About Me

My name is Marlene. I am a thirty-something born in Graz, Austria's second largest city, I moved to Vienna in 2002 to pursue my studies at the University of Vienna (degrees in Linguistics & Scandinavian Studies), fell in love with life in the city and stayed. 

In Austria you need to complete a training program and get a license in order to work as a tourist guide. I got my tour guiding license in 2015 and have ever since been working as a freelance tourist guide, offering tours in English and German (and very occasionally also in Norwegian). 

When I'm not leading tours, 

 I would be a good fit for you...

•  if you - like me - enjoy good stories. I know the facts and figures about the history of Vienna, but I strongly believe that there's more to history than just names and dates. It's all about making it come to life.
• if you are not only interested in Vienna back in the day but in the actual experience of living in this city in the 21st century with all its upsides and downsides - I will be more than happy to share my first-hand experience with you.
• if you prefer a nostalgia-free look at the Habsburgs as a dynasty free from all the "good old days" clichés.
• if you are interested in the 20th century history of Vienna, especially the Nazi era - I've been working for the Mauthausen Komitee Österreich (the remembrance organisation commemorating the victims of the concentration camp Mauthausen) for a long time and I've done a lot of tours on this topic.
• if you need special accommodations of any kind. 
• if you're looking for a safe space as a queer traveller. I can also tell you a lot of queer fun facts about the city.