Welcome To The Garden Of Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

The world’s most visited cemetery opened in 1804. Père Lachaise is notable for being the first garden cemetery. Finally someone realised, that cemeteries don’t only need to be a place of sorrow, but comfort and peace.

The main attractions at Père Lachaise lie six feet under though: Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Yves Montand, Oscar Wilde, Maria Callas, Georges Bizet and many other celebrities have found their resting place here. Most visitors come here to find at least one of the mentioned graves, I didn’t care much about that. I rather enjoyed the sheer aesthetic beauty of the cemetery.

At Père Lachaise cemetery, 70.000 tombs (many of the rich and famous) form a verdant, 44-hectare sculpture garden.

The Père Lachaise cemetery takes its name from King Louis XIV’s confessor, Father François de la Chaise.

The number of bodies buried at Pere Lachaise cemetery vary widely. Anywhere from 300.000 to 1.000.000 souls are estimated.

Pere Lachaise cemetery is a major tourist attraction in Paris.

I imagine that Pere Lachaise cemetery is worth a visit anytime of the year, but during autumn this place seems even more mystical…

Pere Lachaise is laid out in numbered divisions, and the divisions are separated by roads and paths.

Plan on spending at least a couple hours at Pere Lachaise to really soak up the atmosphere and to get a sense of the place.

Grave to Valerio at Pere Lachaise: “He liked Stendhal, Pavarotti, Gamine, Pink Floyd, but when he was 29…”

Pere Lachaise was the first garden cemetery, laid out in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. It marked a shift in burial practices and rapidly became the model for similar style cemeteries throughout Europe.

Pere Lachaise is a place where the French ‘made the grave a garden’.

Most clips are filmed hand-held – next time we’ll definitely use a tripod. We didn’t use any filter or colour correction, this video is pure nature ;) Hopefully you’ll enjoy it. It was heaps of fun filming & editing and for our first try (so don’t laugh) it didn’t turn out too bad…

Filming & Photography: Nisa Maier (Canon EOS 5D Mark II)
Editing: Ines Gamler
Music: The Naughty Step – Malhamdale

The Falkensteinerhütte is about 25 minutes (driving) West of Vienna. Built in 1920, it is one of the oldest buildings in the “Schöpfl” area. Until this day, not that much has changed (except the obvious); it’s still furnished in a rustic way and the kitchen offers good (typical Austrian) comfort food. The heating consists of a wood-fired oven & there’s no internet connection. It’s a spot of which (nowadays) not many people know of and therefore not overrun (which is a good thing for us but bad for business). Back in the old days it was a well visited place but this changed in the last two decades. The owner told us that 20 years ago visitors from all over Austria & Germany came to the “Schöpfl” area to harvest mushrooms, or that families came in flocks to enjoy a nice day-trip. I guess today kids (and their parents) rather sit in front of the computer or TV than to take a nice str0ll outside…

So how come we knew about this secret getaway? Well, the Falkensteinerhütte used to be our weekend spot. From the ages of 7-10 we (& heaps of family friends) were there almost every month or so. Until one cold fall day (must have been in 1999 or 2000) when we arrived there and stood in front of closed doors. It really hit us hard that the Falkensteinerhütte had to lock its doors for good…

Since only June of this year, the Falkensteinerhütte re-opened and of course we had to check it out! It was almost like a trip back in time when we walked those 20 minutes through the forest. I could see myself & my friends fooling around while our parents were happy that we were occupied ;)

So if you’re looking for nature, tranquillity and an idea for your next weekend trip, the Falkensteinerhütte is the right spot for you!

Falkensteinerhütte Facts.

• Sea level: 642m
• Address: Schlottleiten 299, A-3033 Altlengbach
• How to get there: (There are a couple of ways but this one’s the fastest) Highway A21 “Wiener Außenring Autobahn” until the exit “Klausen-Leopoldsdorf”. From there the signs will lead you to “Gasthof Burda”. Park your car there and start walking. After 20-30 minutes you’ll arrive at the Falkensteinerhütte.
• Opening hours: Saturday, Sunday and holidays
• Other infos: Accommodation (mattresses) for 22 people – call in advance if you’re planning an overnight stay.

The drive up to the point where you start walking to the Falkensteiner Hütte is already worth a visit.

To get to the Falkensteiner Hütte you have to walk through the Viennese woods.

On your way to the Falkeinsteiner Hütte you’ll also pass a wonderful clearing.

And if you’re not in a rush to get to the Falkensteiner Hütte, there’s always time to fool around a bit.

Wonderful huge trees will guide you towards the Falkeinsteiner Hütte.

Just before you reach the Falkensteiner Hütte, you’ll pass by this beautiful new wall.

And after a approx. 20 minute walk, the Falkensteiner Hütte emerges.

Walking through the Viennese woods is really relaxing.

On the way back home, we decided to skip the highway and took the scenic tour.

• Lainzer Tiergarten & Hermesvilla: The Lainzer Tiergarten used to be a hunting ground for the Habsburger. Today it’s a famous and well visited place for delightful excursions. What’s really lovely about this place is that your trip can either be topped with a yummy lunch/coffee at the café or a visit to the museum in the Hermesvilla (or both of course). Emperor Franz Josef I gave this chalet to his wife Empress Elisabeth (better known as “Sisi”) because she was a huge nature fan and wanted a place for her own. Not bad huh?
• A walk in the Viennese Woods: I’m also a big nature fan and since I’m lucky (to also have a huge chalet … haha) to live near the Viennese Woods, a walk through this colorful setting is one of my favourite autumn activities.

With free entrance and up to 500.000 visitors each year, the Lainzer Tiergarten is a famous excursion destination for runners, walkers and families.

If you’re lucky, boars or deers will pass you way while walking through the Lainzer Tiergarten. Today it’s home to about 900 wild boars, 220 fallow deer, approx. 700 mouflons, and 90 red deer.

I usually start my walk at the Lainzer Tor to the Hermesvilla. From here, you can continue up to the Hubertuswarte and Hirschgstemm, and from there to Pulverstampftor. The walk is about 10 km in long (2 – 2.5 hours) and a bit hilly.

The Lainzer Tiergarten was first created by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1561, when the area was fenced off by a wooden fence, to allow for a private hunting ground.

In 1781, the wooden fence was replaced by a stone wall. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the hunting grounds became a public nature preserve, and have remained so ever since, with the exception of the time period of 1940 to 1955, when the entire grounds were closed.

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric is a highly poisonous mushroom found all over the Vienna woods.

Walking through the Vienna woods will give you heaps of amazing photo opportunities.

Autumn at the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, Austria.

We live in a little village just outside of western Vienna and are very lucky to have the Viennese woods right in front of our doorstep.

The farmers around Vienna are preparing the fields for winter…

…while the cows enjoy the last sun-rays.

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees “know” to begin getting ready for winter. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. And this is why leaves change their colour.