Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vienna

Wound Care in Vienna

klausness — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:52:16 -0800

AustrianHealthCareFilter: How do I go about getting minor post-surgical care in Vienna over the holidays? I currently live in the UK, and I've just had to have a nasty boil surgically drained. I now need to have the wound re-packed and dressed regularly for several weeks. Here in the UK, that can be done by NHS nurses, but I'm going to be in Vienna over the holidays (leaving in about a week). I know that I'm covered under EU health insurance agreements (and I have my EU health insurance card), but what I don't know is how I would go about actually arranging to get care. I don't want to go to an emergency room and wait ten hours just to have a wound dressing changed. I assume the post-surgical care would all be routine if I'd had the surgery there. What makes it complicated is that I had the surgery here but will need care there (not to mention that this will be over the holidays). I have family there, and they're looking into it, too, but so far they haven't been able to find out anything. Hive Mind, can you help?

New Year's celebrations in McDonalds?

aqsakal — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:54:37 -0800

Where will we be able to eat dinner in Vienna on 31 December without pre-booking? Mrs aqsakal and I are going to Vienna over the New Year break, courtesy of our fabulous son who bought us two tickets to the fabulous concert at the Opera. But it has just occurred to us that we shall arrive late on 30 December, and have no idea where we will find a seat at a restaurant the following evening.

Where we live (in Rome) it would be totally crazy to expect to be able to find a table for two on 31 December evening without having booked at least a week in advance. Will it be the same in Vienna? Or are we worrying over nothing? Are we doomed to celebrating with a Big Mac and double fries, and our own champagne smuggled in in a brown paper bag kept under the table? Does any kind Austria-based MeFite have any advice?

2 weeks driving around Europe at Christmas - what not to miss?

allkindsoftime — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:12:48 -0800

European road-trip for the holidays (filter). Meeting up with a friend in Paris on the evening of the 19th - both of us traveling there from different continents and wrapping up on Jan 2nd back in Paris. Here's the current plan:

Week 1 (Road Trip!):
12/19 - Arrive Paris, stay overnight.
12/20 - Drive to Munich, staying with friends.
12/21 - Explore Munich, Christmas markets, etc.
12/22 - Drive to Vienna with a stop in Steyr, Austria*.
12/23 - Explore Vienna, Christmass markets, etc.
12/24 - More Vienna, Christmas Eve Mass at St. Stephansdom*.
12/25 - Drive to Venice.
12/26 - Explore Venice.

Week 2 (based out of Geneva, where we have a free apartment):
12/27 - Drive to Geneva.
12/28 - Ski Chamonix, stay in Geneva
12/29 - More skiing, still in Geneva.
12/30 - More skiing, last night in Geneva.
12/31 - Drive to Paris for New Years.
1/1 - Explore Paris
1/2 - Friend flies out, I'm off to London for a day then flying out myself on the 3rd.

*Both of these were "local recommendations" given by friends - cool things to see and do. I am particularly interested on these around our route.

My questions:

1. Cheap / decent hotel near the airport in Paris - any suggestions?

2. Driving - we're both pretty set on it because a) we both love driving / road trips, and b) we crave the flexibility of being able to stop off in this or that place along the way, stay at a B&B outside the city rather than a hotel in it, etc.. We realize trains are good around here but would really need a strong argument against driving to sway us at this point. Any tips on tolls / etc. appreciated, as well as things along our routes not to miss.

3. Hotel in Vienna - same as above, we are looking for something more local / small, preferably on the city outskirts. From what I understand most of Europe will shut down on the 25/26th, so I figure on spending Christmas day on the road.

4. Hotel in Venice - see above.

5. Best skiing recommendations within reasonable driving distance of Geneva? I'm pretty set on Chamonix as I've been reading about skiing there my entire life, and extreme skiing is my "thing," although not my friend's, so I'm only pushing for one day there - the other 2 days we're looking for something more enjoyable to ride together.

6. New Years Eve in Paris - where to go? What to do? Where to stay?

Any input on the above or anything I'm not thinking of is appreciated in advance. I've only been to the UK and Greece before so if parts of (hopefully not all!) my plans are idiotic, please hope me. We're pretty much going off of the Lonely Planet guide and the AskMe tags (i.e. Vienna, Venice, etc.) for things to do in the cities we are at, but any other suggestions on stops along the way that are don't-miss are appreciated.

