Summer In The City – #InVienna Blogtrip Report

The aim, said Lea Hajner on behalf of the Vienna Tourist Board, was “to draw attention to Vienna as a young and modern city. Vienna is often associated with tradition and things such as the Wiener Schnitzel and the Viennese Walz. That’s all part of the city but there is so much more beyond. For the first blog trip they wanted to focus on fashion, music and lifestyle and wanted to show places that locals and tourists like to hang out at”.

The Vienna Tourist Board picked 12 bloggers from 6 different markets and Lea goes on to say:

Part of my job was to help the tourism board to figure out who they’d like to invite. They had already decided they wanted to work with bloggers when I joined early in Spring. Thanks to several blog trips and conferences such as TBEX and TBU in the last few years I had the chance to meet a lot of travel bloggers and I already knew people who had an interest in coming to Vienna.

Like any other Tourist Board Vienna has its main target countries so we went for a mixture of countries but also languages. Besides stats, numbers and engagement with the readers it was also important for us to find participants, who we thought would not only enjoy seeing a young side of Vienna but would also fit well into the group.

The Team

• (Me!), Lezaan Roos, (UK) www.travelllll.com
• John O’Nolan, (UK) www.travelllll.com
• Sarah & Terry Lee, (UK) www.livesharetravel.com
• Keith Jenkins, (NL) www.velvetescape.com
• Chris Richardson (UK/AUS) www.theaussienomad.com
• Isabelle Kenis, (BELGIUM) www.isabellestravelguide.com
• Yvonne Zagermann, (GER) www.justtravelous.com
• Maéva Coron, (FRANCE) Hejorama, www.hejorama.com
• Johannes Klaus, (GER) www.reisedepesche.de
• Jeremy Kunz, (CH) www.tkkg.ch/www.reisewerk.ch - but he now has a new site: reisewerk.ch
• Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk (GER), www.travelettes.net

In charge for the whole trip was Isabella Rauter from Wien.info with Lea Hajner @vanilleah (also from @tripwolf) looking after us on behalf of the Vienna Tourist Board.

The Trip Highlights

We kicked off the trip at 25hours Hotel. I mention this Hotel in particular because of the way in which it supported the objective of the trip, which was to showcase Vienna as a ‘young and modern city’. It is a place where surreal, surprising and sexy plays with fantasy and exotic. You can feel the temporary character and the flair with real craft and art. The design is orientated to the heyday of the circus at the beginning of the 20 century.

A second highlight for me, which showcased the ‘younger, lively side’, was a stroll along the Danube canal to explore the urban restaurant, bar and club scene of Vienna.

The Danube Canal is a special feature of the Austrian capital’s urban landscape. This centrally located offshoot of the Danube proper is home to a lively gastro and party scene that really comes into its own once the mercury starts to rise.

Although there are quite a few interesting bars and restaurants open for business on the Danube Canal year round, it’s not until the weather gets warmer that this part of town truly comes to life. When the sun is shining and the outdoor bars and restaurants have created their artificial sandy beaches and the deck chairs are all lined up, it’s finally time for a holiday in the heart of the city. Located in the center of Vienna, the Danube Canal has steadily grown into one of the capital’s most exciting gastro and party hotspots over the past few years. The strictly car-free quayside sets the perfect scene for bar-hopping and the views of the water add a hint of Caribbean charm.

Summer in the City of Vienna would not be complete without taking the paddle boat to enjoy an afternoon in the sun. The Old Danube is a centrally located recreational paradise and a calm body of water that has something to offer for every taste and is also frequently visited by the Viennese. About 1,600 row boats, electric and paddle boats are awaiting vacationers from around the world.

Numerous outdoor pools, such as the famous “Gänsehäufel”, have excellent water quality and tempt visitors to enjoy many pleasant hours at the beach.

Other activities included…

A visit to the museumsquartier (MQ) and The exhibition Art and Fashion at the mumok (Museum of Modern Art). Also, a shopping tour through the 7th District with expert Sebastian Bauer – the lively Fashion and Design scene of the 7th district and the neighboring districts are the focal point of the 7tm shop tours. The 7th District in particular is Vienna’s mecca for the latest fashion trends.

Ongoing Blogger Engagement

While there, the participants were active both ‘on the ground’ and online too, as born out by the 2,085,299 impressions (via tweetreach) we generated on the #inVienna hashtag. As Lea Hajner explains, this ‘live’ element was important:

The Vienna Tourist Board is constantly working with traditional journalists from around the world, but the #inVienna blog trip marked a first step towards working more closely with travel bloggers. For the blog trip it was also important for us to invite bloggers with a high affinity towards Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to create an online buzz as the blog trip was taking place.

So, does that mean more blog trips in future?

The Vienna Tourist Board would like to continue working with bloggers and is happy to receive requests. The more detail you send the easier it is for them to help you out. Also make sure to include your media kit, what you’d like to see during your stay and where you’ll be needing their help. In general Vienna is looking to promote the young city – or the mixture between old traditions and young developments such as the Design Week that is on now.

Will you be taking Vienna up on their offer?

*I was supplied with luggage by Karrimor to try out on this 4-day trip to Vienna. The wheeled travel case was an excellent option for the short trip and all my equipment as well as personal belongings fitted comfortably.

Image: Flickr/skittledog