Hi
I'm just back from 9 days in Vienna and Prague. I'll say that I liked Vienna very much, but I LOVED Prague. But I'll post Prague comments separately.
Let me also say that fortunately this trip was decidedly not budget-minded (lucky me!).

Hotel Bristol: www.westin.com/
The Bristol seems to be a classic old-world hotel, with very grand public areas furnished with antiques, wide corridors, and a 19th century ambiance yet with modern conveniences. Our particular ?deluxe? rooms had no view, but there was a radiology convention in town (18,000 strong,we were told) and we were happy to get the rooms. The bathroom (tub with shower) was spacious, had two sinks,and plenty of counterspace; the w.c. was separate. The bedrooms were large and each had a king bed that was actually two smaller beds combined. Lovely down comforters were provided, plenty of thick white towels and plush terry robes. Still, it seemed to me that the room décor could be updated, not made modern in décor, just refreshed a bit (though it was not in the least shabby.) Service was all we could ask for. If they didn?t anticipate our every need, they surely responded quickly and efficiently to our requests. The concierge efficiently made dinner arrangements for us. In our arrangement the breakfast buffet was included in our room rate. The offerings included cold meats, pastries and rolls, juices, fruit,cereals, hot scrambled eggs, bacon and cooked sausages.Quite frankly by the third day we would have liked some new hot choices, but that?s quibbling. This is a sister hotel to the Imperial. Excellent location, really couldn?t be better.

Restaurants
Do & Co, Haas-Haus Stephansplatz 12, 7.
The location in Haas Haus means it is central, and in a strikingly modern building. The food has many modern touches, and even includes sushi and Chinese stir-fry, though plenty of more traditional items are offered, each with a contemporary flair.
Opens at 6pm for dinner.

Korso, in the Bristol Hotel.
This expensive restaurant is excellent. Setting is dark and romantic with soft lights, dark furniture, and mirrors. The wine list is extensive, and the menu choices varied. Some have contemporary twists, some are quite traditional. You will hear soft piano music from the nearby bar. With wine, plan on at least 100 euro per person

cont'd

elaine continued

Livingstone's, Zelinkagasse 4
A good choice if you?re looking for casual and American?the menu has a California theme, the wine list is entirely Californian, and what that has to do with the colonial-tropical setting I can?t say. Food is very good, this is not a diner. Plenty of meat dishes, also salads. Service a bit amateurish. By the way, when they tell you that a particular dish is spicy, they REALLY mean it. Good choice if you want to dine early or if your kids want a good burger and you don't. www.restaurant-livingstone.com

Steirereck Rasumofskygasse 2
www.steirereck.at
Assuming you are a foodie, and don?t mind spending a great deal, this is one of those rare supreme dining experiences. Service perfectly attentive but not intrusive, pace leisurely, perhaps a tad too leisurely but that?s part of the experience. The bread cart laden with all sorts of baked offerings is an experience in itself, so is the wine list. There were two price fixed menus each with five courses, one ?traditional? and one more contemporary. Price for each menu was I believe 79 euros, and if you wanted to have a glass of compatible wine with each course, the price was an additional 49 euro.

Coffee in Vienna is an art form, and I'm not talking about Starbucks.
The most popular are (I think I have these right)

Grosser or kleiner Schwarzer (sometimes called Mocca) large/small cup of black espresso

Verlängerter Schwarzer - Like the "Schwarzer", but with a little bit more water in it.
Grosser or kleiner Brauner large/small cup of espresso with a dash of milk, sometimes a pitcher of milk on the side so you can add it yourself

Verlängerter Brauner ? espresso with a little more water, and some milk

Melange - 50% espresso and 50% hot milk, the Melange is most like a café au lait.

Kapuziner is a Melange with whipped cream rather than, or in addition to, milk foam.

Einspanner- my personal favorite: black coffee in a glass, with whipped cream on top. To die for, and it works for carbohydrate watchers because the whipped cream is generally unsweetened

Franziskaner coffee with milk and grated chocolate

Kaffee verkehrt or Milchkaffee - Coffee with a lot of milk.

cont'd

Vienna Boys Choir www.musikverein.at or www.mondial.at
The Vienna Boys Choir performs as part of the regular Sunday mass starting at 9:15 am at the Hofburg Chapel. Book well in advance, and be advised that some seats have no direct view of the choir as it sings, but video screens are provided.

