Please help! Questions on Vienna State Opera Standing Room Tickets
 

Having searched in vain on the internet, I'm hoping that Fodorites may have the right information on standing room tickets at the Vienna State Opera.

On the Staatsoper website, there seems to be three kinds of standing room tickets: the single day purchase which involves standing in line before the performance when the tickets go on sale 80 minutes prior to performance.

Then there's another category called <i>"standing room season passes"</i> which is described as "a pass [which] enables the holder to purchase one standing room ticket performance (including advance ticket sales) up until 12 noon on the day of the desired performance".

Question: does this pass mean that I can prepurchase the ticket and don't have to stand in line just prior to the time of performance? If so, how far in advance can the standing room ticket be purchased - a week ahead of time? a month? a year?

The third category is for <i>"Standing Room Vouchers for Balcony and Gallery"</i> and it's a booklet of vouchers. "The vouchers can be use for standing room in the balcony and gallery [not the parterre]."

Question: Can I just go into a performance with a voucher and not have to purchase a ticket?


You see the presumed advantage of the vouchers and the passes - one doesn't have to stand in line just prior to the performance to purchase a standing room ticket. If you count the time spent queuing for the ticket and then the performance itself, this could easily add up to six hours of standing! I'm just afraid that there will be a sold-out performance and having either a pass or a booklet of vouchers will, at least, allow me into the standing room areas without the additional two hours of standing in line for a ticket.


One final question: do people bring stools and chairs to the standing areas? There was one internet source that mentioned a camping stool, but it wasn't clear whether the stool was used for queuing and waiting to purchase a ticket or whether the stool was used in the standing room area.

I've searched for hours on the internet and can't seem to find any answers to these queestions, therefore, your help will be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

When we were there in September, we were told that the standing room only tickets went on sale at 4pm. We were there right at 4 and purchased our tickets. Can't remember if they were 3 or 4 Euro. The standing room area was crowded. There are bars about counter height which is marked off in sections so you have your small space to stand. We left at intermission. Tired of standing and the program on that night was not so great.

If you brought stool to sit on you will not see anything as people will be standing in front of you. Here is a picture of the standing room only area.
http://mostlyopera.blogspot.com/2008...nna-state.html

bratsandbeer: thanks for your response and link.

Looks like your tickets were the same-day, single purchase.

The Staatsoper site also mentions the other two kinds of multiple ticket categories. I just don't know how they work.

At 60-100 euros, they are the equivalent of a single less expensive ticket, so may be worthwhile buying, especially for popular operas which may be sold out.

Thanks for the input on the stool. Seems like that's possible. If the music is good, it might be worthwhile not having visual.

Which opera did you see?

I think the stool is for waiting in line.

Standing room tickets go on sale 80 minutes before the performance time which is usually 7 PM ( 19:00 ) Stools in the standing room area are not permitted.
Bring a scarf with you to mark your " spot " this is commom practice and by those of Vienna much observed.

For populr performances , the line begins quite early in the afternoon.

Please note thjat just one ticket can be purchased by each person. A friens for example casn not stand in line and purchase multiple standing room tickets.
The line most normally self policing and very effective in stiopping those trying to beat the rules.

The other tickets mentioned are season type The season pass for 60 euro - not effective for the visitor- allows a single standing room ticket purchase per performance - still waiting in the line.
These are aimed to the local market - often music lovers and students
as frequent visits make these effective but not for a single performance.
For 60 euro you can buy a ticket for a seat.

The 100 euro provides vouchers for advance standing room purchase - again for the visitor not a good thing unless you plan a huge number of visits to the opera.

Again for 100 euro you can buy a fairly good ticket with a seat.

Standing room areas can get very warm too.

molker: thanks ever so much!

You've answered most of my questions! How wonderful!

Just one more: you said that for the passes one still has to stand in line, how about the vouchers? Does one still have to stand in line to get a ticket even with a voucher?

I plan on attending several operas, so it will be worth it not to have to stand in line for the price of one regular ticket. It's even worth it as backup, just in case one can't even get a returned ticket for a popular opera.

Thanks again! You've been very, very helpful!

I think with these passes/vouchers you can pick up your standing room a lot earlier when there are no lines..

lincasanova: thanks for your responses! Sorry, I missed your first one!

That would be great if one could just go and pick up a standing room ticket beforehand without having to wait in line to purchase a ticket prior to performance.

The Staatsoper website gives few details; guess most people aren't interested in these passes or vouchers.

