pipsil

I thought I was the only one bringing back Tschibo coffee from Vienna! I also found one of their outlets in London. Somehow it didn't look as inviting. Must be the atmosphere on the Graben.

pipsil

Another question: You mentioned that there were things you still had not done even though you were there for ten days. Could you elaborate?

BTilke

Although I was there for 10 days, I was working for 4 days (at the conference). Still got to do some fun things while I was working, like dinner at Palmenhaus, see Elisabeth, drinks at Sky Bar, etc.
What didn't I get to do? I had planned to go to Karlskirche, to walk around Schonbrunn in the snow (perhaps do the zoo), visit the folklore museum, try a few more restaurants and cafes, go ice skating by the Rathaus. I could spend a month in Vienna and still have things left on my to-do list. Oh well, not fitting everything in just gives me another reason to go back again!

blondgeek

<b>Regarding Starbucks in Vienna</b>. Why? The only reason I ever went to Starbucks was to escape the smoke. You can go to Tschibo and have a huge melange with lots of whipped cream &amp; a pastry for 2,50 euros. There are so many thousands of wonderful cafes in Vienna that I can't see why anyone would bother with the overpriced, burnt-tasting coffee of Starbucks. When I'm not in Vienna, Peets is the only one for me!

blondgeek

I'm back to Vienna in 10 days and looking forward to some great spring weather. I spent most of the winter there and it's true, the gray can get to you after a while!! The trip report was great - I look forward to trying some of the restaurants on this trip!

richardab

Why Starbucks? Because sometime you want a good cup of coffee!

BTilke

The mention of Starbucks always touches a nerve! Especially if you didn't buy stock in the company ;-)
Why I went...because I like their lattes and we don't have a Starbucks in Brussels, so it's a change for me. I went into the one on Mariahilferstrasse because I was too tired to walk another step and I wanted to sink into the large chair by the window and watch the world go by.
I went into the one by the Opera because I was cold and wanted a warm takeaway latte to drink on my snowy walk back to the hotel.
Vienna coffee can be burnt, too. The Cafe Sperl, for example, is full of terrific atmosphere, but really, their cappuccino is bitter and overdone.
Starbucks is as popular with Austrians as it is with tourists, maybe even more so!
Tchibo (not Tschibo, at least my bag of Elegant Blend says Tchibo) is what we drink at home. When we go out, it's usually Illy. Sometimes Lavazza.

blondgeek

Yes, you're right - I checked my Tchibo bag and realized I goofed on the spelling! My point was that putting a Starbucks in Vienna is like bringing coal to Newcastle. Vienna has excelled in fine coffees, elegant cafes, and sinfully delicious pastries. Starbucks is but a pale imitation. Yes, when I'm out of town, I head to Starbucks rather than drink the brown dishwater many call coffee in the U.S. But in Vienna, there are so many opportunities to try something different and experience the ambience of the city, the good &amp; the bad!

elaine

Hi
I'm belatedly reading your excellent report. As you know, I was there for part of the same time that you were, but only for 4.5 days. Your report makes me think that we missed something in the Vienna experience. We did several of the same things, yet Vienna left us cold overall, and I don't just mean the temps and the snow (which didn't help). I left feeling that I didn't need to go back anytime soon, but now I wonder....

BTilke

Who knows? It helps that I LOVE the cold and snow, the more snow the better! Maybe Vienna just isn't your thing--I feel about London the same way you do about Vienna.

JonJon

Interesting report which says volumes about the writer's outlook and sensibility...Elaine, take note: you are NOT BTilke and vice versa...I'm suprised that someone who has traveled as much as you have would feel you had missed something in Vienna...I suggest you carefully re-read the report.

elaine

thank you for the suggestion but I did read it carefully.

If someone asked my WHY I wasn't thrilled with Vienna, I'd be hard put to answer, I was just wondering out loud about what the reasons might be. It wasn't just the cold and snow, because I went on to Prague where it was almost equally cold, and I can't wait to get back there.

My sister and brother-in-law (who happened to have had the same responses to both places, and we are very different people) suggested that perhaps we are not as responsive to Germanic culture. I'm not sure.

Regarding the outdoor temperatures, while we (and BTike) were in Vienna, we were checking world temperatures.
It was discouraging to read that warmer temperatures at that time were to be found in Oslo and Reykjavic!

viennese

Elaine,
what is Germanic culture? Please don't mistake my question, I'm just curious. What is the difference between German and Germanic? As English is not first language, I am not sure about that.

elaine

I am not a art historian nor a linguist nor an anthropologist, and I also don't want to start a war here. I used &quot;Germanic&quot; so that it might be applied, at least partly linguistically, and historically, and culinarily, to name three ways, to Austria as well, as opposed to Germany only. I may have used an incorrect term.

I stated my personal preference, this is not to imply that my preference mean that one culture is better than another.
And I'm also freely admitting that I know much more about some cultures than I do about others, which makes it more likely to continue to appreciate some more than others.

BTilke

topping for Riley (planning his/her first trip to Austria)