Wednesday 26 August - Vienna (Eric)
Having arrived in Europe earlier in the month, at this stage Joy and I were in Bratislava staying with Martin and Viera who were to be our hosts for the exchange to the Friendship Force of Bratislava. This morning, after breakfast we dropped Viera off at work and then we made our way to Vienna and to the Courtyard Marriott Vienna Messe Hotel.

From reception we learnt that a number of members had already booked in but it was not until later in the afternoon that we started to contact them. We found that most of them were staying on the same floor and we arranged to go down to the bar for a drink before dinner. There was a happy crowd who met in the bar and we met for the first time some of the other members of the exchange who had joined from other clubs in Australia and New Zealand. In fact we finished up having dinner together and there was much talking in anticipation of the exchange that was to begin on the following day.

Eventually the last of our ambassadors arrived in the person of Lorraine O who had just arrived from her walking tour in Italy and just as we were finishing our meal Dennis and Barbara O returned to the hotel after walking around Vienna and attending a show. We were now complete and everyone was asked to have an early breakfast and be packed ready for the tour bus that was to pick us up the following morning.

It was good to meet up with everybody and to see how enthusiastic they were, and I just hoped they would be as enthusiastic at the end of the exchange.

Thursday 27 August - Vienna/Bratislava (Gina)
On the morning of the 27th, all ambassadors were present in the pleasant dining room of the Courtyard Marriot Hotel in Wien. After a lovely breakfast we all got ready for our city tour. On this tour we were lucky to have a very experienced tour guide, Barbara Lydia Pernaric, to show us around.

The first major stop was the Schonbrunn Palace. Empress Maria Theresa of the Habsburg Dynasty was the inspiration for this magnificient building and gardens. From the paintings we could glance over the history of this amazing palace and the people who occupied it.

Visit to Schonbrunn Palace

The next stop was The Belvedere (Beautiful View) Palace. The Belvedere had been the home of Prince Eugene. Although Prince Eugene had strong ties with France, it was in Austria that he became well known for his military skills in defeating the army of the Ottoman Regime. This army was threatening the city of Wien at the time of the Habsburg Reign.

The Belvedere


Group with Statue of Strauss


Photo Opportunity Outside Museum of Natural History

Further stops were made in the Stadspark were we were given the opportunity to take photos of a statue of Strauss. Another brief stop before our tour ended at the Westbahnhof Railway Station. The train, leaving on time, took us to our next stop - Bratislava, for our six-day stay with the Friendship Force of Bratislava. Our hosts were waiting for us at the railway station, and after a long day we were all happy to go home with these people who turned out to be the most wonderful hosts.

Diary entries of individual ambassadors and photos on the following pages will show what a great time was had by all during the 3 weeks of hosting.

(for various reasons some entries are not included and will be added when available)