PS I already have my scarf picked out! :)

hi easy,

rather than stand at the staatsoper, have you thought abou going to a performance at the volksoper - cheaper and easier to get tickets, I believe.

Hi, Ann!

Thanks for the suggestion!

Yes, I've mapped out several months and what is playing at which opera house in Vienna and the Volksoper is definitely penciled in!

The problem with the Staatsoper is that their tickets go on sale 30 days ahead of time, which means sleepless nights for me in California in order to get tickets for the most popular operas. I was just trying to work out some options to having to be up all night.

easytraveler - It wasn't any opera I was familiar with and I forgot the name now. Think it was more of a local "show" and not too interesting to us. Probably why we left at half time.

easytraveler - might mention we stayed at Pension Suzanne in Vienna which is just across the street and down 1/2 block from the opera house. It was very convenient.

ps.. i see the vouchers are not for standing room at Parterre.. ( my favorite place) definitely worth standing inline for that standing room and paying the extra 1.5E

The PASS OTOH seems it allows you to buy that standing room ticket at any time up until NOON the day of the performance which will help you avoid all crowds.

I have never used this system but I would think even with vouchers you still must go past ticket office at some point as this seating is limited and counted.. so they would not know how many people were showing up with vouchers unless they passed through a ticket window and you were given one of the spaces.

I go to the Vienna Opera every night I am in Vienna .. standing room, parterre, even just to see the stage sets. If I am tired after the first/second act, I leave. Otherwise, I am so enthralled that even standing I can deal with it.

Enjoy!

bratsandbeer: thanks so much for that hotel recommendation! Sounds like the perfect place to stay, as it's just "around the corner" from the opera house!

lincasanova: I'm green with envy! "every night" - what a treat!

Yes, you're correct, the parterre is the best standing room area (which is why its tickets cost more!). I also read somewhere that the Galerie area, although the highest, also has the best acoustics, whereas the standing room for the Balcony are off to the sides and therefore wil have some obstructed view. Does this accord with your experience?

May I ask how much time you spend in line waiting for the ticket office to open? And do you always manage to get a parterre ticket?

And then what happens once you get your ticket? Do you go and stand in another line? How do you know which of the three standing room lines to be in? Or do you enter with everyone else through the front of the opera house?

Is there a "stampede" to get the best "seats" in the standing room areas?

Do you get an individual screen in the parterre area to get English translations?

I apologize for the numerous questions, but I thought to take advantage of your experience. Otherwise, it looks like a solid week or two of opera attendance to master this system!

Regarding buying tickets online 30 days prior to performance, it's not too bad since you're on the Left Coast. I believe MFifi had recently reported that the online sale starts at 8am central european time, which means 11pm pacific time.

We stayed at Pension Suzanne on our first trip to Vienna. Its location cannot be beat.

Every night.. no kidding. I have been lucky and had a variety of things to see over a weekend or two -three day period.( I do not go to see the same production twice unless it is ballet).

I usually go half an hour before they start selling tickets, for an event I am mildly interested in. I go at least an hour beforehand for a special ballet.

Once you have your ticket then you do proceed to the stairwell to gather to be let in to secure your "space". ( just ask around you. I think it must have been well marked as I had no problem, or someones told me exactly where to go)

This is where your scarf comes in handy and is completely necessary.

Once you place your scarf, you are free to go off to enjoy the ceilings and chandeliers of the opera house.

Do not be surprised if when you come back there is an unsuspecting foreigner with his friends in all the scarfed spaces.

They usually keep their stance( not believing the scarf system as anything they need to respect) until they physically get MOVED by everyone when the entire group comes back.

Needless to say, these tourists do not like the system, but I find it so logical. Why should you have to keep standing there for 30 minutes or more when you already did all the standing previously? It is very civilized and does not make you waste any time at all.

I have always been able to get parterre.. mostly because I think most students will save a euro no matter what. However, I was unaware that the acoustics are much better above. So maybe that is why Parterre is not hard not get for Opera? However, I found the upstairs too cramped.

There are individual screens in several languages along the large railing in front of you i parterre. If you get tired or knees hurt, you can slip out and sit on the few upholstered benches nearby outside in the hallways. I have done that once or twice during a heavy opera scene.

If you are claustrophobic, put your scarf on the aisle..

Vienna is just so full of wonderful cultural events. Budapest is a huge rival though.

I reviewed my own notes on the Staatsoper.

