When we were in Austria I brought along my Golden Half (my go-to travel toy camera these days) and took some photos in the Austrian hills and in Graz and Vienna.

One great spot for food is the Landhaus Keller in Graz. My husband’s father worked there for 3 years when he was an apprentice chef. The food is great and the service is excellent. I will post more information on the Landhaus Keller in a separate entry.

When we were in Graz their soccer team had just won the championship and were preparing for a huge street party. Lots of people were already out on the patios when we arrived in the morning.

They were setting up the stage and beer stations.

Locks of Love

Vienna – my favorite European city. The Dom Cathedral in the ring.

Vienna is always current with interactive street art and other cultural events going on, like Lang Nacht der Kirches (long night of churches) similar to Long Night of the Museums that we attended 2 years ago.

A sculpture near the Albertina

There were lots of horse and carriages out the weekend we were there. I’ve never done a ride but they do look like fun!

When people think of Japan they often have the iconic image of the cherry trees in full bloom. I know that I have always wanted to go to Japan in May to be showered with cherry blossom petals as they fall to the ground. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is a second blossoming in November and we were fortunate enough to be there to see it. Not all the trees will blossom this second time but the ones that did were beautiful.

Riegersburg is a beautiful fortress South-East of Graz. This was first mentioned in 1122 as the strongest fortress of Christianity because it was unconquered for centuries. The interesting rock structure that the fortress is built on is none other than a former volcano.

The Riegersburg fortress is surrounded by beautiful vineyards.

There were a lot of bunnies in the moat – some really funny looking ones, like this cuddly character.

It was really beautiful and afterward we went to sample and buy some delicious chocolate!

Zotter is a famous Austrian “schokoladen manufaktur” -  it’s organic and fair trade, oh, and delicious! With so many options to choose from it was hard to pick just a few.

If you are ever in Riegersburg both are well worth a visit!

Near Oma’s house there are several religious places worth a visit. Since the first time I went to Austria I have always wanted to go to Maria Fieberbrundl. This religious spot is known for it’s healing water, especially for the eyes. I am working on a translation for the sign and will update once I’ve got it!

This peaceful spot is accessible by car or pilgrim can walk taking the lovely nature trails. We drove and this quite village was very sweet, and boasts some of the best icecream in Austria!

Most importantly I finally got to wash my eyes in this healing water. Many people who visited also took water away with them, which I did as well. I have a small collection of Holy water now from several places.

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I feel like I haven’t been very good about blogging the last few weeks perhaps because I’m in the development stage or not ready to show stage of various projects. Also, with a husband and his cut tendon and a dog with on going illnesses I’ve been feeling sort of exhausted. Plus, it’s summer! We’ve started playing soccer 3 days a week which has been really great exercise!

Other than that I enjoyed a fun birthday week which included dinners out, a mani/pedi, fajitas night, birthday BBQ and dinner and cake!

I got several things to help me prepare for my upcoming holidays including a new lightweight suitcase, Top 10 Tokyo book and gift certificates for MEC (so I can get some nice travel, quick dry, clothing). I know the trip is several months away but I like to be really prepared and I want to ensure I’ve got the best possible plan to see the most things possible without being too busy to actually enjoy what I’m seeing.

A big part of my trip will be to plan what cameras I want to bring. I’ve got several toy cameras in mind, including, the new Holga 135BC, that my sister bought me for my birthday. What I like about this camera over my traditional Holga 120 is that 35mm film will likely be very accessible and I find it to be better when being x-rayed multiple times at airports. If it’s a good fit and has good results I definitely see this as a choice camera.

I will share my results from the Holga 135BC once I get them digitized.

I will also be preparing to do some maternity pictures in early June for a friend. I’m really looking forward to recording her pregnancy with her and her husband. I haven’t done a lot in the area of maternity photos so I’m hoping that we can come up with some ideas for photos that are timeless but don’t fall into the maternity photo cliches that I’ve seen so often.

Well, that’s it for me now – hopefully, I will have something new and exciting to share with you soon like photos or art but until then, definitely check out the Traveling Toy Camera Project blog for lots of great photos from around the world! The camera is currently heading to Sweden!

So I always say that I want to travel light but it’s difficult…part of my biggest problem is that I travel with so much “equipment” so when I travel next I definitely want to try and decrease the amount of clothing I travel with because I’ve found I often bring to much and don’t wear everything I bring.

So I’ve started reading more about how to travel light and what I should be packing.

