Vienna or Amsterdam
 

Next September my wife and I are going to Prague and then to either Vienna or Amsterdam for 4 nights. We have been to other areas of Europe but not to these two cities. Being middle aged we are more interested in a good dinner and an after dinner coffee and dessert than an active night life. We enjoy sightseeing, including castles and art museums, but one not select one city over the other because of a museum. Would also like to be able to go on 1-2 day trips outside the selected city. I realize everyone's idea of what is enjoyable or interesting is different, but I appreciate the comments of those that have been to both Vienna and Amsterdam.
Thank you, Mrt.

Vienna, for the reasons mentioned by others in another post by you last month, such as plenty of outdoor day trips from Vienna. I've been to Vienna 3 times, and Amsterdam about 8 times.

I'm qualifying this post by your question and description of your interests. I joyfully take exception to your comment "Being middle aged we are more interested in a good dinner and an after dinner coffee and dessert than an active night life". I bring this up because someone once mentioned to me when I turned 50 and called myself "middle aged" that this assumes I will live to be 100, so 45 is a more accurate description of "middle aged". And now that I am 2 years past the age of Medicare, my husband and I are still more interested in an active night life than we are a good dinner and quiet retreat following dessert. I guess because now we're racing against the clock!

For you and your spouse, Vienna does not have the active night life compared to Amsterdam, which is why, I guess, we prefer Amsterdam to Vienna. But Vienna does have the beauty, and grace and definitely the after dinner coffee and dessert vibe going on. As well as plenty of churches and castles. And if you do decide to take in some "let's pretend we're teenagers again" time, I highly recommend the Prater, which even my mother, then in her early 70's, enjoyed.

I'm going to add another perspective to the age-therefore-inclinations conversation. I think it has much more to do one's interests, rather than one's age. Someone who's always liked nightlife may assume a day will come when they're less interested but I'm of the opinion that they may never tire of it & someone (myself) who has never been interested will continue to never be interested. I was an entertainer in my youth but unless forced, would always head right home after the show, almost never stayed out, still don't 50 years later. I prefer a good book, a cup of tea & nice long sleep, at home or on the road. So in my experience age has nothing to do with inclinations which may or not change as time goes on.

To answer the question, I've been to both cities, once each. I'd find out if one has a gallery or museum that piques your interest and could be a deciding factor. I found Vienna a more pleasant place with more that interested me. But it's very subjective, isn't it?

We lived in Vienna for 7 years before moving to the U.S. in late June, and September in Vienna and the surrounds can be lovely. We have also been to Amsterdam, albeit in a spring and with our then 8 and 13 year-old children so the itinerary was a bit different. There are numerous harvest and wine festivals in Vienna and the nearby, accessible via ÖBB (even if you do not imbibe the festivals are in idyllic settings) and a few "Wine Wanders," where one can enjoy the changing colors of the vineyards and indulge in a taste or two of the fermented grape and local snacks. September was our favorite month to be in Austria; the autumn festivals (and Almabtriebe!) will always be fondly held memories for us.

IMO, both cities are delightful! I hate to spend time in transit when I can spend it on the ground (unless, of course, the point of the experience is the transportation), so I'd opt for Vienna -- an easy 4 hour train trip away, rather than Amsterdam, which is much further and would probably mean taking a flight (not a particularly green solution, if that matters).

Vienna.

>>> we are more interested in a good dinner and an after dinner coffee and dessert.
Vienna!
People seem to be drinking coffee and eating desserts round the clock. :-)

Vienna. It just sounds more like what you are looking for. With the disclaimer I have only been to Amsterdam. Which was nice but not a place I need to rush back to.

Vienna. Why waste a day travelling to Amsterdam, which is expensive and overcrowded, though you can sit around eating cake and drinking coffee there just as well as in Vienna.
If you were closer to Amsterdam I'd say Amsterdam but from Czechia Vienna is a no-brainer.

