system in November. It proved to be more useful than any man I know, helping me figuring out what the swishing sound was and telling me how to fix it. 👨🏻‍🔧
I also fixed many other things this year, literally and figuratively speaking. Others I left broken. Literally and figuratively.

Also…
Other things happened but they are sure not as important! 😉

Cheers! 🥂

Drunk on jazz and wine. 😁

This year, I’m not lighting candles but I’m burning wishes from 24.12. to 06.01., thanks to Hedwig, who told me about this tradition. Have you heard of it?

You write down 13 wishes, burn them one by one every night and on the 6th of January you are left with only one - you should take care of it during the year, the rest will be handled by the universe. 💫🤭

I hope this tradition works better than the one with the grapes under the table, because I’m still recovering from that fiasco. 😅🍇

Drunk on jazz and wine. 😁

This year, I’m not lighting candles but I’m burning wishes from 24.12. to 06.01., thanks to Hedwig, who told me about this tradition. Have you heard of it?

You write down 13 wishes, burn them one by one every night and on the 6th of January you are left with only one - you should take care of it during the year, the rest will be handled by the universe. 💫🤭

I hope this tradition works better than the one with the grapes under the table, because I’m still recovering from that fiasco. 😅🍇

Ten years ago, I was really into baking. Many of the recipes I shared back then are still made by me and my friends, so I decided to translate them and share them on Nib & Ember. What surprised me the most, when publishing those ten years later, was the fact that back then we used to just go to our friends without invitation - someone would just show up out of nowhere and we would have a chat, possibly eat something together. It’s a bit different now, isn’t it?
Anyways, the recipes are on the blog, in case you’d like to bake. And if you do, don’t forget to invite me to judge the result of your effort. 😁
☕️🍪🍰

Ten years ago, I was really into baking. Many of the recipes I shared back then are still made by me and my friends, so I decided to translate them and share them on Nib & Ember. What surprised me the most, when publishing those ten years later, was the fact that back then we used to just go to our friends without invitation - someone would just show up out of nowhere and we would have a chat, possibly eat something together. It’s a bit different now, isn’t it?
Anyways, the recipes are on the blog, in case you’d like to bake. And if you do, don’t forget to invite me to judge the result of your effort. 😁
☕️🍪🍰

2025 started with a walk in Lainzer Tiergarten and I guess I’ll wrap up the year with another walk there.
A perfect escape from the overcrowded city centre and the busy Christmas markets. ♥️

Read more on Nib&Ember: link in Highlights | Vienna.

2025 started with a walk in Lainzer Tiergarten and I guess I’ll wrap up the year with another walk there.
A perfect escape from the overcrowded city centre and the busy Christmas markets. ♥️

Read more on Nib&Ember: link in Highlights | Vienna.

It might be just me, but not finding the big colourful explosions of flowers in the palm house today, and seeing the little flower nursery here made me think of new beginnings and starting from scratch.
And I’ll go with that. 🌺

It might be just me, but not finding the big colourful explosions of flowers in the palm house today, and seeing the little flower nursery here made me think of new beginnings and starting from scratch.
And I’ll go with that. 🌺

A lot has changed since the last time I visited the palm house in Schönbrunn: the magnificent colourful bushes are gone, but there are still some pink, red and violet flowers bringing in the cheerfulness.
Although different, it’s still very beautiful and inviting.
It’s just not the same. But it’s fine. We all loose some vibrancy from time to time. 😌

A lot has changed since the last time I visited the palm house in Schönbrunn: the magnificent colourful bushes are gone, but there are still some pink, red and violet flowers bringing in the cheerfulness.
Although different, it’s still very beautiful and inviting.
It’s just not the same. But it’s fine. We all loose some vibrancy from time to time. 😌

I haven’t been to the Palm House in Schönbrunn in almost two years and I just started wondering if it still looks like that in December. 🌴🌲🌺
Will have to go there soon and see for myself. 😁

I haven’t been to the Palm House in Schönbrunn in almost two years and I just started wondering if it still looks like that in December. 🌴🌲🌺
Will have to go there soon and see for myself. 😁

“Apart from being quite an impressive building, the Secession gives visitors the opportunity to see one of Gustav Klimt’s impressive works: The Beethoven Frieze. I love it! And mind you - I am not Klimt-obsessed, but this was so touching. My favourite part is the middle wall: the Hostile Forces.”

