Julia Heiligenbrunner (1982)

When I used to live in the 8th district U.S.W. soon became my second home. I find the mix of music played at the U.S.W. – mostly Alternative, Indie and Rock – to be one of the very best in the city! “u.s.w.” is the German shortcut for “and so forth” while “Beisl” is Viennese slang for pub. Usually I happened to be there on Sundays when there was free Chili Con Carne served with any consumed drink as well as on Thursdays, for free table soccer.

Nowadays they serve differing meals each Sunday, still for free! The food is mostly typical Austrian: Schweinsbraten (the Austrian classic), roasted dumplings with egg, bell-pepper-flavored chicken with “Nockerl” (similar to the Italian gnocchi, but made from egg dough), Chili Con Carne & last but not least Schinkenfleckerl (noodles with bacon au gratin). So even now that my way there is quite a long one, you’ll still find me around quite often.

“Mahlzeit!” [maːltsaɪt] is what we say in Austria for ‘Enjoy your meal!’.

“Thee” was used in the 19th century and is old German for the word “tea”. This Theehandlung is basically a shop where tea lovers (like me) stock up their supplies. I’m stressing the expression ‘lovers’ here since it covers not only a great range of teas from all over the world but also tea sets, honey with numerous flavors, cookies and everything else you can think of that would go well with the infusion drink.

Besides all the equipment to make your private tea party a perfect one, this spot also has a small yet lovely gallery upstairs which fits eleven people at maximum. It is so cozy sitting above the heads of other customers, listening to the salespersons (with their typical Austrian accent) explaining all the dos and don’ts and giving shoppers tips about how to brew their particular type. Also gazing out on the street at a plethora of passengers or the bus driving by on narrow Wollzeile is like watching TV.

All in all having a cup of tea or a snack on Theehandlung’s balcony is one of the most relaxing ways to pause for a bit while in Vienna’s city center.

This is a fairly new spot in town, however it has become pretty popular. Name the reason for the success of this bar/cinema/pavilion? I’d say it’s their attitude. The owners regard themselves as ‘easy & casual’ which also is the kind of customer they want to attract. Given that the musical concept is not put into frame but is flexible to differing parties, you get Electronic, Hip Hop, Rock, Funk and SingerSongwriter as well as unclassified genres.

On Wednesdays singer/songwriters perform – again entry = free. Thursday nights are best to go for fans of table soccer (in Austria that’s called “wuzzeln” ) play at no charge!

Fridays and Saturdays are open to varied parties where dancing is strictly recommended.

Their guiding slogan: “Working hard for better parties in Vienna!” tells you what to expect.

Note: closed on 6th & 11th this month and with a big party Friday 15th they say “Have a nice summer!”, then the bar will be closed until August 31st.

This bistro still is an insiders’ tip, brand new – it opened just last December- yet it’s already well known amongst Viennese for its delicious vegan cuisine and charming interior – make sure to pay the toilet a visit!

What I, as a non-vegan, yet mouth-watering-meals-lover like about this place besides the food? The huge window to look out of or if the weather is nice to sit right there, on Karmeliterplatz! If you happen to see men in black with big hats and sidelocks, be advised that the second district is home of the (Orthodox) Jewish community in Vienna – if you’re looking for kosher dining, you might want to check Bahur Tov or Simchas.

Back to Harvest now before getting lost in the where-to-eat-out-next-shuffle: they provide you with a daily changing buffet at which you can choose from big or small plates as well as salad variations. From 16:00 on you can order the ‘Abendteller’ which is a big plate plus salad for € 8.80. Besides the lunch buffet there are also standard dishes like goulash with bread dumplings or vegetable curry with potatoes. On Sundays you might want to enjoy their brunch.
Ingredients are carefully selected here, organic and as eco-friendly as possible.

“Mahlzeit!” [maːltsaɪt] – “Enjoy your meal!” [ɪnˈdʒɔɪ jər ˈmiːl!] – “Bon appétit” [bɔ̃n- apeti]

“Freiwilliger Durchgang” is a pretty funny term because literally translated this would mean “walk through voluntarily”. In fact this is very old German language, so the actual meaning is slightly different from that: In the early 19th-century more & more houses were built in Vienna so that people had to walk around blocks. Here it must be said that the typical Viennese is a lazy one. So the owner of buildings that were connected by their courtyards voluntarily allowed pedestrians to take a shortcut through their property.

Nowadays there are only a few of those hidden ‘time machines’ left in Vienna. Why time machine? Those alleyways are now considered precious architectural heritage and are therefore listed buildings. You can enter one of these connecting passages on shopping street Mariahilferstraße 45, this one you can walk down until you get to the Naschmarkt (check out the Naschmarkt article!).

In the Raimundhof alleyway you’ll find a nice jewelry shop right where you enter and a bit further down on the left is one of my favorite shops called Gräfin vom Raimundhof. Brand-new is the cheese boutique which just opened here. Find nice bars and restaurants, all set in the small and quiet passage where you might get a sense of how Vienna was like in the Biedermeier era.