This article is written by Chetna Prakash. Chetna is a London-based traveler & travel blogger.

To Dipti Kharude, who is stopping by Vienna on her way to Italy.

A friend, art critic and travel writer, Girish Shahane, described Vienna in his blog as “the Aishwarya Rai of cities, extraordinarily beautiful but cold and rather boring.”

Unfortunately, his description is quite apt. Of all the European cities I have visited, none left me more underwhelmed than Vienna.

The city is beautiful: Wide roads, parks, gardens, huge palaces, elaborately sculpted buildings, baroque public sculptures and the wide blue Danube flowing through the city. But for some reason, it just doesn’t have enough people to bring all that extravagance to life. To Sid and I, it simply looked like an elaborately planned party which the guests forgot to attend.

(In a way, the theory fits. Vienna is one of the few European cities, whose population has fallen dramatically since the 19th century. So it was built for a lot more people than it houses today.)

If you are visiting Vienna, here’s what I would recommend. Don’t waste too much of your time trying to soak in the city’s street atmosphere. It doesn’t have any. Instead, head for its cafes.

Now, Vienna’s cafes (or Kaffehaus, as they are called) are another story. They are full of atmosphere. Most hark back to the 1920s and before, and are sumptuously furnished in rich wood, heavy curtains and diffused sleek lights. The waiters still dress traditionally in full-sleeved white shirts, vest jackets and black trousers and swirl around the place elegantly balancing coffee-and-dessert trays in their hands. And you actually see people around you, chatting, laughing, playing board games and reading newspapers. I guess, that is why you don’t see any Viennese on their streets. Because they are all sitting in the cafes!

In fact, recently the Viennese cafes were listed by Unesco as an intangible world cultural heritage.

Here’s a good guide to some of the most atmospheric Viennese cafes. If you can find any of the ones mentioned, great. But even if you can’t, just pop into the nearest one that looks interesting. You will have a good time.

If art is something you find intriguing, you can visit the Museumsquartier (or Museum Quarter). It is basically a collection of old and ultra-modern museum buildings in the city centre. The one museum Sid and I visited and would definitely recommend is the Leopold Museum, dedicated to Austrian artists, particularly Egon Schiele. His works are frighteningly stark. You will come out loving him or hating him, but react you will. The museum will also have works by other famous Austrian artists, Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka etc. Give it a shot!

Other than that, the most popular tourist destination is the Schönbrunn Palace, home to the Austria’s erstwhile monarchy that went down with the First World War. The building is uber-ornate and the gardens are  beautifully manicured. If shopping is critical to your travels, head for the fasionable Kaerntner Strasse (Strasse being street in German). It begins at Stephanplatz, the city centre.

Staatsopera, Vienna

Vienna is also very famous for its western classical music (Mozart being its most famous progeny). The State Opera (Staatsopera) has the best performances, though the city is littered with smaller music houses. However, if you want to catch some western classical music for free, visit any of its churches on a Sunday morning. The service will have some beautiful classical music to go with it.

That should be enough to cover a day or two in Vienna. If you plan to spend more time there, you’ll struggle to find things to do.

To find out more, check Wiki Travel. Among other things, it explains very well how to get from the airport to the city centre, Stephanplatz, using the cheap metro service, S Bahn.

PS: Remember to pick a good map of the city from the airport.

2 June 2011

http://indiancompass.com/2011/06/vienna-an-indian-compass-review/

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 227 user reviews.

This article is written by Sathish K, a Software Professional and travel writer, based in Bangalore.

From Innsbruck I take the evening train to Wien. On the train I meet a student of Wien University who happened to be flipping through pages of lonely planet book. Under impression that it was for Wien I enquire to learn that it is for South India a journey which is under plan for them. Me being an Indian and a South Indian I share my knowledge about this beautiful country. And goes the conversation for few hours till we reach Wien.

At the station my host picks me up and we walk down to the place.

Its pretty easy to travel around in Wien also. Most of the touristic spots are located in the 1st district.

On the first day I walk around the 1st district for 6hrs stopping at spots like Parliament, History Museum, SchornKirch. I paid 10euros for walking inside the History Museum which had a wonderful tagline “We don’t have emperors, We have only their jewels”.

The entry fee looked pretty high for me and so I stayed away from other museums, tho I dont think I missed much.

I complete almost 3/4th of the tour when I reach the river Danube. I spend about 1hr along the river side without doing anything. Some other time I would have thot why am I wasting time but here I was on vacation and had liberty to do what I wanted to do without thinking about work or anything else.

Then I walk along the river check out some clubs and then feeling hungry walk over to “Der Wien Deewan” restaurant. This restaurant is very unique. They serve Pakistani/North-Indian curry (3 varieties of chicken & 3 veg). You can take the curry with as much rice as you want. The concept is very simple “Pay as you wish”. How much ever you eat, whatever you feel like paying pay. This was started by a Pakistani who married an Austrian and settled in Wien. This is a definite must for whoever is touring this city.