Link: Highlights | Vienna

nibandember.com

“Apart from being quite an impressive building, the Secession gives visitors the opportunity to see one of Gustav Klimt’s impressive works: The Beethoven Frieze. I love it! And mind you - I am not Klimt-obsessed, but this was so touching. My favourite part is the middle wall: the Hostile Forces.”

Link: Highlights | Vienna

nibandember.com

“From birth to death, from sunrise to sunset, from the first to the last hour - everything moves in cycles and this masterpiece has a beautiful way of showing it.”

Link: Highlights | Vienna

nibandember.com

“From birth to death, from sunrise to sunset, from the first to the last hour - everything moves in cycles and this masterpiece has a beautiful way of showing it.”

Link: Highlights | Vienna

nibandember.com

“My absolute favourite part of the whole VIENNA route experience, to be honest! It inspired me to dive deeper into the work of Otto Wagner.

When you visit the pavilions at Karlsplatz, you get two very different experiences - one is a museum, the other is turned into a nice café.

The museum is small, but if you stop and read everything, you will find many interesting facts about Otto Wagner and his impact on what Vienna looks like.”

Read more about the pavilions at Karlsplatz and the one in Hietzing on nibandember.com!

“My absolute favourite part of the whole VIENNA route experience, to be honest! It inspired me to dive deeper into the work of Otto Wagner.

When you visit the pavilions at Karlsplatz, you get two very different experiences - one is a museum, the other is turned into a nice café.

The museum is small, but if you stop and read everything, you will find many interesting facts about Otto Wagner and his impact on what Vienna looks like.”

Read more about the pavilions at Karlsplatz and the one in Hietzing on nibandember.com!

Getting ready to say Goodbye to October. 🍂🍁🍂

Getting ready to say Goodbye to October. 🍂🍁🍂

“One of the best parts of the hike is walking along the Heustadlwasser, especially now, when the trees are still colourful and vibrant and the path is covered in yellow leaves.”

9: Prater | Vienna Hiking Trails - Read more on nibandember.com

“One of the best parts of the hike is walking along the Heustadlwasser, especially now, when the trees are still colourful and vibrant and the path is covered in yellow leaves.”

9: Prater | Vienna Hiking Trails - Read more on nibandember.com

“What I particularly enjoy about this hiking trail is the beginning, when you walk beneath different kinds of trees - both coniferous and deciduous.”

9: Prater | Vienna Hiking Trails - Read more on nibandember.com

“What I particularly enjoy about this hiking trail is the beginning, when you walk beneath different kinds of trees - both coniferous and deciduous.”

9: Prater | Vienna Hiking Trails - Read more on nibandember.com

Rainy days, autumn days. 🍂🍁🍂
You can find some sweet recipes on the blog, too. 😉

nibandember.com

Rainy days, autumn days. 🍂🍁🍂
You can find some sweet recipes on the blog, too. 😉

nibandember.com

A drake with main character vibes.

A drake with main character vibes.

We did give the Franz-Karl-Effenberg-Wanderweg a second chance today, and I must say that it was worth it.
Still not a favourite of mine, but at least the weather was wonderful and we could enjoy the colourful part of autumn in full. 🍁🍂🍃

https://www.nibandember.com/post/wien-wanderweg

We did give the Franz-Karl-Effenberg-Wanderweg a second chance today, and I must say that it was worth it.
Still not a favourite of mine, but at least the weather was wonderful and we could enjoy the colourful part of autumn in full. 🍁🍂🍃

https://www.nibandember.com/post/wien-wanderweg

You can read my impressions of all the routes on the Wanderbares Wien Wanderpass (hiking pass) on the Nib&Ember blog (Vienna/Sunday Hikes) or watch the Wandern Highlight here. 😊

Enjoy your Sunday, hiking or not. ☀️

You can read my impressions of all the routes on the Wanderbares Wien Wanderpass (hiking pass) on the Nib&Ember blog (Vienna/Sunday Hikes) or watch the Wandern Highlight here. 😊

Enjoy your Sunday, hiking or not. ☀️

Do you enjoy hiking on Sundays?

Do you enjoy hiking on Sundays?

“A huge mural at the entrance draws attention with its colourful and intriguing illustrations. One could easily spend more than an hour exploring the details, and another hour reading about the characters chosen to be depicted for their contribution to Viennese history. There are many fun little details and educational elements, all presented playfully.”