The box office during the day is on Operngasse (not at the opera house).

And in case anyone is interested in the Vienna Philharmonic, standing room tickets are available by phone -- at least in 2006.

From October 2006:

But I did find out that there are supposedly 500+ standing room tickets (3.50 euros for orchestra, 2 euros nosebleed). They do indeed go on sale 80 minutes before. I was told that the standing room tickets for a "Magic Flute" performance the previous night sold out completely. People started lining up about 3 hours before for that performance.

Obviously "Peter Grimes" tonight didn't sell out. I bought a 9 euro box seat (it's interesting how the box seats are frequently the least attractive seats in Europe). I went to one act of the opera. In the evening, the box office at the opera house does open. I noticed that there were still 9 euro seats available when I got there.

yk: thanks so much for the reaffirmation of the Pension Suzanne. This certainly saves me hours more of hunting for a convenient place to stay. Thanks to you and bratsandbeer!

I am planning to stay up at least one night to try and buy tickets online when they come on sale. However, staying up several nights just to get tickets - well, still mulling over whether getting a pass or a voucher as backup would be a viable choice. For one thing, a last minute choie would still work out.

lincasanova: a million thanks for taking the time to answer my questions in detail!

The process doesn't sound too complex. Thanks for the warning about the foreigners taking over others' scarfed sections!

Somewhere there was a picture of the scarves and it showed how people would tie one end down and then loop it over and tie down the other end in order to reserve a fairly long section of the rail.

When you slip out, can you slip back in or do you have to wait until intermission?

I plan on attending a number of operas, so will let you know how the acoustics are for each area: parterre, balcony or galerie. However, I tend to let the beauty or the emotion of the voice move me rather than how mathematically precise a singer has come to a particular note. My tin ear isn't that well-trained!

<i>"If you are claustrophobic, put your scarf on the aisle.."</i>

Do you mean to the side so that there is a wall on one side? Or is there a center aisle?

On Budapest, have you attended anything there? Is it worthwhile making a detour? I've only attended events in Prague and am trying to schedule in some time there. We attended a wonderful Haydn piece (forgot what it was) in the gorgeous Spanish Room at the Hrad and I'd love to find something there again this trip.

111op: that's really valuable information on where to pick up the tickets! Thanks so much!

For the period that I've initially selected (plans could change!), the Vienna Philharmonic is playing mostly more modern music (atonal, etc.) but I'll try for at least one performance.

Right now my crib sheets are a crazy patchwork. One day there looks to be a must-attend opera in Lyon followed the very next day by a must-attend opera in London. Obviously some things will have to give. However, Vienna comes first and foremost and will be my base.

Thanks again, everyone, for your invaluable help!

The aisle would be the center aisle as the end is against a wall and people do cram in, so those towards the walls have less space IMO.

I did not have to wait to come in at intermission as I was on an aisle, was allowed to slip back in. It is very intimate.. not sure if I could have been stopped. It is all very civilized and you can probably still stand at the back if you are not allowed down the very short aisle.

Budapest is amazing for music and dance. Not sure less than http://www.travelzoo.com/es/828425/?...=email_top203- 4 days would do it justice.

one report on budapest

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...budapest-1.cfm

my second longer report

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-revisited.cfm

hope you can use some of the info.

Just for some added info.


One should not judge tickets for the Ballet whether standing room or others as the Ballet is usually the least popüla of the State Opera offerings.

The pass requires waitning in the normal line for standing room tickets , the voucher allows earlier purchase but considering the price is a poor bargain.
These marketed to local popülace.

Numerous cheap tickets are often available in advance .
Poster does not mention when they attend or at least I did not see it.
One should note that advance tickets for September 2010 offerings are now available for sale.

While some very cheap seats may have some sight limitations of the entire stage- the acoustics everywhere in this hall are excelent . The same applies to the Musikverein.
The Opera closes for vacation in July and August.

No one mentions the free outdoor area next to the State Opera ( side toward the Bristol Hotel that offers the particular nights presentation for free on a very large outddor screen live.
Seats available.
Many offerings during May, June, September and October.
perfect sound and fine definition on the screen.
festive surroundings.

Also if visiting in summer until early September is the open air offerings on the massive screen at the Rathaus ( City Hall ) - opera , operetta, concerts

this is also free - large amonut of seating available and a nice food court to allow fun dining .

Offerings begin about dusk and with the nearby buildings along the Ringstrasse lighted make a superb surrounding.

