Mobile phones Try Alfred Waicsek (Tel: 505 59 3535, Email: shop@handy-online. at) or hire a phone from any T-Mobile shop. There’s also Tel-Rent (Tel: 700 733 340) in the arrivals hall at Schwechat airport. Note: even when speaking English, Austrians call mobiles handies. Car hire You can hire a car at the airport from Avis, Budget, Europcar or Hertz, or arrange car hire at your hotel or via the tourist board.

Limousines Book an English-speaking chauffeur for a short trip in Vienna, or for a day’s sightseeing, from Austrian Business Cars & VIP (Tel: 60 60 737, Mobile: 664 241 1100, www.abc.or.at, Email: office@limousine-service.at) or JetCar (Tel: 271 1818, www.jet-car.at, Email: office@jet-car.at). Secretarial services (Tel: 240 270, www.fbc.at).

is based at the airport (Tel: 700 736 000, www.world-trade-center.at,Office rental World Trade Centers Association Email: office@world-trade-center.at) and can also help with computer rental, audio-visual equipment, mobile phones, faxing, printing services and temporary staff. Courier services DHL (Tel: 0810 005 203— only available when calling from within Austria) or UPS (Tel: 707 8050). Translation services Mag Jutta Jerlich (Mobile: 676 413 9169, www.e-tradelink.

LOCAL PRESS

For business and world news, read Der Standard and Die Presse, or for a more tabloid style (easier if your German isn’t fluent) get Neue Kronen Zeitung. . Ask at Tabaks for English-language papers from mid-afternoon onwards. Listings in English can be found in Austria Today (www. austriatoday.at) and The Vienna Insider (www.theviennainsider.com). Ask your hotel or the tourist board for the latest edition of Wien Journal or see it online at www.vienna.info

INTERNET CAFES

Several internet cafés have spaces for laptop users as well as fixed PC stations. With a laptop you’ll be able to go online from your hotel, just make sure your connection is compatible with the Austrian network.

Buy a European adaptor at any computer shop or at the airport. Most net cafés don’t have wi-fi access.

There are several Big@Net cafés at Hoher Market 8 (Tel: 533 2939, www.bignet. at), Kärntner Strasse 61 (Tel: 503 9844), Mariahilferstrasse 27 and a good option is Café Einstein, Rathausplatz 4 (Tel: 405 2626, www.einstein.at).

Flex is Vienna’s trendiest net café inside a club and is open until 4am. There’s also a café, open until 3am, at Donaukanal near Augartenbrücke (Tel: 533 7525, www. flex.at).

G-Zone is at Universitätsstrasse 11 (Tel: 407 8166)

At Restaurant Leupold, internet services are free if you eat there, and wi-fi is available (Schottengasse 7, Tel: 533 93 8112, www.leupold.at).

Speednet-Café is at several locations including Landstrasser Haupstrasse 92-94 (www.speednet-cafe.com).

Surfland.c@fe is Vienna’s first non-smoking internet café, on Krugerstrasse 10 (Tel: 512 7701, www.surfland.at).

MONEY

The Austrian currency is the Euro (€). Coins come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and €1 and €2. Notes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euros. All major credit cards are accepted. If your debit card displays the Maestro symbol, you can take money straight out of your current account at any cashpoint, just like at home.

Most banks, especially those outside business districts, close for lunch and at 3pm every weekday except Thursday. They do not open at weekends. Opening hours are Monday-Wednesday and Friday 8am-12.30pm and 1.30-3pm, Thursday 8am-12.30pm and 1.30-5.30pm.

Post office opening hours are Monday-Friday 8am-12pm and 2-6pm. Larger post offices are open throughout the lunch period. At the main train stations you will find post office services open until 10pm or later.

TIPPING ETIQUETTE

Tipping is expected in taxis, hotels, restaurants, cafés and bars, even if you’ve only had a couple of drinks. In restaurants, a service charge is often added to the bill, so check before leaving a tip. In many cafés and bars, your server will just tell you how much you owe, and you then tell them how much you are paying (with the tip added on). It can get complicated—if your German isn’t up to scratch, ask for a written bill. Try to hand your tip directly to the server, rather than leaving it on the table, and give a minimum of 12%. Hotel porters should be given a couple of Euros for carrying your bags, and tip for room service. At the end of your stay, leave your chambermaid approximately €3 per day (more if staying in an expensive hotel). What goes around comea around.

VISAS/VACCINATIONS

Citizens of EU countries and most other Western nations do not require a visa for a stay of up to three months, but longer stays may require a residency visa. If you’re unsure, check with the local Austrian Embassy. No vaccinations are necessary.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

If a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday it isn’t automatically moved on to the nearest Monday, nor will time off in lieu always be given. The latter depends on each employer’s policy.
1st January—New Year’s Day
6th January—Epiphany
17th April (2006)—Easter Monday
1st May—Labour Day
25th May (2006)—Ascension Day
5th June (2006)—Whit Monday
15th June (2006)—Corpus Christi
15th August—Assumption
26th October—Austrian National Day
1st November—All Saints’ Day
8th December—Immaculate Conception
25th and 26th December—Christmas

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

The seasons are well-defined in Vienna. There are hot summers (with temperatures up to the mid-30sC), cold and snowy winters and temperate weather in spring and autumn. Wear layers in winter so you can quickly adapt to the cold outdoors and climate-controlled interiors.

SUGGESTED READING

The Third Man, by Graham Greene, is a superb account of Cold War Vienna (also see the movie).

Last Waltz in Vienna, by George Clare, gives an excellent account of a Jewish teenager’s life in Vienna before and during the Anschluss (Nazi annexation of Austria). Easy to read, thought provoking and deeply moving.

Fin de Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture, by Carl E Schorske, is an informative, scholarly and fascinating book about one of Vienna’s most interesting times.

The Fig Eater, by Jody Shields, is a fictional thriller about the murder of a young woman in 1910. It’s an intelligently written, gripping novel that delves as much into Vienna’s past as it does into that of its characters.

Also read Jan Morris’s short but superb essay Vienna.

GETTING INTO TOWN

Airport Vienna’s Schwechat Airport (www. viennaairport.com) is small, easy to navigate and a short journey from the centre of the city. There are a few small shops and an excellent business centre (the World Trade Centre).

Taxi A taxi to the centre of Vienna will cost €30-€35 and take 20-30 minutes (up to 45 minutes in rush hour). To prebook a radio cab, Tel: 31 300, 60 160 or 40 100. Note that these cost about €10 more than a cab from the airport rank. To book a limousine, see Business contacts above. Car The airport is about 20kms outside the city. Driving to the centre takes about 30-45 minutes. The city centre is well signposted all the way from the airport. Parking once you’ve arrived is difficult, so ensure your hotel is expecting you to arrive by car and can allocate a space. If your business is solely in Vienna, don’t bother with a car as you won’t really need it.

Bus These run every 20 minutes to Westbahnhof, Sudbahnhof and the city centre (Postgasse). The service leaves from in front of the arrivals and departures hall and runs daily 4.30am-1am. You can take up to three items of luggage. A oneway ticket costs €6, a return is €11. Many hotels offer a shuttle-bus service, so check with your hotel when booking.

Overland train (S-Bahn) This is probably the quickest way into town. The S7 travels between the airport and Wien Mitte station every 20 minutes (taking 22 minutes). The CAT (City Air Terminal) is a non-stopping service which takes 16 minutes. Tickets cost €9 single/€16 return. On your return, you can check in your luggage at Wien Mitte and collect your flight boarding pass there.

International trains Trains from other countries arrive in Vienna at either Westbahnhof or Südbahnhof. Both have good public transport connections.