Spending summer and winter in Vienna, one notices an entirely different, but equally vibrant, energy.  I’ve been spending time each year in Vienna since my youth.  In 2008, I was in Vienna for a week in June during the Euro 2008 football championship.  At the beginning of last year I returned to attend the annual New Year’s Concert by the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic), broadcast to 1.2 billion people each New Year’s Day.

In late summer, I returned to the city to visit its vineyards (Vienna is the only capital city with a significant wine-growing region (ca. 700 hectares) within its borders).

Regardless of when you decide to go to Vienna, there is much to do and see.

What to do in either season

There is so much to see and do in Vienna that the business traveler might want to consider a cultural guide for a few hours. Even though I know the city inside out, I don’t know the ins and outs of many of the museums, so I used the services of Diane Naar (+43 664 3431588 or delphee@aon.at) and saw more of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (filled with one of the world’s largest and most important collections of Old Masters, as assembled by the Habsburg rulers, including Rubens, Brueghel, Titian) in two hours than I could have covered on my own in two days.

Here are a few basic things to do:

1.) Take the Vienna Ring Tram that runs around the entire Ringstraße (as of April 2009) to get a feel for the city.  Buy a Vienna Card at your hotel to get 72 hours of unlimited public transportation within the city plus discounts at many museums.

2.) Go to the Naschmarkt to nosh or dine.  The possibilities are endless but Umar Fisch is one of my favorites.  On Saturdays, you’ll find a flea market starting at the Kettenbrückengasse, but go early (as you would to any flea market) for the best finds and to avoid crowds.

3.) Do as the Viennese do, sit at a café.  The varieties of Viennese coffee are endless and your waiter will bring your coffee with a glass of superb Viennese water.  (He’ll refill the glass of water without complaining while you sit and read newspapers for an hour or two).  My Stammcafé (regular café) is Café Prückel on the Stubenring. I’ve a regular there since I was very young and it doesn’t get any more authentic.  It is also, like many Vienna cafés, the perfect place for meetings.

4.) Haus der Musik may sound a bit boring but it’s one of the most modern, engaging, and high-tech museums I have visited.  One highlight is an exhibit where visitors can conduct a virtual Wiener Philharmoniker (or should I say, “try” to conduct).  In my case, boisterous members of the virtual ensemble told me that they would have been better off if they played without a conductor after I had a go with the baton).

The author conducts a virtual Wiener Philharmoniker at the Haus der Musik

5.) MuseumsQuartier, something very old and very very new.  In 2001, the Imperial stables and riding school were reinvented as a village of museums.  In addition to the Leopold Museum, with unmatched collections of Klimt and Schiele, works assembled by Austrian dentist Dr. Rudolf Leopold, you’ll find the Kunsthalle, the Museum Moderner Kunst  and the Zoom Kinder Museum.

Summer

1.) Walk through Stadtpark, with its statues of Beethoven, Mahler, Strauß, among others, and then continue through the winding streets of the Innere Stadt, the First District that was until the mid 19^th century surrounded by Vienna’s city walls.

2.) Go to a concert at the Kursalon.  Johann Strauß (both father and son) conducted there.

3.) Visit Schönbrunn, the summer imperial palace built by Empress Maria Theresia, for its gardens.  Walk up to the Gloriette (there is a little train available to take you up as well) and admire the view of both Schönbrunn and the city center in the distance.  Note that some of the flowers are arranged in the red-white-red of the Austrian flag.

4.) The Wienerwald, the Vienna Woods, gave inspiration to Beethoven (the “Pastoral” symphony), Johann Strauß (son) wrote his “Tales from the Vienna Woods” in three-quarter time, and they inspired several of Schubert’s songs.  In Mayerling in 1899, Crown Prince Rudolf shot his mistress and then himself.  Today, the Vienna Woods are easily reachable by tram (the name the Viennese give their streetcars).  Stop at a Heuriger (wine tavern) in Grinzing, and continue to the Kahlenberg or the Leopoldsberg (both mountains are within the borders of the city). You can hike from Grinzing to Kahlenberg in just an hour.  Or go to the Cobenzl, a ledge of the Kahlenberg where, in his own words, “the secret of dreams was revealed to Dr. Sigmund Freud” during his stays at the Belle Vue Hotel (no longer in existence).

