Adding insult to injury, the only people willing to help: overeager men dressed in period costumes skulking around and selling tickets to “best of” classical music performances. We eventually found a place to stay in the far suburbs of town, in the home of an Austrian man holed up with the world’s largest St. Bernard. But that story is for another time.

In any event, this was Western Europe, but with an eastern look. Our relationship with Vienna: off to a rocky start.

Then in 2002, on a springtime weekend trip from Prague, we returned to Vienna to visit Audrey’s mom. We dove into the markets, poked into the museums. We drank coffee, we drank wine, and we developed an appreciation of what it means for a city to have good water.

We’ve visited Vienna over 10 times, on each visit exploring a different dimension to get under the skin of the city’s polished exterior. After answering scads of questions about what to do in Vienna, we figured it was time to share our favorite activities and our perspective.

This purpose of this little guide: to use Vienna’s almost daunting Austro-Hungarian empire architecture as a backdrop to go a little deeper, and to help quickly grasp a city that can feel a bit stiff, even hard to get to know. If you know where to look, you can experience something off-guidebook and inimitably Viennese. You can find out why a Viennese friend captured it thus: “The Austrians are like Germans…but with a bit of anarchy.”

Let’s get moving.

Vienna’s Fresh Markets

Vienna’s ancient history with the Turks is long and tumultuous, but the Viennese turned back the final siege in 1689. However, as recent history and immigration would have it, the Turks who now call Vienna home have placed an indelible culinary imprint on the place. A quick walk down any of the city’s markets will include displays that run forth with Turkish-inspired goodies – stuffed peppers, olives, creamy spreads, flat breads and baklava.

Our favorite of Vienna’s markets is the Naschmarkt, which has been around for almost 500 years. We usually gather a smorgasbord for a picnic in one of the nearby parks (Karlplatz and Resselpark are quite nice). Ask for samples to better know what you’re buying. Some vendors are a little heavy-handed, too, so be sure to ask the final cost before they hand over the goods.

On Saturday mornings, the area right next to the Naschmarkt food market is filled with a sprawling flea market (flohmarkt). You can find anything from antiques to vintage electronics to grandma’s finest china. It’s great place for people watching, too.

Glass. A selection of the many pretty bits at the Saturday Naschmarkt flea market.

A Naschmarkt alternative: Check out Brunnenmarkt and Yppenplatz, a low-tourist volume alternative to Naschmarkt, still with plenty of stalls (170+) and all sorts of finished goods worth gifting, including Staud’s custom-made jams and jam jars whose lids features photos of famous Viennese artists and sights.

Viennese Café Culture

The traditional Viennese café was once described to us as “a living room outside the house.” Viennese cafes may appear formal on the surface – staff are usually formally dressed and there’s a traditional feel to furniture – the atmosphere inside is often exceptionally relaxed.

As one Viennese host explained, “A traditional café is open to everyone. Almost anyone can afford a cup of coffee. This ‘entrance fee’ allows you to enjoy reading the café’s selection of newspapers and magazines and stay all day.” Cafés often feature a vast array of reading materials in all major languages.

No shortage of reading materials at a traditional Viennese café.

We also love how civilized Viennese coffee service is. Coffee in Vienna, almost without exception, will be served paired with a small glass of sparkling water for hydration. Nice. After experiencing this once, you’ll wonder why this practice isn’t standard around the world.

Oh, and did we mention the cake? That’s another reason to visit many, many Viennese cafés on your visit. Apple strudel and Sachertorte, among others, are worth checking out.

Our recommendation: Café Sperl at Gumpendorfer Straße 11

Vienna Museums

We confess, we’re known to avoid museums in many cities we visit. But Vienna is one city where we do the exact opposite: we scour the exhibits list and we’ll make return visits to museums. Yes, Vienna’s permanent and temporary exhibitions are that good. You could spend days just exploring the museums around the MuseumsQuartier, a museum and art installation area which Baroque Austro-Hungarian palaces, renovated and repurposed spaces and modern architecture into a single self-contained platform for beginning to explore Vienna’s history and its many faces.

