May 28, 2008

HP is in Vienna this week. Anyone got any good tips?


Haven't been here before amazingly, so any tips appreciated. Making my way back to overpriced London...
And my tip of the week is get to Bulgaria before the rest of the yanks figure it out

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

that picture reminds me Istanbul. my tip of the week will be get to Istanbul. unique city...

Anonymous said...

Hit the Helvetia cafe and watch the Japanese tourists at Cafe Central for a laugh. Hit Franz Josef's tomb for a reminder of how many empires have a slow decline and then a quick collapse.

Anonymous said...

Are those little Vienna sausage weiners better over there?

Anonymous said...

Tip # 1:
Tipping is NOT a city in China!

Tip #2:
Q: What did the leper say to the
prostitute?
A: Keep the Tip!

bearmaster said...

Have a great time!

Anonymous said...

Keith, where is the best place in the world to live now, in terms of freedom, safety, and inexpensive living?

Anonymous said...

Istanbul is a third world cesspool masquerading as a metropolitan city..
neanderthal inhabitants, terrible traffic,pollution,outrageous prices,
Muslim influences, and the most horrific stink floating in the air.

Anonymous said...

I went to Bulgaria once....it was closed.

Anonymous said...

In Vienna, go to Cafe Central and plot the new American Revolution.
(former Leon Trotsky hangout).

Anonymous said...

What exactly do you do that you get to travel so much?

Just curious...

Anonymous said...

Try the wiener schnitzel. Seriously. It's really, really good.

Also, out-of-the way pastry shops are the best. Go crazy.

FOr non-gustatory fare, must visits include the national art museum. (And visit the national garden--it's probably spectacular this time of year), and of course every one goes to St. Steven's cathedral. If you are there for the weekend, try to catch a show, an opera, an orchestral performance, or even an organ recital at a local church.

Man, I miss Vienna.

Anonymous said...

http://www.meinl.com/
Julius Meinl

And Tzrsniewki, inexpensive but tasty egg sandwiches just off Graben. Short walk from St. Steven's.

Anonymous said...

Sorry it is: Treszniewski.

I kept a business card, can't find it. Love the egg. So cheep and you can have a beer too.

Mark in San Diego said...

The Weiner Schnitzel at "Cafe Europa" right near the church off the main square - think Nord Sea is across the "street" - pedestrian walkway. . .it is in a small hotel, but we went back twice because it was so good. . .the picture you show seems to look like the street. . .kind of liked Budapest better because it was right on the river - river in Vienna is not really downtown. . .but nice city anyway. Visit the Schoenberg (
sp?) palace. . .lots of tourists, but worth it.

Anonymous said...

Don't talk to strangers!

At least don't let them buy you a latte.

RayNLA

Anonymous said...

There is a bar up the street from the Olympia Hotel - used to be very swanky and lots of nice looking people - name? I could begin to guess...

Joe said...

Yeah, try the Steak Tartar. Nothing like eating good quality raw hamburger meat.

Joe M.

Anonymous said...

Don't be afraid of the bratwurst stands downtown. Good, filling, cheap lunch. The mustard makes the brat, put plenty on.

bearmaster said...

Take a picture of the ferris wheel for me!

Anonymous said...

Bratislava is only a 45 min train ride away although also a world away. Do that day trip.

Anonymous said...

say Hi to Angelo..

Anonymous said...

Why is it that every American travel tip relates to stuffing their faces with food? Good lord.

Anonymous said...

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DcBob said...

I went on a european tour last summer and personally thought Vienna was the worst city of them all.
Over crowded, over priced, and all in all not that unique. Reminded me of any large city.
Budapest, prague, chesky crumlov, slovakia, were all 10 times better.

blogger said...

first impressions

beautiful

great architecture

amazing churches

good beer

tourist prices

fat loud tourists and awful tourist trap places everywhere that ruin the city

I'll head to bratislava tomorrow, maybe back to budapest for a day

Anonymous said...

Tip:

Leave Europe before sh!t begins hitting the fan.

Mammoth said...

Speaking of Keith’s travels, last month he wrote:
“By the way, I rented a Ford to get from Hungary to Bulgaria.
Three words:
Piece of sh*t.

What's wrong with American car companies? Are they just stupid? Do they not hire smart people?

Amazing. The car rattled, everything felt cheap, the engine sucked, the MPG sucked. There'd be no compelling reason for anyone to buy this Ford. None.”
------------------------------------
I recently crossed the Atlantic on an Airbus A-340.
What a P.O.S!