Read more about the Prater Museum on nibandember.com

“A huge mural at the entrance draws attention with its colourful and intriguing illustrations. One could easily spend more than an hour exploring the details, and another hour reading about the characters chosen to be depicted for their contribution to Viennese history. There are many fun little details and educational elements, all presented playfully.”

Read more about the Prater Museum on nibandember.com

“Will never leave the house
Something more than just a phase.”

I love “She Dances” by @billiemarten - it very often keeps me company. 🧡

Everything dies in stillness. So, yes - the phase is over. But that’s exactly how it felt.

“Will never leave the house
Something more than just a phase.”

I love “She Dances” by @billiemarten - it very often keeps me company. 🧡

Everything dies in stillness. So, yes - the phase is over. But that’s exactly how it felt.

My favourite hiding place when the world gets too cold and grey - the Palm House in Schönbrunn. 🌺

You can read more about it on Nib&Ember or just go visit it on your next walk around Vienna.

My favourite hiding place when the world gets too cold and grey - the Palm House in Schönbrunn. 🌺

You can read more about it on Nib&Ember or just go visit it on your next walk around Vienna.

I took the first picture last November. Then I found out about Léonard Misonne (pictures 2-7) and my own photo reminded me of his photography. I have been wanting to share his inspirational art ever since.

“Later that same year, I read a book about the importance of light in photography. That’s where I came across Léonard Misonne – a Belgian pictorialist photographer whose images look like poetry. I was so struck by his work that I knew I had to share it; I had to write about it. Misonne’s art impressed me so deeply that it became the initial spark of inspiration for publishing a new blog. And here we are now!”

Nib & Ember

I took the first picture last November. Then I found out about Léonard Misonne (pictures 2-7) and my own photo reminded me of his photography. I have been wanting to share his inspirational art ever since.

“Later that same year, I read a book about the importance of light in photography. That’s where I came across Léonard Misonne – a Belgian pictorialist photographer whose images look like poetry. I was so struck by his work that I knew I had to share it; I had to write about it. Misonne’s art impressed me so deeply that it became the initial spark of inspiration for publishing a new blog. And here we are now!”

Nib & Ember

The Kagran School Gardens

“I don’t know what I loved the most: the fairy-tale little gardens, sprinkled here and there; the green grass that was inviting me to go barefoot and feel the sprinkled water and soft earth beneath my feet; the many hidden spots and corners that invite you to take a seat and read for hours under the shade of the trees or the small and intimate Orangerie that leads you in full circle and feels like a temple.”

Read more on the blog! Link it bio.

The Kagran School Gardens

“I don’t know what I loved the most: the fairy-tale little gardens, sprinkled here and there; the green grass that was inviting me to go barefoot and feel the sprinkled water and soft earth beneath my feet; the many hidden spots and corners that invite you to take a seat and read for hours under the shade of the trees or the small and intimate Orangerie that leads you in full circle and feels like a temple.”

Read more on the blog! Link it bio.

A nib is the steel tongue of thought.
An ember is the stubborn heart of fire.

It’s “the steel tongue of thought” because Nib stands for the creative expression of the writer in me, and “the stubborn heart of fire” because even though I got burnt by life, I still radiate light and warmth, like an Ember does. 🖋️💋

A nib is the steel tongue of thought.
An ember is the stubborn heart of fire.

It’s “the steel tongue of thought” because Nib stands for the creative expression of the writer in me, and “the stubborn heart of fire” because even though I got burnt by life, I still radiate light and warmth, like an Ember does. 🖋️💋

Strauß has some nice company there. 😁
This should be the only acceptable way to pose in front of the monument. 😉

Strauß has some nice company there. 😁
This should be the only acceptable way to pose in front of the monument. 😉

A true highlight of my visit to @viennasecession yesterday: “Fische sind ins Meer gefaltet wie das Meer in die Fische“ by Ariane Mueller.

The exhibition can be viewed until the end of August.

ℹ️ From secession.at:

“To make the landscapes, Mueller taught herself the graphical brushwork of Paul Cézanne, who, when he was the same age as she is now, worked in an isolation he himself deplored. The artist describes it as learning a new language – a language from the heyday of painting on the verge of abstraction – which she subsequently tries to speak. To increase the distance between the work and her own person, she used a six-foot-long brush handle, a device that implies a certain loss of control and experimentation with her own reach and range in composition and painterly execution.

The pictures – Mueller thinks of them as drawings – are sketches rather than fully realized, with deliberate blanks, yet as the beholder approaches the works, they reveal themselves to be dense with scumbled layers of paint disintegrating into abstract colour fields and exposed sections of pencil sketch. A computer animation of painted choreographed ink dots from 2023 is projected onto the pictures; bobbing and throbbing, they add a nervous energy that disrupts any contemplative immersion in the painting.”