The Vienna Philharmonic every year has an open air free concert in the Garden at Schonbrunn Palace.

This held in June.
In fact last night was the Gala evening with 100000 plus attending.

Fine offerings from Strauss to Star Wars.

Some additions to the excellent advice you've already received by lincasanova and molker... true standing room buffs at the Staatsoper (the "inhabitants") would never go anyplace but the gallery because the acoustics are THAT superior, except for the lateral parts (the standing room at the gallery is all around the U-shaped house). Which means that you should go to the gallery if you are interested in music, and to the parterre if you are just interested in the theatrical part of the performance (stage sets, costumes, acting...) - sight is much better downstairs, but the acoustics are, ummmm... unless you come early enough to secure a place in one of the first two rows of the parterre standing room, these are actually the best places all over the theater. The ones who aim at those few tickets are the ones sitting on those camping stools while lining up - they arrive around noon, or sometimes earlier.
In any case, don't go to the balcony, which is (also the seats, but the standing room in particular) for the blind AND deaf. Each ticket for each of the three standing room areas has a number printed on it - just to count how many tickets have already been sold. Check before you buy: if the gallery tickets are at no. 160 or more, walk away and find a nicer way to spend the evening. You'd have to stand in the wings of the gallery standing room (the lateral parts), and the acoustics there are even worse than downstairs.

As I said, the gallery standing room is where the "inhabitants" are, so beware that violations of the rules will be answered in the extremely rude, impolite way that's so typical of Vienna. But with lincasanova's excellent explanation of the "rules", you won't have any problems - just memorize them well! And one more rule is important: most of those rails have two bars - tie your scarf to the LOWER one! Just the scarfs on the lower bar will be respected, any scarfs on the upper bar will be removed by the ushers.
The question of leaving during the intermission is a two-edged one... the regulars are happy, on the one hand, that so many tourists walk away during intermissions, so it's getting less crowded and less stifling. OTOH, they're going to shake their heads and find confirmed what they always knew: that there aren't any cultured people outside Vienna.

As molker said, stools of whichever kind are of course forbidden in the standing room, but it's also frowned upon if you sit down on the steps, and justly so (it's too uncomfortable for the people standing behind you - you actually sit on their feet, and even before the performance starts, it's bad manners to sit down since you severely impede others who want to pass to get to their scarfed places). It's really a STANDING room, and you should be able to STAND for about five hours, the line for the tickets and the performance summed up.

Take those five hours seriously; many operas last about three or three and a half hours, and on most evenings, arriving one and a half or two hours before the curtain rises is early enough, so the standing in line for the tickets is not much to write home about. If you post here which performances you want to attend, I (or others) can tell you at which hour to arrive; it depends on the opera, but above all on the cast.

Finally, the Volksoper. They are selling tickets 30 days in advance, as you said, but there's hardly any need to actually buy them in advance - perhaps on three or four special evenings throughout the whole season. Usually, arriving 45 minutes before the curtain rises is plenty of time for the Volksoper. Here, only the gallery standing room is worth considering (the one in the parterre is tiny and awful). BUT you should only go to the Volksoper if you are very informed and know every singer on this planet and know what to expect from whom; or if you are very uninformed and enjoy any performance of any quality. What I'm trying to say politely is that good performances at the Volksoper are possible, but the probability of seeing a bad one is still higher.

Re: Budapest - the cast @ the Hungarian State Opera is usually not that great, so I wouldn't make a special trip there unless it has a special cast. The house is much smaller so you can hear much better even from the very top, and prices are a lot cheaper too. There is projected surtitles on the top of the stage, in Hungarian; no individual titles screens. You didn't say when you're going, but I believe Juan Diego Florez is having a recital (not opera) in Budapest in December, just so you know.

The Franz Liszt Academy is a beautiful hall for orchestral & chamber music; but I believe it's under renovation right now. Not sure when it will reopen.

One more thing about sitting on the steps in the Staatsoper standing room - you will first be warned by the usher; and if you try again, you will get kicked out of the auditorium. We witnessed this ourselves (we were sitting in the last row of the gallery).

I read that Staatsoper is changing the way they sell tickets this year? It appears that one can already buy tickets NOW for OCTOBER! (The tickets for Sept & October now go on sale <b>4 months</b> in advance, instead of 1 month).

