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For those of you who have been to Vienna...

For those of you who have been to Vienna...

Old Oct 27th, 2003, 06:55 AM
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For those of you who have been to Vienna...

We are taking a ladies' trip to Vienna in a few weeks and haven't gotten our travel books yet(amazon.com). Will you offer some suggestions for 40 year olds for the evening? Should we pack fancy evening wear? We will be there for 4 nights and want stuff to do! By the way, we picked Vienna from suggestions at this site, so thank you all of you!!
Also, have any of you been to the Christmas markets and are they worth a trip to?
And finally....
Is it appropriate for women our age to wear jeans(nice ones!)during the day?
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 07:41 AM
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Hi suse
You've wandered into dangerous territory here--asking whether jeans are "appropriate for your age" is likely to degenerate into a snobs vs slobs argument.

In European cities you will most often find the middle-class adults going about
their business days, and you won't see many jeans. Even on weekends, jeans are rare in the city centers for urban adults, not that you won't occasionally see them.
It's your vacation--if you are most comfortable in jeans for daytime, wear them. If you'd prefer something with a little more chic, invest in a couple of pairs of wool or curduroy slacks or a wool or courduroy skirt. You may find that those, with a little accessorizing and change of shoes, work well for all but the dressiest evenings.

I haven't been to Prague yet, am planning my trip for March, but I have been to other European cities.
I have a file on Prague; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

I can already tell that the
Streetwise Prague map appears to be an excellent choice--I've used Streetwise in other cities as well.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 07:57 AM
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My experience with Vienna is that it's a very elegant town. I was there just a few months ago on a business trip, and previously on vacation. You can wear jeans if you want, but you'd probably feel more comfortable in some of those Eileen Fisher type pants - stretchy wool, washable. You'll see a lot of women in long coats or cape-type coats draped around them. You'll need some warm clothes - I would recommend long, wool coats, a pretty scarf and whatever keeps your hands warm.

Be sure to have a drink at Do & Co and look out over the cathedral roof. You'll have a great time!

If you have the opportunity, go to the opera! I went to see Rigaleto (by myself on a business trip), and it was awesome! One of the best things I've ever done. VERY elegant, exciting experience.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 08:01 AM
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I was in Vienna during the summer a few years back and there were opportunities such as opera outdoors and many musical events. I believe there will be even more to do during the fall/winter in regard to this type of thing. I also am of the opinion that local people dress up more for opera, etc. in the winter. However, even in the summer most wore nice dresses with scarves, etc in the evening (depending of course on what you choose to do). As far as jeans go--I wear them at home but not on trips. Just do what you think is best. The best advise I have for most anyone is to take a nice pair of black slacks to be dressed up or down. One more think, you can search the web for things to do there during the specific time you will be there. Have a great trip!!
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 08:36 AM
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Thank you Elaine, FF and mimipam!! By the way, I love Elaine Fisher,can't get more comfortable than that. I had noticed on the Vienna website that everyone was dressed very nicely. I have plenty of gray and black pants that will do nicely!
I have never been to the opera and would love to do that. We won't need gowns, will we? A Mozart or Straus concert, do they have these?
Again, thanks to all. I am really looking forward to this trip. I have never been to a country where I didn't speak the language and am trying to learn German. I think it will be fun!
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 09:36 AM
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Hello,
I am planning a trip to Vienna with my elderly mother and yound-adult daughter in November. I have purchased tickets to the Vienna State Opera and Volkesopera via telephone (the web-site is very complicated to use and phone is better) . State Opera is VERY exensive, most likely 150-170 Euros per seat; tickets are sold online only 30 days before the performance (29 days via telephone)and they go in seconds!! The Volkesopera is much less pricey and more varied--opera, plays, musicals. We will see the opera Hansel and Gretle and also Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof sung in German); top tickets for these run around 50 Euros per seat. You can try the website: http://www.nethotels.com/events/engl...cketsjirsa.asp (which I found on fodors.com) for a booking agency with an English website, but you will pay a booking fee over the ticket price. This site will also give you an overview of what's available to see in Vienna when you will be there. Good luck and have fun! nk
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 09:56 AM
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Nk,
Thanks for the great info! Since the opera is 150-170 euros, do you think the dress is very formal, ie gowns? What are you going to wear?
Have a great trip!
Suse
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 10:09 AM
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We just returned from a trip to Austria and Hungary 2 weeks ago spending 6 days in Vienna. We do not care to wear blue jeans on a trip so we bring the black. We attended concerts 4 consecutive evenings and each was outstanding starting with the Musikverein, Volksopern, Teutonic order church and last the Kursalon. You must start planning now to acquire tickets so you don't get screwed by your hotel at the last minute. Tickets to the Statopern are tricky to buy. 600 SRO tickets are sold on the same day prior to the performance but are quite cheap. They make you jump through hoops to get them. Seats have a translator bar on the back of the seat to understand in english. The Volksopern does a variety of performances not just opera. We noticed virtually no one wore jeans to any of the concerts. Ticket cost ran from 32 to 55 euro. Our favorite was the sala terrena room in the teutonic order church. It was a Mozart quartet in a magnificent painted room that held only about 35 people. I could have turned the pages for the lead violinist. Just seeing the interior of the Musikverein was worth the admission too. Stuff to do in Vienna, no problem but you better start doing some research soon.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 11:33 AM
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This website for Vienna is fabulous. Everything you need to know about anything is here. There are many links for concerts, the opera, etc., as well as sightseeing, weather, transportation. You name it!

