Film Festival Vienna

credits: orf.at

For more For more than 20 years, each summer the Film Festival has inspired up to 700,000 visitors from within Austria and abroad.

The open-air spectacle in the unique surrounding of Vienna's Rathausplatz offers you first-class music and top international gastronomy for free. Experience the variety of cuisines with music all over - all al-fresco style! More details here
Not just the programme with top productions from the classical, opera, jazz and pop worlds and the culinary offerings inspire with their outstanding quality; its high-quality technical implementation also makes the Festival an overwhelming success and an annual summer highlight in the heart of Vienna.

Some highlights of the summer:


DO 03.07.  Legends – Live at Montreux
SA  05.07.  Orfeo ed Euridice
DI  08.07.  Frank Sinatra – A Man And His Music Featuring Nancy Sinatra
MI  09.07.  Marvin Gaye Greatest Hits - Live in Amsterdam
                  In Memoriam Paco de Lucía
DO 10.07. Im weißen Rössl
FR  11.07.  In Memoriam Claudio Abbado
SA 12.07.  Romeo und Julia
SO 13.07.  Aida - Tutto Verdi
MO 14.07. Fantasia
MI  16.07.  Richard Strauss
SA  19.07.  Glen Hansard plays Baloise Session

Bermuda in Vienna?

Photo: KF/wikimedia

Did you know that we have a Bermuda Triangle here in Vienna?
Well, don't be afraid to get lost, you may only get drunk.


The Bermuda Triangle is situated in Vienna's oldest part of town between Schwedenplatz and Morzinplatz and near Rotentumstrasse. You can easily acces it by U-Bahn Station Schwedenplatz with the lines U1 and U4.

To be more precise you will find a bunch of unique bars, restaurants and clubs between Rabensteig, Seitenstettengasse and Judengasse and up to Ruprechtsplatz. By the way, there you'll find the Ruprechtskirche, one of the oldest churches in Vienna.

The building in Seitenstellengasse 4 is home to an israelic temple, therefore do not be surprised to find police wandering around.

The founder of the Bermuda Triangle was the Restaurant Krah Krah, it's name simulating the sound of a crow. It was in 1980 that Sepp Fischer invented a beer bar, today seen everywhere. Guests come from everywhere to taste one of the 60 beers, you even can try the Kulmbach Kuminator, the strongest beer of the world.

Other bars in Bermuda are:  Stehachterl, Bermudabräu, Casablance, Gnadenlos, Slammer, Kaktus, Kuchldragoner, Mojo, Morgans & Vulcania.

So get out, book your place, enjoy sitting al-fresco in summer and endulge in Vienna's traditional food.

Photo: Krah Krah

Cafe Central in Vienna waits for you in a refurbished setting

 

 

This famous traditional café has a history of 130 years, was first opened in 1876 and at the turn of the 20^th century was a popular meeting point for leading persons in the world of art, literature, politics and science.

Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund Freud, Peter Altenberg and Leo Trotzki - they all  loved their second home while sipping their coffee!

Then, like today, the legendary literature café was a meeting point for all ages. Unique architecture meets classic Viennese cuisine. Finest home-made pastries make every visit a special experience.

BUT: This tradition will be closed for refurbishment from 15th July until 11th August 2013.
So be aware that you only my enter from 12th August. To make a reservation call:  +431533 37 63 ext 24

Ice Age in Vienna

 

The  

Wiener Eistraum 

is open again!

until March 10th

every day 

from 9am to 10pm

Why not swap your boots or shoes and enjoy this wonderful icerink 

in the very heart of Vienna.

Skates are for rent - Don't forget your gloves!

Delicious food and drinks will make this 

a very memorable event when visiting Vienna!

 

The best Wiener Schnitzel

Looking for the best Schnitzel ever?

Try the SCHNITZELWIRT in Vienna's 7th district, Neubaugasse 52!

Huge, delicious and yummy!

Expect a very run-down, old-fashioned restaurant 

with stressed waiters and a very high noise level

BUT 

you'll be rewarded with the ultimate and indeed perfect Wiener Schnitzel 

for a stunning price of EUR 6,50!

Drink a Heurigen at the Heuriger! Cheers!

