One of the biggest parks in the inner city. When I was small, everyone would tell me never to go there, for it was considered the drugs-park of vienna. growing up I realised that it was mere exageration and this beautiful park became my favourite. there is the vienna river running right next to it, for sure it is not the cleanest, but for me it gives an amazing element of urbanity to the whole area. The river is loosing itself in a dark viaduct-like opening, and saga has it that in this tunnels at other times rave partys would take place. the park itself is beautiful, sourrounded by the city, with the fabulously hideous hotel intercontinental building, and the marble statues leading along the river, that changes it size seemingly daily, according to the weather, next to it you find one of vienna’s most beautiful cinemas, the gartenbaukino, as well as nice cafes, my favorite being the “das kleine cafe”. a wonderful experience is limited to summertime and made me often take the long way round when returning late night: you will find yourself in the middle of all kinds of animals lively running about, 5 hedgehogs, 7 rats, 12 ducks, one badger, mice and a heron. I love to find them there crossing the park.

Sous bois doubles up as a graphic designer’s office for its owner and is a candy-coloured materialisation of her playful aesthetics and enthusiasm for all things stationary. In summer, the parking place in front of the shop becomes a tropical-themed paradise for bookbinding and typographic workshops.

This thermal bath is located a bit outside of vienna but you can find a train to get there and its well worth it. there is 5 different basins, the one pictured being called forest-basin. There is no chlorid in any of them, the architechture of the entrance and the grand basin is amazing and you can see a most peculiar rest of a fomally rich culture of bathing traditions: cabins, that are permanently rent to guests that spend most of their summer there within the bath’s area. While you swim and dry you will walk by a family having their lunch in one of these 25 square meter universes, or watch men playing cards on the balconies, before taking another swim. The pools are located on different niveaus and you will have to find your way through a pretty little forest to reach some of them.

The „Kirche am Steinhof“  church is located off the beaten tourist path in the 14th district in the Steinhof Psychiatric Hospital (yes, you heard it right). The interior of the church is beautiful and designed to the tiniest detail by the famous Jugendstil architect Otto Wagner. He used new construction techniques and combined them with the necessities of the patients. For example the seating was designed so that there were no sharp edges.  The bus 48A takes you there directly.

Vienna has three mountains, “house-mountains” as we call them in german, in fact they are more like 3 connected hills that house the famous viennese vinyards, beautiful forests for scary winter midnight visits and restaurants for autumn walks. one can find cheap wine and great traditional food in the green. for me and my friends, taking the bus from the city to go up there has become a ritual in a way, a symbolic voyage to clear our head up there in the fresh air while watching vienna from above. the names are Kahlenberg, Cobenzl and Leopoldsberg. The bus 38A accesses them all, (start from station Schottentor) in summer picnic is a good idea. if you happen to have a car or take a cab at night, the stars are bright from any meadow and you can watch and listen to the city youth drift in their cars on the big public parking space.