Save the Netherlands for another trip and get away from Amsterdam to some of the more enjoyable, less expensive, less crowded places.

Vienna Wins
 

After reading your thoughts and ideas on traveling, I would recommend choosing Vienna over Amsterdam. Even though I found both of them beautiful (as I was lucky enough to have visited them both, hence I can state my own personal impressions and compare the two), I think the splendid ambiance and sites in Vienna are perfect for slower-paced traveling and wining&dinning in beautiful surroundings.

I think Vienna boasts more sightseeing opportunities to what I imagine you'd prefer, such as the Hofburg, St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Vienna State Opera House, Vienna City Hall, the Albertina, etc. Also, even though both of the cities are popular destinations, I find Amsterdam a bit overcrowded sometimes, making it hard to fully enjoy the traveling experience.

In addition to it all, there are numerous options for day tours from Vienna, such as visiting Klosterneuburg Abbey on the outskirts of the city (it's situated nearby Vienna Woods, another great location to explore), Rohrau (the birthplace of Haydn) and numerous other beautiful cities nearby Vienna, such as Salzburg or Bratislava.

As I've mentioned before, these are only my personal insights on the matter, as it is a rather subjective one. Whichever you decide, I am pretty sure it is going to be an unforgettable experience, thus I hope you enjoy your trip.

Amsterdam for me, not to say anything bad about Vienna especially but Amsterdam is just more interesting.

When I was in my twenties, I fell in love with Amsterdam and would have loved to have lived there. I also visited Vienna (albeit more briefly) and felt no desire to go back. Now, thirty years later, I'm about to visit Vienna again and I'm really curious to see how I like it the second time around. Very often, how we react to a place is about the weather, a single positive or negative experience, the people we meet, an eye opening experience. It's almost always a purely subjective experience. When in your situation, more than anything else I look at images of the two places I'm keen to visit and decide on that basis. Vienna certainly fits better from a logistical point of view and that's super important because you don't want to waste time travelling - and I agree with kja that I too would avoid flying if at all possible.

I absolutely HATE Vienna. I think the food is heavy and gross. The Viennese are far too formal and snobby for my taste. The weather sucks.

Vienna certainly isn't exciting the way New York or Berlin are exciting.

Can't you go to Salzburg instead. At least it is pretty.

Thin,aristocrat ☕

I tend to agree with Pepper. Vienna has never grabbed me, and offended me on occasion. I would choose Amsterdam, which while overcrowded most of the time at least has a friendly population.

There are so many wonderful cities in Europe, though. Does it have to be limited to these two choices?

:omg: Too snobby for Thin the Aristocrat!! How is that possible? I fear the world may be coming to an end.

I am not snobby. Everyone knows how funny and friendly I am.

I am the life of the party and you know it. 🥳

Thin,aristocrat 🏦

True; it would be deadly dull here without you. You're very talented with the icons, too.

The food is a lot better in Vienna. Nobody travels for Dutch food. The only thing worse than Dutch food is Czech food, so you will be hitting two depressing cuisines in the same trip if you follow Prague with Amsterdam.

When did you last eat in a restaurant in the Netherlands?

this is such a funny thread lol

I do love me a good pea soup.

50 years ago.

Also Bohemian cooking is the base for both Viennese and Czech cuisine, but that aside.

#21, When did you last eat Dutch cuisine outside of the Netherlands?. Nobody goes there for the food.

Glad to see a few votes for Amsterdam, but I too weigh in on the side of Vienna. Far more beautiful (fantastic art nouveau architecture--must take a tram or bus to Kirche am Steinhof, the last commission of Otto Wagner and a fabulous place) and the food is way better. I recommend ef16, Artner, and Shiki for your dinners--especially ef16 if you want a more traditional place, and Shiki if you want modern, fine dining,with a Japanese theme.

There is no Dutch cuisine. We're a nation of traders.

"There is no Dutch cuisine."

