Vienna will host this year's international 
"Walk21 Conference" from 20 to 23 October 2015. 
The motto “stepping ahead” promotes activities and innovations towards the future of our resilient cities and healthy living environments.

Vienna, one of the most liveable cities in the world will - together with experts from around the globe - will share insights and expertise on how to step ahead in urban development and on how to be a walkable city. The Walk21 Conference brings together experts from the fields of walking promotion, research, policy, planning and delivery. It is an opportunity to learn from international experience and to showcase local challenges and solutions. 

Main themes of the conference:

• Walking towards new public spaces
• Walking towards resilient cities
• Walking towards safety and health
• Walking together
  

The conference will be attended by more than 700 delegates from all continents. And I'm already very excited to be part of it, hosting a "walkshop" for WildUrb on Friday 23rd of October 2015. I will keep you updated here, as the event comes closer :-) 

It's happening again! I signed up for my second fundraising walk after the Oxfam 100 k Trailwalker in Sydney 2013. Back then I promised myself that I wanted to challenge me again to do something similar one day... Well, a few month back, quite randomly I found out what my next goal would be...
The upcoming MOON WALK 2015 in London. It is a nocturnal charity marathon held annually in London, a fantastic event that involves almost 17,000 people taking on either the Half Moon (half-marathon distance), or the Full Moon (marathon distance) walks. Walkers decorate their bras to raise awareness of breast cancer, resulting in a unique experience. The MoonWalk London is organised by Walk the Walk, an organisation that continues to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer and other breast cancer charities.

If you are interested and want more information, check out the WEBSITE or this video of last years Moon Walk. 

If you want to donate to me and my friend Jo - who are taking on this years challenge, go ahead and follow this link:

https://moonwalklondon2015.everydayhero.com/uk/joandsilvie

It is over a year now that I finished the OXFAM TRAILWALKER in Sydney, Australia. For sure it was exhausting and a bit crazy - but it did change my life, and it did make me think of the next event to challenge myself. And now I've found one, in my new home town Vienna!
 
I have been bitten by the long distance walking bug, having completed my first 100km trailwalker in Sydney last year. However having a busy life and family commitments I am unable to walk several hours a day and sign up for more crazy challenges like that, at least until the kids get bigger anyway. But I somehow set my mind for looking out for one challenge a year, and at last I found something for 2014 - the "WIENRUNDUMADUM" - a brand new long distance walk around Vienna - as the name suggests. 

Wien Rundumadum is an Ultra Trail Run which goes around the City of Vienna. The event will take place on Nov 1, 2014 and the Start will be at 7 am. Thankfully they welcome walkers also - and they offer two distances, 120 kilometers (that is the all around Vienna) - and 60 kilometers. Since I only found out about a couple of weeks ago - I didn't dare to sign up for the 120 k challenge. Knowing my abilities and fitness quite well, this would be rather impossible to train up within a month. There is always the factor "time" as well, that has to be taken into account. Walking takes a LONG, LONG time. If you want to train for long distances, you have to walk long distances. 

But I'll be fine with the 60 k's - just the right goal to get fit again and to squeeze in a nice long walk every week-end in the lead up to the event and a few shorter walks during the week. Even convinced my husband to join in which is great - when walking (especially long distances) there always is a lot of time to talk, reflect and make plans. And I think that after our first year back in Austria, this is good for us.

 

The cool people from WILD URB came up with a wonderful idea to contribute to the European Mobility Week: A barefoot Walk along the Wien River from Hietzing to Hütteldorf was guided on September 17th. 

On a wonderful sunny evening a few keen (barefoot) walkers met at the Kennedy Brücke in Hietzing to put their feet into the refreshing water - but more so to walk a few kilometres together. Once again I realised how the simple act of walking is something that connects people. Below a few impressions :-) 

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!"