A few weeks ago, we introduced WildUrb, a Vienna based online community that encourages urban people to discover urban space by walking. As spring is pampering us with sun and warmth these days, it’s time to head outside and discover Vienna’s outdoor secrets! So we asked Doris from Wildurb to give us her personal recommendations for some really cool walking tracks in the Austrian capital. Here we go:

Flashy Expressions – street art at the Danube Canal
Chill out trail (8km) in the center of Vienna. Start at the U4 and the U6 metro stration “Spitellau” and walk along the Danube Canal to find good mood, good people and good graffiti.

Colourful Contrasts - from urban subculture to decadence
Walk along the Wien river to find various kinds of architecture and urban space – from the wild side of the Wiener Gürtel all the way to the Naschmarkt and the Karlskirche. Easy 4,29 kilometers and highly recommended!

Urban Moods - A tour round Vienna’s unofficial “Central Park”
Central park, ey? Yes! The recreation area of the “Wienerberg” gives you a feeling of nature while  offering views of the “skyline” of the Vienna Business Park with its twin towers – a little bit of New York feeling!

Ancient History - Straight across the heart of Vienna
Start at the U3 metro station “Herrengasse” in Vienna’s first district and discover the old town off the beaten track. Find a good mood of mysticism flowing through the forecourts and courtyards of historic buildings – especially in foggy nights.

Full Commitment – climbing up the walls
For all of you that want to go higher than just walking on the ground, here’s your deal: get some climbing equipement and enjoy on of the city’s centre outdoor climbing experiences – we highly reccomend the Flakturm Esterházypark!

Vienna is waitin’ for ya – don’t hesitate and get outside!

However, you will either have to get up early or be really quick. If you start at our wombats CITY Hostel “The Naschmarkt” and visit the items in the order listed here, than it shouldn’t be a problem. Go for it – Vienna is waitin’ for ya!

1. Naschmarkt
Head out of the hostel and enjoy the food stalls (and fleamarkets on weekends) of Vienna’s most popular market.

2. Secession
At the end (or the beginning) of the Naschmarkt you will find the Vienna Secession, an outstanding historic art centre and a masterpiece of architecture.

3. Karlsplatz and Karlskirche
Next to the Secession, have a look at the Charles’ Square (ger.: Karlsplatz) and the St. Charles’s Church (ger.: Karlskirche), one of the most outstanding baroque churches.

4. Vienna State Opera
After that, head over the Ring Street and see the Vienna State Opera (ger.: Wiener Staatsoper), one of the most important parts of the Austrian cultural heritage.

5. Kärntner Straße
Directly from the opera, have a walk along the Kärnter Straße, Austrias most famous shopping street, which leads you to the heart of the city.

6. Stephansplatz, St. Stephens’ Cathedral
This square is the geographical and touristy centre of Vienna. Here you find the St. Stephen’s Cathedral (German: Stephansdom), the most popular sight.

7. Graben and Kohlmarkt
These are two historic promenades and shopping streets, leading from Stephansplatz to the Hofburg Palace.

8. Hofburg, Heldenplatz
At the end of the Kohlmarkt you’ll enter the Hofburg Palace and the Heldenplatz. This is the place where you can immerse yourself in Austrian history: The palace used to be the centre of the Austro-Hungarian empire (k.u.k. monarchy), today it houses the President of Austrian. But beware: tourist factor 1.000!

9. Albertina
At the end of the Hofburg, you can find the Albertina, one of the most famous art museums of Austria (and the world).

10. Ringstraße
From the Albertina, have a decent 20 minutes walk along the famous Ringstraße boulevard, which leads you along the Austrian Parliament, the Burgtheater and the Vienna Town Hall.

WELL DONE – now you are through with the most important stuff in the centre. If you still have some time left, we would recommend you to take the U4 metro line to Schönbrunn Palace (German: Schloss Schönbrunn), one of the most important cultural monuments of Austria. You can either quickly have a look at the Palace or even spend hours in the beautiful gardens parks or visit the oldest zoo in the world.

If you have more time, don’t hesitate to ask our reception staff about more things to see in Vienna.

Supporting newbies in Vienna: Alex, Richard and Martin from feelslikehome.

You need information about moving to and living in Vienna? Here is the right stuff for you: the online community “feelslikehome” helps foreigners with their first steps in the Austrian capital – free of charge. Moreover, feelslikehome is aiming at teaming up people to receive group discounts to save money in the first weeks after arrival.

We asked the feelslikehome founders Alexander, Richard and Martin for a step-by-step-guide for the most relevant formalities when settling in Vienna. That’s what they recommend:

Step 1: Visa
If you are not from a EU country or the U.S., you need to apply for a visa before you arrive in Austria. The most common one is the tourist visa. More info about Austrian Visa issues you can find on feelslikehome.at .