It's raing cats and dogs - yes - this weather these days in Vienna is similar to the UK.

Rainy all day, damp, greyish - all in all, not a summer weather to go to the lakeside or to climb a mountain.

But Vienna has that much to offer, dont mind the weather!

Even if it's damp and not sunny, as long as there are no gusty winds and no rain why not pop into a Heurigen and chill the Viennese way!

The definition Heurigen comes from the german word 'heuer', which means this years'.

We use it for 2 meanings:

-  Heuriger can be the wine, which is harvested this year

-  Heuriger can be the place, where the winemaker sells his wine

It is a typical Viennese vocabulary, as more in the West of Austria, in Styria for example you would say Buschenschank, if you mean the winesellers place.

That said, Viennese people go to the Heurigen, sit at the Heurigen, often in the private garden of the winemaker and drink Heurigen! Got it?

It was in 1784, when Kaiser Franz Joseph allowed the winemakers to sell their own wine in their own house without any special licence. 

Until today the tradition Heurigen is allowed  to open for a special period of time during the year only, while selling their Heurigen together with a small variety of traditional and local food.

This is why in a good Heurigen you will find only some small amount of cold, rarely warm food and almost never a menu card.

Sometimes local pastries are sold, which are home-made and delicious. Like this "Kardinalschnitte"

To know when the Heurigen is opened, just look out for the Buschen, a green bunch of pines hanging above the entrance of the Heurigen. If it is out it is "ausg'steckt", meaning the Heurigen sells it's Heurigen. Go for it!

Griessnockerln or Frittaten

Did you understand our title?

Again this post is about food!
Meanwhile you will have learned that Vienna is all about food!

This time you can opt between two "Einlagen" for a traditional "Rindsuppe". Ok then, Einlage means the filling of a soup, something to put into the clear broth.
Rindsuppe otherwise means the clear broth, gained by cooking beef with vegetables for ages!
Take a look at my Tafelspitz post and you'll learn more.

Back to the fillings:
Griessnockerln are small dumplings (Nockerl) made of semolina (Griess), eggs and butter. Interestingly there are nations, who absolutely deny semolina in their kitchen. Like the UK, I have learned that british people love that much foreign food, but in gerneral hate semolina.
But trust me, it's absolutely delicious and a must, if eating out in Vienna!

Frittaten are loved by everyone as I gather, as they are simple pancakes with a dash of salt, sliced very finely and put into a tasty soup. Simples!

The funny word Frittate seems to derive from the italian frittata, which means something like an omelette. So we have several words for the english pancake: crepe, palcinta, Pfannkuchen.

But with Frittaten you'll always understand sliced pancakes in soup, if you order Palatschinken you'll get mouthwatering sweet pancakes filled with jam or Nutella. The choice is yours!

Yummy! Enjoy these most loved and most common soup appetizers of the Viennese kitchen!

A Leberkas Semmerl please! Fast Food with Tradition!

Some months ago we did talk about the Wurstsemmel - one of the most traditional fast food in Vienna.
But there are several other mouthwatering, savoury and unique tasty delicacies.

Let's try the Leberkas.
Sometimes also Leberkäs or Leberkäse. In Bavaria you'll find people calling it Fleischkäse.
It's not original Viennese, but it is a Viennese traditional Fast-Food though.
 If you translate it word by word: "Leber" means liver and "kas" or "käs" or "käse" meaning cheese.
Ok then, but it has definitely nothing to do with liver and cheese.


This kind of sausage was invented around 1776, not in Austria but in Germany. The name probably derives from the old German: LAB for clotting and QUAS for feast.
But only probably, because there is another saying too:
KAS means in bavarian german some kind of bulky, compact material, in good old Viennese wording "Gatsch"
So, make your choice!

Anyway it makes sense, as the mix of minced pork and beef will be baken in the oven in a rectangular baking-tin.

There are various types: my favourite, whenever I ever eat it, is Käseleberkäs! This one indeed has cheese in it! Kind of confusing, innit?

How you eat it?
Where you get it?

I recommend to try it as a filling in a good crispy "Semmerl" and the best place to order it is at one of Vienna's typical "Wuerstelstand" which will lead me to my next posting, for sure!

