The Traxlers occasionally spend time in Vienna for the ball season. If you are interested in traveling to Vienna for waltzing at some time in the future, please see www.traxlers.org/groups.html for a description of an email group you may join. Information on travel to Vienna is available at January 2007 trip to Vienna.

Herbert and Carol Traxler have taught the Viennese waltz to the Opening Committee (cotillion) of young ladies and gentlemen who performed in the Opening Ceremonies of the two Viennese Opera Balls in Washington, as well as to hundreds of interested Washingtonians who attended their waltz lessons at the Austrian Embassy in 1997 and 1998. They also were invited to give lessons to Chelsea Clinton and her friends and young staffers at the White House. In December 1999 they participated in the Smithsonian Associates program "The Splendor and Spirit of Vienna: The Music of Johann Strauss." This led to the series of lessons offered in cooperation with the Smithsonian Associates and eventually to the many series of lessons held at Meridian House. In Fall 2000, the Traxlers taught a series of eight lessons in cooperation with the Smithsonian Associates, held in the Victorian Rotunda of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building (In the Spirit of Vienna: Learn to Dance the Viennese Waltz). In Fall 2001 they taught a six-week lesson series in Viennese waltz and a six-week lesson series in Polka and Schottisch, and in December 2002 they taught a four-lesson series in Viennese Waltz, Polka, and Mazurka at Meridian House. Early each February (2002 - 2007) the Traxlers teach an intensive Viennese Waltz review session at Meridian House in conjunction with and preparation for the elegant Ball of the Committee for Western Civilization ("OAS Ball"). They also occasionally teach the Viennese waltz at the National Museum of Women in the Arts Ballroom, or at the French Embassy, in preparation for Viennese waltz balls sponsored by the International Club of DC (ICDC).

During their visits to Austria in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 the Traxlers attended many Viennese balls (Herbert Traxler served on many Opening Committees for Viennese balls, including the Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic, during his university days in Vienna). In September 1996 the Traxlers were asked to teach the Viennese waltz to participants in a charity event at the Austrian Embassy, which was attended by Ambassador and Mme. Tuerk; this led to their demonstrating and teaching the Viennese waltz to dancers in the greater Washington area at the Embassy of Austria and many other locations, such as the Willard Hotel, the Smithsonian, Meridian House, and the National Building Museum.

The Traxlers share interests in music and folk dance as well as in the waltz. They met while singing with the Washington Saengerbund, and they married in 1988. They founded the Alpine Dancers as a performing group in 1991. The Alpine Dancers perform Austrian and German folk dances throughout the greater Washington area, and from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. The Traxlers continually expand the dance repertoire of the Alpine Dancers by selecting and teaching dances from materials brought back from regular trips to Austria and from dance festivals and workshops in Austria and the United States. Among most recent in Austria were the 2004 Volkstanzfest der Alpenverein Wien, 1996 Kreuzbund Volkstanzfest, the 1998 and 1999 Kathreintanz and the 2002 Sommertanzen in Vienna, Austria, the 2000 Marchfelder Volkstanzfest in Schloss Hof, Austria, and the 2002 Leopolditanz in Klosterneuburg, Austria. In the US, they were instrumentally involved in the German-Austrian Folk Dance Association Tanz Treffen in Dayton, Ohio (1996), Baltimore, Maryland (1998), Cleveland, Ohio (2000), and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (2002); for the latter three they were among the dance instructors.

In the summer of 1998, the Traxlers were honored by the Republic of Austria with the Decoration of Merit in Gold.

For further detail, see the reports listed below.

" Goldenes Verdienstzeichen ֳterreichs an Carol und Herbert Traxler verliehen"
"Carol and Herbert Traxler receive the Austrian Decoration of Merit in Gold"
"Botschafter des Wiener Walzers in Washington DC: ֳterreichs inoffizielle Botschafter in der Hauptstadt heiߥn Herbert und Carol Traxler - Pflege von Kultur und Tradition ist ihre Mission" in www.Austrian-World.com, 2001
" The Splendor and Spirit of Vienna: The Music of Johann Strauss" )
"Practical advice for a dreamy time" by Jack Williams, USATODAY.com, April 11, 2000"
"In the Spirit of Vienna: Learn to Dance the Viennese Waltz" (October - December 2000)