Not only do the quality of the collections beg a visit, but the care paid to the display and design do too. Some of our favorites museums include:

View of the MuseumsQuartier from the Leopold Museum

Albertina: The special exhibitions at this museum are just excellent; we love their design eye and the care with which they hang and display pieces. We’ve been almost a half dozen times and never tire of this museum.
Address: Albertinaplatz 1, Admission: €9.50

Kunst Historisches Museum: The MacDaddy (or perhaps more respectfully, the grandaddy) of Vienna’s art museum scene. Not only does this museum possess an impressive permanent collection rich in Renaissance and Baroque art, but the actual museum building itself is astonishing. Another required stop: eating a piece of cake at the Kunst Historiches Museum café. Don’t forget to look up!
Address: Burgring 5, Admission: €12

Leopold Museum: We preferred the permanent collection of Austrian art (Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele) to the temporary exhibit here. So it’s worth a visit even if you’re not thrilled with the visiting exhibits. Not only does the permanent exhibit take you through the Leopolds’ personal collection, but the contents also tell the story of the cultural and societal changes happening in Vienna in the early part of the 20th century.
Address: Museumsquartier, Admission: €11

Kunst Haus Wien: On that fateful visit to Vienna in 1998, this was the one site we actively sought out. We’re glad we did, if only because it gave us an inkling that there was more to the city than what appears on its surface. Hundertwasser was an Austrian artist who applied his artistic and environmental ideals to architecture. The result is unique, irreverent, colorful, and fun — and the whole package challenges societal, design, and architectural assumptions and norms. Hundertwasser also designed the funky trash incinerator on the outskirts of town. The Hundertwasser Museum café and museum shop are also worth a visit, again if only for the design alone.
Address: Untere Weißgerberstraße 13, Admission: €9

Heurigers: A Viennese Wine Experience

Heurigers are family wine tavern restaurants. Although they are located at the edge of town near the vineyards, they are a Viennese institution. “Heurigers are where life happens — where people come together, where they split, where families grow up,” a Viennese winemaker once explained to us.

Not only are heurigers great for eating lots of hearty Austrian fare (think schnitzel, big chunks of meat, piles of asparagus), but they are great for people watching, particularly on weekend afternoons when local families and friends.

And yes, Viennese wines can be quite good. When the weather is hot, Austrians drink g’spritzters (a spritzer to you and me), which usually consists of a young white wine (like a Gruner Veltliner) mixed with sparkling water. This might sound suspect to wine purists, but it’s über refreshing on a hot day.

Our heuriger recommendation: If you’re looking for something a little less trafficked by tour groups and tourists, take a trip to the Stammersdorf area of Vienna to Christ Winery and Heuriger and Wienenger Winery and Heuriger. Both are family-run and feature very nice wines. Particularly after a taste of Fritz Wieninger’s Pinot Noir Grand Select, Gemischter Satz, and Wiener Trilogie (Zweigelt, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon). Yes, Viennese wines. Yes, vineyards in the city limits. You’ll think differently about Viennese wines after this. And we’ll write more about Viennese wines in a separate piece.

If you don’t have much time or you’d like to visit a heuriger closer to town, hop on the tram and head to Grinzing. The area is fun, but expect bigger crowds and possible tour buses.

Vienna Classical Music and Opera

We learned a lesson when we first visited Vienna in 1998: if you’d like a quality classical music experience stay away from people in period costumes selling what best be described as “high-speed, best of” concerts.

If on the other hand you are a classical music or opera buff, plan ahead and buy tickets online in advance from state-supported institutions like the Vienna State Opera or the Vienna Philharmonic.

If you decide at the last minute that you’d like to see a concert in Vienna, don’t despair. You can buy discounted last minute tickets at the Vienna Tourism Office on Albertinaplatz between 2:00-5:00PM on the day of the concert.

Our recommendation: If you enjoy opera, but find that the Vienna State Opera tickets will bust you budget, try attending the Sunday morning performances at Augustiner Church at 11:00AM instead. Every Sunday, professional opera singers perform a mass with a full orchestra. You can check the Augistiner Church schedule to see which mass is being performed during your visit. It’s well worth a visit even if you don’t usually attend church.
Address: Augustinerstraße 3

Vienna Christmas Markets

We became smitten with Austrian Christmas markets on our first visit in 1998 and have visited Vienna several times since around Christmastime. Vienna certainly doesn’t skimp when it comes to its holiday markets – there are events and markets throughout the city for the entire month of advent. It sounds completely cliché, but the smell of gluhwein (spiced wine), roasted chestnuts, and roasted sausage really does fill the air. We love it.

Our recommendation: Although it’s the biggest and most touristic, the main Christmas market (Wiener Christkindlmarkt) at the Rathausplatz is still the place to start. Smaller and more specialized markets, including children’s and handmade crafts markets, are also scattered throughout the city. The MuseumQuartier (MQ) usually transforms its courtyard into an ice skating rink and holds a full schedule of holiday activities for kids and adults alike.

