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Vienna Goth clubs, bars, shopping! Cabaret Fledermaus, Nexus Gothic shop & Kingpin pin-up.

sourpuss lace dress, goth curly hair style

I’m tickled pink to hear you are enjoying my Budapest travel posts. It means a lot to hear your feedback.

Our Eurail-Vision train journey actually began in Vienna. The Austrian capital has a reputation for being clean and formal, but leave it to us to find the Gothic grit.

Read on for Sweet Lolitas, a flying bat disco, and a psychedelic Scottish Fold cat!

Vienna subway, metro, rainbow wall

If you’re planning a trip to Eastern Europe, Vienna is a good place to start. We found it cheaper to fly into Austria (considered part of Western or Central Europe), and then ride the rails eastward to places like Budapest and Belgrade.

My lace black dress is a present from Sourpuss, and my hair was colored and styled by Stephanie Hoy of Avant Garde Hair Vancouver.

Vienna Austria street, fashion blogger

Vienna can be a bit expensive so my filmmakers and I walked or went around by subway (the system is excellent). We also stayed in a Go With Oh rental apartment, which is my favorite trick for living in comfort while spending less. (We’ll give you the full low-down in the next post).

Austrian Parliament Building, athena statue

On the way to dinner, we walked by the Austrian Parliament Building. This neo-Greek marvel was completed in 1883, back in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Vienna parliament statue Ringstraße

While my site focuses on subculture travel, I think it’s also important to visit historical places. Focusing on only the modern/edgy can mean missing out on a large part of the experience.

wien Parlament, Hohes Haus

When I find myself in places like this, I’m in awe that blogging has led to a life of traveling. (Photography by Melissa Rundle.)

close up fountain statues

Some of you asked how these opportunities have come about. It’s been a gradual process (I started this blog in September 2007), with lots of hard work and constant learning. My site began with a Japan fashion focus, and has broadened to reports on alternative art and youth cultures worldwide.

Pallas Athene Fountain vienna

Today, I’m fortunate to work with great companies, tourism boards and international TV networks that make these travels possible. I’m ever grateful to my readers, who have supported and encouraged me over the years.

cabaret fledermaus, discotheque Vienna

Onto darker territories. My film team and I walked to Cabaret Fledermaus (Spiegelgasse 2), which means “flying mouse” or bat in German. The original Fledermaus was an Art Nouveau nightclub launched all the way back in 1907!

bat disco, vienna clubs

The club had various incarnations over the years. It’s currently a “disco,” or bar and dance club, near St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

wien goths, gothic lolitas

We met up with my local spooks: Eve and Nana of the band Lolita KompleX (remember when they performed in Tokyo?), plus Dani and Pato (both members of Lolita Fashion Austria).

rockabilly gothic bar, burlesque Vienna

Discotheque Fledermaus has different theme nights including rockabilly, 80s dance, Gothic and synthpop.

Vienna alternative club

The decor is a clue to why this club is a favorite with Goths and Lolitas.

absinth tabu, absinthe bottle monster

The red light bar served Tabu absinth (Taboo absinthe). Of course, that’s what I ordered.

Vienna 80s club, synthpop party

The long red space had a burlesque feel, with black-and-white art film projections. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ghosts of 1920s flappers were still dancing here.

gothic lolitas europe, egl

There’s another excellent Goth/Industrial/Rock club night on Saturdays: Dark Society at Viper Room (Landstraßer Hauptstraße 38). We unfortunately missed it, but you can see upcoming event listings on their Facebook page.

wien subway tracks, U-Bahn

Stumbling back. The U-Bahn (subway) is open all night on weekends and holidays, so don’t worry about partying late.

Neubau Vienna district vii

The next day, Eve and Nana took us on a tour of District VII. Remember my post about Budapest’s 7th District? Funny enough, Vienna’s also has a hipster vibe.

scottish fold tshirt

We spotted vegan cafes and ironic-retro stores. This t-shirt looks like my cat Basil Farrow on LSD. (The picture on the left might also melt your brain.)

nexus goth clothing store Vienna

We ducked into Nexus Gothic clothing store (Zollergasse 13). They had an impressive wall of boots and top hats, and skull-stamped clothes for all sizes.

