Austria Travel Link Directory: The Baby is out!

Alright, took longer than I had expected (I had hired somebody for the php programming a year ago, but he quite after a while), but here it is: The glorious link directory of TourMyCountry.com, up and running and ready to accept contributions!

Austria Travel Links: The TourMyCountry Directory

Bars & Entertainment

Websites by Region

Hiking & Summer Sports

Hotels & Accommodation

Music & Culture

Public Institutions

Restaurants & Dining

Sightseeing

Skiing & Wintersports

Transportation & Travel

Travel Practicalities

Vienna

Wellness & Spa

Districts of Vienna: A Guide for each "Bezirk" of Austria's Capital

Ladies and Gentlemen,

News are about to be released...the link directory of TourMyCountry.com is almost finished and there are only a few bugs left that need to be fixed.

Meanwhile, I would like to draw your attention to a new section on the website: A guide for each individual district of Vienna.

Districts of Vienna Guide

District Overview - 1st (Innere Stadt) - 2nd (Leopoldstadt) - 3rd (Landstraße) - 4th (Wieden) - 5th (Margarethen)- 6th (Mariahilf) - 7th (Neubau) - 8th (Josefstadt) - 9th (Alsergrund) - 10th (Favoriten) - 11th (Simmering) - 12th (Meidling) - 13th (Hietzing) - 14th (Penzing) - 15th (Fünfhaus) - 16th (Ottakring) - 17th (Hernals) - 18th (Währing) - 19th (Döbling) - 20th (Brigittenau) - 21st (Floridsdorf) - 22nd (Donaustadt) - 23rd (Liesing)

I hope the guides provide some useful information and will be gratful for every advice on how to improve them! Best,

Benedikt

Austria Travel Link Directory: Soon 2 b up & running!

The promised link directory is starting to look functional - it is still buggish and somewhat crude, but I am really excited about it. It is not linked to yet from anywhere else, so this is something like a preview to share my excitement:

TourMyCountry - Austria Travel Link Directory

I hope to finish it soon with decent categories and everything. Until then,

Benedikt

Q&A: Trains Salzburg-Bischofshofen for Ski Jumping

It is anther round of "Question & Answer" - here we go:

QUESTION

Hi there! I am planning to come to Austria next January for the Ski Jumping 4Hills event at Bischofshofen, but am struggling to find accommodation inthe town. So I have decided to try Salzburg, is this a good base forgetting to Bischofshofen? I plan to come on 03/01/2009 the Saturday, spend a couple of dayssightseeing in Salzburg then go to the Ski Jumping on the Monday andTuesday. Are the trains cheap and frequent from Salzburg to go toBischofshofen and back each day? Sorry for so many questions but I am quite excited about coming toAustria and would appreciate any help or advice.

Your website by the way is a great read, keep up the good work.
My best regards, XXX, Penzance, England

ANSWER:

Hi XXX, Thank you for your message. I think Salzburg will make a good base for your stay, both for Bischofshofen and because the city itself offers plenty of things to see and do. Trains run frequently, and there might be a bus service in addition to them (trains are faster, though). The tourist information centre will know details, there is one at the main station (you will get there if you take a city bus from the airport). I am sure there are several trains a day - the Austrian National Railway's website, by the way, is: www.oebb.at Have fun in Salzburg / Bischofshofen! Benedikt

Question & Answer - Part 2: More on Salzburg

Now here is an interesting one:

QUESTION:

Hi. I'm XXX from the Philippines. I've been collecting caricatures from all the places I've been to and I will be going to Salzburg this coming April. I just wanted to ask if you would know where I could find the caricature artists on the street. if so, where should I be looking for them. Thank you very much. Sincerely, XXX

ANSWER:

Hello XXX, There are caricature artists around the cathedral in the city centre - mostly on the Domplatz and under the arches between Domplatz and the surrounding squares. I think they are there all year round, although I have to admit that I have never paid much attention to them. I hope you have a good time in Salzburg and get a great caricature! Best wishes, Benedikt

AND THE GRATEFUL REPLY:

Hello Benedikt! Thank you very much for your honest and detailed reply. I will surely enjoy my trip. Thanks a lot! XXX

Q&A: A Question about "The Sound of Music" Tours

I decided to start posting questions that were sent to me by e-mail at the blog, in the hope that my answers will help other people, too. Here we go with one regarding "The Sound of Music" Tours in Salzburg:

QUESTION:

"Hi, I am going on holiday with my husband and 3 children to a hotel outside Salzburg in February (the Neubichleralm in Piding, near Bad Reichenstall) and we will spend at least one day in the city. I was last in Salzburg in 1982 (!) and hope to revisit the places I enjoyed then.

However, my children are avid fans of THAT film and so we are considering a Sound of Music tour as well as Mozrtsgeburtshaus/ pferdwasche etc... Is there one company that is better than others or are they all fairly similar? I know its kitsch and unrepresentative of Austria and we will make this clear to our children: I spent a few summers in Scheibbs, NO and have great memories of the Wachau, Krems, Heuriger etc so we can make sure that they get the message! Any advice welcome!"

MY ANSWER:

Hi XXX, I've never done a Sound of Music Tour myself, but I assume they are all rather similar - Panoramatours is the very big one, Bob's Tours is a small local company that might be more personal; otherwise, especially since you are several people, renting a car and touring the lakes yourself will be the best deal and grant you with the freedom to spend time wherever you want.

Essentially, 80 percent of all Sound of Music locations are *within* Salzburg and very accessible; then they go to Anif, where you can't get into the castle, because it is private property; and then they take you to Mondsee, which is nice, but not worth the 35 Euros that I think they charge - since you can get their by public busses or with your own car. I hope this helps! Have a great stay in Salzburg! Links to our website are always appreciated! Best wishes, Benedikt

New Layout is delayed - current issues with TourMyCountry

You might have noticed that the new layout that I have promised just before Christmas has not happened yet - this is due to difficulties with my general time-budget. Nonetheless, I think about three major innovations for the next couple of months:

- The new layout with features like info-boxes
- A link directory instead of the rather useless current "link list for Austria"
- Increased number of photographs, especially for articles that are purley texed based (for an example, see the new one on Mayrhofen in the Zillertal Valley).

I hope I will make good progress with all three points.

Best,

Benedikt