Hook me up with yummy breakfast fixins.

the luke parker fiasco — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:29:25 -0800

Where can I buy specialty grains in Vienna during the upcoming holiday season? I will be in Slovenija and Austria over Christmas/New Year's this year, and would like to buy some steel-cut oats and quinoa. Can anyone speak decisively to whether there are shops where a) these items are sold, and b) if they will be open around the holidays?
(Specifically I will be in Ljubljana and Stara Fužina in Slovenija, and then Hallstatt and Vienna in Austria, but I'm guessing that Vienna will be the best bet.)

Seen lots of old stuff, want some modern culture

little e — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:35:43 -0800

How can I find good live music in Switzerland (or maybe Vienna or Prague or somewhere else) during the next few days? Or other interesting evening events? Smaller venues, indie or whatever else the cool kids are listening to here these days. I've been searching for English language music blogs or alt-weekly type things, spent awhile checking individual band sites, totally striking out. I'm probably going to Zurich, but I would go somewhere else for a good show. I would also welcome other event suggestions...I've seen lots of cool old stuff, but now I am in the mood for some modern culture, and I'd like to spend some evenings doing something other than hanging out in hostel bars. (fighting with sketchy hostel wifi on my phone is making this really difficult to figure out on my own.)

Radio Interference Along the Beltway

jocelmeow — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:55:28 -0800

What causes massively scrambled FM radio reception along the Capital Beltway near Falls Church, Virginia? There is a stretch of the Beltway in Northern Virginia where the FM radio reception is abysmal. If I remember correctly, it is near the Falls Church and Fairview Park exits, but it's definitely south of Tyson's Corner. It was so when I was growing up there 20+ years ago (80s-90s) and friends who live there now say it remains so.

The problem always occurs in the same area and both day and night - you drive into it and no matter where you are tuned on the FM band, the station becomes unintelligible, the reception totally scrambled and overwhelmed by loud static.

The AM band is unaffected - and tuning to AM talk radio was always my father's answer to the problem. After a mile or two, maybe three, everything goes back to normal on the FM dial.

I have looked up the radio towers located in Falls Church, Merrifield, Vienna, and Fairfax.

Those pages list the commercial, private, and broadcast towers in those locations and their assigned frequencies, but I have no expertise that would allow me to judge whether those listed towers are the problem. I have some guesses based on location, but none of the towers I looked at seemed to be broadcasting in the FM band - but then again, I don't know if they'd have to be in order to interfere.

So do you know what is the cause of this Bermuda Triangle of radio, or can you help in interpreting the tower listings to potentially identify the problem? Thanks.

Giant lounge chairs in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier

ssmug — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:58:45 -0800

Foam/plastic lounges outside Vienna Museum of Contemporary Art... Does anyone know what these lounges are, what they're made of, and where one might get one? I was just in Vienna and found them to be surprisingly and almost impossibly comfortable. Like hours-on-end comfortable...

Ideas on getting to Vienna from Sydney?

gttommy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:44:12 -0800

Things to consider on getting to Vienna, Austria, from Sydney, Australia? I'm planning to go to Vienna with 2 other people in around mid-May 2009 for 2-3 weeks.

I'm looking for some ideas on where I can get the cheapest airfare, when I should look out for travel bargains, when I should go, what I should prepare for, and anything that might be good to consider on getting to Vienna.

Cheers! Vielen dank!

What should I do in Vienna?

howgenerica — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:41:53 -0800

I'm going to be in Vienna from September 26 (early morning) - 29 (afternoon). I'm 18 years old and will be traveling with friends. What should we do/ see? I've been put in charge of figuring all this out, but apart from the obvious tourist things I don't know what's good. I guess I'm looking for more off-the-beaten-path stuff. Thank you! This can be anything: cool museums, restaurants, bars, discos, shops, historic sites, areas to walk around; anything. I'd just really appreciate recommendations from those who've been/ lived there.

