Vienna - Ernst-Happel Stadium
Austria European Football Championship 2008
Location: Vienna is the capital of Austria. It is one of the most beautiful capitals and has many historical magnificent buildings. Vienna is located at the Danube and has approx. 1.6 million inhabitants. It is the headquarter of several international organisations. Vienna is divided in 23 municipal districts. Half of the urban area is undeveloped. In the east, the grassland serves for agriculture and in the south-east there is a meadow landscape at the Danube that has been declared to a national park.
Tourism: Vienna is globally known and is a popular tourist destination. A manifold cultural offer, the reputation as the town of music, all the magnificent buildings of the German and Austrian-Hungarian empire, the opera ball and many more give Vienna an atmosphere where other towns can only dream about. You should visit the St. Stephan's Cathedral, the national opera, the Hofburg, the parliament building, the Burgtheatre etc. South-west of Vienna, you can find the summer residence Schönbrunn. The Hundertwasserhaus of Friedensreich Hundertwasser is a very popular tourist attraction. The large Ferris wheel can be found in the Prater, Vienna's entertainments district. The most many-sided market with fixed stands where you can buy everything is the Naschmarkt.
Food and drink: The Viennese kitchen is very manifold. Marked by the influences of immigrants of neighbouring countries and the location at the Hungarian and former Bohemian borders, the menus are manifold. The breaded veal cutlet, world-famous as “Wiener Schnitzel“ is served together with potato salad. There is boiled beef (Tafelspitz) with grated horseradish and boiled potatoes, goulash according to Hungarian recipes or Bohemian confections of pastry such as different strudels, jam-filled pancakes or dumplings. Sausage stands belong to the typical town picture as well, the Burenwurst and Käsekrainer are the most popular sausages, but you should also try Leberkäse (type of meat loaf made of ham and pork or veal), gherkins, mustard and bread dumpling. There are not many capitals with an own wine-growing district. In Vienna you can enjoy a special wine-tasting session at the “Heurigen“ (wine pub). It's hard to imagine the Viennese cultural life without the coffee house. There are numerous coffee specialties and small hot and cold dishes served there with their original charm.
Football: In the Ernst-Happel-Stadium in Vienna the final of the Championhip 2008 and six further matches will be held. In the largest stadium of the venues, the number of seats will be increased to 53,000. After the Championship they will be removed again so that the athletics association can use the track again. In the Ernst-Happel-Stadium, home matches of the SK Rapid Vienna are held.
Grouping: Follows
How to get there: All major roads and motorways lead star-shaped to Vienna. The A23, the urban motorway, the A1 west motorway, A2 south motorway, A4 east motorway, A22 Danube shores motorway. The major roads continue up to the city centre. Vienna has good rail connections and three terminal stations. The international airport is located in Vienna-Schwechat. The Vienna tram route is well-built. The underground in Vienna is recommendable as well.
