Vienna Apt - Washers but no Dryers
 

I'm looking into booking an apartment for my husband and myself for a week in Vienna. I'm noticing a lot of them have a clothes washer but not a clothes dryer.

Just wondering how the clothes would usually get dried? Do you just hang them around the apartment?

Hello;
The two apts. we have stayed at had collapsible dryer racks. One apt did have an all in one washer dryer, however it did very small loads and boy did everything come out wrinkled! The dryer racks worked out very well, we just laid everything out before we went out for the day and all was dry when we returned in the evening.
This service is wonderful to work with:
http://www.apartment.at/index_eng.php3
We have stayed at the Kaminek's in two of their apts. Ilona, the landlady, will pick you up at the airport for around 20 euro if you wish. My mother in-law just returned from Vienna and had a wonderful stay at Family Walkner's Apartments Augarten. And another couple I have been helping just returned from a great stay at family Duschel's apartment Wien Mitte. Have you been to Wien before?

Operaman has a point. I'd double check to make sure that the washer is in fact not also a dryer. Two-in-one machines are very common in Europe. My sister-in-law lives in London and most flats seem to just have the single machine with dual washer/dryer functions, although as mentioned the loads are small (but better than having to hang things up to dry).

&quot;<i>better than having to hang things up to dry</i>&quot;

I usually hang things or use the heated towel rails before I'd dry my clothes in a combo machine. They take forever and most everything comes out a shriveled mess.

No I haven't been to Wien before. I've been mainly looking for apartments on www.apartment.at and http://www.netland.at/wien. Even though we're not going to October the apartments I have contacted that I wanted to stay in are already booked. There are a few I'm still waiting to here back from tho. I'll look into the ones you recommended Operaman.

Also, how important is it to be close to the city center. Some of the ones further out are cheaper and very nice looking. Is 20-30min of subway travel much of an inconvienence when staying there?

pliant;
No, it is not that important to be near city center. The Kaminek's apts are in Floridsdorf, which is in the 22nd district. Both are within a 5 or 10 min walk to the s-bahn station, which will have you at Wien Mitte station within 10-15 min. We did this every day and found it no inconvienience at all. In fact we found it a very good experience; shopping at the local Billa or Spar markets for things to eat and drink while at the apt made you really get a feel for the place. While Floridsdorf is not as pretty as the old city, I feel like it was a good base to work from. After all, you just use the apt. to come home to after a whole day of exploring. Apartments Augarten are much closer in, and you can catch a tram near the front of them and be in city center probably within 10 min. You can also easily walk from Augarten to city center. Wien Mitte apartments are closer yet and you can either walk to city center down Landstrasse to the Ring or continue up Wolzeille right to the heart of old Vienna. For us the apts of the Kaminek's were just wonderful, very modern, absolutely safe, and very quiet. Ilona is absolutely the best landlady and is very helpful in all things, plus her prices are very reasonable. I feel that the lower price was a good thing, it enabled us to stay longer and definitely left more cash to enjoy the food and drink of the city.

pliant,
All the apts I have mentioned are listed on one of your links:
www.apartment.at
If you have further questions, you can e-mail me, as many have, through my site which also has some great links for eating in Wien:
http://austria.starkeconcepts.com/
It is a site we put together after our first visit to Austria.

We just returned from Vienna and stayed 5 nights at apartment Duschel at Opernring. We were very pleased with it and would highly recommend. The location was great and the apt was well equiped. The w/d was combined but worked fine for small loads.

Tuni01;
Have some friends that are going to stay at the same place you did. Duschel family is good? Did you arrive from the airport or train?

