Monday 23 June 2008

Eating Viennese specialities

It has to be said Vienna is better for meat eaters than people who prefer to eat fish or vegetarian.

Typical specialities are
  • Wiener Schnitzel (the real one is from Veal not pork)
  • Tafelspitz (cooked beef in a beefsoup)
  • Kaiserschmarren (either as sweet main dish or as huge dessert)
  • Apfelstrudel (Apple strudel in coffee houses or as dessert)
  • Sachertorte (no doubt the most famous cake, in coffee houses with a 'Melange' coffee)
  • Buchteln (speciality of Cafe Hawelka)

Wiener Schnitzel you will get most likely in every restaurant or pub (which is not specialised for other cuisine like Italian, Chinese, ...... food).

One place which is famous for Wiener Schnitzel is Figlmueller. You need to make a reservation at Figlmueller (one of their two restaurants) otherwise it will be difficult. The Schnitzel here is very big but at the same time very thin - so it looks more than it is but it is definitely enough for hungry people. The one in Wollzeile is the original, whereas Backerstrasse is a newer place around the corner but the food is the same. To do it right, you need to eat a Kartoffel-Vogerlsalat (Potato-Field salad) with the Schnitzel.

http://www.figlmueller.at/

Figlmueller is a place for meat eaters only. There is nearly nothing for vegetarians.

If you want to experience the 'Tafelspitz' there is one very special (also a bit touristy) place to go. Restaurant Plachutta is specialised on Tafelspitz and the oldest restaurant is in Wollzeile (easiest to reach for you as in the city center). Tafelspitz is boiled beef and people really like it - not only Viennese people but guests usually really like it and want to go again if they visit Vienna the next time.

Again reservation will be necessary and in some cases you might even only get slots of 2 hours or so.

http://www.plachutta.at/

I am not sure how well served non-meat eaters will be.

Kaiserschmarrn, Apfelstrudel, .... there are no special places to recommend.

Kaiserschmarren (sweet dish with plum or appel compots- the dough is a bit like for pancakes) is something which you will get in many Viennese restaurants and pubs.

Viennese people might select it as a sweet main course too. If you eat it as a dessert, I would highly recommend to share it with somebody or ask for half a portion.

Apfelstrudel you will get in most coffee houses where you sit read newspaper or plan the next move to the next sightseeing place.....

Sachertorte - hmmm, you can get it everywhere and definitely in all coffee houses. For sure the famous 'Hotel Sacher' has the one which you can also buy in wooden boxes to bring home or send to people somewhere in the world.

Buchteln - I need to search the web to describe it...... and it is described as sweet dumplings with plum jam ..... I can understand the translation as the closest possible match, not sure I would call it dumplings. It is the speciality of Cafe Hawelka - which is a famous coffee house, where artists and students spend their time.

http://www.hawelka.at/

More hints and tips to come......

Special pub for meat eaters - a unique experience

The Schweitzerhaus in Prater.
This is a very special Viennese place to go for 'Stelze' and drink draft beer.
A Viennese would go there on a warm summerday - because in the Schweitzerhaus you have to sit outside. There are inside tables but that does not feel like Schweitzerhaus.

What is a Stelze?
If you click on Menu on the link http://www.schweizerhaus.at/1024/eng/index.html, than you see immediately a picture of the very crispy speciality.

The Stleze is the rear nuckle of pork grilled!
I am not the biggest meat eater in the world and I hate everything what can be considered fat meat but I love Stelze. It is on the exception list.

As you can see on the Menu that there are many other things to eat (including vegetarian stuff) but the reason why people go to the Schweitzerhaus is THE STELZE.

You share a Stelze between 2 or 3 people, get bread and horse radish with it and you stop the waiters to get your next beer. They are carrying lots of them constantly around.
If you drink something else, it needs ordering and sometimes patience.