Prague, Vienna, Barcelona: what to do

jeather — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:40:04 -0800

I am going to Prague, Barcelona and Vienna. What should I do there? A friend lives in Prague, so she'll have advice for me there, though the more ideas the merrier. I want: walking tours, museums, and in Barcelona, beach. Reasonable restaurants would be nice, though I'm perfectly happy picking up stuff from street vendors or a grocer. I like good coffee, and I eat fish but not seafood. I'll probably just search out hostels in Barcelona and Vienna (staying with the friend in Prague).

A Gaudi walking tour would be excellent. I don't have the vaguest idea what to request for anywhere else.

I am leaving Thursday. I'd prefer not to bring guidebooks since I need to bring books to read and have weight restrictions, so I'm hoping there is web-based stuff I can print out.

What city should I visit in Europe?

jeather — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:30:23 -0800

I am going to Europe for about 12 days at the end of August. I am spending a few days in each of Prague and Vienna, and looking for a third city to go to. Which one should I choose? I'm not against Budapest, but people with whom I share travel sensibilities say I should go elsewhere. I need it to be easy to travel between this city and the other ones I am going to, either by bus or by those inexpensive airlines. I'd love it if it used the Euro, but this is not necessary. I'd like to spend about 3 days wherever it is.

People have, with no real level of detail, recommended Athens, Istanbul and Croatia. (Also Poland, but I do not want to go to Poland.) I'm not tied to these options, nor am I against any of them (except Poland).

Things I like: cities, museums, beaches (but not so much lakes).
Things I don't like: clubbing and associated items.
I am not hugely social.

I will be alone, I'm a 30 year old woman, I speak English and French and can get by in Spanish, so mostly I'm going to be working off guidebooks and dictionaries. Hostel or inexpensive hotel recommendations would be lovely. (I know hostels are full of people who will be out all night, but I am a sound sleeper.) I'm happy to hear recommendations for what to do or where to stay in Prague and Vienna as well.

Please do not recommend I spend longer in Prague and/or Vienna. This is not, for various reasons, an option.

Help reduce my Dutchland-induced anxiety!

howiamdifferent — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:36:25 -0800

Halp! Traveling between Munich, Salzburg, Zell Am See, and Vienna. How? I am traveling to Munich later this week with a small group (3 adults + 1 five-years old + 1 two-years-old). We'll stay there for 5 days before traveling to Salzburg, then Zell Am See, and finally Vienna where we will take the flight home. We are going to stay for roughly 5 days in each of the aforementioned stops.

How should we go about traveling between these 4 stops?
We are contemplating booking trains, but we don't know which ones and with which kind of tickets. It has also been suggested to us to rent a car in Munich and use it for the whole trip. We seriously don't know what to do.

What train(s) should we take, and with which kind of tickets (and can I book them online)? How much will it roughly cost? And if renting a car is the better option, which rent-a-car outlet should we use?

I am greatly appreciative of any help you awesome MeFites can provide. <3

Prebook before holiday

trashcan — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:22:57 -0800

I am going on holiday to Vienna, Salzburg and Munich in August, what should I pre-book to avoid disappointment or gain best options?

What to do on a Vienna afternoon?

lindsey.nicole — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:06:54 -0800

I have one free afternoon in Vienna - how should I spend it? I'm a travel writer, currently on a trip to Austria that includes four days in Vienna. It's a packed itinerary, but I have one free afternoon for individual research. Tomorrow, actually.

Obviously there are lots of options, but I'd welcome any suggestions of places to visit in my tiny block of free time - museums, neighbourhoods, cafes, etc. that might not occur to the average visitor (like me), or established spots you particularly like. I'd like to stay close to city centre, since my sense of direction is kind of awful.

Here's the pertinent info:

- Interested in art, literature, architecture and coffeehouse culture, though by no means an expert in any of these areas.
- Trying to balance work and pleasure, but it would be great to find places that are emerging rather than established, and might interest a North American audience.
- My hotel is on Lange Gasse, which is close to the Ring Boulevard.
- The trip already includes visits to Schonbrunn Palace, Belvedere, Palmenhaus, the Lobmeyr glass museum, MAK, the Spittelberg and Gumpendorfer Strasse areas, MuseumsQuartier, and Naschmarkt. Told you it was packed.

Any ideas welcome - Thanks in advance, and sorry for any spelling errors. (Also wanted to note that I've read some of the other threads about travel to Vienna but felt I could use more help - if this seems redundant, please let me know.)