Tuni01, I think I'm the friend Operaman is referring to, who will be staying at the Duschels' Opernring apt. in September. Do you have any tips for restaurants in the area? Or any other advice for someone who will be staying there? Thank for the help, Aloha.

hello, we enjoyed the apt and loved the location. It's a block from opera house. We got standing room tickets out first night and loved the opera. Standing wasn't bad (take a rest at intermission). There's a grocery store, metro and tram 1 block away. The apt was well equiped (we really liked having a freezer for ice cubes. We had a rental car we returned when we arrived. The Avis return is under the apt building, so it was great. We cooked in 1 night and found nearby restaurants the others. I suggest strolling the pedistrian area at night and the area around Stephansdom. it is peaceful at night and plenty of restaurants. We ate at Figmuller and thought the schnitzel was wonderful. feel free to ask any questions you have.

hi tuni01,

what was the name of the apartment you stayed in? i'd be interested in seeing if its available.

how's the view of the stage with the standing room tickets at the opera? was is the staatsoper? what area of the theatre is assigned to standing room?

http://tinyurl.com/ggc8a
It is listed with Vienna apt service.

PS: My freind, alohatoall will be staying in the same apt Am Opernring in Sept. It is the Staatoper that you will be near to.
Tuni01: Are the schnitzel's still overflowing the plates at Figlmueller?

Hi Operaman. Actually we're staying in this apartment, http://tinyurl.com/kh9qm, which is one of 2 owned by the Duschels in the same location. My link is to their own website, where they offer 7 apartments altogether. BTW, coud someone &quot;translate&quot; this address for me - Elisabethstra&szlig;e 6/Stg.4/8.Stock/24? I can figure out &quot;Elisabethstra&szlig;e 6&quot; but am unsure about the rest. Thanks and aloha.

PS: Tuni01, thanks for the info. We're looking forward to our stay in Vienna, and it looks like the apartment is in a great central location.

For translation--


address- Elisabethstrasse 6

Stg 4 - door #4 ( usually posted above the door- larger buildings, especially apartments will have numerous entrances most times not connected

8 Stock - 8th floor (building has a lift)

/ 24 - apartment #24

The apartment we stayed in was: Apartment II Am Opernring
1010 Wien, Elisabethstra&szlig;e 6/Stg.4/8.Stock/24
It is on the 8th floor with a small elevator.
Regarding the opera, it was the staatsoper house we went to. There were 3 standing room options. We chose parter?. this section was more expensive than the balcony. Our tickets were less than $4 each. We were right behind the orchastra seats and had a great view. We tied scarfs around the poll to save our spots and walked around the opera house (this hint was suggested on Fodor's). One note, we tried for SRO seats another night (Romeo and Julliet) and when my husband got to the entrance door he saw a sign that only 1 ticket per person could be purchased. So, go together or check the door before getting in line.
Figmuller still serves schnitzel's that fall over the plate and they are delicious!

molker; Welcome back my friend! Are you settled in for awhile now by the beautiful Donau now? How is the Gruner? Khanjar sounds as if well trained by now...staying under the table while at the Heuriger is a first important lesson for a new dog. Hope you can relax and keep from the crowds for awhile.

Thanks for the info, Molker. We're also spending a couple of nights in Weissenkirchen at the Raffelsberger Hotel, which I found thanks to your advice to another poster many months ago. Do you have a favorite restaurant or 2 there? And hi, Operaman.Aloha.

Hi aloha. I bet you are starting to get excited.
molker; Isn't the wooden apples around Weissenkirchen?

Message: alohatoall and operaman

Back , hopefully for awhile- must teach the new dog his manners.

Re restaurants.

I always like Heinzle in Weissenkirchen.
They have good food with a very nice terrace overlooking the Danube.

www.heinzle.at

often very busy weekends as many from Vienna come out for the day.
Usually easy to find a place after 5PM on Sunday.
It is located just upstream from the main corner of the River road and main entrance to Weissenkirchen. You can easily walk here.