Please inform the editors of Wikipedia of their error: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_cuisine

You're reminding me of the Swedish politician who exclaimed "There is no Swedish culture"

"We're a nation of traders."

And farmers, and fishermen too.

In Vienna, I recommend Zum Finsteren Stern,Viennese with a touch of modernity and Gasthaus Wild for traditional. Gasthaus Wild is on the way to Kunsthaus Wien, a museum designed by and for the works of Hundertwasser. At both places you will not have to eat heavy food.

You can also go to eat at a heurigen, a wine tavern run by the wineries just west of Vienna, easily accessible using Vienna public transport. They sometimes have music.

Many years ago I would agree that Dutch food was dire, like British food. But both have come a long way and I am always pleased by what I find to eat in the Netherlands. I do however find their cheese to be poor to middling and their beer despite recent attempts to try and like it is still poor compared to Belgian.

Austrian food continues on the bland side too, too much veal and bread crumbs and bland cheese for me. Their wine has come on a lot since 1985, but since that was when they were selling anti-freeze that is not saying much. The sweet wines of the lake on which Rust sits are very very good, but their fascination with Grunner Veltliner is beyond me though I'm learning to like St Laurent.

That a region or country completely lacks culinary traditions? That is impossible and implausible, and it doesn't matter how long you've been trading for. Anyone reading this thread can Google it like crazy and find info on dishes to eat. There are many knowledgeable folks who disagree with you.

That the cuisine is not popular, even among its own people, I do believe you.

For example, when I was driving through Czechia and asked for recommendations on where to eat in various small towns, I was always directed to pizza or chinese food. The local cuisine was there, but it was not what came to mind for the folks who lived there. That was decidedly not the case in Poland, where pride in the local cuisine was first and foremost and choices to eat Polish food were numerous.

Perhaps they directed you to the pizzeria and Chinese restauarant, because they thought it'll be easier for you to order there than in a Czech restaurant, because the food will be familiar for you(comfort food). I noticed that a surprisingly large share of travellers are not very adventurous when it comes to eating.

Honey, shall we have Uzená veprová krkovice or just eat a pizza?

The other thing is that food in Czechia is considered a side order to go with the beer! :-)

Berthe Meijer, food writer in Amsterdam, was a friend with whom I stayed in her home there and in France. I can attest that she was a wonderful cook, her own meal preparation often interrupted by readers calling her at home for instructions on something they were cooking. My experience told me that good food was alive & well in the Netherlands and there was great interest, at least among her readers, for getting it right. It was my only in-depth experience of Dutch cooking but I'd say evidence that there is good food in the Netherlands.

WOW! You were friends with Berthe Meijer? We still cook her recipes! I knew her slightly from LJG circles. Johannes van Dam is the other huge influence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_van_Dam

Sure the Netherlands has a traditional cuisine; it's what we eat at home. Kale & potatoes with sausage. Pea soup. That sort of thing.
It's not what you go to restaurants for, and it's a bit silly to disregard Amsterdam because you don't like traditional Dutch cooking.
That would be like avoiding London because you don't like steak & kidney pie.

I suggested Vienna purely because they are already in Czechia and it is daft to waste a valuable day getting to Amsterdam, although by next September the night trains may be running again I don't think they will go between Prague and Amsterdam. Even flying between the two will waste the best part of a day.
They can be in Vienna after a 4 and a half hour train ride.

Food is food, you can find good and dire restaurants anywhere, it should not be the deciding factor as to which city you visit.

Anyway the whole thing is moot since OP doesn't seem to have returned to the thread.

It's called "You No Like Syndrome" often attributed to Chinese restaurants in the United States.* That's why they write some of their menu in Chinese on the wall or have a secret menu they give only to their Chinese customers.

However, that bit of conjecture doesn't really apply in this scenario.* There wasn't much choice for local food the first place, and secondly it was indeed pretty bad.* I'll take Polish, Austrian, or Hungarian food before Czech food any day.* There's a reason why the beer takes precedence!