Where did you get that information? Their website doesn't say anything like that so far. Perhaps a project announced by the new manager (who is going to take over on July 1st)? Anyway, that's certainly not true for the standing room - also the 1-month-in-advance system is only for the seats.

franco - I was referring to regular seats for the Setp & Oct 2010 performances, which is now available for sale (4 months to the day in advance).

For example, the October 23rd performance of Cardillac
http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Cont...ventid=1015535

When I click on "Karten online kaufen", I get a new window open (culturall.com) and I can buy tickets for that performance.

Someone I know had successfully purchased his ticket for Oct 22nd's L'elisir d'amore via Staatsoper/Culturall website (the performance was sold out minutes after online ticketing opened yesterday).

yk: thanks for bringing up this thread again.

First off, thanks to all for the excellent information you have provided.

I didn't come back to this thread because of some rather slow, ongoing email back-and-forth with the Vienna Staatsoper and then with a ticket agent.

The gist of all this "correspondence" is that the passes are sold out for next season and the vouchers have to purchased IN PERSON at the Operngasse 2 location (as the passes also have to be purchased there in person). Thus, at this stage of the planning, the in person requirement pretty much leaves that avenue out of consideration, unless I can find a friend or family member that's going to be in Vienna some time soon. Pity this information came now, as one of my family members was in Vienna in April - oh well.

Back to the drawing board.

lincasanova: thanks so much for sharing your wonderful TRs. We did try once to get tickets to something, but that's so long ago - can't remember even if it was Budapest! It's such a wonderful city that I won't mind going back again - time allowing. the countryside of Middle Europe is especially appealing. Thanks again!

Molker: you are tempting me, aren't you? :) Summer sounds so wonderful musically in Vienna.

You were wondering when - at first I thought it would be October and November (Edita Gruberova, Juan Diego Florez and both Dimitri Hvorostovsky and Ramon Vargas in Rigoletto), but some family affairs have come up for October, so I'm mapping out further months on the calendar of events.

The holiday season is out of the question, so it will have to be spring or summer of 2011.

This is where a standing room season pass or voucher would have taken out a lot of the anxiety of getting tickets. yk's story of tickets selling out minutes after they come online gives me the shivers.

Maybe I'll just come in the summer and sit all summerlong outside the Rathaus - sigh! Such a tempting thought!

franco: thanks for the acoustical information.

yk: you always have such up-to-date information! There was something about September tickets going on sale in May/June because the ticket offices close during the months of July and August. However, when I click on the culturall.com link you provided, the entire 2010-2011 season comes up. Does this mean one can purcahse tickets through culturall.com way in advance?

Didn't you try online 30 days before performance to get some tickets? How did you do it? Did you use the Wien Staatsoper website or some other website? What kind of credit card did you use?

Being the nervous nelly that I am, I might just try to purchase online one of the cheaper tickets for September/October just as a trial purchase but not use it.

Thanks again, everyone! You don't know how helpful you've been!

Googling culturall.com, this newsletter came up and provides valuable information:

https://www.culturall.com/docs/272?catid=232


111op: sorry, I missed your post somehow. Glad you were having a good time in Vienna!

Culturall is the OFFICIAL website to buy tickets from Staatsoper (and from a few other places, I believe).

The Staatsoper used to release unsold tickets 1 month in advance of the performance (which is what I did in the past). However, they changed their policy this year; and I just found out yesterday that one can now buy them 4 months in advance (but I think it's only for Sept/Oct performances).

If the performance is 4 months PLUS 1 DAY from now - say for the Oct 25th peformance, you CANNOT purchase the tickets from Culturall. There is NO OPTION to purchase. You can only do a "reserve request". However, if you click on any performances that are less than 4 months in advance, the culturall page will show how many seats are left for each price category, and you can directly purchase them online on its website.

The reason L'elisir d'amore sold out within minutes is because Juan Deigo Florez is singing in it. I'm pretty sure other performances with lesser cast still have plenty of seats (eg, the Hindesmith's Cardillac I mentioned yesterday still have about 200 seats available as of NOW).

hi again, easy,

I'm not sure how I did it, but I definitely got my tickets for Aida last June more than a month is advance, via the official website.

it appeared to me that I "bid" for them, [by which I mean I said that I would accept tickets up to a certain price] and then when I was offered some, i had a few hours to confirm or reject.

What would have happened if I'd rejected them I've no idea!

good luck with your attempts to penetrate the system.

ann, what you did was you put your name on the waiting list (before the tickets are opened for sale to the public via their online website). When subscribers turned in their tickets, those seats are offered to people in the waiting list.

thanks yk.

i could manage to order the tickets in German, but not fully to understand the process.