Winter

1.) Go to a concert at the Musikverein, one of the world’s greatest concert halls, at Bösendorferstraße 12 behind the Hotel Imperial (if you are lucky, the Wiener Philharmoniker will be in town). Vienna is also known for the imposing Opera house on the Opernring (where else?). For lighter fare, try the Volksoper, where recent productions included My Fair Lady and operettas such as The Merry Widow.

2.) Go to a Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) from late November through Christmas.  There are several in the city, including one at the Rathaus (city hall) and another at Schloß Schönbrunn.

3.) Take a ride in a Fiaker, a horse-drawn carriage, starting at the Hofburg (Imperial Palace).  Dress warmly; but the driver will provide blankets.  Consider bringing liquid warmth as well.

4.)  Attend the New Year’s Concert (Neujahrskonzert) in 2011. 60,000 people vie for the 3000 tickets available for what are actually three concerts.  The dress rehearsal takes place on the December 30th, followed by the New Year’s Eve concert.  The big event takes place the morning of January 1st.  You can register for the drawing for tickets to the 2011 concert here.

Viennese specialties to try

Wine – In addition to its own wines, Vienna is near several large wine producing regions, including the Wachau region in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), and the Burgenland.  Try a Grüner Veltliner (white) or Zweigelt (red).

Desserts – Salzburger Nockerl is a vanilla dessert soufflé, so heavenly it inspired at least one song.  Sacher Torte is a chocolate cake so important to the city that a lawsuit dragged out over 50 years about rights to the name.  Powiderltascherl are pockets of sweetened potato dough filled with plum jam and covered with roasted breadcrumbs.  Marillenknödel are curd cheese dumplings filled with apricot, covered in breadcrumbs and roasted in butter.  Palatschinken are crèpes (thicker than the French variety) filled with Marmalade, curd cheese, chocolate, or nuts.

Main course – Wiener Schnitzel, made with veal, should cover the plate and you should be able to cut through it like butter.  Wiener Zwiebel Rostbraten is steak smothered in onions.  For lighter fare, try a pair of Frankfurter wurst (sausage), which, in a strange twist, Germans call Wiener.  A bowl of Frittatensuppe (broth with sliced up Palatschinken) or Grießnockerlsuppe (with little dumplings) is quite satisfying.  Although technically a dessert, Kaiserschmarrn, literally the Emperor’s Nonsense, are thick pancakes shredded and sprinkled with raisins and sugar, served with plum kompott, is a marvelous main course as well.

Bier – Gösser and Stiegl are my favorites and you’ll probably want to find a source for them when you get home (same goes for the Austrian wines, I should add).  It is increasingly easy to find a selection of Austrian beer and wine in the States both at restaurants and in shops.

Kaffee – In the 1300+ cafés in Vienna, all coffee in Vienna is served with a small glass of Viennese water on the same tray.  Großer and Kleiner Schwarzer or Mokka, large or small espresso black.  Großer and Kleiner Brauner, the same but served with milk, by custom in a tiny jug on the tray. Wiener Melange, half espresso, half hot frothy milk.  A Fiaker, black coffee with rum, named after Vienna’s famous horse-drawn carriages.  A Kapuziner is a small Mokka with a few drops of whipped cream, making the coffee the color of a Capuchin monk’s robe. An Eiskaffee is cold coffee with ice cream and whipped cream served in a tall glass, perfect for a hot summer day.

How to get there

You can connect via Austrian Airlines from almost every major city in Europe and the airline has direct flights from New York and Washington to Vienna.  Upon arrival, “fly the CAT,” the City Air Train, into the city center (Landstraße) in 16 minutes.  Roundtrip fare is  €16.  And keep your boarding pass as it’s good for free or reduced admission or other benefits at museums and shops around the world.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

I departed New York on 4 September via Austrian Airlines, coincidentally on the first day of ownership of the airline by Lufthansa.  Fortunately, not much has changed and hopefully, as the Austrian newspapers have written, it will simply be “red uniforms without red ink.”

The first order of business was to pick up a BMW Z4 sDrive23 from BMW of Austria and drive to Langenlois, where the beautiful new wine and spa resort  Loisium Hotel beckoned.