The thing rattled, everything felt cheap. Every time we hit a bit of turbulence, the whole airplane vibrated and the interior popped and squeaked. Amazing!

What is wrong with Airbus? Are they just stupid? Do they not hire smart people?

The return flight was on a Boeing 767.
What a world of difference!
-Mammoth

blogger said...

Mammoth - my criticism was of Ford workers. Toyotas made in America are awesome. Fords made anywhere in the world are pieces of sh*t

I'd rather fly Boeings too. And Airbus - they're in a world of hurt with the Euro/Dollar. Watch BA stock fly even as the airlines go out of business one by one with high fuel costs

Anonymous said...

Anon said

"What exactly do you do that you get to travel so much?"

------

He rents. Heaps of disposable income?

Anonymous said...

rather fly Boeing? Are you nuts?

Compare the miscomfor on takeoff B747 versus A340? The A340 is smooth as silk and teh B 747 you get slammed into your seat...

seriously losers go ahead and fly Delta or AA trans Atlantic!!
Lufthansa (even BA) beats them hands down!

Mammoth said...

Well Keith, I agree with you that Fords are crap. I drove a 1967 Pontiac LeMans for 13 years – it was as reliable as any Honda or Toyota built today, and had clocked nearly 320,000 miles before some idiot (in a Ford) hit it and totalled the car.

Since they could build automobiles so well back in the mid-1960’s, why – with all the improvements in technology since then – can the American car makers not build better automobiles today?

But please be careful with your criticism of Ford workers, if you are just referring to the people who build the cars.

It is Ford’s management who approves the cars’ design, it is Ford’s management who specifies the level of evaluation the cars and their components receive before being released for sale, and it is Ford’s management who deems it acceptable to send such low levels of quality product to the customer.

Toyota sets higher quality standards, and if one of their automobiles or its components do not meet them, then they are either redesigned or fixed before the car is sold.

The factory workers are just performing their job, which is to build automobiles per the standards which are set for them.

Mammoth
(Manufacturing Engineer)

Anonymous said...

I believe that when you are in Vienna that you can see one of the greatest treasures that history has to offer. Go to the Hapsburg Museum next to the Lipizzaner horse stables. Hint: They were the Kings of Jerusalem in the 10th and 11th century. Have Fun...

-Tennessee T-

Anonymous said...

Compare the miscomfor on takeoff B747 versus A340? The A340 is smooth as silk and teh B 747 you get slammed into your seat...

seriously losers go ahead and fly Delta or AA trans Atlantic!!
Lufthansa (even BA) beats them hands down!

---------------

Congrats. That was the stupidest post ever. Not only on HP but on any blog.

You do realize that BA, Lufthansa, Delta and AA all fly both Boeing and Airbus....right doofus?

Anonymous said...

Mammoth,

It is Ford workers as much as anyone else. And unionized workers in general. You know what UAW stands for right? U aint working.

I have a friend who spent summers working on an assembly plant in Michigan while in college. He told me that pretty much all the stereotypes are true. The workers know they can't get fired with the union protection. And they just don't give a shit if they do a good job or not. They show up drunk, hung over, high, you name it.

It's not American workers at fault. It's American UNIONIZED workers at fault. Kill the UAW and the American car industry will be just fine. All you have to do is look at non-UAW plants for proof. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan all make cars/trucks in the US. The quality is as good on those as anything made in Japan/Germany. Only difference is they are all non-union shops. And it shows.

Anonymous said...

Make sure you see the Secession artists work in the great museums. Unlike any other city -- kind of the echt coolness. Klimt and folks. Also, my wife tells me that the Sigmund Freud museum is quite a trip.

Anonymous said...

Musikverein is the prettiest concert hall in town, worth seeing the inside of no matter who plays. Opera House is a postwar restoration, less grand.

Anonymous said...

I second Bratislava, and the Hapsburg. If you can get into the Opera House go visit, it's unbelievable.

Also Boeing planes are designed from Military spinoffs, while the Airbus is a union of United Nations debates. Seriously I dealt with those euromorons and each countries' subcontractors fought tooth and nail for their share of the nationality delegated portion of the plane. Yes the plane design and production was broken down by nationality percentages! That's why there are always interface issues. (ie noises)

Retired and Dejected Baby Boomer

Anonymous said...

Hotel Sacher, grab a cafe and ask for Ms. Alexandra Gurtler... hottest babe in town, and owns the hotel...