VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Gr�� Gott from Vienna! Austria is the third stop of my four-country jaunt through Central/Eastern Europe. I'm touring with my childhood friends Matt and Mike on a very special trip. At our final destination (to be revealed next week) Mike is getting married � and I'm the best man! Last week (here's the link to the archives) we were in Bratislava, Slovakia. Most Americans who visit Bratislava also enjoy Vienna, and we wanted to be part of that group. If you're in a hurry or have ADD, don't worry; there's a 2-minute Johnny Jet video at the end of this week's story.

BRATISLAVA TO VIENNA
Bratislava and Vienna are only 58 minutes by train from each other, so there's no excuse not to visit both of these beautiful cities. We used our European East Pass, which we bought before we left the States from RailEurope.com (I wrote about that at length last week), but a one-way ticket from RailEurope.com is only $25 -- and half that if it's purchased at the train station in Bratislava. We arrived at Vienna's Southern Train Station (Wien Suedbahnhof), and went straight to an ATM to withdraw some euros. The current exchange rate is 1� = $1.28 (I use Xe.com for my currency converter).

BY RIVER BOAT
My friend Matt took the boat to Vienna and this was his experience.

TAXI TO THE WRONG HOTEL
The official language here is German, but like practically all Viennese the taxi driver spoke perfect English. He dropped us off at the wrong Levante hotel (Levante Laudon) -- which was my fault, because I had quickly written their sister property's address from their website. Fortunately we were not in a hurry so we didn't really care, except that it cost us an extra 6� ($7.50) to take a taxi to the hotel where we actually had a reservation. The good news is, we got to check out a reasonably priced place to stay ($150) for travelers who want to live like locals, because the Levante Laudon rents out 39 fully self-contained apartments in a residential neighborhood.

THE LEVANTE PARLIAMENT
Vienna was recently called "the new hub of architecture and design" by UK's Wallpaper Magazine. The Levante Parliament hotel is part of that trend. The 74-room hotel opened this past May, in a 1908 Biedermeier building. Natural stone, dark wood, glass and chrome -- with a dab of bright colors � is used for the modern architecture interior. The hotel could also serve as an art gallery. Everywhere you look, there are glass works by Romanian artist Ioan Nemtoi (he also co-designed the hotel's Nemtoi restaurant), or photographs by Viennese photographer Curt Themessl. All of the art is for sale. I wasn't sure at first how I felt about the chic hotel, but it quickly grew on me. First of all, the staff were all very friendly and attentive. The rooms are comfortable, and come with free high-speed internet, a flat screen TV with satellite, a heated floor in the bathroom (a great touch!), an oversized showerhead, a courtyard to lounge in, and an extensive breakfast buffet. Rooms rates begin at $250. The Levante Parliament, Auerspergstrasse 9, 1080 Vienna, Austria; tel.: 43-1-228-28-0. For more click HERE.