alternate drinks at heurigen

Probably my post you are referring to...

Yes, in the warmer months the afternoon is ideal. Didn’t say lunch, however. You just want to enjoy the sun. Late afternoon is fine, but many open earlier, especially on the weekends.

Heurigen will serve all sorts of non-alcoholic drinks. Water, fruit juice with sparky or tap water, sodas...

I like to order grape juice with sparkling water for my kids - traubensaft gespritz. You could also do apple juice the same way, but grape juice is better.

thanks for the clarification

There are 3 reasons to heurigen: to guzzle cheap rot gut wine. to listen to Schrammelmusiik, and to soak up the atmosphere. But the atmosphere depends on the first two, so why do you want to do this?

I know you get the music at diner, but I don't know about lunch. I'd go to pastry shop & eat cake instead.

I agree on one of the three reasons above - for the atmosphere. If you go to a good heurigen, then the wine will be high quality. I’ve also been to dozens of heurigen and Buschenschank. Never have I heard music as I believe that only happens at the tourist bus places.

the tourist bus places is exactly what I am trying to avoid.

OTOH, is there a good time to pass through Kinzing - not to necessarily stop but to see how it looks - when the hordes are missing? Sunday morning maybe?

Do the trams start early enough on Sundays, or are they like British trains which have a lie in for a while?

oh, and what, exactly is "Schrammelmusiik"? Is it like the Schlagermusik that I enjoy?

" Schrammelmusik " is quintessentially late nineteenth century Viennese work , usually for two violins , diatonic accordion and contra guitar ( often the addition of a sopranino clarinet ) This short article will explain further - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrammelmusik Here are two good examples ; This waltz by a largely forgotton composer , Carl Michael Ziehrer - https://youtu.be/RPf_fPtb3Yg and this superb group , ( members of The Vienna State Opera Orchestra ) https://youtu.be/V6oYfd9-2o0 This last performance is located in The Neue Burg on the Heldenplatz ( near the musical instrument collection )

Nigel - Trams start around 5 am. All public transportation, for that matter, does. Go to Grinzing anytime, just avoid the heurigen there. For a more authentic atmosphere, take Tram 31 to Stammersdorf and explore that area instead.

I'm looking forward to the walk you outlined, and saw a youtube of the Stadtwanderweg 1 which looks perfect.

I like to see quite a lot when I travel, and think that the portal for trams at the Kinzing terminus looks cool, so I'd like to look around there, but enjoy the atmosphere elsewhere.

As soon as we can travel we will have a go.

Authentic Schrammelmusik - especially in the original orchestration - is very rare nowadays and hard to find. Most music at the Heurigen is more tourist-style, with its quality spanning a wide range.

For a nonalcoholic sparkling beverage, I enjoy almdudler - it’s kind of an herby ginger ale taste. Our teen daughter always ordered it on our trip to Vienna, and I just had the chance to taste it again at the Neue Galerie museum cafe in New York, which is an attempt to recreate a Viennese cafe. Yum!

Another vote for the Almdudler. That is served at the "Restaurant Arsenalstube" located on the premises of the Army Museum, the HGM.

Ask for "Brause" when it comes to non-alcoholic drinks. I had that the first time in Germany in 1971.

Almdudler is served in every single restaurant and bar in Austria. Too sweet for me.

Ask for "Brause" when it comes to non-alcoholic drinks. I had that the first time in Germany in 1971.

The term "Brause" has a different meaning in German German and Austrian German. In either language it is outdated and rarely used anymore.

If you want to have a soda in Austria, use "Limonade" or "Kracherl" (especially in Vienna). Note that "Soda" in German is something different.

The word "Brause" is absolutely not outdated. If it were, why would bottles containing that drink still carry that name which I saw in the drink section of grocery stores such as in Vienna? Germans told me (in Berlin) that the word was still used, ie, zeitgemäß.