The Wooden Apple-- Holzapfel - better known as the Prandauerhof is in Joching, ( good memory Operaman)just a short distance upstream from Weissenkirchen- just take the road along the Danube- restaurant is on the right- ( 5 minutes drive)
They have a very nice garden and also good food. We have noticed prices seem higher than last year. Good wine.
www.holzapfel.at
We prefer Jamek and often dine here - It is also in Joching - just a short distance before Holzapfel- look carefully on the right as trees hide it as you drive along.
Parking in front and along the side.Very nice garden -excelent food and award winning wine.
Closed Saturday and Sunday.
www.weingut-jamek.at

Best of all these are family run places. They are there to oversee service and quality.
In Weissenkirchen, many nice heurigen. ( wine taverns) they vary opening schedules but the tourist office should have a list of who is open.
Often cold dishes - good times and wines.

A place in Vienna- near apartments quoted- Smutny on Elisabethstrasse - a quiet place austrian food with good prices

I can't comment on Vienna rentals, but I recently rented 20 apartments, houses and cottages during a 14 month trip to Europe. We rented in England, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Austria.

Having a washing machine was a high priority for me, but dryers are much less common in Europe than what Americans are used to. We did have a couple of the combo machines in England-- though the units were very small. (Remember that many of the buildings are old and not built to accommodate modern appliances.) I believe that dryers are vented different in Europe (not to the outside?), and dryers are very slow.

Every place we rented did have either an outside clothesline or some type of drying rack in the apartment or house. Drying racks can either be portable (you can set in front of a sunny window) or some can be pulled out over the tub. This really works just fine. We found that we probably wash clothes too much at home-- sometimes just to get the wrinkles out. We tried only to wash clothes when they were really dirty! Building a travel wardrobe of quick-dry, wrinkle-free clothing really helps too.

Kathy

Many dryers in Europe aren't vented at all--they have a condenser that collects the water. In Belgium, we used the water for plants or for cleaning the terrace tiles.
Now that we're in the UK, we don't have a dryer at all. We hang our clothes on the line or use a drying rack inside. Sometimes we miss a dryer, sometimes we prefer going without--I like drying our sheets outside in the sun.
Separate washers and dryers will work faster than a combo unit, but some combo units are better (and larger) than others. Brands do make a difference. Our washer is a Miele and it was worth the extra expense. It cleans our clothes much better than the cheaper brands we've used--and it never &quot;unbalances&quot; or tries to dance across the floor during the spin cycle (unlike the old cheapo washer we had in a Paris apartment--we thought it was going to slamdance out the doorway). Ditto for the dryer (ours was also Miele, but we gave it to our German relatives after their 20+ year old Miele dryer finally quit).
The downside with these front loading washers (in addition to the extra time they take to do a load) is, of course, no popping in that last forgotten item after they've started. Once you start up a front loader, that's it. You have to wait til they're done. So doublecheck before you hit that start button. FYI, if you're not used to Celsius temps, we run mixed loads on 40 degrees, delicates on 30 (with a special cycle), and whites on 60 or 75. We can wash on a higher temp, but haven't done so. With some washers, the higher the temp, the longer it takes to do the load, since the machine has to &quot;cook&quot; the water rather than drawing it from a hot water tap.

Just curious-do you really think you'll need to do laundry on a one week trip?(I don't know if this is your only destination.)

molker;
I see that Smutny has a Hund menu.That's fantastic, next time we come we will bring our smallest of the 'boys'. He will like going out to eat with us and having his own menu as well.

hi massagediva,

we're spending just over 3 weeks, starting in Germany &gt; Austria &gt; Italy. so with vienna being pretty much in the middle of our travels i figured it would be a good place to get the laundry done. especially since so many apartments seem to include a washer.

got it-none of my business,but I was curious!

Operaman-
Smutny is not a bad place - the daily menu is usually good at less than 8 euro .
Many come to this place after theater or concert too.

with the exception of the highest standard restaurant, dogs are still welcome and always get at least a bowl of water.
Our new dog learns well and enjoys both white and red wine.We have a garden at the new country place- much space for dogs to run. Our door and wine cellar always open to you.