1. I’ve read that for women reversible clothing is a great option and something I’ve never considered! Wear a dress one day, something different the next! (Also useful if you are a spiller, like me, spill and reverse…then wash when you get back to the hotel.)

2. Plain colors, like black (woo hoo!), are great because they can be accessorized to look different. Think scarves, necklaces, tights and ties (traveling with a male traveler perhaps you can borrow a tie?? hmmm) – you don’t want a suitcase full of these things but you definitely want like 2 necklaces and 2 scarves and I think something for everyday (which means you don’t have to pack it) and a statement piece (good for casual but also for a night on the town) and the same for scarves would be ideal.

3. for casual clothing light weight and quick dry will be your friend: I want clothing pieces that will dry quickly when I’ve washed them out in the room and will actually dry over night. I want clothing that will wick away sweat during a long flâneur walk.

4. Do laundry: just because you are traveling doesn’t mean you can’t do laundry! Either in your room or at the local laundry mat, we’ve done both. Sometimes you can find a cool place to do laundry, like the internet cafe/laundry mat we found in Cologne. Could be a nice break from the busy travel pace and a great way to meet locals who may give you tips on good places to eat or things to see.

So how low can I go with my clothing packing? Here is my ideal list:

- 1 reversable dress

- 1 skirt

- 1 jeans (wear for travel)

- 3 t-shirts (at least 2 quickdry)

- 1 cardi

- 1 sweater (wear for travel)

- 1 night out outfit

- 1 pj pants and shirt

Can I do it? we will see!

So our holiday is still several months away but since I’m going to a place I’ve never been I really want to be well prepared. Part of preparing for a holiday is finding the best sources for information. I’ve broken that down into 3 main sources.

1. Ask the professionals: okay, maybe you can’t talk to them directly but travel guides, travel journalists website and travel magazines have already provided me with ideas of cities I want to visit and places I want to go. Visit the tourist board sites for the places you are going and see what information they can provide you with – I’m thinking maps in your first language, I will say english since that’s mine, and other useful city information.

2. Talk to people you know…and people you don’t know: I have several friends who have been to Japan, different cities and different experiences – I am definitely learning from them and their suggestions, like where to stay and what to see. Because I’m keeping in mind that places recommended in one will be busy I’m going to try and figure out best times to visit places from first hand experience. I recently got some great suggestions from a guy sitting near my family in a restaurant – he had recently gone to Japan and overheard some of our conversation. It was great to hear his account and give some suggestions.

3. Get online – I’ve been asking everyone I can – people on forums especially, regardless of what the forum topic is. I’ve found that photography forums are really great because I enjoy photography and want to get amazing photographs of the places I’m going. I’m also checking out photo sharing sites for places other photographers have gone that might be off the beaten track but are unique experiences.

I have learned already that travel is an amazing experience and that our flâneur approach has been extremely successful, and by that I mean walking and taking public transit to explore a city. If we see it, we can walk to it!

Let the planning continue…

This week we went up to Tremblant to spend a few days with some of our friends who rented a cabin. I have to say our drive was precarious as it was extremely snowy and the roads were bad.

Once we found the street we started driving and as we were going up and down this unploughed road we decided that we must have made a wrong term. We had noticed someone was home at a small farm so decided to stop and ask.

I jumped out of the car and went over the house and started knocking on the door. (We knew someone  was home because we saw them on our way past earlier.) No answer…I knock again…no answer but this time a big St. Bernard puppy came padding around the corner over to me. I knocked a third time and said hello when the puppy pounced – he wanted to play, jumping all over and pulling and biting my joggers. He was VERY cute! I decided whom ever was home was not going to answer the door but as I walked away the puppy bounded behind me and when I opened the car he tried to jump inside. With M pushing and me pulling we tried to get the puppy out of the car. I thought, if the owner comes out now they might worry that we are stealing their puppy! But thankfully they didn’t come out. Read the rest of this entry »

So while I’m away by myself I thought I would FINALLY do some light painting – this is my first, pretty terrible attempt. However the technique was good but composition was bad. I especially like that you can see my socks!

I’ve been interested in light painting, also known as light writing and light graffiti, for a while and kept meaning to try it out but this was rekindled with a notice for a light painting workshop in London UK – which unfortunately I won’t be able to attend but thanks to some tips from the workshop organizer I’ve been able to start my experimenting.

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So last night we arrived late to the hotel due to weather conditions here in NY state – but we were very grateful that the flight was only delayed by about 45 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »