Vienna Sports Travel Tips by Escadora7

Theme: Extreme Sports

The Donauturm (Danube Tower) was built for tourists and natives to have a nice meal in the rotating restaurant while enjoying the astonishing view. Until some crazy people decided to jump off the tower.....

Jochen Schweizer organizes a 152m (500 feet) jump off a ramp on the Donauturm. This is one of Europe's 10 highest jumps, usually offered during the summer months. Cost is about 150.-- to 200.-- Euros, depending on whether you want to get the video and the T-shirt of the experience.

Ashley was insane enough to do it, and he says it was one of the most thrilling experiences of his life. I was courageous enough to go up with him (via elevator) and take some pictures....fear of heights ...Argggghhh!!!! I'd highly recommend for any adventure-seeker to do this - just watching it was a thrill. Plus Donauturm might be a practise-run for the 192m jump off the Europa-bruecke (also in Austria). ;-)

Ash: Eva's mom actually scared me on the way up, absent mindedly saying in German 'Come here, come here, Let me hug and kiss you, in case you don't make it back alive!' ... I was like .. 'HUHHHH??!!!'. And as usual Lil Miss Giggles was upto her neck in laughter!

But the rush was tremendous! Hurtling towards the ground in freefall, I guess all I could think about was ... 'So this is what flying feels like..' and then again .. 'Argh SH*T, What MADE ME DO THIS??????'. Well a once in a lifetime experience anyways.


Equipment: Just wear regular loose clothing - they will put overalls and a harness over your clothes. You can take a choice of leg or mid harnesses, but here because of the height, its a standard mid-harness here.

The day I decided to do the jump it was freezing. It has been raining all night long, the ropes were soaked, and the machines weren't working, so assistants manually hauled me back onto the ground, once the jump was over and the rope finished tossing me all over the tower. I was given precise instructions to keep my arms spread wide, and back arched so as not to sprain it, and as far as possible to try and stay horizontal! Yeah right, like I was gonna remember all of that on the way down.


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Address: Donauturm - you can't miss it.
Directions: Donauturm in the Donaupark; just behind the UN-center; 22nd district; It's one of the tallest landmarks in the city.
Website: www.jochen-schweizer.at

Theme: Other

It's winter time in Vienna-Austria. The temperature is freezing. What do you do??? Go for an outdoors swim of course!!! Well, that's what we did - and it was great!

The thermal waters in Oberlaa are not only healthy, but the place offers a great variety of activites for all sorts of people ranging from the very active (Eve) to the extremely lazy (Ash). [ASH: HUH! THAT WAS DEFINATELY THE OTHER WAY AROUND] [Eve: he's lazy AND a liar]. Take a pick from a host of activities ... laze, laze OR ... LAZE! And thats what we did .. besides taking a knock at water aerobics. Classes are every 30 mins. and its fun and energy all the way.. it's even more fun to watch Ash being catapulted out of the water by the floating dumbells and watch him struggle through the class, which is mostly attended by seniors who have it down to a science.

The indoor and outdoor pools are connected and one can swim and loiter around with leisure. There is also a cooler (26 - 28 deg) outdoor sports-pool for the the more athletically inclined. A separate children's area offers slides (which we used as training ground for the Jumeirah Sceirah) and waterfun for kids. The water used in Oberlaa stems from a natural well which produces 30 L per second at 54 deg. C.

The fun doesnt stop when the sun goes down: neon lighting on the ceiling and the softly lit outdoor pools give the place a cozy feel. Aaah - and the weightlessness in water - my chance to ride piggy-back on Ash for an hour or so. (Yes, he mumbled and grumbled something about having to carry me around, but got his revenge during a wrestling match when I wasn't quite as successfull at dunking him as I thought I'd be!) If you are getting too cozy: there's nothing like a run through the Kneipp-corner to wake you up. (Ash got stuck behind an - uhm - elderly and somewhat slower couple and his run through the ice-cold water got a bit prolonged. hehehehehe - that was fuuuunnniiiieeee!)


Equipment: Bring your swimtrunks/bathingsuit and a towel - the rest is there:
- lockers (rental)
- floaties
- water-dumb-bells and all you need for aqua-aerobics

Oberlaa offers 4 huge indoor + outdoor pools, with water temperatures from 32 - 36 deg. C. There are 8 geysers bringing in the thermal water, and 50 underwater massage jets to relax your muscles. There are several walls of jets at different heights, which you move along on and get massaged from head to toe.

Additional offers:
- Sauna
- Massages
- Thermal water massages
- tanning
- waterdance
- herbal aromatherapy rooms
- hair studio
- restaurants + snack bars

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Phone: +01 680 09-9600
Address: Kurbadstrasse 14, Vienna - 10th district
Directions: Thermalbad Oberlaa
Opening hours:
Mo - Sat 08:45 - 22:00
Sundays and holidays: 07:45 - 22:00
Website: www.oberlaa.at

Theme: Other

Yes it gets cold - really cold during winter, and at times all of Vienna is one big ice-rink - when it freezes after the rain and the city doesn't clear off the roads in time... However, if you were thinking more along the lines of putting on a pair of ice-skates there are plenty of ice-rinks you can visit. Most of them are outdoors and open only during the cold months of the year (usually around October through March). Tickets range from 2 - 10 Euros, depending on what kind of ticket you buy and what day and time you go.

Following is a list of some of Vienna's most famous ice-rinks, but there are plenty others all over town - just ask at the hotel you're staying in, or your native friends. If you are on the outskirts of the city, you might even go to one of the lakes - just make sure the ice is thick enough - it's usually safe to go if you see others on the ice first...

Wiener Eislaufverein
3, Lothringerstrasse 22
Tel. 713 63 53-0
www.wev.or.at

Sports Complex Windtenstrasse
10, Windtenstrasse 2
Tel. 604 44 43-0
www.stadthalle.com

Vienna Stadthalle
15, Vogelweidplatz 14
Tel. 98 100-0
www.stadthalle.com

Albert Schultz Ice Skating Hall
22, Attemsgasse 1
Tel. 204 85 80
www.stadthalle.com

Ice Dream
Rathausplatz Information: Tel: 40 900 40
www.wienereistraum.com

Equipment: all you need is warm clothing and ice skates. The ice-skates can usually be rented for a small fee - call ahead and check.

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Address: all over Vienna during winter time
Directions: if you want to learn more, visit the Ice Skate Museum