Hotel Recommendation

Hotel Das Tyrol: During most of our visits to Vienna, we stayed with friends or family. However, during our last visit, the Vienna tourism board kindly hosted us here and we were impressed. While the rooms are not huge, the location is excellent and rooms are rich in decor and feature a host of nice touches like plush bathrobes. The building runs a fun and quirky artistic theme through its rooms and common areas, as in you’ll never know what sort of sculpture and painting you might find. The breakfast buffet, however, is what truly blows the mind. A nice brightly lit room with a vast and stunning spread that could leave you lingering for hours.
Address: Located near the MuseumsQuartier at Mariahilfer Strasse 15

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A special thanks goes to Vienna Tourism Office for sponsoring our last visit to Vienna and helping to fill out the café and wine culture dimensions of a city we thought we’d already known.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 33 comments

Open the panorama below and enter Café Sperl, a traditional Viennese cafe dating from the 1880s. Meet its charismatic 80-year-old owner, Mr. Staub, and hear the story of how the walls became yellow and why he now chooses to hire women rather than men (and no, it’s not about looks).

From his expression, we suspect this is just the beginning of the stories he could tell from over 40 years of experience managing his café.

And if you look closely inside the panorama, you’ll find a table spread with newspapers (yes, real newsprint, not the electronic variety) in various languages from around the world. Pick up your favorite read, order yourself a melange (coffee with milk), and enjoy the day.

Panorama: Inside a Traditional Cafe in Vienna

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

Articles About Europe

The Wine Bends: A Detour in the Austrian Countryside

Budapest: Warmth and Spice in Central Europe

From Hilltowns to Harvest: Tuscany in Autumn

Estonia: Two Days, Two Perspectives

More Photos from Central Europe

Vienna: Museums, Strudel and the Naschmarkt

The Austrian Countryside

Glimpses and Details of Prague, Czech Republic

The Streets and Markets of Budapest

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 9 comments

Instead we’ll share how, with the help of an Austrian friend and an unplanned turn of events, we discovered the real Austria in the country’s Weinviertel (Wine Quarter) about an hour outside of Vienna.

A Bucolic Weekend in the Countryside
“We’ll go to my parents’ house in Pulkau and experience the real Austria. After breakfast, we’ll take a walk in the countryside. My mother will make us beef roulade for lunch. Maybe we can rent bikes. Tonight, we have a choir group barbecue,” our friend Christian briefed us on a rough itinerary of our weekend from the driver’s seat. The bucolic weekend plans were aplenty and the good-omen sun shone brightly as we parted the rolling hills outside of Vienna.

We arrived in Pulkau to an iconic Austrian breakfast (coffee, fresh bread, meats and cheeses) overlooking Christian’s parents’ backyard pond. The backdrop was stunning and quintessentially Austrian: pastel villages tucked in rolling green hills, all punctuated by a requisite church (Pulkau was special, it featured two churches).

Christian suggested a quick stop at a friend’s place before setting out for a stroll in the forest.

“How do you know Christian?” Kurt asked as we walked up the driveway to his farmhouse and mechanic’s workshop.

“Oh, we met while trekking in Burma,” we responded as everyone gathered at the picnic table. Kurt, middle-aged with thinning blond hair, sympathetic eyes and a weathered face, nodded as if that were the most natural answer in the world.

Although he had spent most of his life in this tiny Austrian village, Kurt was not untraveled. Over a beer, we learned about his road trip through Europe to Libya in the 1970s and his frustration in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when a cute bartender couldn’t comprehend that Austria was in fact a different country from Australia.

The Detour Begins
Unknowingly pointing to an apricot tree, Dan asked, “What kind of tree is that?” An innocent enough question, the answer to which arrived in the form of a bottle of apricot schnapps.

After a few remarkably smooth shots, Kurt disappeared with the bottle and we breathed a sigh of relief.

Our relief was short-lived, however. Kurt had other plans and returned with a bottle of cherry schnapps.

“You know, the Austrians are somewhere between Germans and Italians. It’s ideal, really…like a little bit of anarchy,” Christian mused.

Frankly, anarchy isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Austria, one of the world’s cleanest and best-organized countries. Reflecting on this incongruity under the socially lubricating glow of a few shots of schnapps, we found the idea positively hilarious and somehow right on.

Then the plum schnapps (also known as slivovitz or slivovice) arrived.

Then came the grappa.

Yes, this felt vaguely like anarchy.

“So, Kurt, what about mushroom picking? Is it possible now?” Christian poked around.