 

Just a final warning:


1. eat it hot!
2. don't eat it in public transport as it has a strong smell!

And beware! The little snack has approx 650 calories!

To The Beach

Wanna go to the beach?

No problem in Vienna!

3 beaches are  already opened! Yes, you've read correctly: we do have beaches in the city of Vienna! And what a kind of beaches too!


Telaviv Beach

This groovy beach brings a slice of seaside cheer to the capital this summer and comes with excellent international food, great drinks and the best music ever with live gigs and DJ's you don't want to miss!

Hermanns Strandbar


The second beach at The Danube Canal proves that you don't need to fork out on travel to a far flung land to enjoy a slice of seasonal fun. Destined to attract people of all ages, this place offers great food 'n' drinks and the perfect place to relax in between shopping, work or sightseeing.

Sand In the City

Sunglasses at the ready! The place where you normally skate along wrapped in thick jackets and shivering all the time has transformed into a single sand landscape.
So if you're out for the feel of sand under your feet, pop in and enjoy music and food!

You'll love them! Go there, when the weather is fine, stick your feet in the sand and indulge with good bits 'n' bites and excellent drinks.


Enjoy the beach feeling during day or even at night, when the first mediterranean evenings make their way into Vienna and you start hearing the chirping noise.

Yummy Time - Meet the Jamie Olivers and Gordon Ramsays of Austria

Hungy?

Greedy for food?

Fancy some local delicious dishes?

No need to wait, no need to visit a posh restaurant!

Just visit Vienna's Stadtpark

on Friday, Saturday or Sunday,

6th to 8th May

and meet 'n' greet Austrians top chefs!

Free of charge!

At the stunning Gourmet Festival or Food Festival, to put it more international, you can experience Austrian cooking expertice.

We do have an equivalent to the internationally beloved Gordon Ramsay with it's famous F-Word: the Austrian TV chefs Alex and Andi are loved because of their slang and wit during cooking.

Jamie Oliver, though, famous for being the Naked Chef, is difficult to be compared.

In general Austrian chefs are too earnest, so serious, not a lot of them take it as easy as Jamie. But that's our culture. Unfortunately Austria does not live the british rule: The importance of not being earnest!

But Austrian Chefs do deliver excellent quality, nonetheless or perhaps precisely because of it. Think of Wolfgang Puck in Los Angeles!

Enjoy the chef's passion for food and pop into Stadtpark!

Meet Reinhard Gerer, Wini Brugger, Toni Mörwald and Christian Domschitz, to name just a few!

And do come hungry as a hunter! Eat as much you can. Rest on the green.
Done!

Just for fun: compare Gordon cooking Chicken Tikka Masala with Alex & Andi cooking a soup 

Some Austrian trivia about Easter Time .... and more

-  NAME
In Austria children believe that the Easter bunny hops over the fields and makes its way to the gardens. The bunny is the official symbol of fertility since the 16th century. But the bunny and the egg are also symbols of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre, after which Easter has been named.
-  COLOURS
The customary act of painting eggs is known as Pysanka. In Austria we use to paint the eggs and colour boiled eggs. This custom was taken by the pagans, to whom colours had a special meaning: red for death of Jesus, green for hope, yellow for wisdom, just to name a few.

-  HIDE 'N' SEEK
Tradition has it that we hide chocolate eggs, preferably in a garden and children then will have to seek them.
-  FOOD
In Austria we love to eat a "Pinze", a deliciouse sweet yeast bread, some smoked ham cooked in a bread dough, called "Osterschinken"

-  DECORATION
We also decorate the houses with consecrated pussy willows, decorated with eggs hanging around. Is was tradition in Jerusalem to use palm branches to show your devotedness to Jesus. In absence of palm trees we use willow branches

-  TREATS
Chocolate eggs were made for the first time in Europe, in the 19th century. Till date, they remain one of the favorite Easter treats.

Easter is the top-selling confectionery holiday in the west, second only to Halloween.


-  STATISTICS
On Easter, 76% people bite off the chocolate bunny ears first, while 5% bite the feet first and 4% eat the tail first.