After arrival and a pleasant 80 km drive, I checked in and then embarked on a tour of the Loisium Cellar World, a remarkable new museum that features 900 year-old wine cellars with state-of-the-art equipment.

The tour included a walk through some of the vineyards, an opportunity to taste some of the grapes used to make Grüner Veltliner, a theme-park-like introduction to the cellars, the tour itself, a visit to a winemaker’s home ca. 1924, and then a wine tasting.

Enjoy the slide show for the full effect.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

BOARDING

Approximately 20 minutes before departure, I arrived at the gate as boarding was just starting.  I was told that business-class passengers could board at any time.  At the end of the jetbridge, Austrian provided a selection of Austrian and English magazines and newspapers for all passengers, a nice touch.  The flight was only half full so the boarding process went very quickly and we pushed back on schedule.

FLIGHT

I was seated in the front row in the front cabin; as promised, the seat next to me was empty.  A flight attendant quickly offered to hang up my coat.  No pre-departure beverages were served although a crew member quickly brought me a glass of bottled water when I asked for it.

After takeoff, the “gourmet entertainment” (a deservedly trademarked phrase) began.  The flight attendant asked me what beverage I would like and I didn’t expect what would come next: a tray resplendent with Viennese delicacies.

An equally tasty meal was served on the return flight to London

The lunch for the two-hour flight included Tafelspitz Carpaccio made with veal and a truffled crème fraiche; pan-fried pike-perch from the Neusiedlersee, served with potato thyme puree and grilled vegetables.  The breads were warm and delicious and I had a glass of Grüner Veltliner to accompany the meal.

For dessert, the tray included an apricot-topfen tart (the apricots hailed from the Wachau region of Austria, one of the best wine-producing and apricot-growing regions in Europe).

SEAT COMFORT

The Airbus A320 business-class seats are no different (except for the color of the headrest cover) than those in the main cabin except that the middle seat (it’s a 3-3 configuration) is always left vacant (the headrest states “Reserved for your comfort”).  Nonetheless, they were comfortable and more than sufficient for a trip that would last less than two hours.

ARRIVAL

We arrived on time and I was one of the first off the plane.  My luggage was on the carousel within minutes of my arrival in the baggage area.  The only delay (slight) was going through customs.  As I headed through the “green” (nothing to declare) door, a customs official approached me saying “Zollkontrolle.”  After examining my passport, she asked what brought me to Vienna.  As soon as I told her I had tickets for the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Day concert, her face brightened, she congratulated me (60 thousand people vie for 3000 tickets), wished me a happy new year and escorted me out the door without any further questions or examination.

VERDICT

The service was very friendly, the food put every other airline to shame, and I was able to relax and work unimpeded – stopping for the meal, of course.  What more could a business traveler ask for?

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

Mondsee, Austria

The country is known the world over for its music: Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, and Strauß (father and son) are some of the more prominent names of composers but Austria has more recent musical exports including Falco and DJ Ötzi.

One of the most popular destinations in Austria (Österreich) is, of course, its capital city, Wien (Vienna), which offers imperial tradition, wine taverns, the coffee house (Kaffeehaus), and a blend of modern and traditional architecture.  There are of course so many beautiful and distinct areas of the country, all worth a visit at one time or another.

There are nine federal states (Bundesländer)

• Burgenland – capital Eisenstadt;
• Carinthia (Kärnten) – capital Klagenfurt;
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) – capital St. Pölten;
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich) – capital Linz;
• Salzburg – capital Salzburg;
• Styria (Steiermark) – capital Graz;
• Voralberg – capital Bregenz;
• Vienna (Wien) – capital Vienna

If you are driving, make sure to have purchased an Autobahnvignette (toll sticker) and Warnwesten (safety vest, one of the latter for each occupant of the car – and they must be kept inside the vehicle, not in the trunk) before entering Austria.

Austrian Airlines offers non-stop flights from New York (JFK) and Washington, D.C. to Vienna and features numerous non-stop flights from destinations within Europe and the Middle East to Vienna as well.

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.

Terminal 1 is the busy home to 16 airlines. I found Austrian’s check-in area quite easily and checked in without any waiting.  The agent invited me to visit Alitalia’s lounge, where I watched a Euro 2008 match with a glass of wine and a salad.

