19 things you simply NEED to do to make your May magnificent in Vienna

Sing along to some live austro pop

Voodoo Jürgens (live on youtube)

When: FRI, May 1, 9:30pm
Where: your apartment!
Entry: free!

Fancy some young and fresh Austro-pop from the beloved, and kind of always sleepy looking, artist, Voodoo Jürgens? Well, Problembär Records have organised an online concert with Jürgens on stage to be happening via Youtube on May the first! Check him out, here:

[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0BjlaaTjes[/fve]

And check out the livestream on Problembär records Youtube channel.

Recommended if you like: fresh Austro-Pop, the sound of the Viennese language, black humour, dancing in your living room like ya’ just don’t care

A must for fans of yoga and DJ music

The Cosmic Livestream

When: FRI, May 1, 6pm–8:30pm
Where: your apartment
Entry: free!

Live from the Babenberger Passage, a yoga session of a special kind will be streamed – Elektroyoga! This kind of yoga is what you get when you combine regular yoga with some sweet DJ beats that help you really get into the flow. Just grab a yoga mat and tune in. Afterwards there’ll also be a little live meditation happening.

Recommended if you like: Electronic beats, yoga, being a yogi, feeling the music, shaking your butt a little while holding your position, bringing your yoga mat into clubs

Vienna’s packed with public spaces perfect for meeting friends

Spend several days hanging out at your favourite outdoor summer spots

One of the many luxuries of our fine city is the multitude of public spaces available that make for perfect spots to meet friends. Just think of it – the MQ, the Donaukanal, the Albertina terrace, and the list goes on. We’ve actually put together a list of 14 Vienna public spaces that are great spots to meet friends when the sun’s out, in case you’re in need of inspiration. Also, if the Donaukanal is your favourite spot to spend your time for sipping drinks with friends in the sun, check out our guide to the Dos and Don’ts of how to enjoy  the Donaukanal to the max!

If you miss going to festivals, don’t miss out on this virtual one

Locked Up Locals

When: FRI, May 1–SAT, May 2
Where: your apartment
Entry: pay as you wish

With almost every music festival being cancelled this year (yes, we’re crying while rocking in the corner, too), it’s great to see that virtual alternatives are popping up all the time. Check out ‘Locked Up Locals,’ for example. At this virtual festival, you’ll get to see a selection of some of the cracking musicians hanging around Vienna’s music scene. You can find the complete line up on Instagram. 

Recommended if you like: following the Austrian music scene, supporting local artists, festivals, seeing how loud you can turn up your speakers before the neighbours start complaining

Finally spring is back Vienna! Time for Schanigärten, long walks in the parks, and sitting with a Spritzer near Donaukanal. So we urge you to take up the challenge and squeeze all the Vienna Spring experiences you can into April.

To see what events are happening, you should check out our event guides our 11 things we are most looking forward to do in Vienna as soon as spring is here article!

At Vienna’s Ethnocineca International Documentary Film Festival you can watch 48 abstract documentaries and ethnographic films. The festival’s theme is “Liminalities,” focusing on the border between change and stagnation.

In addition to film screenings, there will be keynote speeches, masterclasses, and a film talk, as well as an award ceremony to announce the winners. Don’t miss the ethnocineca Filmwerkstatt workshop films, where you can create your own incomprehensible masterpiece.

You can find the whole program, online.

Do some yoga for a healthy body and mind

Join in on a yoga stream happening right now

Yoga is not only good for learning how to bend yourself into a human pretzel (mmmh…pretzels), it’s also good for finding your inner balance, and peace of mind. And while you can’t visit an actual studio at the moment, there are a lot of locally-run online classes available to join in on.

Check out some of them below:

Yoga Veranda

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: free, donations welcome

Hello Yoga

When: THU & SUN, 6pm–7pm
Entry: free, donations welcome

Body Concept Vienna

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: 12€ for one class, 40€ for one week

Fancypantsyoga

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: 8€ for one class, 22€ for one week

Feelgoodstudio

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: 6€ for one class, 54€ for one month

Yogamelange

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: 10€ for one class, 90€ for 10 classes

Doktor Yoga

When: daily, check the timetable
Entry: 19€ for one class, 50€ for 1 month

Recommended if you like: being flexible, thinking you’re flexible and straining a muscle, finding your inner balance (while trying to keep your physical balance because you’re standing on one leg), pretzels

Fire up the stove and these streams and get cooking

Join in on one of these cooking workshop live streams

When: varying, check the exact dates on IG or FB
Where: your apartment
Entry: free!

