Have a dinner getaway to Vienna and Salzberg tee’d up. Never been and we wanted to do something different. Will have plenty of time to take in the cities and venture off on day trips. I’m renting a car so we can flexible and audible any given day. Air BnBs in the heart of each city.
Would love to hear and rec’s for those that have been.
@MChang , think I saw in the State of the Industry thread that you lived there for a bit. Would love to hear your take if your wouldn’t mind.
For me, opera and horses are high on the list, so I would be prioritizing performances at the State Opera or in Salzburg (the Salzburg Festival offers plays, concerts, and opera; book early–events sell out quickly), the Spanish Riding School and a visit to the Piber stud.
In Vienna, I would recommend checking out the different museums which are phenomenal; the kunsthistorische is especially good. The Belvidere is amazing and you can walk freely through the grounds, as you can at Schonbrunn, which is definitely worth checking out. I would also try to check out the market at Karlsplatz, which is pretty great and excellent for buying produce and meat.
As far as food, I would check out the heurigen scene at Grinzing (my favorite is Zum Martin Sepp), it’s definitely worth visiting Demel’s and Cafe Central, and Stierereck is the destination restaurant. There are a lot of other cool things to do and the city is eminently walkable with excellent public transportation.
For shopping Stephensplatz is where most of the fancy stores are; Mariahilferstrasse is where most people from actual Vienna shop and there are interesting things there. I think just walking around the 1st district and checling out cafes is a pretty good time to spend your days.
I agree with Michael that the museums in Vienna are great - probably my favorite museum city in Europe. When in Salzburg, go to Augustiner Brau. In the afternoon, the older locals will stop by for a beer dressed in their Tyrolian finest, and the beer is terrific.
There are two different breweries. The one in Munich is much bigger and makes the best beer in Munich. The one in Salzburg is more local, but equally delicious. Both breweries were founded by Augustinian monks, hence the name similarities. If you haven’t been to Augustiner Brau in Salzburg, you need to go.
For the group, art and cultural things will be high on the list; photography as in viewing and taking; hiking and just being outdoors. Opera and classical music are on my list, lol, less so for others in our group. More current music on theirs. Food is another split one where I’m adventurous but others less so. There will be compromises though so this is all (from you and everyone below) helpful to craft an itinerary.
The Staatsoper and Theater an der Wien and probably other venues will be in summer recess, though there might be tours. Salzburg Festival is a big event, if you can get tickets.
I’d also recommend the National Library (Nationalbibliothek). It’s in the Hofburg and contains not just books but many fascinating collections (e.g., papyrus manuscripts, music; a wonderful collection of globes is in a separate building).
I enjoyed going through the catacombs at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Across the street from there is a good wine shop named Vinothek St. Stephan if you need a bottle or two.
Hope you have a great time! Here’s a couple of places we went in Salzburg in October last year, copied from a prior thread:
Glass Garden in Salzburg: Lovely setting, really enjoyed the six-course menu for lunch, which was not too stodgy or filling at all (my wife and 15-year old son are not massive eaters). The sweetbreads and chicken two ways were particularly good dishes. Wine list is ok, and pricey for the local “good stuff”. Frankly weak on Burgundy, but that’s not what we came for. I wanted to try the Pichler GV “M” but they were out (or being French ;)) so went with their suggested substitute of Hirtzberger 2022 Honivogl GV Smaragd. This was a great wine and worked very well with all dishes.
Das Koechelverzeichniss: a small wine bar on the Mirabelle side of the river. I think they try to run this as a nightly menu with matched wines of THEIR suggestion. It took a couple of goes to get them comfortable with providing different, more interesting glasses for me but I was very happy once they did :). It included a local 2011 Sekt that continues to rest on its lees, and they periodically get a fresh disgorgement. So a 14-years-on-lees Sekt, quite a revelation! Put me in mind of Egly Ouriet VP, though (of course?) not as complex or refined. By far the most impressive Sekt I had on the trip though (and that included J Aufricht). Edited to include comment on food: this was really the highlight, given a lot of gastronomy in the old town is really a rehash of 4-5 traditional dishes. So a “fresh” approach was very welcome. Very nice, simple but tasty antipasti and then quite sophisticated dishes for a tiny winebar, with modern / non-traditional tweaks.
Totally this, it’s a nice day trip. And I ordered up an automatic. Woke I can’t drive standard, my wife can’t drive and she’s not in to wine. I’m not going to flirt with DUIs.
The shedding work things is finally moving to getting excited and planning more options out.
