Wiener Zeitung

I like those tables in Cafe Pruekel, it looks like they can be made to slant like drafting tables..

For some reason unexplored by me, I really like looking at photos of cafes and paintings in cafes - some percentage of photos I've saved from magazines and newspapers are of them.

Welcome to Vienna!

I hope you found a nice apartment.
2 hours commuting is horrible.
Now Vienna is kind of sleepy, August is the time of holidays and most people are away. Life will start in September.
For nightlife you can check the so called Bermuda Triangle or the Spittelberg-


Cafe Westend is very nice, and so is The Sperl, which is my favorite.

I am writing from the East Coast, warmer here as in Vienna today.

ooh, we switched homes it seems. i'm loving yours! still don't know the 'spots' so to speak. unlike nimh, i'm avoiding the belvedere and all of them palaces. i like old run down neighborhoods with cozy narrow streets and little neighborhood dive bars and cafes on a sidewalk. plenty of that in vienna, and that i didn't know! hooray.

Let me help you to solve the riddle- Kasino/Burgtheater is not a cafeteria but a theatre and the rehearsal stage of the Burgtheater.(There is only one Burgtheater). Walter is right though, the theatre is in a Palais which was given to the military and was used as an officer mess.
If you like little streets go to the 4th, 7th, 8 th district. Whishing you luck to find an apartment.

Me, I'm pleased two people I respect are talking at a2k, Ul and Dag. You are very different but I respect both of you a lot.

Not to disregard Nimh, but dag and nimh are familiar, me thinks.

Good to see you, Ul!

Great to hear about your day-to-day, Dag. I need more pictures!

thanks, osso. and i hope nimh is not mortally offended...

hiya lk, i owe you a long email...one of these days, i swear!

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LOL, I like those too of course. But theres something about those classic old coffeehouses that I just find irresistable as well, and those two at least are not like the single two best-known ones. As for the palace, well I already said it was the very most obvious thing of course, but theres just no way around it: it is, simply, very beautiful. Good for a day's outing from the narrow streets when you need some green... altho for that, there is also the pleasantly proletarian park on the other side of the Donaukanal...

As for shortcomings, I dont know how it is now but eight years ago it really struck me that, after say ten oçlock in the evening, theres no quick bte to grab and take along except for those bloody everpresent sausages. If youre used to Dutch cities or, say, Berlin or Frankfurt, its quite a blow: no borek, falafel, baklava! We did find a cute Egyptian place, but the guy who ran it in turn complained that the Austrian neighbours around did everything to lodge complaints, etc ... the most multicultural of places, Vienna is not (not to West-European standards anyway).

(But then Budapest, too, is so awfully monocultural, I mean: white ... that I miss about Holland.)

nimh wrote : "the most multicultural of places, Vienna is not ".
when we visited vienna for three weeks in october 2001, we thought that it was quite multicultural, or should i say "multiracial" ? i remember riding the subway after an evening at the volkstheater; there were some young arab (?) fellows and if i had not seen their skincolour i would have sworn that they were "true " viennese - judging by their "german" dialect.
i agree that it's somewhat difficult to find takeout food late in the evening. we stayed in a small hotel near the westbahnhof(hotel pharmador) - and the islamic education centre - and received good advice on where to eat in the evening, and the beer was certainly nothing to complain about .
we were also surprised to see the many signs of medical doctors from middle eastern countries, who seemed to do a thriving "business" in vienna.
we also liked the little fruit and nut stands on the mariahilfer strasse where we could buy treats from the - mostly turkish - vendors in the evening. one young vendor quickly found out that we were visiting from canada and we always received an "extra" scoop of nuts or raisins, because "my cousin lives in toronto" he said.
all-in-all we had a most enjoyable stay in vienna - particularly enjoyed their "gemuetlichkeit" - their "easy does it " approach to life; there is always time for another cup of coffee and another piece of cake, "just don't rush me". hbg

I DID IT!!! I DID IT!! <panting, out of breath, seeking composure>....i did it,yes.

I biked from Bratislava to Vienna today: 84 kilometers and 649 meters door to door. Strangely enough my arms are hurting, but I think that's because of a heavy bag I had across shoulders. Let me tell you, it makes all the difference to travel light. Which I don't know how to do. I hauled at least some 20 kg of stuf on my bike. Combined with mean cold wind head-on, there were some tough spots. Say, kilometer 55 - I just wanted to throw myself down on the ground and cry. But no, pedaled on I did.

As far as Vienna goes - I do think it has changed, nimh. The city is hopping in the evening and there are plenty of fast places to go. And as hbg said - it is truly multiracial. Many Jamaican people for some reason. It was a pleasant surprise to me, along with so many others. Vienna is just turning out to be a blast!
I do have to come to Budapest though - maybe September. Good friends are getting married in August - I'll be in India. Gotta go congratulate, say hi, catch up...

Well, its obviously multicultural compared to the scarily white Budapest or Bratislava, but last times I walked around it was still awfully white (or rather, the others who were there have less of their own stuff and shops going on) compared to Berlin, Amsterdam, London, places I like ...

you got to come back and see! but you're right in terms of services. those are white white white. that,too, will change i believe. it's already changing.

mrs h was looking for a special kind of licorice while we were in vienna - we called them "shoelaces" in germany -, couldn't find them. finally we came across a little store owned by a turkish family, not only did they have the - much needed - shoelaces , they gave us their business card and offered to mail us a parcel of the stuff !
we also noticed during our visits to the theatre and a performance by the "wiener saengerknaben" in the hofburg that there were other than white faces. where they all tourists ? i don't know.


one of the most interesting persons we met was an african (?) deacon at the votiv kirche who had a wonderful viennese accent (in addition to all the other accents he had). he sold us tickets to a benefit concert for the restauration fund of the church. the concert was performed by "chor der stadt bratislava and orchester musici del teatro directed by dusan stefanek". i'm not a churchgoer, but ... that concert in this great church was moving indeed. hbg

Owe me? I'd be happy to get a long email from you, but why do you OWE me one? Now I'm nervous.

wiener zeitung
dagmaraka : if you have the time try to visit the...DOROTHEUM.... its a wonderful museum and auction house (near the hofburg).
if you are interested in gold or other jewellery, ask one of the sales ladies to show you the "pre-owned" stuff. a lady we met on a sunday walk tipped us of. much of the gold and jewellery is just regular stuff, but if you ask for it, you'll be shown the re-sale items. we found the re-sale items much more interesting and A LOT LESS expensive (gold bracelets were pretty well sold for the price of the gold and NO VAT !). enjoy vienna, hbg

just looking at the demel menu, "nusspalatschinken mit schokoladensauce" !

hi Osso, thanks for your kind words.
Littlek, hi to you.

So good to see you Hamburger.

Biking from Bratislava to Vienna- boy, das zaht sich. You might like to bike along Hoehenstrasse, there are nice Beisl.

Nimh, Vienna has changed of course over the last years, and you have to know Vienna to find what you are looking for. Each district has its own profile, but borek, falafel was always around. Now you find it at each street corner.
Best markets are Meislmarkt and Brunnenmarkt.
Good old Naschmarkt has become a snobby affair.

I don't really know what to make out of;
service is all white.

i did notice many many MANY indian stores. food stores. with spices and all. and clothes. mui delighted.