“There are no mushrooms in the forest right now. The moon is not right.” Kurt offered matter-of-factly as he looked overhead.

Our afternoon in the Austrian countryside – originally replete with activities such as cycling, hiking and mushroom picking – was boiling down to a perfect, if a bit schnapps-laden, day around the picnic table. This experience further underscored the concept that somewhere along the way to making it to the scheduled events in our lives, we actually live life.

A Winemaker and The Thief
It was 4:00 in the afternoon and we were now unofficially three hours late for our lunch of Christian’s mother’s beef roulade.

“Let’s go down into the wine cellar. It’s authentic, like 300 years old,” Christian explained, as if we needed convincing.

We ducked our heads and followed Kurt into his subterranean hideout as he lead the way with a torch and a barrel thief (a glass contraption vaguely resembling an eye-dropper that is used to siphon wine directly from the barrel).

We gathered around Kurt as he climbed atop one of the wooden barrels. As he drew breaths through the thief, it filled magically with a rolling, golden liquid: wine from last year’s harvest. Kurt tapped the wine from the thief into our glasses and gave us a tour of his cellar. The air temperature was 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees F), perfect for storing wine all year-round, but a tad frosty for two recent arrivals fresh from the steam of summer in southern China.

In the dim light, Kurt pointed to a black mossy stone hanging on the wall towards the back of the room. We couldn’t read the inscription beneath the date, but the numbers were legible: 1784. This wine cellar had been in Kurt’s family for over 230 years.

The cellar was also about as old as the United States of America! Our amazement was met with a shoulder shrug and another splash of wine. For Austrians, this depth of history was typical. Wine was nothing new here; it was in their blood.

Though Italy and France draw the bulk of international attention for European wines, Austrian wines can be delightful. Although relatively light, whites like Gruner Veltliner suit the environment and serve as a tart, refreshing accompaniment to things like warm summer days and heavy Austrian meals like wursts (sausages) and schnitzel.

As we lightened the wine barrels, philosophy came easy and time seemed to stand still. Then, in mid-conversation, Kurt fell over backwards. He landed perfectly nestled between two barrels, his wine glass held high above his head. Although he hadn’t spilled a drop, this was perhaps an indication that it was time to exit the cellar.

The Wine Bends
As we emerged from the cellar, we were bathed in fresh, warm air. We didn’t realize that we were setting ourselves up for the “wine bends.” Think of this newly classified disorder – an affliction of amateur wine cave divers like us – as the reverse of altitude sickness. When you emerge too quickly from the damp, dark coolness of a wine cellar into the heat and sunshine of a summer day, all the blood – and the alcohol within it – seems to race to your head at once.

Kurt disappeared, but Christian assured us this was Kurt’s usual reaction to the “the bends.”

Christian decided we should visit Kurt’s cousin, Farmer Sepp, next door to buy some eggs – and of course to taste more wine. “Sepp’s wine is probably better than Kurt’s,” Christian offered, as if our wine degustation faculties somehow remained finely tuned.

After a glass of wine with Farmer Sepp (we could in fact tell it was of higher quality), it was 6:00 P.M. and time to return home.

We arrived at Christian’s house with our haul from Farmer Sepp’s – ten farm-fresh eggs and six bottles of wine. The ratio seemed just about right for the territory. We apologized profusely to Christian’s mother. She had prepared a wonderful homemade meal five hours ago and was disappointed that we’d be tasting her culinary specialty after a spin in the microwave.

As we took our seats at the garden table overlooking the postcard-perfect church towers and sloping fields of the village below, we noticed there were only two of us at the table, not three. We looked around and saw a body sprawled out under the birch trees in the garden: Christian. Lily, the family’s Jack Russell terrier, licked his feet in a futile effort to wake him.

The Main Event
We eventually made it to the choir barbecue, perhaps a little worse for wear from our afternoon adventure.

After another round of grazing – sausages, salads, dark breads, and berry crumbles – at the choir picnic, Christian and Kurt the choir master (not to be confused with the Kurt above of wine-making and mechanic fame), took us to St. Michael’s, the Romanesque church next door. Thanks to Kurt’s master set of keys, we enjoyed a private evening tour of the 12th century church and its 13th century ossuary.

Christian grabbed a hymnbook in front of the altar and began singing. Kurt joined him seamlessly, mid-phrase. They treated us to a brief private concert. The acoustics of the 900-year-old structure were epic and the chill from the stones added to the mystery of the moment and placed the finishing touches on the charm of the weekend.

Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 2 comments