Jaunted

Tags: Events / Vienna / Sydney / Washington / → All Tags

This Weekend in the World: Gardening and Art With Mom

· Washington DC: We sincerely hope you aren't forgetting that this Sunday is Mother's Day, and luckily those wishing for a short city escape can head to the Spring Garden Party at George Washington's Mount Vernon home. Provided that the weather is nice, there will be activities on both May 9 and 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If your mother appreciates old-fashioned hospitality and history, she'll be delighted with "18th-century-style musical groups," garden tours, colonial games and dancing, and early American gardening demonstrations. For more information, check out the About.com information page.

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Tags: Capitals of Culture / Music Travel / Austria / Vienna / European Capital of Culture / → All Tags

No Kangaroos But Tons Of Culture In Austria In 2009

As if we were in any doubt that Austria was a mighty cultural place, the coming year of 2009 will hammer it into us completely, and we're hoping the Austrians will even get rid of those "There are no kangaroos in Austria" T-shirts.

To start out, the northern city of Linz is a European Capital of Culture for 2009 which means a major overload of stuff to see and do. The opening festival runs from New Year's Eve through to January 2 with countdowns and concerts and, well, culture.

Meanwhile, Vienna' music scene celebrates Haydn some 200 years after his death. The over-zealous Viennese have planned 1,500 different events in 2009 to celebrate Haydn's music so if nothing's happening the day you arrive, you're just not reading the schedule right.

Related Stories:
· Linz European Capital of Culture 2009 [Official Site]
· Haydn Year 2009 [Official Site]
· Austria Hearts Haydn, 200 Years On [Jaunted]

[Photo: paula moya]

Tags: Austria / Vienna / → All Tags

Graz, Home of Governator Schwarzenegger

Graz, Austria, recently bore its very own Metblog, a good sign that there's something to love about Austria's second city. No, the fact that the Governator was born in one of its suburbs doesn't count. We're thinking more the lines of a breezy, creative spirit created by Graz's huge student population. For a rough comparison, consider it the Boston of Austria: you know, half of your friends went to college there.

Graz is close to Hungary and Slovenia, and about a three-hour train ride away from Vienna. Its old town neighborhood (pictured) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We're not usually the antiquing type, but are eager to try it along Graz's well-known Sackstrasse now that Metblogs points us to a world war figurine window display that's thrown a cow and giraffe into battle. It's the little things, people.

For lodging in Graz, try the Augarten design hotel for $146 a night. They've also got apartments available for a few bucks more.

If you're not cooking your own food in your apartment at the Augarten, stop for a meal at Iohan (that's a capital "i"--nothing to do with Lindsay), and enjoy your Austrian wine under its pretty vaulted ceiling.

Just watch out for those vigilante tour guides on your walk home.

[Photo: nemish]

Related Stories:
· sackstraße [Metroblogging Graz]
· Criminal Intent with Guidebook [Nerd's Eye View]
· Augarten hotel reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Vienna / Art / Museums / Psychedelia / → All Tags

Last Call at Vienna Kunsthalle Exhibit

But a wee sliver of a week remains for you to catch the "Summer of Love" exhibit at the Kunsthalle Wien, which is itself but a sliver of the enormous Museumsquartier complex. The exhibit originated at the Tate Liverpool, but the Viennese version features an exclusive addition on 1960s Austria. "Summer of Love" closes on September 17.

All sorts of '60s and '70s psychedelia are on display, from trippy installations to sculpture, film, and record covers. Beyond the obvious Andy Warhol light show, there are works from lesser known artists, and those who you might not even know were artists -- like Jimi Hendrix, whose only known painting is part of the show.

For an extra € 2.50 over the admission price, you can rent a "multimedia guide" to help you through. Not that you heard it here, but we're thinkin' that you might wanna bump up your budget to € 4.20 and do some outside shopping for the full experience.

[Photo of Eric Clapton by Robert Whitaker]

Tags: Vienna / Record Stores / Vinyl / Collecting / → All Tags

Vinyl Viennese Rarities

Deep down inside, hard-to-get is the game every record nerd loves to play. For the serious collector who loves a challenge so long as there's a payoff, it doesn't get much better than Ton um Ton Rarities.

This all-vinyl offshoot of the Ton um Ton record store in Vienna will tease you with limited hours (it's open only four hours each day, six days a week) but send you home satisfied. How such rare records end up in the bins here is anybody's guess, but the store has a consistently solid collection of them. Rarities also stocks less hard-to-find releases at fair prices, plus old Record Collector magazines that are entertaining to flip through. Checkout is done by hand, a nice touch that lends itself to the store's hippie atmosphere. Once you're done vinyl hunting, head next door to Ton um Ton proper for concert tickets and advice on local music.