“Hi! I’d like a McSchnitzel and a new passport, with a side visa for Slovenia, please.”
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And for free public bathrooms.
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“What the hell kind of pickle is this?”
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I can imagine Trump saying G’day mate to an Austrian.
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My Austrian sources tell me that the Swedish foreign ministry and IKEA have signed a letter of intent already.
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There is a bunch of traditional coffee houses around. I don’t know of a single one of the really important ones that got turned into a Starbucks. Just off the top of my head: Eiles, Prückl, Alt Wien, Sperl, Diglas, Hawelka, the big and overpriced ones like Landtmann and Central, etc. etc. All still there, so I think you’re being a bit over dramatic.
Also, there are a bunch of modern coffee shops (as in real coffee, not Starbucks dirt water) that have popped up in recent years that I very much appreciate because tbh, as much as I like the atmosphere in traditional coffee houses, their actual coffee mostly isn’t my cup of tea.
Let me also offer a warning to all of our foreign friends visiting Vienna at this place: There is a cafe near the Westbahnhof train station, the “Cafe Westend” that looks like a nice traditional coffee house. Stay far away from that shithole! It is a bona fide tourist trap that feeds off its proximity to the train station and its traditional looks.
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A great idea considering the dangers faced by US citizens in the war zone that are the streets of Vienna. I can only imagine those golden arches shimmering through the smoke like a burning beacon of hope and freedom, tears of joy forming tiny river beds as they wash away the dirt from their cheeks.
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Or the coffee vending machine at the Sicherheitsbüro…
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I will add a bit of context for that very obscure reference:
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The Drew Carey Show used this as a gag in a episode where Drew winds up in China with no money or passport and the only way he gets home is finding a good old-fashioned American McDonald’s in Beijing:
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Westend somewhat improved after the renovation, but it’s nothing special.
What I would add to the “avoid” list is Cafe Museum near Karlsplatz. While it’s a classic location, the quality has suffered greatly over time.
I also don’t think Starbucks had a very significant impact. While the initial market entry did popularize take-away coffee (which is a good thing), they haven’t really expanded since.
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But I don’t think McDonalds has rat-things.
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I have noticed the google reviews have gone up. In earlier reviews there were actual accounts of the manager calling the police on customers who didn’t want to pay for items they didn’t order but were served anyway.
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No, not being dramatic. I think there were three places that had been switched over. I don’t recall exactly which ones, because I’m always hot and grumpy when we’re in Wien (always in early July, and we stay with family in the Weinviertel, so it’s a trek, with three small children in tow, so somewhat traumatizing), but everyone one of the shops that changed was very near Schönbrunn, either on the same street as or within sight of the steady stream of carriages full of tourists. I could go digging through the vacation photos to find the pictures if I were called to testify. These were all smaller places, not the famous ones.
Just checked in with my wife to get my facts straight. It was TWO that changed into Starbucks, and the one that upset her the most was the Braunerhof, The third had been a coffeeshop and changed into a Pizza Hut when she was there and now it’s a coffee shop again. We’re talking close ~30 years ago.
You’re not alone. I only found out last week that Julian Assange is Australian. All this time I thought he was Austrian (though TBF I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak).
Diglas, three weeks ago. From 19pm on there is a pianist playing live. Got pictures of the food if someones interested. My favorite in Vienna isn’t the coffee but Ottakringer Radler.
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Heh, that lasted for about three weeks. The pizza market is saturated already, and american style pizza is a hard sell. They pulled out entirely around 2000 or so. Now Dominos is trying, but I don’t know how well they’re doing.
