My swapping experiment was about to begin, so after a mind-confusing double sector I was feeling ready for ‘The Vienna Week’ ahead.
I was wanting to go to Vienna a long time ago, specially because it’s known as one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe but so far I wouldn’t have bid for it before because I wanted to see different places, so this swapping really exceeded my expectations as I got two chances to go there.

So I’m sharing my two Vienna’s with you:

On the first Vienna the flight was really nice , we had this Indonesian group that was going to participate in a singing competition in Austria and the flight was not that full. Everything went great, my passengers were really happy and again got compliments from some of them and another ‘cabin crew famous moment’ as the girls from the group asked to take pictures with me before landing , so there again you can imagine my deep red blushed face trying to smile in front of ten cameras.

Landing was a little hard as it was really windy in Vienna, their airport is small but pleasant and there’s no traffic jams whatsoever.
We headed to the hotel which was in the Centre, with a nice park in front. All the architecture in Vienna is really classic and victorian style , there are some modern buildings but not as many as other big european cities. They have a lot of trolley lines and lots of museums!.
More here theflyingcamba.blogspot.com

Need an excuse to go to Vienna, Austria? Well, I don’t either, but how about some fun stuff to do while you are there this summer?

The Vienna Music Film Festival is an outdoor event providing entertainment and outstanding food with influences that range from around the city to around the world. Held each summer at the Vienna City Hall Park, or the Rathaus, this year’s event began on June 27th and will be going strong until August 30th.

The festival takes place daily and this isn’t your standard summer social. As night falls you can grab a seat in the outdoor theater and enjoy opera, operetta, dance and concert performances on the giant screen. When it’s time to eat there are no Styrofoam packages and paper plates. All food is served on dinner plates with utensils and drinks served in glasses.
More here gogalavanting.com/travel-news

The match will be a warm up for the Indomitable Lions ahead of a crucial 2010 qualifier against Gabon in September.

The Cameroonian football governing body, FECAFOOT, has given its approval for a friendly match between the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and the Austrian national football team, expected to take place on August 12, 2009 in Vienna.

The match will serve as preparation for the World Cup qualifier against Gabon, as the encounter will take place three weeks before the two African nations face off.
More here cameroononline.org

Vienna is well known for its Opera Ball, and culinary talking, for its Wiener Schnitzel but I went to a Greek restaurant with specialties from Crete! I did not choose it but a friend of mine did for our group meeting.

The restaurant chosen was Orpheus, located in the downtown near Stephansplatz. It is smartly designed in black and is quite spacious. What’s nice also is it has a huge open panoramic windows so you can dine in while having fresh air from outside. We did even better by going on their covered terrace.
More here trusted-gourmet.com

Looking forward to one of Europe’s great design gatherings

We know this one’s still a little ways off, but we thought we’d tell you about a great event coming up: the Vienna Design Week.

In cooperation with many partners — from Vienna museums to production and retail companies to designers from all over the world — all of Vienna becomes a platform and showplace of design for this one October week. Make no mistake: this isn’t just a trade fair, as the VDW takes place in a variety of venues and encompasses a multitude of smaller events.
More here artandliving.com

Leave it to the Austrians to build something that is both fantastically functional and incredibly beautiful. That is the condition of Vienna. It’s a truly incredible city. The infrastructure and incredible Art Nouveau and Baroque architecture was consistently surprising me as I traveled about the city to visit as many sights as I could in the limited time that I had.

Let me preface the description of the things that I did with this: the entire city looks like this: http://www.elkhazen.org/vienna/uploaded_images/vienna-02-748789.jpg . It’s quite impressive. Then there are the palaces that dot the city. Not to mention the monumental churches and various other buildings of state. It’s a sublime city. I’ve heard many people say that if they could make their life in one European city it would be Vienna and I have to echo the sentiment. It’s both beautiful and functional and that’s a combination that you don’t just find anywhere.

So, let me begin with yesterday: I caught my train after running all over Krakow Glowny, the central train station. Krakow’s train station is a mess. It’s ridiculously hard to figure out where your train is departing from and there are so many ins and outs you can easily get lost for 30 minutes.

Plus it’s ugly so that doesn’t help it at all. Anyway, after I caught my train I was sweaty and hot but happy that I was on board. The trip went smoothly and I arrived in Katowice in plenty of time to catch my train to Vienna. I whittled away my time buying an authentic Polish sausage and some sort of very tasty pseudo croissant with strawberry filling. Twenty minutes before my train was due to depart the station I made my way to the platform that it was supposed to depart from and waited.
More here davidfaber.travellerspoint.com