-  SYMBOL
Right from ancient times, the egg has been regarded as a symbol of rebirth in most of the cultures. Eggs, bonfires, candles, lily, cross, palm, bunny and lamb are the most popular symbols of Easter.

-  TIME
Just like Passover which is dependent on the phases of the moon and has different dates each year, Easter is also a movable feast. BUT Easter always falls between March 22nd and April 25th.


-  HISTORY
The custom of giving eggs at Easter dates back to the time of the Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans.

-  VATICAN
Every year on Easter, Pope gives his "Urbi et Orbi" (papal address) to the world.


-  INTERNATIONAL
Easter is known by different names across the world. Some of them are: Easter (english), Paques (French), Pascua (Spanish), Pasqua (Italian), Pashke (Albanian), Ostern (German), Pascha (Greek),  Paaske (Norway), Pasen (Holland) and  Pask (Swedish)




-  COMMERCIAL
Egyptians were initially the ones who exchanged eggs to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. It was later that the tradition was passed down to early Christians. But it was forbidden by the church to donate eggs. As people loved this habit it was adapted and the eggs where hidden in neighbours garden.

Tafelspitz stands for Plachutta beef

There's nothing more Viennese than the Tafelspitz.
So it's a must to have before you leave Vienna.

It is said that already in the 16th century beef was brought over to Vienna from Hungary and so became an important part of the Austrian Cuisine.

The story goes that good old Kaiser Franz Josef's habit was to eat very hasty and quick. Courts tradition in turn did not allow anyone to eat before or after the emperor has laid back his cutlery. Therefore his entourage often left the meal terribly hungry. In consequence they went to the Sacher, to get what they needed.
Famous Anna Sacher invented a dish, which was able to boil and simmer for ages without loosing quality. This is how the story goes about the creation of Tafelspitz.
Soon also Austrias emperor loved to have his daily beef, be it a part of the tip or the rump.

Tafelspitz is served with spinach, fried egg, potatoe mash and different sauces and gravy. 


Tradition has it that you eat the hearty soup served in a copper cauldron together with the Markscheibe on toasted dark bred.
Tafelspitz at its best!

Try it at Vienna's best place .... Plachutta, where this traditional dish is served in its unique way.
The oxes and calves are all  from the farmyard grown up in the juicy meadows of Lower Austria and Styria. You will definitely taste the difference!

You can opt for 3 different places to try out:

-  At vienna's city centre
wollzeile 38, 1010 Vienna
+43 1 512 15 77
wollzeile@plachutta.at

-  Near schloss schoenbrunn
Auhofstrasse 1, 1130 Vienna
+43 1 877 70 87
hietzing@plachutta.at

-  At vienna's vineyards
Heiligenstädterstrasse 179, 1190 Vienna
+43 1 370 41 25
nussdorf@plachutta.at

The yummy part is where rump and silverside join to form the bum!



Let's cook ..... Wiener Schnitzel!

I think it's time to focus on food again.
What about cooking the favourite austrian dish? Some years ago I was teaching ladies from all over the world how to make a real good Schnitzel. Let me share with you now this delicious recipe!

This probably is the most traditional Austrian dish you can get.
The original Wiener Schnitzel is made from veal, but it can be made also from chicken, turkey or more popular in Vienna, from pork.
And tradition also has it, that it goes best with potatoe salad and a slice of lemon.


Wiener Schnitzel
 

• 1 kg Turkey breast
• 2-3 eggs
• 500g breadcrumbs
• 200g flour
• Salt
• Oil

Cut the turkey into slices, like you want the Schnitzel to be.
Put the flour in one bowl, the breadcrumbs in another and the mixed eggs in another.
Salt the flour.

Now take each slice of meat and bed it into the flour. After coating it put in the next bowl with the eggs, coat it again well and finally coat it with the breadcrumbs. Get rid of any loose breadcrumbs by pressing them down firmly.

After doing so with all the meat heat up the oil in a big pan. Pour in enough oil, so that the Schnitzel can „swim“ slightly.

Fry them at medium to high heat, very slowly and carefully, otherwise they will burn immediately.