grim reaper, aderlass clothing

In addition to accessories such as horror masks, Nexus carries brands such as Aderlass and Skeanimals. Don’t fear the Grim Reaper…

halloween white monster, zombie bride

… but look out for the white zombie bride!

kingpin pin up shop, Vienna district 7

Down the street is Kingpin (Lindengasse 37), a pin-up and retro rockabilly boutique.

red gothic lolita dress, shoes

They carry Bettie Page dresses and other vintage-styled clothing. A great place to find cute shoes and accessories for Gothic Lolita outfits.

mata hari art nouveau absinthe bottle label

Did you know Vienna had so many underground haunts? I leave you with Mata Hari absinthe (oh, the Art Nouveau label!) and our breakfast of fruit and muesli. So, so good.

Vienna street style, fashion blogging

What do you think of my Sourpuss black lace dress? (You can order one here.)

Check back, as you don’t want to miss the next post… where I join an Austrian Lolita meetup.

SHARE & COMMENT

38 Comments

  1. Rosa
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 8:03 pm | Permalink

    awesome!! :)

  2. nia orchid
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 8:03 pm | Permalink

    ♥♥♥♥♥♥ the dress ♥♥♥

  3. MelissaR
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 9:55 pm | Permalink

    Gorgeous, gorgeous!

  4. yenta
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 10:05 pm | Permalink

    >^,,^<

  5. Brittany
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 10:21 pm | Permalink

    Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. iris
    Posted September 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm | Permalink

    :D ! ! ! !

  7. Karinita
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 7:24 pm | Permalink

    Beautiful ! <3

  8. Ursula
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 7:41 pm | Permalink

    Beauty like ever darling

  9. Loveless
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 7:42 pm | Permalink

    whaaaa you were in vienna?! AWESOME!!!

  10. ruru
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 8:30 pm | Permalink

    wow grande!!! :)))

  11. Julia
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 10:12 pm | Permalink

    Aw, I´m a proud dweller of Vienna and glad to hear you were (?) here . Unfortunately, there were about 3 more goth shops some years ago. Now there is basically only left Nexus
    . Though there is also a big store (called Faschingsprinz) for carnival
    stuff and I prefer improvising and buying some cool stuff there .

  12. Coralynn
    Posted September 11, 2013 at 10:12 pm | Permalink

    I’m SO jealous of you! And your SO pretty! <3

  13. Ani
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 4:54 am | Permalink

    I think i saw you in the underground station but i wasn’t sure so yeah. TT^TT whaaaa i always wanted to meet you TT^TT

  14. kelly
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 5:01 am | Permalink

    really enjoying how your photos are and it looks like you are having fun!

  15. GowithOh
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm | Permalink

    We LOVE your photos!!! We are so happy that you got to GowithOh to Vienna!

  16. Elsie
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 9:04 pm | Permalink

    Everyone looks great there

  17. Kate
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 9:04 pm | Permalink

    Cute girls

  18. Aloe
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 9:05 pm | Permalink

    Post more photos of your cat please heeee

  19. Gee
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 9:05 pm | Permalink

    The home of Marie Antoinette :-) :-)

  20. Dennis
    Posted September 12, 2013 at 9:06 pm | Permalink

    Wows I can’t believe that I went there and didn’t know about these places

  21. natalie
    Posted September 13, 2013 at 7:50 pm | Permalink

    sweet outfits on all

  22. Serafina
    Posted September 13, 2013 at 8:04 pm | Permalink

    Mata Hari<3333

    You look fabulous, and Vienna is beautiful!

    • lacarmina
      Posted September 13, 2013 at 9:18 pm | Permalink

      Aww thank you so much! Have you been? You’d love it, the museums and art… xoxox

  23. Euri
    Posted September 16, 2013 at 3:08 am | Permalink

    You’re so pretty in curls~ :3

    That Nexus Gothic clothing store looks interesting! I wish I could go there and shop. XD

    • lacarmina
      Posted September 16, 2013 at 9:06 pm | Permalink

      Thanks Euri! Yes I loved that store!! that’s where the absinthe was sold too ;) Coming up is a post about an EGL Lolita meet up in Austria!

      • Euri
        Posted September 17, 2013 at 2:46 am | Permalink

        I’m looking forward to it! o/

  24. David Siriux
    Posted October 7, 2017 at 4:22 pm | Permalink

    I’m flying to Vienna tomorrow – so glad I found your blog !!!

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