Hello Vertical- Local Expert,
A fun bunch of four will be in Vienna on Dec 15th %26amp; 16th. Can you recommend a centrally located, moderately priced hotel for us to stay in. We are also interested in attending a classical/opera concert, can you recommend a place for Friday, Dec. 16th. We would like to buy you some Punsch and thank you in person if you are in town. Thanks in advance for your help! Ericka
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Hello Tejas Girl - Ericka:
Your message quickly gets my attention when you mention Punsch! It is time now to have this good hot drink in Vienna.
Some of the best - the Kiosk on Michaelerplatz in front of the entrance to the Hofburg Palace. A good place and it assists in a good charity.
Also fun places for Punsch on Graben - a pedestrian shopping area of good shops in the center of the city. Many stop here after work or shopping. Nice atmosphere at both places with Christmas lights etc.
Thank you for your kind offer but that is not necesary as it is fun to add some information to visitors to this beautiful city.
I would not recommend any one hotel- do not know your likes and dislikes - but look at these on the trip Advisor site for good information
Pension Pertschy
Starlight Suites 1 and 2
Hollman Beletage ( a really small place -9 rooms)
Konig von Ungarn
Hotel Altstadt
All except the Altstadt are in the First First District
But these are all in good locations for access to tourist sights, public transport, restaurants etc.
For culture - several choices
December 15- Fledermaus - famous operetta by Strauss at the Volksoper. english subtitles
For more information
www.volksoper.at click on english
you can buy tickets on these sites also.
December 16 - at the State Opera - Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro
you can access the State Opera web site
www.staatsoper.at
All of the Christmas Markets will be open during your visit.They make for a fun time.
You can combine a visit to Schonbrunn with a visit to the Christmas Market in front. Go early- it can get crowded.
Make plans quickly as the city becomes very crowded during these days.
If you need added information just ask at this site.Numerous posters have good knowledge of the city- except when they drink too much %26quot; Turbo%26quot; Punsch. Ask for one - or two.
Enjoy your visit!
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Just to add to Vertical%26#39;s suggestions, Carmen is on at the Volksoper on 16th December. I%26#39;m trying to get tix for Figaro (they go on sale tomorrow morning around 8am Vienna time so if you%26#39;re interested, you better be ready on the Staatsoper website to pounce!) The sales are already open for Carmen and there are loads of tix left there; they%26#39;re also a lot cheaper than the SO (50 euros gets you an excellent seat in the parterre - uh, ground floor!).
For hotels, I quite like the ones around Schwedenplatz eg. Pension Christina (a branch of Pertschy so a good standard; see www.pertschy.com) or Hotel Post. Pension Nossek is reasonably priced and in a fabulous location smack bang on the Graben right next to Julius Meinl (lovely grub); they have big multiple-bed rooms that might be a good choice for you - see www.pension-nossek.at
I%26#39;m in Wien that weekend too and plan an orgy of market-shopping/concerts/goose-gobbling!
r
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Rats and hoo! I was assigned a seat for Figaro on 16/12 but it is not in the price bracket I wanted and it is one near the back of the Balkon where my long, sausage-like legs are going to be mashed to a putty! Owww! I will never comprehend their ordering system!
Rol, wondering if a crash diet between now and December would help. Except that is not likely to shrink her feet.
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Roley:
Just have a few cups of Punsch before the performance- your legs will not bother you !
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I had forgotten about Pension Nossek- only problem there - it can be noisy early in the morning.
Rooms that face Graben( the pedestrian zone in front get the noise of early morning trash removal, the Bus 1A traveling by every 5 minutes and many delivery trucks bringing goods to the stores. This can extra busy during Christmas period.
The location is perfect if you do not sleep late- past 7am
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Good idea about the punsch - a few glases of that and I%26#39;ll be quite %26quot;legless%26quot; as the English say!
And yes - for Nossek, it can be noisy on the Graben but if you have one of the (cheaper) rooms facing onto the courtyard/shaft at the centre of the building, it is so quiet probably the only thing to wake you up will be the sound of your own snoring! Plus the dull roar of vehicles isn%26#39;t nearly so aggravating, to my mind, as screeching, chattering restaurant or club-goers far into the night - and that is definitely not a problem on that part of the Graben!
Rol
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Roley - you forget the two Punsch stands on Graben just below the Nossek. Noise? Party -goers? Punsch drinkers - some of the worst offenders!
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Hola Vertical,
Thank you very much for your assistance. This trip is going to be amazing! I can%26#39;t wait for my first sip of Punsch! We are reviewing your recommendations and will have everything finalized by Thanksgiving, Nov. 24th. We want to attend the Figaro concert, but do you think it is a good idea to watch the entire show? A friend recommended we purchase standing room tickets and only watch 1/2 hour-1 hour. What do you recommend? I I%26#39;ve said this before in another post, but I like this website very much. It is wonderful that we can chat with people from different countries and receive such valuable information. Thank you again for your help!
Hi Roley,
Thank you for your suggestions. They will be very helpful in planning our trip. Maybe we%26#39;ll see you after the concert and have some Punsch together!
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The Marriage of Figaro is a 3 1/2 hour opera with one intermission. The leading cast members and Director are very well- known to opera goers and some of their favorites. In addition ,this ia a very busy tourist time. You may find the standing room line for tickets before the performance to be very long and you may be unable to get tickets.
Most would not wish to see just 1/2 hour of this opera after working so hard to get tickets.
But that is up to you and your group.
Standing Room gets tiresome after 1 hour.
After a day of touring, your feet will not like it so much.
You may find it better to look for one of the many concerts held elsewhere. You can buy tickets for one of them when you are in Vienna.These are not too expensive, you get a seat and can leave at the intermission with no problems.
Plus, so many things to do in the city, that unless you are a real Opera fan your time can be better spent elsewhere as you will not be in the city that long.
Plus this gives Roley more room without having to rely on a Punsch to soothe her bones!
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Absolutely! I usually come out of there needing 2 hip replacements as it is!
But maybe our Texan poster and friends might be interested in the 10 euros seats with obscured view at Figaro. At least you can buy those in advance, sit in (some) comfort rather than be on your hind legs after a long day, and leave at the intermission if you%26#39;ve run out of stamina (allowing people with standing tickets a chance to pinch your seats and sit down). They go on sale tomorrow morning at www.staatsoper.at if that sounds like a plan. But on a cold, cold night in December in Vienna I really prefer to be tucked up in one of the opera houses to roaming the streets when you need a flame thrower rather than Punsch to keep the cold at bay.
One chilly but shorter alternative would be a church concert - there%26#39;s almost always something on in one of the churches if you decided to give the opera a miss. Cheaper and good music - but make sure you wear full outdoor clothes because those places are like a deep-freeze! The tourist information website events database contains information about the church concerts. I heard a lovely one in December last year with the Wiener Kammerorchester in Stephansdom. Have a look at
www.nethotels.com/events/english/events.asp…
Ah, I see there is indeed a similar concert by soloists from the Wiener Kammerorchester on 16/12 at Stephansdom - I thought they were rather good.
Rol, who hopes it won%26#39;t be -13 deg C this year!
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