We headed to Vienna on the Railjet in the morning for a mini-visit to the city that was mostly spare the ravages of WWII. Last night, we booked a room for two nights at the Hotel Mercure near the WestBahn train station -- our base of exploration of Vienna in the next two days. The train ride was quiet and relaxing -- the fastest speed on this segment was about 90 miles per hour. The Hungarian countryside zoomed by and we arrived in Vienna's West side train station at 12:15 PM.
After walking a block to Hotel Mercure, we checked in and spent a few hours catching up on sleep. Later, Debbe found a wine tasting bar on TripAdvisor, the Vinothek W-einkehr, which she wanted to visit. It was located in the city center about 4.5 miles from the hotel. We bought day pass tickets on the Vienna subway system after exchanging dollars for Euros at the Post Office ATM in the WestBahn station. After five stops on the #3 line, we ended up at the Stephanplatz where the famous and ancient St. Stephen Church is located.
After a short walk in the busy center town area, we arrived at the wine bar, a small joint with a dozen seats inside and outside. The proprietor Roland, who spoke excellent English, was very friendly and suggested that we have a tasting of six red and four white wines made from Austrian grapes. He is very knowledgeable about Austrian wines. Roland presented each wine with friendly service and knowledge of the history and wine regions. We were provided with a mini leaflet giving more detailed information about the grape used in making the wine. We also ordered a charcuterie/cheese plate to share ... a great complement to the wines we were tasting. All the wines were good to excellent and were pleased to sample a good selection. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find many Austrian wines outside the country since the wineries produce limited quantities.
The room at the Mercure Hotel was small but clean and smartly furnished. The breakfasts provided were beyond our expectations with a variety of eggs, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, pastries, fruits and great coffee.
After walking a block to Hotel Mercure, we checked in and spent a few hours catching up on sleep. Later, Debbe found a wine tasting bar on TripAdvisor, the Vinothek W-einkehr, which she wanted to visit. It was located in the city center about 4.5 miles from the hotel. We bought day pass tickets on the Vienna subway system after exchanging dollars for Euros at the Post Office ATM in the WestBahn station. After five stops on the #3 line, we ended up at the Stephanplatz where the famous and ancient St. Stephen Church is located.
After a short walk in the busy center town area, we arrived at the wine bar, a small joint with a dozen seats inside and outside. The proprietor Roland, who spoke excellent English, was very friendly and suggested that we have a tasting of six red and four white wines made from Austrian grapes. He is very knowledgeable about Austrian wines. Roland presented each wine with friendly service and knowledge of the history and wine regions. We were provided with a mini leaflet giving more detailed information about the grape used in making the wine. We also ordered a charcuterie/cheese plate to share ... a great complement to the wines we were tasting. All the wines were good to excellent and were pleased to sample a good selection. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find many Austrian wines outside the country since the wineries produce limited quantities.
The room at the Mercure Hotel was small but clean and smartly furnished. The breakfasts provided were beyond our expectations with a variety of eggs, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, pastries, fruits and great coffee.
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