A true highlight of my visit to @viennasecession yesterday: “Fische sind ins Meer gefaltet wie das Meer in die Fische“ by Ariane Mueller.

The exhibition can be viewed until the end of August.

ℹ️ From secession.at:

“To make the landscapes, Mueller taught herself the graphical brushwork of Paul Cézanne, who, when he was the same age as she is now, worked in an isolation he himself deplored. The artist describes it as learning a new language – a language from the heyday of painting on the verge of abstraction – which she subsequently tries to speak. To increase the distance between the work and her own person, she used a six-foot-long brush handle, a device that implies a certain loss of control and experimentation with her own reach and range in composition and painterly execution.

The pictures – Mueller thinks of them as drawings – are sketches rather than fully realized, with deliberate blanks, yet as the beholder approaches the works, they reveal themselves to be dense with scumbled layers of paint disintegrating into abstract colour fields and exposed sections of pencil sketch. A computer animation of painted choreographed ink dots from 2023 is projected onto the pictures; bobbing and throbbing, they add a nervous energy that disrupts any contemplative immersion in the painting.”

It looks like a story is about to begin.

It looks like a story is about to begin.

Baden 💜

Baden 💜

“You’re in the wind, I’m in the water
Nobody’s son, nobody’s daughter”

“You’re in the wind, I’m in the water
Nobody’s son, nobody’s daughter”

“If I were a shrub, I’d be a Spiraea,” I thought this morning, watching its white blooms dance gently in the breeze.

“If I were a shrub, I’d be a Spiraea,” I thought this morning, watching its white blooms dance gently in the breeze.

And the favourite ones. 🤍

And the favourite ones. 🤍

Did I mention I loved spring? 🌸

#SpringVibes #SpringMagic #SpringInBloom #HelloSpring #SpringAwakening #SpringFlowers #BloomsOfInstagram #FlowerLovers #PetalPerfection #FloralDaily #InBloom #FlowerSeason #BloomingTrees #CherryBlossoms #BlossomSeason #SpringTrees #TreeMagic #NatureBloom #BlossomVibes #BotanicalDreams #NatureLoversGallery #PastelNature #EarthInBloom #FloralAesthetic

Did I mention I loved spring? 🌸

#SpringVibes #SpringMagic #SpringInBloom #HelloSpring #SpringAwakening #SpringFlowers #BloomsOfInstagram #FlowerLovers #PetalPerfection #FloralDaily #InBloom #FlowerSeason #BloomingTrees #CherryBlossoms #BlossomSeason #SpringTrees #TreeMagic #NatureBloom #BlossomVibes #BotanicalDreams #NatureLoversGallery #PastelNature #EarthInBloom #FloralAesthetic

And that’s what Blumengärten Hirschstetten sounds like. 🔉🐢🐸

And that’s what Blumengärten Hirschstetten sounds like. 🔉🐢🐸

#mood #springmood 😜👀

#mood #springmood 😜👀

Peanuts! 😁

Peanuts! 😁

Spring is a certain kind of magic. ✨

Spring is a certain kind of magic. ✨

Still feeling the beautiful performance by @tonyannnn and @arkaimusic even days later, as I fly through the clouds, hopefully not too close to the sun.☁️🌤️☁️ Definitely the closest I get to Icarus, though! 🪽

#tonyannnn #icarus

Still feeling the beautiful performance by @tonyannnn and @arkaimusic even days later, as I fly through the clouds, hopefully not too close to the sun.☁️🌤️☁️ Definitely the closest I get to Icarus, though! 🪽

#tonyannnn #icarus

I love you with all of your colours, my little spring sunshine! ☀️ 🌸💐🌼🌺🌷

I love you with all of your colours, my little spring sunshine! ☀️ 🌸💐🌼🌺🌷

No caption needed.

No caption needed.

Wrapping up this year in a very @florence mood.

It’s a goodbye and a beginning as well.
And all I have on my mind is “Never again!”.

Wrapping up this year in a very @florence mood.

It’s a goodbye and a beginning as well.
And all I have on my mind is “Never again!”.

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Nib and Ember

A Note from Me

Once a month, I’ll send you my latest articles, favourite recipes, music recommendations, Vienna highlights and little ideas to make life more enjoyable.

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