I'm moving!!

I've now moved my blog to Wordpress! For newer posts, go to iamthetourist.wordpress.com

Vienna Day 1: First Impressions and Failed Adventures

I am IN LOVE WITH THIS CITY!! It is beautiful, affordable for tourists, and Serbian is as prominent here as Spanish is in the US. This means that I can get away with not knowing German! In fact, I got a hot dog today from a street vendor and I was overwhelmed by the options and worried that I'd get something spicy, but fortunately the vendor spoke Serbian so he explained to me exactly which wurst was the best. haha.

First, we arrived at the flughafen and took the CAT (City Airport Train) to downtown Vienna. Then a short metro ride took us to Kettenbruckengasse, the metro station nearest our hostel, which is AWESOME!!

We are staying at Wombat's Hostel. This is my first hostel experience and I LOVE it! The lobby is set up like a lounge, with lots of comfy couches and nooks to sit in and use the wifi, which is accessible only from the lobby. There are also lots of computers you can pay to use. When we checked in, there were tons of young people hanging out in the lobby. It got me planning an inter rail backpacking trip with my friends - they would love it!

Our Wombat’s was located next to a market that sold everything from souvenirs to Middle Eastern food. Our room also had a view of architect Otto Wagner’s beautiful Majolikahaus.

My mom had read about a good Austrian restaurant nearby in a guidebook, but when we got there it was closed so we went to a Chinese buffet instead… I’m not complaining.
While my mom and sister were finishing up eating, I wandered around the restaurant a bit with my camera. I found a really cool passageway that takes you up stairs and through courtyards filled with cafes and shops. It ends on Mariahilferstrasse, the Viennese equivalent of London’s Oxford Street in terms of shopping.

After lunch we walked to the Albertina Museum, which was very well advertised in the airport. They had an amazing collection from some very colorful artists… Monet, Magritte, Picasso, Kirchner, Kokoschka, and more. There were also a few masterpieces by Durer. The museum was perfect.

Next we wanted to take the ring tram, which gives you a nice panoramic tour of the city, but we got on the wrong one and ended up in the middle of nowhere. However, what we found in the middle of nowhere was a cool new Hundertwasser project in progress near some energy buildings.

Camera Envy

I am finally back home in the USA (!!) and have been browsing through my 10GB of summer photos and ordering prints (yes, my family still does that). I wish I had a real, professional SLR camera rather than a plain digital one (I use a Sony 12 Megapixel Sony Cyber-shot W350)because the photos they take are AMAZING. Yes, SLRs are bulky and you have to actually know a thing or two about photography to use them, but the results are well worth it. Look at how much fun I had last summer when I borrowed my uncle's Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi to use around Seattle's Gas Works Park.

Belgrade Summer Style

During my long stay here in Belgrade, I've noticed a trend that is very prevalent here that I haven't seen people actually wearing in the US. Fashion is an intrinsic part of cultural and I think that street style is more important than what the catwalk dictates (I'm not saying that I don't treat fashion magazines like my bible though...). Check out these Harem pants and these street style blogs that I love perusing for inspiration!

So, although I have seen harem pants (I like calling them genie pants, in honor of my friend Sam who first bought them on a trip to Spain) mentioned in my beloved magazine, Belgrade is the first place I have seen real people, and not models on the runway, wearing them. Basically, genie pants have a low, baggy crotch and are usually tighter at the bottom... like Aladdin! I have seen these pants in floral and paisley patterns at Zara and Bershka, but these are very hard to pull if you have a larger derriere, so proceed with caution. I'm kind of ambivalent about my thoughts on this trend, but that's probably because I can't find a pair that looks flattering on me!

More McQ by Alexander McQueen...

And now for the street style blogs:

• The Sartorialist - this is definitely THE street style blog... it is practically a classic
• Face Hunter
  
• Copenhagen Street Style
• The Style Scout
• Lookbook - this isn't exactly street style in the sense that a photographer spotted these people on the street; members add photos of their outfits daily

I think being a street style photographer would be so much fun because I see people I would love to take photos of but I'm too shy to ask and I don't really have a good excuse for taking their photo besides my own personal style inspiration.

I'm Back

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in about a week because I was up in my mountain house in Divcibare, here in Serbia. Now I'm back and I'll try to keep the posts constant.