Thanks, Molker, I've already e-mailed Heinzle and Jamek for reservations. We'll be there at the end of September so it's perhaps a bit early, but we'll see. I think our stay in Weissenkirchen will be a nice break after Wien.

molker; There is no doubt about Smutny being a great place to eat. What I meant is that we really love that it has a menu for the dog; that, to me, makes it an even better place to go. That's one of the things I love about Austria, they love dogs. I know our boys would absolutely love it there, especially Wilhelm...he loves the wine and beer. Khanjar can teach him to be a discerning expert? Thanks again for the offer of your hospitality, we are trying to make it over during Sommer 2007. Ah, just the thought of your excellent wine cellar makes me homesick for sch&ouml;nes &Ouml;sterreich!

Message: alohatoall

September is a good time to visit- most tourists have gone- usually still good weather- perhaps some grapes will be harvested.

You probably will not need reservations then- but it does no harm.
Jamek garden will porbably still be useable. They have nice umbrellas to keep away sun and good views of the Vineyards in the hills.

Their Riesling wine 2005 recently won several prizes in competitions here and elsewhere against strong competition.

Your visit to Weissenkirchen and the Wachau will show you a good contrast between Vienna and the country.
Life moves a little slower here time is given to enjoy good food and wine.
Hope that you enjoy it.

Operaman- hope that you visit soon. I still have a few bottles of 2002 and 2003 white wines that must be consumed.

if you're looking for a place to stay in Weissenkirchen I highly reommend Raffelsberger Hof. We loved it and the town. We had a nice large room and modern bath with tub and separate shower. the breakfast was fabulous.

Tuni01, as I posted above, that's where we're staying, thanks to Molker's rec. Seems like we have the same taste, since we're staying in the same apt. in Vienna and then the same hotel in Weissenkirchen. Molker, Weissenkirchen and the Wachau appeal to me exactly because of the pace of life - I'm certainly used to a slower pace here in the islands. And we'll be in Vienna for a week so even there we're not frantic to cram everything into a few days.

Hi alohatoall,
I can recommend a restaurant in Weisk. called Gasthof Zum Kirchemwirt. It's just a few minute stroll from the inn. We ate one night inside and one night on the terrace. We had great food and yummy wine. It's not a fancy place but we really enjoyed it.
I hope you enjoy the inn. My husband went wild over the breakfast (meats, rolls, cheese, yogurt, coffee cake).

Hello: Tuni01 - thanks a lot for the positive report from the Duschel apts. in Vienna -- my husband and I will be staying in Mrs. Duschel's apt. Opernring I from Sept. 23 - 29, 2006. Aloha - Will you be there at the same time? Thanks for the tips about restaurants, Operaman and Molti. We are starting to plan in more detail and to get excited.
redheads

redheads;
Glad you are getting excited. Is this your first visit to Wien?

Hi, Operaman: I spent one vacation travelling around Austria and in Vienna - but it was many years ago and D.H. has never been to that part of Europe. We will fly into Frankfurt, drive down the Romantic Road, spend some time in the Tirol and Salzkammergut, and about one week in Vienna and another in Prague (we have 4 weeks). We have booked pensions and B&amp;B for some days as well as an apt. in Vienna and one in Prague (thanks to lots of tips on Fodors). Now we are just beginning to do more detailed research of what to see, restaurants, etc. Perhaps I'll need to ask you for some advice when I become a little more knowledgeable. It is so much fun to read others' trip tales!
redheads

Hi Redheads (from a redhead) -- yes, we will overlap in Vienna. We arrive on Sept. 22 and depart the 28th, heading to Weissenkirchen, Cesky Krumlov, and Prague. And hi to you, Operaman - just ordered our tickets for &quot;The Marriage of Figaro&quot;!

alohatoall;
You will love the Volksoper, drink a little Sekt during the intermission.
Make sure to go over to Cafe Diglas on Wolzeille, have some Kaffee outside and watch the world go by.