Spanish Riding School (also in the Hofburg complex)
You can reserve for performances or rehearsals when the horses are in town, www.spanische-reitschule.com This was one of the best things we did in Vienna, performance lasts about 90 minutes. You have to like horses and what they are capable of doing. Performance is accompanied by music, with introductions in German and in English. Performances are usually Sunday mornings at 11am, occasional evening performances on other days. Tickets are also available for training sessions and rehearsals, and there's some standing room. Website has a ticket reservation form

Schonbrunn Palace
this was one of the highlights of our trip, even though it was still winter and the gardens were closed. Allow most or all of one day if you?re goiMost ?modern? art is not my cup of tea, but the few minutes spent viewing Klimt?s Beethoven Frieze was thrilling to me. Highly recommended.ng to include the gardens. If nothing else, see the Imperial apartments.

Secession Museum

sorry

Secession Museum
Most ?modern? art is not my cup of tea, but the few minutes spent viewing Gustav Klimt?s Beethoven Frieze was thrilling to me. The building itself was quite ground-breaking in 1898. Highly recommended, and it doesn't take long. A 7-10 minute walk south from the State Opera House.

Freud Museum
www.freud-museum.at
I was disappointed, and if you are going to see only one Freud museum in your life, the one in London (Hampstead) is the one to go to. When Freud left Vienna in 1938, he took his books, furnishings, art work, even the famous couch with him, and it?s in the Hampstead house. What is in the Vienna apartment are a few certificates, a video film, a few photos, but almost no personal effects. I did enjoy climbing the stairs of this modest apartment building, but can?t say that this venue is a must-see if your time is limited.

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) www.khm.at
Closed Mondays, open late Thurs evening. One museum director called this the ?world?s best collection of Western paintings.? Open daily except Monday Thursday to 9pm. The collection is strongest in paintings from the Renaissance, each one seems to be a masterpiece.

Schonbrunn Palace
This was one of the highlights of our trip to Vienna, even though it was still winter and the gardens were closed. Allow most or all of one day if you?re going to include the gardens.
If nothing else, see the Imperial Apartments. And read up on the Hapsburgs before you go.

sorry for the repetition, I should never do this when I am still jet lagged

Elaine--Wonderful review, and I can only ditto everything you said. In a way, I wish no one knew about Vienna because it has become my most favorite city in the world. I go back there every time I visit any part of Europe. I was particularly fond of Do & Co also, possibly because it was a good break from the standard Viennese fare. And all those wonderful sights--my favorite was the Kunsthistoriches Museum, where I spend a few hours every time I go to Vienna. Thanks for the report and the stirring of my travel genes toward Vienna again.

Welcome back Elaine and thank you for the terrific report. Vienna and Prague are on my list for the coming year, and I am just beginning to gather information on restaurants and the cultural things that will interest me. I am saving your feedback for my trip. Thanks for all the detail about the coffee, your give the best information.It is a pleasure to read your posts.

Hello Elaine. As always I love your attention to detail.

I'm thinking through our plans for Schonbrunn, trying to come up with a rough approximation as to when we should book our tickets. I thought of doing maybe an hour or two in the gardens first and then attempting the museum closer to noon, when folks are at lunch. But your advise to allow most or all of a day if including the gardens has me thinking again. Any thoughts?

Good info! Did you have seats for the Spanish Riding School? Did you order tickets from the U.S.? I have ordered standing room only tickets but have not gotten a response. Any thoughts?

Hi
We had our hotel arrange tickets for the Sp Riding School and we were thrilled that we were sitting dead center on the main level. There are I think 3 tiers of seats, along all 4 sides of a rectangle--our seats were on the short side of the rectangle, directly opposite where the horses and riders enter and exit.