Have you tried cooking every variation of pasta there is during this lockdown? Do you want to impress your friends with some exquisite meals when you can finally have them over again? Or are you simply spending way too much money on food delivery? Whatever the reason, now is a good time to expand your culinary skills by watching some local chefs do their thing in live streams. Here are some of the cooking mentors you can check out:

Paul Ivic
Thomas Dorfer
Restaurant-Hotel Oberauer
Karma Food

Recommended if you like: watching cooking shows on TV, trying to become a master chef, Gordon Ramsay, Ratatouille (the film and the dish), wearing a ‘Kiss the cook’ apron, eating loads of garlic because you’re still used to the home isolation thing

Take part in a different kind of reading of a classic

Die Pest – Marathonlesung von 120 Stimmen in 10 Stunden

When: various dates up until May 10 (check them out on the Rabenhof website)
Where: your apartment

The Albert Camus classic, The Plague, has trended like crazy since the pandemic sent everybody a little crazy. The radio station FM4 and Rabenhof theatre have teamed up to make an epic reading of the classic book possible, with different passages being read by Austrian personalities via a stream on regular dates and times up until May 10. Check out all the details on the Rabenhof’s website. 

Good to know… the reading is in German.

Recommended if you like: reading the classics, being read to before falling asleep, different kinds of dramatic performances, people getting creative during these unique times we’re living through

Celebrate the end of the quarantine and get outside!

Make the most out of not being in home isolation anymore

You made it! You survived this crazy time of home isolation and the pandemic (well, that’s still hanging around)! Anyway, for now it’s time to make the most out of being free again (before the next quarantine hits…just kidding!….or are we?). In case you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed right now, because you forgot what it was like to be able to do things out of your own home and you simply just can’t choose what to do, we’ve got you covered! Watch out for an article in the coming days in which we offer some tips on how you can enjoy to the max your new won freedom!

Recommended if you like: being allowed to leave your house without feeling weird, the smell of freedom, feeling like a bird that escaped its cage, doing things you enjoy

Have a drag-tastic Sunday brunch

Queens Brunch TV

When: SUN, June 28, 12pm–2pm
Where: your apartment!
Entry: free, donations welcome

If you want to add that extra bit of FABULOUS to your Sundays, tune in to the Queens Brunch TV live stream on Youtube. All you have to do is prepare yourself a meal and enjoy the show brought to you by Vienna’s favourite local and international drag family. It’s completely free to watch, but donations are very much appreciated and needed (wigs and make-up don’t pay for themselves, honey). Every supporter will receive a shoutout on all their social media channels, as well as a personal ‘Thank you’ card. And all donations over 50€ will get a Queens Brunch gift certificate for a future show of choice. That’s right – this is the crowd who were doing the Queens Brunch before this whole shutdown shebang happened. 

Recommended if you like: spicing up your Sundays, being fabulous, glitter and glamour, not giving a f*** about gender norms, boys who like boys who like girls who like girls…and so on…

Enjoy virtual art exhibitions of the MAK

Take a virtual tour of the MAK

When: during this whole quarantine 
Where: your apartment!
Entry: free!

Like many other galleries and museums, the MAK is now offering virtual tours of their exhibitions for all of you guys and gals suffering from the lack of culture that comes with this lock down! If the offered exhibitions aren’t your thing, you can also virtually stroll around the building!

Recommended if you like: museums, culture, art, looking at pretty things, not missing out on things you like, finding new ways to enjoy art, looking at art and acting like you see a deeper meaning

It’s summertime! Halleluja! You know what that means – you and your butt should be sitting in a different Schanigärten every damn day, and be trying out all those restaurants you always wanted to go to before its too cold to sit outside again.

Check out this guide on Schanigärten in Vienna if you’re looking for places where you could be bingeing on Spritzers in the sun.

