Destination: AUSTRIA

Austria is a land-locked alpine country in Central Europe bordering with Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Germany and Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east and Slovenia and Italy to the south.

Contrary to popular perceptions, Austria is not all about mountains. In fact, the Alps only occupy about half of the country. A diverse mix of landscapes is packed into a relatively small area. Glaciers, meadows, alpine valleys, wooded foothills, gently rolling farmland, vineyards, river gorges, plains and even semi-arid steppes can be found in Austria.

DESTINATION AUSTRIA: Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna,

Destination: INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA

Innsbruck is the provincial capital of Tyrol. Its 110,000 residents make it the fifth largest city in Austria. The first documented mention of Innsbruck dates back to 1187 ("Insprucke"). It served as an important crossing point over the river Inn. The city's seal and coat of arms show a bird's-eye view of the Inn bridge, a design used since 1267.

The route over the Brenner Pass was then a major transport and communications link between the north and the south, and the easiest route across the Alps. The revenues generated by serving as a transit station caused the city to flourish.

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Destination: SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

Salzburg is a city in Austria, with a population of some 148,000 in 2005. If you've seen the movie The Sound of Music, you may think you know all there is to see in Salzburg.

Admittedly, it's tough not to burst into song when you're walking along the Salzach River, or climbing up to the Hohensalzburg fortress which looms over the city. But there's a lot more to this compact, courtly city than Julie Andrews and Mozart's birthplace

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Destination: VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria, and the Historic City Centre was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Listin 2001. Vienna has hosted the Habsburg court over centuries, first as the imperial see of the Holy Roman Empire, then the capital of the Austrian Empire and later of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

This has had a tremendous impact on the culture that exists there today. The traditional Vienna is but one of the many façades of this city. Vienna is also a dynamic, young city, famous for its (electronic) music scene with independent labels, cult-status underground record stores, a vibrant club scene, and a government that seems overly obsessed with complicated paperwork.

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Salzburg, Austria