BOARDING

Austrian allowed early boarding for business class passengers and within minutes I was comfortably ensconced in my business class seat.  The crew was very welcoming and I was offered newspapers and a beverage as well as an amenity kit that contained a very comfortable eyeshade (I find most are too tight) in addition to the usual toothbrush/toothpaste, socks, lip gloss, and moisturizer.

SEAT COMFORT

The new business class seats offer 60” of legroom and 180° angled lie-flat seats with 10.4” displays with 12 movie and 12 audio channels entertainment options, noise cancelling headset, and laptop power points.  On the 767, seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration and include a massage function and a mid-level relaxation setting, comfortable for reading. Despite the angle of incline (X°), narrowness (width is only 18.2”), and no privacy screen, I managed to sleep comfortably with the help of a thick duvet and fluffy pillows.    I was seated in 1G and the purser, noticing that I was being disturbed by passengers crossing in front of me to go to the lavatory, put the empty seat next to me in bed mode and barricaded me in.

FLIGHT

Once onboard, as we waited close to two hours in queue for takeoff, the Austrian crew did something I’ve never seen on another flight; they started meal service while we were on the ground.  Just as I was getting hungry, the chef and crew started placing table cloths onto our tray tables and served an amuse bouche.  They were going to continue with another course but by then we were cleared for takeoff.

Once aloft, something else unusual occurred.  Instead of going to sleep, everyone opted for the full meal service.

I started with the seared beef salad with goat cheese, tomato carpaccio, and balsamic dressing (other options were smoked salmon tartare, grilled green asparagus, and potato rösti) followed by a Viennese pea soup.  Warm baked breads[BA1] and rolls were served throughout the meal.

Austrian’s wine list is unparalleled.  I started with the Grüner Veltliner Am Berg from the Weingut Ott in Wagram, which was very crisp with a dry finish.

My main course was a rack of spring lamb, tender and perfectly cooked, accompanied by creamy pumpkin (grown in Styria) and pappardelle,   Other choices were a swordfish brochette or linguini with buffalo mozzarella.   I wisely chose the wonderful Zweigelt Red Soil from the Weingut Fritsch.

I skipped the fruit and cheese course but indulged in the apple strudel.

Austrian is the only airline I know of with a special coffee menu, in the Viennese Kaffeehaus tradition.  The coffee selection included everything I could find in my Stammcafe (regular café) in Vienna, including a Wiener Melange (black coffee with hot milk and foamed milk), a Fiaker (coffee with cognac and schlag), and an imposing Wiener Eiskaffee (double espresso with ice cream and schlag in a tall glass).

ARRIVAL

Despite the late departure, we made up some time in the air and, with a freshly prepared breakfast from our chef (including freshly prepared eggs, the only bland menu item I came across), everyone was in good spirits upon arrival.  Clearing immigration took minutes and baggage was on the carousel very quickly.

RETURN FLIGHT

Arriving at Vienna Airport, I was pleased to find a curbside check-in for business class passengers.  I was warmly welcomed and given information on the procedure for taking my checked luggage to customs to get my VAT refund form stamped.  The business class lounge near my departure area, which, although a bit small, had comfortable chairs and tables, WLAN at no charge, showers, toiletries (including toothbrush and toothpaste), and food and beverages provided by DO & CO.

Once on board, for lunch, I started with goose liver paté (although I could have had Styrian-style duck breast, Austrian sheep cheese, or volcano ham), a Tirolean wine soup, and filet of beef (other choices included Marchfeld asparagus with volcano ham and chicken Kiew).  That was followed by dessert; I had a wonderful Viennese Eiskaffee.

The light supper, served before we landed at JFK, included a choice of prawns on leaf salad or a tasty linguini with artichokes, olives, and tomatoes (which was my choice).

VERDICT

Austria is famous for offering gemütlichkeit, a kind of hospitality that defies translation although it could be a mixture of cozy and comfortable and peaceful.  The crews on both flights were the epitome of gemütlich but what else would you have expected from Austrian?

–Jonathan B. Spira is the Editor of Executive Road Warrior and Chief Analyst at Basex, a knowledge economy research firm.