On the second day I dont do much. Later in the afternoon, I meet two guys Dirk and Nick who are travelling around the World on their motorbikes. They, my host and me we have lunch and then some photoshoot time and then some conversation with the bikers am off to take the train back to Frankfurt which ends my vacation.

Sathish K

17 Apr 2008

http://sathishk.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/vienna-wien-austria/

Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 259 user reviews.

This article is written by Shantanu Ghosh.

Some of you have been amused I could actually write three posts on Vienna without describing its food in some detail. Actually, I was saving the best for the last! Vienna has much to offer the foodie, more so if you love meat and have a sweet tooth. During my week in this lovely city, I sampled every local delicacy I could find. Between the evenings of fine dining, gourmet coffee at Vienna’s famous cafes and the local desserts, there was enough to keep me content. And of course, there was that evening in an underground wine tavern.

First, let me cover fine dining in Vienna. Armed with recommendations from colleagues who have lived in this city, I ended up in a restaurant that dates back to 1933. A Michelin recommended restaurant, Drei Husaren is located within a block of the famous St. Stephens Cathedral. Started by three hussar-officers, this restaurant changed hands multiple times during its long history. What did not change is its reputation as one of more interesting Viennese restaurants in the old Imperial district.

As you enter the restaurant, the warm colors, paintings of old maestroes and period furniture all contribute to setting the mood. Service is formal but impeccable. Fresh bread and a variety of herb butter spreads arrived as we perused the wine list. We finally settled for an Austrian Pinot.

I started with the Boletus Soup. This mushroom soup, made from the seasonal Porcini and topped with Cappuccino foam with slivers of mushroom, was served in a glass. The soup was highly flavored, served at just the right temperature, and was among the best soups I have tasted. What a great beginning to the meal!

A pianist played compositions of the many local greats, we moved to our entrees. They had charged us €5 per person for the live entertainment, but the pianist was gifted – this was Vienna after all!

For my entree, I chose the Escalope of beef with crisp onions, Viennese-style sauteed potatoes and gherkin. This was another winner. Chewy, but in a good sort of way, and the meat went very well with the deep fried onion.

For dessert, I selected a pancake, The Three Hussars, stuffed with walnuts, and topped with chocolate and strawberry sauce. They also had a Cheese Torte on their menu.

By the time we finished dinner, we had sampled two different reds, both local Austrian wines. While Austria doesn’t export much, they have a vibrant wine culture. In fact like the beer pubs in London and Germany, they have Wine Bars here. Austrians also drink a cider made from a mixture of apples and pear (or only pear). Vienna is the only place – outside India – where I have seen rock sugar offered after dinner with the cheque.

The Drei Husaran is an excellent choice for a special evening in Vienna. The location, the atmosphere and the food are all excellent, as is the service.

Konig Von Ungarn, Schulerstrasse 10

My other fine dining experience was on my final night in Vienna. This time we dined at Konig Von Ungarn at Schulerstrasse 10, just behind the St. Stephens Cathedral. Again, a restaurant steeped in history (this hotel dates back to 1746), orange walls, vaulted ceilings, wrought iron adornments and crystal chandeliers – all of which made for a great ambiance. Dignitaries from St. Stephens once used this place as a guesthouse and horse stables. Of course, these royal visitors also appreciated good cooking. Also, just above this hotel is an apartment where Mozart once lived and composed some of his famous music.

Potato Goulash with grilled turkey sausages

This time, I started with a Potato Goulash with grilled turkey sausages. Please note they also have an interesting hors d’œuvre trolley from which you can select too. I have noticed that goulash is a safe choice in Vienna – I have never been disappointed and tonight was no different. The breads here come with butter and peppers!

Grilled Variation of Fish with truffle oil sauce and almond butter rice.

For my entree I selected the Grilled Variation of Fish with truffle oil sauce and almond butter rice. This dish contained three types of grilled fish – pike, perch, salmon. I loved this dish. The fish was fresh, it was fun to taste the different fillets on the plate at the same time. The sauce complimented the fish and the almond butter rice was wonderful too. All of this with a locally grown ruby red Cabernet Sauvigon that went well with the entree

I chose a Dessert Sampler that had a pudding in vanilla sauce, a chocolate soufflé, and coffee ice-cream with apricot jam. During desserts, they wheel another trolley, this time with a variety of brandies and other digestifs.

At the Konig Von Ungarn, food was good and the ambiance was excellent, but the service was somewhat lacking; the staff was friendly but they kept mixing up the orders. Among the two places I have reviewed here, I would rate the Drei Husaren higher for this reason.

Incidentally, if you enjoy dessert wines, you must try the Austrian Kracher. This wine is made from Welschriesling grapes, which have nothing to do with Riesling, and Chardonnay, which are unusual in a sweet wine. I enjoyed this revered wine, of all places, on my return flight on Austrian Airlines!

Shantanu Ghosh

7 Sept 2008

http://www.shantanughosh.com/2008/09/foodie-in-vienna-part-i.html

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 253 user reviews.