Potatoe Salad
 

• 600g potatoes
• 250 ml beef stock
• 60g sliced spring onions or leek
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• Salt, pepper, mustard

Cook the potatoes, then peel them. Cover them with the beef stock immediately after slicing them – add onions—mix together.


It should result in a slightly creamy dressing.

Add oil and vinegar (apple vinegar preferred) and a dash of salt, pepper and a bit of english or Dijon mustard and pour over everything over the salad.

The taste of Austria

When you think of Britain and taste, what is your first idea?
Fish'n'chips maybe?
Which drinks do you associate with a country?
Which sweets do you recall, when thinking about a specific destination?

Well, all those questions come into mind, when travelling around and being open to local traditions.

So, what about Austria and Vienna or Salzburg?

Here are my top 5 typical food experiences, which you should not miss out:


1. Manner Schnitten

since ages a constant sweet companion for all ages and all situations

2. Wiener Schnitzel

the most famous austrian main dish and definitely best eaten in Vienna - a Must

3. Sachertorte 

No birthday party, no coffehouse, no housewife without this cake - but trust me, the best one is the home made one! (send me an email, if you want to buy one from me!!)

4. Salzburger Mozartkugel 

A delicacy often copied, but only this original is the abolutely best! A unique taste, that melts in your mouth!

Buy it in the supermarket and not in the tourist shops, you save looooots!

5. G'spritzter

The traditional drink for all occasions, best drunken at a Heurigen, a bit outside of Vienna.

A good big dash of white wine with some soda comes as a refreshing surprise especially in summer!

Don't leave Austria without having tasted these flavours - you'll definitely will miss something!

The Faschingskrapfen - Vienna's answer to McDonalds Bagel

Hmmmmmm, can you smell it? Can you feel the delicious texture? And after the first bite the wonderful jam melts on your tongue!

This is a Faschingskrapfen!

And Faschingskrapfen belong to Vienna's Carneval like cucumber sandwiches to tea time!

This wonderfully sweety tastes that good, that you can't have only one. You'll get addicted to a second. Then you need a third, as "all good things come in three". And finally you will take a fourth, as it's festive season, so you're alowed to bottle in whatever you can.

So often they come already packed as 4 - easy to go.

You can buy them everywhere these days: in the bakery, in the supermarkets, in the coffee shops .... just beware of one thing: They must be absolutely fresh!

As soon as they get more than 2 hours fresh air - the taste is gone!

So ask for their date of birth, buy them, eat them - even on the road!

The history about them?
Ok, you know, there's always a good story - so here it is:

A Viennese "chef" of the king's court, named Cäcilie Krapf, is said to have invented those fatty sweets.
She had her bakery in the Naglergasse in the 1st district.
This delicious sweet delicacy was served at the Congress of Vienna, you remember the G6 meeting, where they danced more than they disputed.
The lady in question, Mrs Krapf, nicknamed Cilli, created the "Krapfen" for one of the big balls in the Hofburg - those dough scoops, which have to be baked in oil and be filled with sweet apricot jam.

It is said that only in the year 1815 around 10 millions of Faschingskrapfen where eaten.
WOW! Can you imagine the number of calories!


Sorry, I have to go ..... and eat my Faschingskrapfen .... can't wait any longer

Ahhh, opposite the bluedanube apartment, at the supermarket chain HOFER, the Krapfen are delicious .... and come as 4!

Dialect vs Accent - German vs Austrian

Guys, the festive season is almost over, so it's high time to report about some trivia.

I've just came over a nice discussion about dialects ... or is it accents?

Well, how would you call it, if someone speaks obviously German, but changes the pronounciacion of words that much, that it's quite difficult to follow. And uses different words at all. Is this dialect or just a strong accent?

I remember when living in London, it was quite interesting to listen to the different kinds of "English".

The Received Pronounciation (RP) varies from Cockney quite a lot, a Liverpudlian is sometimes quite difficult to understand, as well as someone from the northern countries.

And don't forget Wales, where Welsh English is spoken, which again differs from the Welsh language!
And the wonderful Scottish accent! What a pleasure, when you finally grasp the words!
And let's not forget about all the celtic parts that made it into English ...