Step 2: Certification of Registration (“Meldezettel”)
According to Austrian law, you have to register your lodging within 3 days after moving in. There are Registration Service Centres all over Vienna. More information on the official Vienna website.

Step 3: Pre paid phone or sim card
You will soon need an Austrian phone to connect with other people. The good news: fees in Austria are cheap and pre-paid phones are available at all providers. Feelslikehome offers you a membercard that includes a free SIM card.

Step 4: Health Insurance
Everyone living in Austria is required by law to be health insured. You should check if your insurance is accepted in Austria. Find further info on the Austrian social insurance website and on feelslikehome.

Step 5: Bank Account
If you stay longer than 3 months, an Austrian bank account will make financial issues easier. For further information visit the bank account section of feelslikehome – they even offer a special deal for foreigners.

Step 6: Embassy
Inform your home country’s embassy in Vienna with information about your name and contact details. This can be helpful in case something happens. You can find a list with all embassy addresses on feelslikehome.

If you wanna know more about feelslikehome.at, just check out their promo video:

When I first saw WildUrb I thought “wow, that exactly the spirit we stand for, that’s perfect for travellers to get into a new city, perfect for our guests to get the most authentic experience of travelling.”

Fair enough, now the wombats CITY HOSTELS are cooperating with WildUrb. Today, Doris from WildUrb shows you three fist class walking tours for Vienna. These show you interesting sights and sides of Vienna. Something other travellers are most likely to miss – curtains up for some sightseeing tips off the beaten track:

1. Secret Rivers
Walk the diversion channel of the river Wien in the west of the city. You will discover a curious world of motorways combined with natural habitats. And many examples of how nature can overcome concrete and take back its habitats. More info on WildUrb.com

2. Enjoyable Encounters
Discover the paths through the Hietzing mountains and valleys and meet people in different situations – pausing at the hot dog stand, enjoying the sights, tending graves, doing business and enjoying their time off. More info on WildUrb.com

3. Lively Worlds
Discover the 15th district of Vienna with this walking tour: It is a lively, multicultural part of town, a little New York in Vienna. Here you aren’t bothered by the usual conservative surroundings. More info on WildUrb.com

A great place for culture & arts: the upper Belevedere

Culture & Arts – Gustav Klimt

Vienna is celebrating the 150th birthday of Gustav Klimt, one the worlds’ most famous Symbolist painters and Viennese artists. There are a lot of exhibitions around these days, but there is one MUST SEE:

The Belvedere is hosting the Klimt exhibition “Pioneers of Modernism” ‘till 4th of March and permanently houses “The Kiss”, the largest Klimt collection in the world. It is situated in the 3rd district at the Prinz-Eugen-Street 27. You can either get there with the tram line “D” to stop “Schloss Belvedere” as well as with the tram 18 and bus lines 13A and 69A to stop “Südbahnhof”.

“Alternative Sightseeing” – Cemeteries

And if you’re totally into Klimt, then you should also visit the “Hietzinger Friedhof” (cementery Hietzing), where he was buried along other notable historic figures. To get there just take the metro line U4 to Hietzing, from there take Bus 58B to stop “Montecucolli Strasse”.

Speaking of cemeteries – they are places of culture and part of Vienna’s history as a city. Apart from thousands of graves, there are also green spaces, trees, churches, historical buildings and cultural monuments to be seen. Especially the Central Cemetery (district Simmering, tram line 6 or 71, stop Zentralfriedhof) is one of Vienna’s must-sees. It is one of the largest cemeteries in the world and many of Austria’s (and international) personalities of art, music and politics are buried here – like Ludwig van Beethoven, Arthur Schnitzler, Falco or Bruno Kreisky, just to name a few.

Shopping – Museumsquartier

“Shopping” can be much more than browsing through the stores of international brands, which look the same all over the world. The Museumquartier Vienna (one of the largest art and culture complexes in the world – you can’t miss it) houses some really cool stores of young designers, artists and “cool nerdy stuff”.

My special recommendation: the Lomography Shop. Right under the MUMOK stairway next to the KUNSTHALLE wien shop, the Lomographic Society’s store features an outstanding interior designed by Sally Bibawy, Karl Pircher, and Monika Singer. The shop sells cult cameras from the Lomo range and other trendy gifts and gadgets like films, books, Lomography-themed under- and outerwear, retro stuff and accessories.

Well, I hope you enjoy the winter in Vienna and that you have a great stay!

Yours, Charles

Christmas time is over, but the winter has still taken over Vienna. But that’s no reason to not enjoy the Austrian capital. There are plenty of things to do and to see in this great city in wintertime! Our wom-walk guide and Vienna expert Charles collected some recommendations for sightseeing and activities in Vienna. This is the first part, more to come in a few days!