Not sure if reservations can be made (not always possible) but give it a try it is much easier than fighting for a place to sit and eat.
No credit cards.... but cash machines close to it.

It is a unique experience and people love or hate it. I would say more love it .......

I can see that Phil, Gin, Mark, Anne would be on the 'love it' side.
I am not sure that Dave or Leighton would love it.


If you want to visit the 'Riesenrad' (equivalent to London Eye, but from old days and a sight of Vienna), you could combine it with a visit in Schweitzerhaus. Both are in Prater.

Opening hours - shops and museum

Talking to Anne I realized that opening hours are different in Vienna and it might be a good idea to spell it out.

For people who want to go to any of the Museums. Check their opening hours first!
Many museums are closed on Mondays. So if you want to go plan another day or at least check. Sundays are generally good days to visit Museums.
I would also assume that all close at 18.00 and early/late evening is also no option.

Shopping otherwise......
Sunday is basically a day where every shop is closed. Even some Restaurants and Pubs are closing. You should not worry about the restaurants/pubs - enough will be open and you will find something to eat. No doubt.

Shops are often closing at 6pm with exceptions on big shopping streets like Mariahilferstrasse where shops may stay open until 7 or later (especially on Thursdays or Fridays, very unlikely on Saturdays).

Supermarkets the same...... no food shopping on Sundays. Water, juices etc. for the room (to avoid mini bar prices) you need to buy before Sunday and before 6pm on Saturdays.

Friday 20 June 2008

Hen do's

Finally the decision is made.... I can not live without Hen do's.
So I make the most out of it......

1. In England the weekend of Aug 1/2/3
2. In Austria the weekend of Jul 25/26/27

Exact timings and activities are unknown.
Any ideas? Add a comment....

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Details get organized as well.....

Today I managed to book the hairdresser for the wedding. A test / consultancy appointment and the final appointment on the big day.
The day is coming closer and closer. Time is really flying.

Monday 16 June 2008

Not all answers arrived yet

Yesterday was the RSVP date and we have a lot of POSITIVE answers!
Most of responses told us that you will be able to make it!

Not all answers arrived yet. We are hoping that you all can join and will celebrate with us.

So far only two invites have been declined and we hope the number of declines stays as low as of today!

Saturday 14 June 2008

Wedding Ring Workshop


It was a great experience and fun! Today we made our own wedding rings.

It was a much harder process than expected (at least from me [xis]). We started with a block of metal and had to go through many manual processes before there was a small sign that it could become a ring at the end.


In between we got Champagne to distract us from the heavy work but not too much that our 'teachers' were sure that we will manage a good end result. Two rings which fit on the fingers, are round, regularly shaped!

After the last polishing steps we had amazing rings in our hands.
It was a great experience and so much fun!


You can see the end result at the wedding. And YES, we made the rings, they were not exchanged after the workshop to rings from a jeweller.

PS: At the end of the day I had no finger nails anymore, I filed them away (accidentally) while I was filing the shape of Stu's ring.

Thursday 12 June 2008

All formalities are finalized - ceremony is formally booked

Today was the big day. Equipped with all documents I went to the registry office to finally turn the reservation into a final booking. The famous certificate of no impediment, certified copies of passports, birth certificate (the long one!) with all affidavits and the official translations have been handed over and have been accepted!!

The ceremony is booked, paid, ........

We are ready!

Monday 2 June 2008

Wedding list - will be posted soon

There are many questions coming in regarding our wedding list. We will have one - may be a short one but there will be one. Otherwise we will provide an opportunity to contribute to something specific at our wedding.

The list(s) will most likely be in England - otherwise we have a transport problem.

Things like the one below will be on it:
  • Ritzenhoff Glaeser (Champagner, Beer, Schnaps)
  • Eva Solo Karaffe etc.
  • Silver cuttlery
  • and other things.........
Our contributions will be towards
  • Honeymoon - something specific like one morning or evening drive or a walk at the safari
  • .............