Oh, last but not least Anglish .... I'd rather say Germanglish - yes, this is a mix between English and German words! Like "Rucksack" or "Misch-Masch" or "Zeitgeist".

But back to the difference between German and Austrian language and Viennese dialect!

You are right, basically it's the same language. But there are a lot of words which are completely different.

Interestingly the Austrian language and its dialects has adopted lots of words from Italian, French, Slavic and Yiddish. And these words were the basics for the later dialect. Like "Trottoir" (Gehsteig-pavement) or "Lavoir" (große schüssel-big bowl) or "Kombinege"(Unterkleid-lingerie) - funny even the Brits need to borrow a french word!

These examples have almost died out - means, you will only hear them spoken by people 40+. Seems that dialect changes .....
No wonder, 44% of all pupils in Austria do not have German as their mother tongue.
Maybe that's not so bad at all, as dialect and language and accent are therefore in a constant progress!

Did you know that in Vienna there were 3 different dialects: the "Schönbrunner-ish", the "Floridsdorfer-ish" and the "Meidlinger L", as people pronounced the L in a very specific way.

Now back to the vocabulary list - Viennese-German

Sackerl - Tüte .................... plastic bag
Gackerl - Hundekot ............dog-poo
Semmerl - Brötchen ........... roll
Schwammerl - Pilz ............. mushroom
Sessel - Stuhl ..................... chair
Polster - Kissen ................. pillow
Jause - Pausenbrot ............. tea time
Fetzen - Tuch .................... shred, rug, cloth
Gwand - Kleidung ..............clothing
Kieberer - Polizist .............. police
Ohrwaschl - Ohr ............... ear
Blunzn - Blutwurst ............. black pudding
Watschn - Ohrfeige ........... slap in da face
Futzerl - kleines Stück ....... nibble
Gatsch - Brei, Schlamm ..... mash
Haxn - Bein ....................... leg
Nachtkastl -Nachttisch ....... bedside cabinet
nimmer - nicht mehr ............ no longer
Ribisel - Johannesbeere ...... red currant
Topfen - Quark ................. curd
Beisl - Wirtshaus ................ pub
a wengerl - ein bisschen ..... a bit
 
there are lots and lots more, but I have to hold them back for my next posts!
 
Maybe one final sentence, when staying at http://www.bluedanubeapartments.com/ and you wanna expierence traditional Viennese food, why not ask in a typical Viennese way:
                                        
                                      "Wo is des nächste Beisl? Where is the local pub? 
 
My recommendation would be : http://www.gasthof-schosztarich.at/ not even 1 minute accross the road!
Enjoy!
 
and
 
Servas!  Tschüss!  Byebye!

11th Nov - Martinmas Goose or watch out for lanterns

On November 11th we do not only celebrate  the opening of Carneval as you may have read in a previous post but also the feast of St. Martin, also known as Martinmas!

St Martin of Tours, born 317, started out as a Roman soldier, was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold.

And there are 2 nice traditions here in Austria on this and the following days:

1. eating geese

2. children celebrating St Martin and wandering around with self-made lanterns, singing along a very traditional song (see below)

The goose is actually a symbol for St. Martin himself since it is said that a honking goose revealed his hiding place, after he hid to avoid being made bishop of Tours!

So go out to restaurants and ask for the delicious "Martinigansl". You will be more than happy to try out the roasted goose, which comes along with red cabbage and potatoe dumplings. If you are very lucky the goose is even filled with a flavoury mix of chestnuts and bread dumplings. Yummy!

Better to eat it during day than in the evening and definitely add a lot of good red wine!

You will find a lot of excellent reatsurants near our bluedanubeapartment in Vienna. Worth a try is the "Kuchldragoner" in the old part of Vienna city, just a 5min u-bahn drive away from our apartment. Better to book a table and mention that you are keen on the goose! And maybe a last tip: walk home! It's said to be good for the goose in your belly!

And if you are around in the early evening on that day, you probably will encouter kindergarden-children walking around proudly with their self-made lanterns, singing and re-telling the story of St Martin 

Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne und meine Laterne mit mir.

