Want a great heuriger that is not in Grinzing?

Alex, is this one easy to get to on public transport?

You need to work a bit, but not hard. As I recall you catch the D tram from the Ring going towards Nussdorf. You pop off at Sieveringstrasse and catch the bus 36A to where it ends On Agnesstrasse...walk downhill on Agnesstrasse into the vineyards...you will find signeage after about 1/4 mile? A short hike uphill into their vineyards brings you to it...you won't regret it. It is also possible to take a taxi, but we enjoyed the adventure of getting there by the public transit.
You are in Corvallis, we are ex-Eugene (Ducks). My sister in-law taught at your local Waldorf school until recently. Are you enjoying your snow?:-)

Alex, thanks for the info.

In answer to your question: No, I don't like the snow here in Corvallis. Ironically I came here from Colorado (Aurora) to get away from the snow. I hear you're having another cold blast down there.

You will love the Zimmermann. Yeah, it's cold here, but I think we will warm up later in the week. We miss Oregon ( lots of water and things grow easily) and may end up in Gold Beach.
Another great place to go is Restaurant Engelhardt. It is in Heiligenstadt, an easy tram ride from city center. The restaurant has a great view over Vienna and the food/wine is exceptional. We went there on New Year's Eve (actually the place we were going to go to was closed next door, and LUCKILY Engelhardt had a cancellation) at midnight the Blue Danube was played and many of the locals waltzed as the fireworks went off over Vienna. Great place! The area is also good for wandering and has another one of Beethoven's homes you can visit, many other heurigen in the area as well.
They don't have a website, but here is an info link:
http://www.nileguide.com/destination/vienna/restaurants/zur-schonen-aussicht-restaurant-engelhardt/427595
When do you go to Wien?

Thanks for your helpful replies Alex. We will be there sometime between mid-June and mid-July (itinerary is not set you so we could begin there or end there or be there somewhere in the middle), hope to spend 4-5 nights and will do a daytrip to Bratislava and maybe Melk/Durnstein. I've been to Vienna before but my daughter has not and I wanted us to go to a heuriger at least one evening, maybe two (in two different areas) so your suggestions are appreciated. When I was there before we went to Grinzing - touristy but much fun, maybe had a little too much 'new wine' that time.

I'm hoping to end up on the coast eventually also, have looked at Bandon and Brookings and anywhere in between so Gold Beach is on my radar too.

You are welcome Nancy,
If you want heurigen that are pretty easy to get to and do not have the crowds of people that Grinzing does, take the D tram from the ring to its last stop in Nussdorf...you will find many to choose from that are very good. We went to one that was next to the Schubert Auer and it was very good.
Another really good option is Zum Alten Pflug...you won't find many tourists there at all and they sometimes have music. It is very local. You take the U-bahn U6 and get off at Am Schöpfwerk station, go down the stairs and follow Am Schöpfwerk to the left? In about 1-2 blocks you will find it...a real treasure.
http://www.alterpflug.at/home/
If you want a really good (not cheap) meal in Vienna itself try Der Kuckuck:
http://www.derkuckuck.com/Restaurant_Der_Kuckuck_English/Restaurant_Der_Kuckuck_en_ueber_uns.html
Reserve for this place.
You want some really good reasonably priced traditional Austrian, go to Gasthaus Pöschl...you will not be disappointed..yum, yum!! Reserve if you want dinner there, lunch is usually okay for walk in. They don't have a website but here is a Yelp link;
http://www.yelp.com/biz/gasthaus-p%C3%B6schl-wien
Where do you stay in Wien?
You really should do an overnight if you go to Durnstein...I know a place. (:-)

I'll be in Wien in May.

For another place to enjoy good cheap Austrian cusine in Vienna, esp Schnitzel, as the name suggests, go to Schnitzelwirt on Neubaugasse, a short walk down from Westbahnhof on Mariahilferstraße...one of the advantages of staying at Westbahnhof.

Fred,
Try Wieden Brau as well:
http://wieden-braeu.at/
We really liked it for the same things you mentioned, our local friends took us there the last time we visited and we had a great time.
I know you have visited many times before so maybe this will be a new one to try.