Sport – Ice Skating

"Eistraum" Vienna (© Stadt Wien Marketing)

As long as it is cold it’s time to discover the many natural ice skating facilities and ice rinks. Put on your skating shoes, step on the slippery surface and learn how great fun it is to skate outdoors in the centre of Vienna.

At the Wiener Eislaufverein (Vienna Ice Skating Club) you can rent skates, learn to dance the Waltz on the ice, try the “Eisstockschießen” (the Austrian version of curling) or just enjoy to skate in the beautiful neighbourhood of the Konzerthaus. It is situated at the Lothingerstraße 22 in the 3rd disctrict, next to the U4 metro station “Stadtpark”.

And you should try the “Eistraum”: From 20th January till 4th of March you can skate in front of the Viennese City Hall – a truly unique Vienna experience! Especially at night (till 10 o’clock) this might be the best ice skating experience you ever had; it’s not just for nothing that it’s called the „Eistraum“, which means „Ice Dream“. For more Info check the Eistraum website.

Sightseeing – Vienna from above

It is rather difficult to get up anywhere in the city centre. Nevertheless, there are two places I can recommend for great panoramic views.

Don’t miss the “bahnorama”, a 67 meter high viewing tower, which offers a perfect view over the city and the massive construction site of the hyper-modern railway station and it’s surroundings – a whole new city district is arising on 109 hectares of land (as large as Vienna’s eight district). The tower also houses multimedia exhibition, a 3D simulated flight over the construction site and a café.

Another great view offers the café/cantina on the roof of the Palace of Justice, which houses the highest courts of Austria. You find it at the Schmerlingplatz 10, next to the Parliament and U2 metro station Volkstheater. At the entrance you will be checked like on an airport, but once you are inside you can enjoy the beautiful interior of this 19th century palace. Take the elevator up to the cantina: it is quite fancy, but you can enjoy good food and great view over the Ringstraße Boulevard and the Old town of Vienna.

So much for today, folks. More recommendations in a few days! For any further infos just contact our reception staff in the hostels or talk with me during one of the free wom-walks.

Yours, Charles

If you are searching for the best way to discover Munich… wombats has it for you! These are the hard facts of my personal recommendations for all Munich travellers:

• A great tour through all the important sights!
• It´s free – you just tip the tour guide!
• The tour guide is legendary!
• You meet lots of nice people!

The tour starts at our wombats CITY HOSTEL Munich and takes you along more than 15 of the best sights. Such as the Frauenkirche, the English Garden, The Marienplatz, The National Theatre or even the famous city surf wave. Not to mention the Beer Gardens, but that’s another story

Tourguide Ozzie (left)

You do not pay a regular fee for the tour. You just tip the tour guide Ozzie afterwards as much as you want to spend for the quality you got. And you get a big pile of quality, as he is the most legendary tour guide in Munich: Born on the Bahamas, a Singer and Songwriter, an enthusiastic Munich expert, funny guy and really “Bavarian” (or as Bavarian you can image a guy from the Bahamas ) He tells you all the interesting and funny background stories; he knows more than 850 years of Bavarian history, stories of the Oktoberfest, myths and legends of the city and stuff like that.

So the tour ends up being more than just a dull sightseeing tour – it’s funny, diversified and full of insights. And you meet lots of nice travellers from other countries, which makes a good crew to further explore the city, it’s beer gardens or the nightlife.

For further information just contact the reception staff at our wombats CITY HOSTEL Munich!

I wish you a great time in Munich! Have fun!

Yours, Doris

You want to get some spectacular views of the Austrian capital Vienna, see heaps of great historical sights and meet nice people for good drinks and food? No problem, our brand new wom-walk has it all for you – for free!

The walk starts every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday  at  10am in winter (11am in summer) at our wombats CITY HOSTEL “The Naschmarkt”, where you meet up with other travellers taking part. Our certified city guide Charles takes you on a tour along famous Viennese sights like the Naschmarkt, the Opera or the St. Stephen’s Cathetral, giving you first class background information.

The walk also includes stops at the legendary “Würstlstände” (traditional food stalls) and ends at the “12 Apostel Keller” (“Twelve-apostle’s cellar”), a really old wine cellar in the heart of Vienna – so plenty of typical Austrian food and excellent wines are at your delight! The participation in the wom-walk is free; you just pay for your food and drinks.

All guests taking part so far were excited. The wom-walk proofed to be a great opportunity to get a first impression of the city and meet other travellers from around the world. A perfect start for a good stay, for your wombats experience!

For more information don’t hesitate to contact our reception staff in the hostels. We are looking forward to walk with you!