Da oben leuchten die Sterne und unten leuchten wir.
Ein Lichtermeer zu Martins Ehr'! Rabimmel, rabammel, rabumm.

The Wurstsemmerl - Viennese Fast Food

We all know about the rise of Fast Food within the last couple of years. McDonalds or Burger King everywhere, Sandwiches from Eat or Pret-A-Manger in the UK, the Gyros or Kebab in Greece, Turkey and definitely Germany, the Bento Box in Japan, the Prego in Portugal, the Bocadillo from Spain .... sure there are loads of others, but don't forget the Wurstsemmerl in Vienna!

The Wurstsemmerl can  be rightly called as one of the delicacies of the world. Some also call it also Wurstsemmel, without the "r" before the "l". Then they try to be not Viennese, as the "r" is used only by the typical "Wiener".

To keep it simple: it is a roll, a Semmerl, unique in the world too, with some specific, thin machine-cut kind of meat, Wurst, called Extrawurst, made out of pork and loads of other unhealthy things. The luxurious version is if included thinly sliced Essiggurkerl, pickles.
OMG, how grabby I am about a Wurstsemmerl only writing this!

And now comes the main fact: this Wurstsemmerl is the best if you get it freshly and done in front of your eyes. At a butcher maybe or at the supermarket, department deli.

And rule no 1 ... you have to eat it immediately. As soon as you are on your way to somewhere and eat it only hours later, forget about it.
And rule no 2 ... doing it yourself at home will experience different taste. It's the freshness of the just cut through Semmerl and the thinly sliced Wurst that make the difference.
When you take a hearty bite, you'll hear the wonderful cracking noise and taste the fresh meat.

There is of course the possibility to make your choice: you can add cheese, salad, whatever .... but then the original is gone!

We recommend to buy it near bluedanube apartments at BILLA inside the station Praterstern, open 6am-10pm/7.

Try it - taste it - enjoy it!

Good Morning Vienna!

Saturday Morning in Vienna! Last Holiday Weekend for the "Wiener", as school starts on coming Monday!
The hustle and buzzle is back to town. But it wouldn't be for Vienna if there are not places, where you could start off this Saturday in a relaxing, typial Viennese way: go for breakfast or brunch in one of the top 10 locations according to the Kurier, one of Austrians leading tabloids. You don't mind, if I add my comments!

Here they are:

Nr 10: http://www.charlieps-irishpub.at/ - 9th district
well do we really need a pub for our "Morgensemmerl"?

Nr 9: http://www.meinlamgraben.at/ - 1st district
tradition has it, that this was/is the top place for gourmet shopping - it has a touch Harrods food hall - but definitely only a touch!

Nr 8: Hotel Herrenhof - 1st district
ok, if you want to start your day off in a posh hotel group, this is a nice way and well located

Nr 7: http://www.naschmarkt-deli.at/ - 6th district
this would be one of my favourites, especially on a Saturday. After strolling aroud the Naschmarkt, bargain hunting or "Sauerkraut" shopping, pop into the deli or even better to the Neni (http://www.neni.at/)

Nr 6: http://www.freiraum117.at/ - 6th district
a high-street bar, trendy, busy, the new-generation Vienna? I'd better go for tradition!

Nr 5: http://www.palmenhaus.at/ - 1st district
yes, this is it, preferrable on a sunny morning. location, history, view ... food - all in one!

Nr 4: http://www.blaustern.at/ - 19th district
a bit off the beaten track for Vienna visitors, who are normally not located in that part of Vienna. But definitely worth a try, maybe if you visit some posh friend over there in the 19th district. Or if you are still in the area after a night at a "Heurigen"

Nr. 3: http://www.landtmann.at/ - 1st district
Finally we are here! This is my favourite for every occasion, every day, every time. THE place to enjoy one of the many different coffees while being a celeb-spy

Nr 2: http://www.haas-haas.at/ - 1st district
oh yes, what a place! location, location! THE teahouse and this in the neighbourhood of Mozart's home and in one of the most history loaded areas of Vienna. Definitely a MUST

Nr 1: http://www.orlandodicastello.at/ - 1st district
you may know it already - I'd better keep with tradition. New in town with an interesting concept, hip, perky, creative menu - why not?