Cultural events and expressions in Vienna are not only related to music. Yes, you are probably going to enjoy Viennese operettas and waltzes, classical concerts, jazz performances, experimental music or even modern dance if you want, but the buildings, the gardens, the modern areas and the nightlife are all worth your attention when you plan to swap houses with a Viennese citizen.

Some of the beautiful buildings and sites that serve as testament of Vienna’s glorious past and proudly kept inheritance are:

- The Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs dynasty: Hofburg Palace
- The Baroque Palaces: Belvedere Palace and Schönbrunn Palace
- Related to the above-mentioned: the Belvedere Garden and Schönbrunn Zoo, the oldest zoo founded in the 18th century.
- The Palace of Justice
- Karls Church
- Vienna’s Ringstraße (ring boulevard): the State Opera, Burg Theatre, the House of Parliament, the City Hall, the Museum of Fine Arts…
- The Spanish Riding School with its unique Lipizzan horses: because in Vienna music has even been blended with the equestrian world.

And of course, the modern side of the city can stun you too:

- Haas House
- The Gasometer
- Many cutting-edge residential apartment buildings
- Hundertwasser House

As an end note: you cannot swap houses to visit Vienna and forget to try the irresistible Viennese combination of coffee and pastry, they are going to leave a mark on your senses that will not be easily forgotten.

For more information about interesting things to discover in Vienna you may visit:
http://www.wien.info/en/

Vienna is the largest city and capital of Austria and it is the centre of most of the country’s activities. It has a rich history and a pleasant modern present, being ranked among the top cities when it comes to quality of life. Vienna is undoubtedly and immediately associated to music.  Many famous composers and musicians lived in Vienna, including Mozart, Johann Strauss, Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler and Joseph Haydn, and the city has a tradition of first class musical ensembles, like the Vienna Chamber Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra.

We want to highlight two important things about 2011’s music scene in Vienna:

– The 20th Viennese Spring Festival starting March 26th: this year’s edition has 70 concerts scheduled during the 22 days of celebration that will start with the magnificent sound of the restored Musikverein organ.

– Mahler’s Year (or “Years”): last year, it was the 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth and in 2011 it is the 100th anniversary of his death so Vienna has organized a series of events and tours to celebrate his life and work.

We will share more about Vienna in our next post as well, because if you have not discovered its beauty, this may be the year to do it and with HomeForHome taking you there, your first home exchange to the self called “world’s music capital” will be an experience you will never forget.

The buzz on global warming has been louder louder for the past years. With different environmental issues connected to it, people now are more concerned to go green. Air pollution is one of the major factors for global warming. The emission of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere is a serious threat to our health and Mother Nature’s. So what could we do to help lessen the pollution?

We should go green! Fellow home exchangers, why not try riding a bike while on vacation in the city or countryside you are about to have an exchange instead of renting a car? Wouldn’t that be a good idea? This way, you could save on car rentals and petrol. We all know that there’s a financial crunch going on, so cutting on the rental expenses would be a big help. Biking is also good for your health, you could burn as much as 550 calories for an hour of riding a bike. (That’s equivalent to an hour of freestyle swimming laps!)  Not only that, taking a bike ride around the city is a fun and cheap way of enjoying your stay on a new place. Cities such as Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam and Paris are very friendly places to go on bike riding.

Now there are available bike rentals for taking tours around the city. Yes, it does cost some damage to your wallets… so how can you have it for free? It’s pretty simple. Ask your home exchange  partner if you could borrow their bike (if they have one) for the time being. Asking permission to borrow wouldn’t hurt. You might want to ask your home exchange partner in advance if they have a bike you could use so that you don’t have to bring your own bike or even rent. Just remember to take good care of your home exchange partner’s stuff to continue good relationships with them. You might want to leave a little surprise, like a bike accessory, to your home exchange partner to thank him/her for letting you use their bike. Enjoy your ride!