@ Alex...thanks for the tip. Menu at Wieden Bräu looks good, good variety and choice of dishes, good prices too. Now, I'll have to figure out to get there from Westbahnhof since the zip codes (Postleitzahl) are different.

Where are you staying in Westbahnhof area Fred? We used to stay at Fürstenhof across the Platz from the Westbahn, but have opted for apartments for our successive visits. You really should try Zum Alten Pfulg (listed in my earlier post) as well...great food and wine. May is always my favorite time for Wien, the city seems to be awakening from winter and all of the city is ablaze with flowers.

Alex, we're hoping to get an apartment for our 4-5 nights in Vienna. What area do you get an apartment in?

Hi Nancy,
Apartments Augarten:
http://www.apartment.at/eng/apartment/66
Beatrix Walkner is a wonderful landlady and easy to deal with (no hidden fees or nonsense). She speaks English and is very helpful. The apartments are a little outside of city center, but the Taborstrasse U-bahn station is right in front of the apartment building so you will be in City Center within 5 minutes. The apartments are very clean and quiet. Nice bakeries are nearby and many markets as well. You are also within a block or so from the famous Augarten porcelin works as well. Beatrix's family also owns the restaurant on the ground floor, Zur Reblaus, which is very good and with few tourists.

@Alex...when I stay in Wien at Westbahnhof anywhere from for four to eight days (?) or so, I stay at a hotel most of that visit and maybe a night or two at the hostel (All three hostels at Westbahnhof are close by) ....all within walking distance of each other, ca 5-10 mins max esp when you know the area well, which I do. That certainly helps since I've seen tourists trying to track presumably their accomodations using smart phones and being frustrated. Westbahnhof has numerous hotels priced at various levels of luxury depending on your budget. Thanks for the restaurant plug there.

Fred,
Yes, it is good to know the area well. We have stayed in so many different parts and have friends all over there. It is great to be able to walk almost anywhere in the city and know where you are at. Enjoy your time in May.

If you want something special in the way of a heuriger, try Weingut am Reisenberg:

http://www.weingutamreisenberg.at/

If you are willing to go a bit farther, Nierscher hits all the right notes with a lovely garden, the best heuriger food I have had anywhere, and nice people. Just take a taxi from Heiligenstadt. Once you get there you won't mind the extra cost.

http://www.nierscher.at/

I also highly recommend making the heurigen experience a full day one, rather than an evening. My favorite thing to do is to take the 38A bus from Heiligenstadt to Kahlenberg for the view of Vienna. Then take Stadtwanderweg 1 (a very walkable path through woods and vineyards which is very well marked) back down to Nussdorf. There are several outdoor heurigen (really called Buschenschank) which you will pass on the way down. Have a piece of bread with some freshly sliced ham and freshly grated horseradish on top with a glass of wine and you are set.

Slightly off topic, I have to disagree with Fred on staying in the Westbahnhof area. It is one of the few areas of Vienna I would term "seedy," especially the hotels along the main road (Gurtel). Lots of red light activity, graffiti, and general ugliness, in my opinion. Transportation is good from anywhere in Vienna, not just at Westbahnhof. I always wonder what kind of impression tourists get of Vienna when they stay in that area and wander around....

If someone if trying to avoid the cost of staying within the Ring, would suggest looking in districts 3, 4, and 8 (as close to the Ring as possible).

Wieden Bräu is great and I highly second that recommendation. Best pretzels I have ever had. Fred, you are correct that it is in a different district as Westbahnhof - Wieden is actually the proper name of the 4th District.

Fred, if you ever need to figure out how to get from one place to another in Vienna, you should use this link:

http://www.wienerlinien.at/eportal/ep/home.do?tabId=0

In addition, you could download the Qando app on your phone or tablet. This is the official app of the Wiener Linien and will help you get around town when visiting.

@ Emily..."general ugliness" as regards to Westbahnhof. That's a bit strong. That's not my view at all, esp since the completion of the Westbahnhof in 2011. I don't find the immediate area seedy/gritty at all for a big city in Europe when compared to others. Just a different assessment, that's all.

