A stroll along the Vltava brought with it the mysterious sight of Venetian gondolas, but the parade of boats came with good reason as it paid tribute to St. John of Nepomuk, who was thrown off the Charles Bridge under orders of King Wenceslas IV in 1393.
May 15 marks the anniversary of St. John’s canonization, and the gondolas, markets, concerts and fireworks that ran from May 13 to May 16 as part of the Midsummer Nights Navalis (Svatojánské navalis) recalled the 17th and 18th century, when such celebrations were common.

The inauguration will be dedicated to the final event of the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition – one of the most important international contests for classical music. Against the splendid backdrop of Vienna City Hall and with an audience of tens of thousands, seven finalists will again engage in a musical tournament. The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra will accompany the young soloists. The best young musician of 2012 will be chosen by an international jury.

Click here for the official webpage.

No doubt this first Viennese Dinner Club is quite an unique place: extraordinary dinner experience is guaranteed by the exceptional location in a former pedestrian passage below the famous Ring Boulevard right next to the State Opera, the stylish interior design with geometrical patterns on the wall, the huge white bar and of course the demonstrative white piano right in the middle of the club.

www.albertinapassage.at

Chaya Fuera – the new Live Music Club

Chaya means “life”, fuera “out there”. Together the name stands for breaking rules and celebrating life. International top-acts, absolute newcomers, electro, rock, soul or independent – overall the sound spectrum is dedicated to only one main criteria: quality.

www.chayafuera.com

Grelle Forelle

This new over-21-club focuses on international line up (DJs from UK, France, Italy) as wall as the best Austrian Techno Experts. Two floors as well as a terrace in summer provide the perfect setting for a party night out. No guest list, no reservation, strictly no photo & video policy!

www.grelleforelle.com

Further information is available at www.weinamberg.at

Click here for an adventurous tour of the historic Burg Hasegg or stroll through the Old Town.

Austria

Easter fires are lit during the night before Easter Sunday. People meet around the fire to sing and dance. The youngsters and adventurous actually jump over the fire. On Easter Sunday fasting comes officially to an end. A traditional Easter brunch is prepared and we serve sweet bread (Osterpinze), smoked meat with horseradish and of course colored eggs. As a tradition for kids, colorful Easter eggs, sweets and small presents are hidden in the house or in the garden by the mythological Easter bunny.

Czech Republic

Men spank women with a special handmade whip called a pomlázka on Easter Monday morning, consisting of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods), decorated with colored ribbons at the end. Women should be spanked with a whip in order to keep their health and beauty during the whole next year and men exhibit their attraction to women. Traditionally, the spanked woman gives a colored egg in return.

Hungary

Undoubtedly, the two most special traditions that Hungarians stick to are egg-shoeing and ‘sprinkling’ on Easter Monday.
Egg painting and egg-shoeing: As in many European countries, women also paint eggs in Hungary. Sometimes they simply envelop an egg into a dented leaf, and cook it in painting water, or draw patterns onto the eggshell by wax and put the egg into painting after this. Egg shoeing, however, needs a lot more skill and patience. As village tales tell, this ritual was invented by the blacksmiths to prove their skills by creating an egg which was shod by miniature horseshoes. This is a tradition, which still lives on, and gifted blacksmiths astonish visitors with breathtaking pieces – especially around Easter-time.
Sprinkling: Until some time back, young men used to chase girls towards the village well on Easter Monday, and poured buckets of water onto their head. This custom has not much to do with Christian traditions, it is rather a fertility ritual, which lives on in a smoother version today: women are not sprinkled by ice-cold well water but  by perfume. Thanks to sprinkling, women stay fresh and young for the coming year, and they reward the sprinklers with a beautiful painted egg.

“The concert program of the 2012 Salzburg Easter Festival is full of riches, too,” its Artistic Director, Sir Simon Rattle, says. Fauré’s Requiem is performed at the Salzburg Easter Festival for the first time, together with Schumann’s Nachtlied, “which is nine minutes of simple perfection. And we perform a very beautiful small piece by Luciano Berio, O King, written in memory of Martin Luther King, which will lead us into the meditative world of Fauré,” Sir Simon Rattle waxes enthusiastic. His video introduction on the entire program of this year’s festival is available here: >> go to video

www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at

Join us on a tour through the impressive state rooms.

Innovative 3D virtual models of the three largest halls are now available to our clients. Customers have access to Sketchup and CAD models of the Festsaal (up to 1,300 guests), the Grosser Redoutensaal (up to 700) and the Zeremoniensaal (up to 500). Users can embark upon virtual “flights” around the three rooms, inspect the spaces from a range of different angles and incorporate this innovative new technology into their event planning activities. Renderings give a valuable insight into the various room set ups.

Their website features a virtual tour, photos in high resolution, 3D models and floor plans for download. These new technologies will bring hybrid events a step closer!

Please follow this link for your tour