Vienna- MUMOK Museum

Since Vienna is a city of art (and has a really cool museum quarter), we decided we needed to check out an art museum during our stay. We hadn't been to an art museum since the Louvre, which was during our first week of traveling.

The advertisement for MUMOK: Museum of Modern Art caught my eye because it was a painting of an airstream trailer (by Ralph Goings) that I recognized from my Modern Art History class last quarter. The temporary exhibition is called "Hyper Real". Which makes sense because these paintings look like photographs. At the end of the 1960s in the USA, a group of painters rebelled against Abstract Expressionism by returning to realism in their painting style. Really really realistic. They actually took photos and painted from them. They were able to perfect the photograph in this way and included massive amounts of detail. My head hurts when I think about the time that went into painting every individual hair on a man's head and face. Most of the paintings are slices of typical American life.. which was weird to see in the ultra sophisticated European city of Vienna.

The museum's permanent collection includes Pop Art (with many works by Andy Warhol), Fluxus, Nouveau Réalisme and Vienna Actionism. A lot of the stuff we saw looked like garbage or was really disturbing. We left the place reminded why we don't like modern art and wished we went to see something more classic. The highlight of the museum was the Hyper Real exhibit and the actual building, which is mostly what you'll see in our photos.

And this, my friends, wraps up our Vienna trip. In case you're just joining us, we took a break from our posting about our time in Turkey to write about Vienna in honor of Christmas. We last wrote about Pamukkale, Turkey. Next we were in Cappadocia and Istanbul, two incredible cities, and they're coming your way!

- Julia

Vienna Street Fashion II

Our first fashion post was dedicated to the elderly people in Vienna, who wear fur with much class. This post is dedicated to the younger generations who dress a bit more casual, but still very pulled together. 

"Casual" in Vienna is not like "casual" in the States. These people look so good! Anywhere you turn your head, you see well dressed people. I pretty much stood in one spot on a wide street and snapped away. No scouting required. 

The best things about photographing winter style is that there is so much layering and accessories involved-- not only does everyone have a great coat, but a stylish hat, a good pair of boots, gloves, scarf, and a luxe purse. 

We were impressed to see so many women with strollers walking the snow-covered, icy streets. When it snows back home, everyone stays indoors. The last thing you would do is take your baby out into the cold. Here, snow doesn't stop anyone. Although even in the summer, babies and strollers in Seattle are a rare sight. Seattle is known to have more dogs than kids. It was a breath of fresh air to see kids in the city. 

Don't be mad if this post makes you want to head back to the mall after all that Christmas shopping to get a better winter wardrobe.

* Julia

Vienna Street Fashion I

We hope you all had a lovely and special Christmas day wherever you are around the world (we have so many awesome international readers from places we've never been)! Our Christmas was kind of lonely in Hong Kong, especially when we skyped with my family during their Christmas Eve dinner and right before they headed to open the gifts under the tree. I was wishing so badly for a teleporter at that moment. No Christmas church service for us. And instead of lounging all day and eating Christmas cookies with our loved ones as we should have, we had to get on a plane to go to Bangkok (tickets were cheaper on Christmas Day... figures). Despite the setbacks, Yuriy and I still had a really special time, just the two of us. And I know this funky Christmas abroad will make next Christmas 2x as good. I'm already looking forward to it and it's an entire year away!

Back to Vienna.

One of the very first things we noticed in Vienna was the winter wear. Fur everywhere. Fur on hats, coats, scarves, boots... you name it. I have never seen so much fur in my life (this was only the beginning though.. the next few European countries all had fur). We noticed that the majority of the fur was on older people who emanated every sense of sophistication and class. I imagine they have daily afternoon tea, a personal butler, and enjoy classical music (by Viennese composers) in their sitting room.

This post is dedicated to the elderly street fashion in Vienna. As bad as it sounds to be in the "elderly" category, these folks sure know how to dress nice. I mean it in a good way. 

Next is a post on the street fashion of younger generations in Vienna, which is far more casual, but just as pulled together.

* Julia