True, among the tourists I've seen in the summer there, I've seen very few North Americans, some British relative to all other nationalities and hearing what languages are spoken. . It must be that the Americans choose to stay elsewhere, such in the Ringstraße area or Kärntnerstraße. Staying on Mariahilferstraße or one to two U-Bahn stops down from Westbahnhof is no problem. Just a 2-4 min walk from the hotel/hostel and I am at the station. No need to rely on any public transportaion or a taxi to get me there on time.

Thanks for the tip on finding one's way around in Wien, Since Wieden Bräu is in zipcode 1030, that's not totally unfamiliar to me. It's located in the same zip code as the Arsenal where the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum is, which easily accessible from Westbahnhof by tram, a direct connection too.

Fred, Wieden Brau is in the 4th District (1040), not the 3rd (1030), so nowhere near Arsenal. As mentioned above, Wieden is actually the proper name of the 4th. Perhaps you are thinking about Salm Brau, which is in the 3rd (but still not really within walking distance of Arsenal; the 3rd is large, I should know that's where I live).

I am pretty sure that most Viennese would agree with me that the Gurtel is pretty ugly, especially around Westbahnhof, despite the recent renovation. It definitely lacks the charm and character that one associates with Vienna.

I also don't understand the advantage of staying close to Westbahnhof, in particular. Wouldn't a visitor needing to travel by train rather arrive, take public transport to their centrally located hotel where they can see sites on foot everyday? That sure beats staying away from center at the station and taking public transport back and forth everyday to see the sites. Westbahnhof is also one of several train stations in Vienna, a visitor traveling by train might not need that station at all.

@ Emily...Thanks for the correction, that's was a slip. Then I'll have to find Wieden Bräu anew from Westbahnhof since I already know how to get to Arsenal because of the Museum.

I see the logic you present in not staying at Westbahnhof, esp if you are a brand new to Wien. True, also that one may not need Westbahnhof as a station at all, depending on one's itinerary arriving in and departing from Vienna. Presumably, North Americans arriving in Vienna come from the west. That's why Westbahnhof is convenient (as a junction point), unless the visitor is coming from Prague. Going to Budapest is easy from Westbahnhof instead of departing from Meidling or the other one.

From Westbahnhof it's easy by U-Bahn to reach Meidling, the only other train station I am vaguely familiar with since I took a day trip to Graz in 2012, which cannot be done from Westbahnhof.

I have to agree for the new visitor Center is maybe the best, (it depends on how adventurous you are...and we are that) although we stayed at the Fuerstenhof , by the Westbahn on our first arrival long ago and were not disappointed at all. We also stayed out in Sievering at the Zur Agnes and liked it as well. Some people do like to be right where all the attractions are, some don't mind saving a little and traveling a bit to get there. The one thing about Vienna is it has a wonderful public transit system so you can be in the center very quickly from almost anywhere.
Our first apartments were out in Floridsdorf and though the area is working class we still liked it fine and were able to get into the center within about 15 minutes (had an absolutely wonderful landlady as well). We now stay over off of Augartenstrasse and really love it and the apartments.
Mainly for the return visitor, if you know the city and the transit system, it is a matter of price for accommodation. The apartments, for us, were the best way to go...price-wise and the way we like to settle in a city (plus we like to shop local and cook in occasionally).

My last time in Vienna I was asked by a good friend of mine to look up the house of a composer/musician who had fled when Hitler rolled in. That composer ended up in Hollywood writing the music to some of the films of the late '30s and '40s...Erich Wolfgang Korngold. With information I got from the hostel (Westbahnhof), I found the house, no museum, just a plaque explaining it was his house from when to when. (He came back to it after the war too.)

The house is located on the other side of Pulverturmgasse, which I by chance came across and recognised the name. Having stayed in a HI hostel there on my first visit to Wien in 1971, I found that building, which is no longer used as a hostel. Taking the U-Bahn to Nußdorferstraße, then walking to Pulverturmgasse, I didn't realise how far from the center this street was. Obviously, after 40 years the place had changed completely. Yes, getting around Vienna by the U-Bahn makes it alot easier than doing that only by tram. In the early 1970s there was no U-Bahn, it was being built.

The one composer who fled and was the first one honored on his return after the war in Vienna was Robert Stoltz...he had quite a story for his life...I also am quite a listener to his music and operettas.