This years European Mobility Week has started! The annual campaign on sustainable urban mobility is organised with support of the European Commission. The aim of the campaign, which runs every year from 16 - 22 September, is to encourage local authorities to introduce and promote sustainable transport measures  to invite their citizens to try out alternatives to car use. 

 With almost 2000 European towns and cities expected to participate this is one of the biggest events across Europe culminating in the "In Town without my Car" event - which will take place on Viennas Ringstrasse - inviting people to have a relaxed pick-nick on the grass instead of the usual "hustle and bustle" of the busy Ringstrasse. 

Under the banner of "Our streets, our choice", this year's European Mobility Week aims to encourage citizens to 'reclaim' urban spaces to create the city they want to live in. Throughout the week, the relationship between land use and quality of life will be examined. Municipalities in Austria will give children the opportunity to reclaim the streets by allowing them to paint them the way they would like them to be. This initiative is organised through schools, with the best effort given a prize at the end.

Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment, said: "Mobility Week reminds us that when it comes to personal mobility, we really do have a choice, and a good choice makes a tangible difference to our health and our quality of life. So let's make a stand for cleaner air, and for urban spaces that are built for people. Cities are for citizens – let's keep them that way!"

Yesterday I was interviewed by Doris Rittberger from Wild Urb about my passion for walking... 

They are producing a sequence of interviews with Viennese residents, who are discovering their city by foot.  

Also like them on Facebook for getting great input/updates about "Walking in Vienna"! 

Feel free to check out my contribution on Youtube with a click on the picture.  :-)  

The location for the interview was at the "Wien Fluss" in Hietzing. Down by the river this trail is an amazing recreational area in the middle of Viennas 13th and 14th district. The trail meanders along the "Wien River" for about 7 kilometres and is a paradise for walkers and cyclists. 

After Cities like New York, Barcelona, London and Sydney it is "our" turn now. Vienna will be hosting the biggest Walking Conference "Walk21" in 2015. This is going  to be very exciting. Especially as Vienna is always amongst the cities with best lifestyle and quality of life index - it will be interesting to see this from the "walkability" perspective. 

"Walking is convenient, it needs no special equipment, is self-regulating and inherently safe. Walking is as natural as breathing".
John Butcher, Founder Walk21, 1999

A little bit of information about "WALK21":

Walk21 exists to champion the development of healthy sustainable and efficient communities where people choose to walk. 
Realizing that the people of the world are facing a series of inter-related, complex problems with becoming less healthy, inefficient transport systems and an environment under increasing pressure the founders of Walk21 are keen to create a culture where people choose to walk (again). 

The Charter identifies the needs of people on foot and provides a common framework to help authorities refocus their existing policies and activities to create such a walking culture.  The quality and amount of walking as an everyday activity, in any given area, is an established and unique primary indicator of the quality of life.

Through the Walk21 Conference series and the International Charter, Walk21 have a vision to create a world where people choose and are able to walk as a way to travel, to be healthy and to relax.

On a personal note: Walk21 Conference is held in Sydney, Australia in October 2014. As a former resident and walking addict of that city I might try to get myself a ticket to attend.  Well, time is running, I better see what options there are to get me there.  :-) 

WELCOME TO AUSTRIA! 

My family and I are back "home", in the lovely countryside of the Upper Austrian Mühlviertel. The kids enjoy being outside all day, in the middle of vast meadows, forests and fields, surrounding the farm I once grew up as well. 
I enjoy being back as well. It is nice to catch up with family and friends, to watch how my kids bond with their relatives, make new friends and discover what it is like to be "Austrian".


It took me quite a while to arrive. Well, I guess I haven't arrived yet. We are in a interim situation at this stage. My husband working and residing in Vienna from Monday to Friday, the girls and I living with my mum and my brother and his family on the farm I grew up. I am very grateful for the opportunity to slowly come back to our home country. In a way it is quite relaxing and comforting being surrounded by the people you love, the countryside you know and the tradition you are part of. But it is also a bit of a shock to the system. Suddenly so many opinions to listen to, considerations to take care of ... I guess you can't have the big advantages without a few challenges. But it is supposed to be an interim solution - as we are due to move to Vienna in early 2014 - once we had our very last "Christmas in Australia" farewell trip, and once we have found a nice place to live in Vienna. 

You can imagine that there was not much time for my walkability project in the past few weeks - to many things going on with the move, settling in, introducing the kids to the Austrian Kindergarten and starting to work for my brother. But there is one thing that surprised me - or better - I didn't think of it before. The whole "Walkability - Topic" really seems to be more of an urban phenomena. Of course, as in cities you are more able to do your errands walking - or to generally "get somewhere" walking. Here in the country, you mostly "go for a walk" for the simple pleasure of walking, as other wise the day would not have enough hours to accomplish things that need to be done. 

Having said that - it is either me being older and seeing things differently now, or even here in the country the "trend" to walk has increased. Very often I would see all sorts of people walk even during the day, Monday to Friday. It seems to become quite a socially accepted activity - and not a passe time for lack of anything better to do.  :-) 

It looks like life is going to change very soon for my family and me. 
As you might know, I am NOT a native Australian.  Life brought us here seven years ago - and we just enjoyed it so much that we haven't left (apart from a 2 year US adventure) and by now are lucky citizens of this great country. But we are also very much rooted in Austria. 

Hence, this is the reason we now just have to go back home for a while. My husband was offered a good position in Vienna, back home in Austria. As a family we decided that we have to do this move to find out where we belong. Our daughters are now 3 and 5 years old and we want them to feel "Austrian" as well - if we stayed here for another few years, they probably would not understand our attachment to good old Austria. 

Well, one doesn't know until one does it. We will be heading home in September, just a couple of weeks after the OXFAM trailwalker challenge. What it means for my walkability business, I don't know yet. I am definitely keeping the website, as I want to pick up on it once back in Australia. Also, I might just keep on blogging a bit - because I am sure that there is an opportunity for "walkability.at" back at home :-)