We also had booked and prepaid for a walking tour of Vienna with www.viennasightseeingtours.com well in advance of our arrival. We'd been told to expect a female guide but the guide who met us at our hotel, Arno, was a very pleasant young man. It turns out that we suspect he was a last-minute because he spoke almost no English, and what he did say was incomprehensible. After less than an hour of our scheduled 2-hour tour, we politely sent Arno on his way?we were working way too hard to understand him and help him with words, and he seemed to know (or, express) very little of Vienna?s history, the main reason we wanted the tour. A very disappointing experience.

Correction to some of my details above:
the prix fixe menu pp at Steirereck was
77 euro plus the wines. Also note that they are about to move to a new location, so address indicated in guidebooks will not be correct.
Check their website.

And the amount I indicated above for restaurant Korso was understating it.
I have a note in my travel diary that dinner for four with a good wine was well over 500 euro. Well worth it we thought, but my companiions and I enjoy that sort of splurge.

Austrian Air is what I flew from JFK to Vienna, on an Airbus A330. The legroom and seat pitch were pretty good for coach, much better than what I've experienced on most trans-Atlantic flights.

Other museums visited
The Albertina (graphic arts, drawings and prints, they happened to have a show on while I was there that included some Klimt works, and Klimt is the local star for early 20th century art.

Every night at Schonbrunn Palace in the Orangerie building is a 90 minute concert. If you haven't the time, interest or money to do a proper symphonic concert or opera (and the kids I was with wouldn't have wanted that) then this mini concert makes a nice compromise in a very pretty setting. The concert usually consists of some of Mozart's greatest hits followed by some of the Strausses' greatest hits, and includes a couple of singers and dancers; the dancers were less than thrilling but they meant well. Still the concert was easy and pleasant, not up to highest standards in performance, but my group wasn't up to highest standards as an audience.
Our hotel arranged tickets, I don't recall what they cost.

All over Vienna's core you will see touts dressed in period costumes offering you handbills about concerts.
I understand that some are better than others, many include student performers, and some take place in classrooms or churches. It's easy to soak up a little night music.

We didn't buy Vienna cards which offer discounts on some attractions as well as on public transport. In fact, we walked everywhere we wanted to go, except to Schonbrunn Palace. My biggest regret is not going to the Belvedere Palace where the Austrian Gallery is said to have a fine art collection, including more Klimts. Next time.

Vienna and Prague were very cold on most days, and on two days of the trip we had steady snowfall. Temps in Vienna ranged from about 15F to about 35-38 and we needed (and had) warm and waterproof footwear. On the days without snow, we had bright sunshine, which helped our moods but not the warmth all that much. Thank goodness we were prepared with silk ski underwear and lots of other layers.
I imagine Vienna would be a completely different experience in warm weather.
As it was, I liked it very much, but don't feel the need to rush back.

Also
I've updated my Vienna file with the above information, and much more.
If anyone wants to have it, email me at
[email protected]

I mentioned the breakfast at the Bristol hotel, above. I am going to come out of the closet about hotel breakfasts. I love them. I like having breakfast in my hotel. There, I've said it.

I don't want to pay 50 euro for it and I don't want stale bread or bad coffee, but if the hotel breakfast is decent, even if it's not included with my room, I'm willing to pay the premium for it. I love having the luxury of just taking an elevator, carrying only my room key, and having breakfast served to me and my companions before going out for the day. When I've finished, I can return to my room to freshen up and have a filled-up and caffeinated start to the day. I'm not at all criticizing those who want to seek out the town's best bakery or cafe first thing in the morning, in fact, I admire their adventurousness at dawn, I'm just offering an alternate opinion.

Hi Elaine, I was one of those 18,000 in town for the radiology conference (the ECR). Actually, 18,000 doesn't feel so bad, the North American radiology conference packs in 65,000!
We might have crossed paths somewhere along the trip...we took in some of the same sights (although I was there Feb. 29 to March 10)--I didn't eat at Korso, but I did have lunch a couple of times at the hotel's Cafe Sirk (mentioned in my trip report here). Looking forward to seeing your posts on Prague--it's on my agenda to visit before or after next year's meeting.

to be fair, I wanted to post an addendum to my negative comment above on
viennasightseeingtours. A letter of complaint was sent to them, requesting a full refund due to the complete inadequacy of the guide who was provided to us. A full refund was indeed promptly issued, with no further comment (or apology).