Hi, ann!

thanks for the added information! Every little bit helps!

And thanks for the good wishes, yes, it is a "system" and it takes quite a bit to learn this system.

Apparently there have been a few changes for the 2010-2011 season, but the email correspondence was incredibly slow and not very informative, so i bit the bullet and randomly ordered a ticket in 2011.

The following is for those who might wish to order advance tickets online for the Vienna Staatsoper.

I hope my experience might be helpful for someone.

Yes, you can preorder tickets ahead of their sale date, however, it is not a guarantee that you will get a ticket.

If you go into the English version of the Vienna Staatsoper website, first download the seating chart from the "Seating Plan" link (you don't need to download the pricing structure chart) and get a magnifying glass.

Then click on "Monthly Programe" to select the month and date of the performance.

Then just follow the instructtons. They are pretty easy to follow.

You'll have to select your top price and then you'll have to select your "preferred seating" (this is where the seating chart comes in handy).

You'll also have to give a credit card and then you'll be placed on a waiting list.

(to be continued)

I then got an email confirmation with a confirmation number.

You can read the following explanatory notes and draw your own conclusions.

<i>"Your above standby booking has been waitlisted. When tickets become availiable they will be allocated in order of the waitlist. We will try as early as possible to assign you the requested tickets - as a rule on the first day of advanced purchase - until your 'latest date of allocation' has expired. A successful allocation is going to be communicated via mail. You are also going to be informed should your standby ticket expire without allocation.

Please note that by booking a standby ticket, you have an obligation to take those tickets if and as soon as they have been allotted. A failure in receiving the allocation mail is irrelevant. Standby bookings can be cancelled free of charge only via mail and only as long as no tickets were allocated. For cancellations at short notice please send an email and try to reach us by phone. Cancellations are valid only after confirmation. Bookings can also be prolonged and shortened free of charge.

Please inform yourself if tickets were allocated after you latest date of assignment has run out via www.culturall.com / Standbyticket Zuteilung. A failure to receive our allocation mail does not entitle you to a refund.

Please note: This confirmation is only a proof of your successful entry into our waitlist but no invoice for a ticket purchase.

Allocated tickets can be picked up with the transaction code which then becomes the pick up code."</i>

My conclusions would be: let's say you've ordered tickets for March 15, 2011. You'll be notified around January 15, 2011, whether you have been successful or not.

Maybe.

<i>"A failure in receiving the allocation mail is irrelevant."</i>

So, even if you don't get a notification, you're still considered as having bought the ticket, so the burden is on YOU to check and see if a ticket has been allocated or not. In any event, your credit card will have been charged.

(Do they really mean "mail" and not "email"?)

Please correct me if my interpretation is wrong.

This is so much fun! I love learning new systems! Now on to the Munich Opera House and it's "system".

This is what comes of experimenting.

My request for a ticket came through! Now I've got a seat for an opera in Vienna in April, 2011.

Now what to do with this ticket?

LOL!

Anyhow, this proves one can get tickets at the Vienna Staatsoper months ahead of time. The ticket has already been charged to my credit card six months ahead of performance time.

you mean that you don't want it?

ann: I'm not certain at this point.

The amount isn't all that much.

OTOH, this may be the impetus to go to Vienna in April! :)

The success of getting a ticket way ahead of time, however, is an encouraging sign, wouldn't you say? It'll make planning a great deal easier, especially for those of us not living in Europe and needing to know if we'll be able to get into an opera or not (apart from the standing room option).

kind of you to volunteer to be our ticket guiniea-pig, easy. and at the expense of having to force yourself to go to Vienna in April - you poor thing!

let us know whether you decide to go !

Sigh! someone has to make the great sacrifices!

Or are you volunteering, ann?

Maybe we could meet in Vienna. (More incentive to go!)

I had some friends from Europe over the summer and we were talking about wine in Europe. They go every year back to the Alsace (where he's from) and stock up on wine. I was talking about visiting the heurigers around Vienna and hiking (combining two of my favorite activities) and pretty soon we were planning a trip drinking our way from Vienna to Alsace!

do you drink? :)

Maybe we could meet in Vienna.>>

but you've only got one ticket - half of the opera each?

do I drink? well, if you read my trip report from our austrian holiday last year, one highlight was our day touring the Heuriger [plural?], so much so that DH and I are still unable to agree on how many we actually went to!