http://city-apartment.com/links/

ENJOY!
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 11:43 AM
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Hi Suse,
I travel to Vienna a few times a year. Unlike Paris or Italian cities, the Viennese ladies do not wear a lot of black. They do wear a lot of color, usually rich colors (burgundy, dark green, dark blue, deep brown) and jewel tones with pastel accents or with charcoal grey (we just got back from Baden Baden and it was the same thing there). I hope you are planning to do some shopping in Vienna--they have beautiful, well made clothes for women.
One other thing--while no city is pickpocket proof, I feel more comfortable and safer in central Vienna than in many other cities and have had no problems walking around the central area alone at night.
As many other Fodorites besides myself have noted, the White Chimney Sweep (Restaurant zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer) is a delightful restaurant with very good cuisine and service--Austria at its best, IMHO (I like it more than the famous Steiereck).
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 06:01 PM
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The Christmas markets are nice, especially the one at the Rathaus (city hall), the roasted chestnuts and the gluewein delicious. You can buy it and the mug (for souvenier) or pay less and return the mug after drinking. Some of the items for purchase are very nice and some are shipped from other countries and rather cheap. But, yes, they are worth the trip. One evening can be spent just walking from Stephensplatz to the Rathaus and seeing the markets as you go.
The Opera, of course, is great and you may want to check if Andre Rieu and his orchestra are playing.
You might add a country by taking a half-day trip (1-hour train ride) to Bratislava, Slovakia (crystal & dolls much cheaper) and they have a small Christmas market in town center.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 06:32 PM
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Suse,
We were in Vienna for a couple of days this summer and I posted a short trip report on this site which you should be able to find. The report mentions a small winebar where we enjoyed an introduction to Austrian wines which I would highly recommend.
Hope you enjoy Vienna.
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 03:45 PM
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Thanks to all for such great suggestions.
Linda,
I have a friend who lives in Bratislava and was going to ask him to visit us in Vienna, but your idea of going to the Christmas market there sounds fun and would please the friend so to go to his country! Thanks for the great idea!
Well traveled, I will check your post also. I am also taking the advice from all for the opera tickets. You have all been a great help.
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 04:54 PM
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re:jeans i am 50ish and would not wear jeans in Vienna. it is a pretty stylish city. dress up at night, but also in the day. we were there in may 2002...i loved it --definitely a mini-Paris
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Old Nov 7th, 2003, 10:31 PM
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Message to suse: Despite the price of opera tickets, I plan to wear essentially plain clothes. I am taking primarily black--pants, nice sweaters. We leave on Tuesday, and I may decide to take a long black skirt--although I really don't want to be burdened with evening clothes. I'll look ok, but not real dressy. I'll let you know after Nov. 20 if I chose correctly! nk
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