Anniversary and others in Munich, Salzburg and Vienna

trashcan — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:22:50 -0800

We are going to Vienna, Salzburg and then Munich for our holidays in the summer. How should we spend our 5th Anniversary in Munich and tips for the other places? In this question:

where go?

we had some helpful answers and decided on Vienna, Salzburg and Munich....so please give me some tips.

Most importantly a way to spend an amazing day for our anniversary - and a great restaurant for the evening.

Hope that's not too much!

Livejournal authenticated RSS problem

alopez — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:57:21 -0800

Livejournal authenticated RSS feeds on Mac OS 10.4.10: why do they keep losing my credentials? May involve Keychain. I have several friends on livejournal who I'd like to read, along with all of my other feeds, using an RSS reader. Subscribing to their friends-only feeds is easy enough, the URL is just http://username.livejournal.com/data/rss?auth=digest. When I add this feed, the RSS reader prompts for my livejournal userid and password on the first refresh of the feed. At this point, the credentials are stored in my keychain and the newsreader should access it whenever it refreshes the feed. However, usually after a couple of days, the credentials are lost, and the RSS reader prompts for the username and password again. This is really irritating since it does this for half a dozen feeds. Some specifics:

I don't have any other authenticated feeds, so I don't know if this is livejournal-specific or a more general problem.
I have tried three newsreaders: Shrook, Vienna, and NetNewswire Lite. They all have the same problem.
At least with NNWL, I know that the credentials are stored in my keychain as an internet login (one for each feed). When I first authenticate, I can check in Keychain Access to see if the login is stored there, and indeed it is. When NNWL starts prompting me again, I look in Keychain Access again and the login is GONE! Why would that happen? No other credentials are lost from my Keychain, and when I run Keychain First Aid, it reports no problems.

Post-marathon sightseeing in Vienna

poissonrouge — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 01:34:25 -0800

I'm spending the weekend in Vienna, running the marathon on Sunday. I've Monday free to look around the city - what would you recommend as a 'must see' for a weary, footsore sighteer?

What do I need to know for 1-week trip to Vienna, Austria?

sirion — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:08:46 -0800

I'm visiting Vienna for spring break (And London for a day). What should I know? Going with my father to check out the music conservatory there (Konservatorium Wien). What should I be aware of while I'm planning this trip? While I have some questions, I'm more concerned about the questions I haven't yet considered asking.

Questions:
-Weather: Looks like March sees temperatures from 30-50°F and a decent amount of rain. What clothes should I bring? (I'm from California with little experience in cold climates)
-Food: Must-eat locations?
-Sights: Working out of Rick Steves' guide to Austria/Germany, but could certainly use some supplemental advice. Any particularly good day trips out of the city? My father's knee is a bit messed up, so really neat experiences that don't involve miles of walking are definitely a plus.
-Electronics: I have a couple cheap APC Universal Plug Adapters. Can I assume they have a 120->220 VAC transformer inside? If I plug my Powerbook charger into it, will it explode? My cell phone charger?
-Cell phone: Should I get a European sim card here? there? where do I get them?
-Any good Money Belt/under-shirt storage thingy recommendations?

-What am I missing?

Seeking memorials (anywhere worldwide) for people killed by police or government brutality?

allterrainbrain — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 11:47:41 -0800

Memorial / Activist Art: Where in the world are there public, physical memorials of any kind (sculptures, murals, installations, etc.) for individuals who were killed by police or by governments? I'm really inspired by the Omofuma Stein in Vienna (a self-funded/DIY granite sculpture, first installed guerilla-style in front of the Vienna Opera House and now permanently installed in Vienna's Museumsquartier) and I want to document/celebrate similar projects elsewhere in the world.

Avoiding cigarettes in Wien/Vienna and other smoker-friendly cities

allterrainbrain — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 06:56:29 -0800

Ideas for respectfully avoiding cigarette smoke when visiting a strong smoking culture (especially in Wien/Vienna, but advice for other cities is very welcome too). From my previous travels, I know & respect that most European countries have very smoker-friendly cultures relative to where I live (NYC). I'm just asking this question for my own needs (as someone who physically can't be around smoke other than very briefly), with no desire to question or debate any of these cultures as they exist.

