I'm Isshia and always interested in meeting new people in my favorite pass time...especially here as an ex-pat Stranger in a Strange Land. So, drop me a line if ya feel the spirit move ya.

BTW: It is 3rd edition.


Isshia

...unfortunately don't live in Vienna, but based the opening of my Rhapsody in Shadow Campaign there (also 3rd ed) & another segment in the alps near Salzburg. Planning to make a visit during my upcoming European Sojurn.

Thats a good few hours away, but I know those mountains around Salzburg a bit. I've climbed a few and hiked a few. It's gorgeous country over there, you should enjoy yourself quite a bit and if you've never been to Austria before you'll be pleasantly surprised by how many people, even out in the boonies, speak English at least passingly well...assuming you don't speak German of course. Heck, I've lived in Vienna for seven plus years now and very seldom need to break out my inexcusably awful German.

If you do decide to visit the city on the Blue (ok, ok, dingy brown) Danube give me a buzz. I'll treat you to some of the worlds most fantastic coffee at one of the local cafes.


Isshia

...I'll actually be spending some time in Vienna which will hopefully include taking in concerts/performances at the State Opera, The Weiner Kozerthaus and the Musikverein.

A major reason behind this journey is sort of a month+ long musical pilgrimage as major stops will also include Berlin, Leipzig Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Salzburg, Sione (to see and hopefully hear one of the oldest playable organs in the world), Rome and Paris (also have a great love for the late French romantic though early modern schools).

I'll also be visiting Zagreb and Dubrovnik (heritiage reasons and RiS research).

All by train of course.

I'm looking at late August or early September. The nice thing is we have Lufthansa flying nonstop from Portland to Frankfurt so no changing planes in some horrid out of the way mega hub.

Let me know ahead of time and my wife and I would be glad to show you around.

Is that the VolksOper you're talking about or the actual StadtsOper? If the latter, for my money, you are better off with the former...which also sometimes gets referred to as the State Opera in some English language guidebooks. The StadtsOper is a dinosaur here. The VolksOper is usually more interesting and well played and the performances are often the closer to the traditional forms that most people are looking for anyway.

I've yet to visit Waraw (or Poland entirely for that matter) all the rest though...and including some you can never have time to include in a rail stop whirlwind tour, are HUGELY worth it in time and (unfortunately quite often experienced) the frustration factor that is inevitably a part of any such trip.

Isshia

I am so Jealous, I love Wien.

If you haven't already, check out Planet Harry. It's right on Otto Baur Gasse from Maria Hilfer Strasse.

...I've been setting up my itinerary using of all resources the Austrian National Railways website. They have schedules and run times for just about every train in Europe (including the French TGV which I will be on from Marseilles to Paris). The one thing, I am not setting the itinerary totally in stone just for that odd chance I hear about somewhere new I'd like to go. May also be meeting up with some of our German and Scandinavian Dumpshockers as well (fortunately pretty much everything Shadowrun is on my notebook computer save for my cube of charmed dice).

...definitely looking forward to the experience.

[edit]
Just checked with in Lufthansa. Nonstop Roundtrip for 1,329 USD (All taxes/fees included). Probably could probably have found cheaper, but then it means stops & plane changes (ugh! US domestic flights).