Enjoy a next level Zoom conference

Der Kreisky-Test

When: May 4 – May 12, various times (check the event for details)
Where: your apartment
Entry: 18–39€, buy a ticket

The drama group, Nesterval, has got something special lined up for you to enjoy from the confines of your own apartment! But don’t you go thinking this is just another stream for you to sit back and passively watch – this online drama production is interactive, just like those old-school, real life productions of Nesterval are. Get ready for one weird and wacky experience and find more details on the Facebook event page. 

Recommended if you like: theater, interactive performances, being dramatic, combining history with the present, zoom video chats (even after this freakin’ quarantine), doing something else besides watching tv during quarantine

Catch a live piano concert from a master while chilling on your couch

Igor Levit – Piano concert

When: (almost) daily, until real concerts are possible again
Where: your apartment
Entry: free!

The German-Russian pianist (we said pianist not penis you sicko!), Igor Levit, wants to keep on giving people the chance to enjoy his magnificent piano concertos live so he’s organising regular live concerts on his Twitter account.  So, have Igor fill your living room with his wonderful piano tunes! If you don’t know this guy, you should definitely get to know him. 

Recommended if you like: the sound of a well played piano, people who are trying to make this situation less shitty, getting your cultural fix without leaving your home, talented people

Go to the theater without leaving your apartment

Turn your living room into a theater with these live streams

If you can’t go to the theater, let the theater come to you, instead! Here are the ones that offer live streams:

Wiener Staatsoper

When: daily screenings
Entry: free trial for 30 days, subscription for 16.90€ per month

The opera offers live streams of their events, which you can enjoy via the Vienna State Opera Live App. Don’t worry if you miss a live stream, or if you liked a show so much that you started to feel incredibly sad, because it’s over – subscription owners can watch three shows from the videothéque per month!

Globe Theater

When: available anytime
Entry: free!

After discovering the Globe Theater’s videos on demand, your quarantine days will be everything, but boring! Whether you like cabaret shows or proper theater plays, the globe theater has got you covered! Check out their program.

Rabenhof-CLASSICS FOR KIDS

When: available anytime
Entry: free!

If you have kids at home, or prefer your theater shows to be less complex, the Rabenhof theater is offering up the perfect thing for you! Twice a week, the theater will be uploading classics for kids! Check it out!

Recommended if you like: getting your daily dose of culture, not having to dress up for the opera for once, fancy nights in, theater

Turn your living room into a cinema

Watch Gartenbaukino films online

When: during this whole quarantine
Where: your apartment!
Entry: 4.90€

You want to turn your living room into a cinema? No problem! All you have to do is sign up to the VOD Club on the Gartenbaukino website, and get comfy! You can rent a variety of films, which you can watch as many times as you want during the first 48 hours after starting the film! Make sure to get some popcorn the next time you go grocery shopping!

Recommended if you like: going to the cinema without having to leave your house, enjoying good films, enjoying a more comfortable version of cinema, popcorn

Concerts delivered to your living room compliments of ORF

ORF Radiokulturhaus Videostreams

When: MON–FRI, from 8pm
Where: your apartment!
Entry: free!

The ORF Radiokulturhaus is opening their video archive and sending it your way via digital means. Catch some virtual concerts in times where doing so in real life is virtually impossible (unless you live near one of those balcony musicians). You can find the program for the coming days on their website and on Facebook.

Recommended if you like: the Austrian music scene, listening to music to distract yourself from the current situation, getting to see those concerts you missed after all, turning your living room into a concert venue (even if that means purchasing a fog machine), moshing in your living room

Enjoy virtual live concerts

Catch a live DJ set with the awesome DJ streaming collective, Gem/einsam

When: during this whole quarantine
Where: your apartment!
Entry: free!

As soon as the shutdown was announced, this group called, Gem/einsam, popped up. And we’re so glad it did.  They’re well known for streaming DJ sets for entire days sometimes. They’re doing an incredible job of filming all kinds of DJs across Vienna so that you can chill out and party to them at home. Everyday is filled with free live streams of living room sets for you to enjoy! Like their Facebook page to keep up-to-date on their events. 

Recommended if you like: music (duh!), concerts, going to a concert without having to change tino something that isn’t your dirty pair of pyjamas, enjoying a concert while chilling in bed