For my upcoming month in Vienna, I'll be sharing a non-smoking house, and I've made sure that all the places I'm committed to spending time in (classical music venues) are actually non-smoking inside. From what I've read, there are also laws against smoking in public transport and some indoor spaces, but they're often unenforced.

I'm looking for your experiences / suggestions, especially in Vienna but also in general, of issues I should think about, places and restaurants I should seek out (for example, all Starbucks branches in Vienna are non-smoking [double sacrilege :)]), and issues I should keep in mind. Please help me by sticking to practical discussion (not debates about smoking).

I'd also love to hear recommendations of any tools you've used that protect against smoke (from simple half-masks to the "air supply" necklaces I've seen). Thanks!

finding one month of housing in Vienna

allterrainbrain — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 14:27:29 -0800

Short-term housing in Vienna: Where should I be looking to find cheap yet private (non-roommate) housing for just the month of November? I've tried Craigslist, all the housing sites I can find via Google, all the Youth Houses, and more. I'm fine with German-language sites. On the housing sites, there are almost no short-term listings. On the short-term housing sites, I only find really nice/expensive places. (I would be fine with a very simple, tiny place, and it could be unfurnished.) Craigslist-Vienna's housing section is not very active. I emailed all the Youth Houses that accept non-students, but none has any private room available for November.

Where else should I be looking?

I would be attending Wien Modern (the contemporary-music festival that lasts for the whole month of November), so I'd need to stay either in the city center or near an U-Bahn station with easy access to the city center. If you want to write to me privately, you can use mnd@gmx.net .

The Southern Approaches to the Austro-Hungarian Empire

JPD — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:19:51 -0800

Advice on travelling to Austria, Slovenia, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Hotels, Sights, Food, General Thoughts Just booked myself on a lovely 17-day sojurn to the above mentioned locales. Right now the plan is 4 days in Vienna then rent a car and drive around for the next two weeks. Tentatively planning on spending 3 days in Ljubljana, then a few days exploring Slovenia and the Trieste area. Finally I have already booked the last week at this place I heard about here. where I plan on spending a week just laying low and relaxing before returning back to the real world.

Wondering if anyone has hotel suggestions in Vienna, Trieste (or elsewhere in that part of the world) and Ljubljana - cost isn't an issue but I find that as someone in their 20's travelling alone big fancy five star hotels are not the best places to be. Am looking more for interesting and fun. I've already tried booking the Hostel Celica in Ljubljana but there are no cells available during the time I plan on being there.

Am exceedingly interested in Food & Wine places that are special in any of those parts of the world. Have done the standard Chowhound and eGullet searches already but looking for more input. Particular input into which Heurtgen in Vienna to go to, and vineyards in Friuli or Slovenia would also be appreciated. Also a huge cheese guy.

Also wondering if anyone has been to Graz, Klagenfurt, or other places on the way from Vienna to Ljubljana that are worth a stop?

Any must get guidebooks - especially as they relate to Friuli or Food and Wine?

Looking for the non-obvious and first hand accounts. I've already done the standard guide book and googling.

When does the Vienna Opera announce their season?

agropyron — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 10:15:25 -0800

Anyone know when the Vienna Opera announces their 2006/2007 season? And when do tickets go on sale?

Best way to get from Prague to Vienna?

parttimesaint — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 14:01:42 -0800

What's the best way to get from Prague to Vienna (and back) in January? The cheaper the better. Also, if it's by train or bus, do we purchase the tickets there or in the States before we leave?

What to do in Germany next week?

jedrek — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 17:05:09 -0800

Places to go and things to see (and photograph) in Berlin, Dusseldorf/Essen/Cologne and Vienna. On Sunday morning, I'm heading out on a little two week eurotrip, starting in Berlin and working my way to Dusseldorf/Essen/Cologne, then down to southern germany, swinging by Zurich and finishing up in Vienna. I'm going to be in each city/area for about 3 days (other than Zurich).

My main interest on this trip is photography, and as the days are way too short right now, I'm looking for stuff to see/do in the daylight (7am-4pm) - parks, buildings, squares, sights with views - a lot more than nightlife. Outdoors more than indoors.

The only one of these cities I've been to is Berlin, otherwise I'm quite the "n00b".