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OK, as long as we're riffing on Vienna, I have a question. I don't know if anyone here would know, but do they still have nightclubs or cabarets, or restaurants where Hungarian and Romanian and/or Balkan music groups play, I'm talking about folk music? I've heard from older generations that Vienna used to be full of those, and it sounds so cool. I love that music.
OK, as long as we're riffing on Vienna, I have a question. I don't know if anyone here would know, but do they still have nightclubs or cabarets, or restaurants where Hungarian and Romanian and/or Balkan music groups play, I'm talking about folk music? I've heard from older generations that Vienna used to be full of those, and it sounds so cool. I love that music.
Never heard of Romanian music being played in Vienna. Hungarians regularly play at the various Heurigen.
Serbian and Croatian music is pretty prevalent in bars/clubs in neighborhoods with many people from those countries. Favoriten near Laxenburger Straße is a hotspot.
Besides that, there is also some Czech music going on in places like Tag/Nachtasyl, which functions as a Czech/Slovak cultural centre/hangout for alcoholics and students. Vaclav Hawel, Pavel Kohout and Karel Schwarzenberg went there. Seems kinda strange when you know the place
Thanks to everyone for the advice so far. Also, I'm an American that currently lives in Texas (I'll try to be quiet about that while there).
Yes, this is one concern I have. Four places in a week and a half or two weeks might be too much and not give us enough time to absorb the local culture. Out of the four cities I mentioned, which would you drop? Munich is the one I refuse to eliminate.
I'm a Texan who's currently living in the Netherlands. We love it here, and moved here this past August. So far we've been to Cologne, Paris, various spots around the Netherlands, Antwerp and Brussels, and we spent New Year's in Barcelona.
LOVED Spain!! But that may be because I speak more Spanish than I do Dutch!! Hahaha! We love to travel like you do, and delve into the local culture versus the super touristy stuff. But with only your short amount of time, I'm not sure how much of that you will be able to do. But don't sell yourself short on what you can see in that time period!
A few summers ago, we vacationed in Park City, Utah for 5 weeks. In that time, I put 2,000 miles on my car seeing as much of the state as I could, and went to 3 of their 5 national parks (Zion, Bryce, and Arches). 2 of them I went hiking alone with my 2 girls who were 3 and 7 at the time, because my husband had to return to Texas for work. I had some people say how "brave" I was for taking small children hiking in national parks alone. My response was....Life it TOO short to sit around and wait for stuff to happen - you gotta MAKE it happen!! It was an amazing trip!
lol! Be careful what you point at and grunt! My cousin went to Germany, and spoke a little of the language but didn't know anything about the food. She went to a restaurant, had no idea what to order, and basically pointed to a thing called "Blutwurst mit kartoffel" and grunted, lol! She was shocked when blood sausage and potatoes were served to her.
Haha - when I first got to Germany, I ordered Brott mit Knopfkasse (or something like that). I knew it meant "bread and cheese." Well, not quite. It was bread and HEAD cheese.
OP, I vote for Central Europe. Spend lots and lots of time in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bavaria if you can. Munich, Dachau, Berchtesgaden, the Eagles Nest, Salzburg and the salt mines (Austria), Prague, even Brno, and all points in between. Such beautiful landscape and architecture and such evocative, and often poignant history!
I don't speak Czech or Polish and only speak "shopping German" but I have never had the slightest problem getting around and finding friendly help in any of my ventures through that part of Europe (or really any part of Europe).
You have to keep in mind that Austria is made up of nine distinct regions and it's very unlikely to see Lederhosen-wearing farmers in Vienna's first district. But that doesn't mean that Vienna is less authentic than Alpbach, Tyrol. It's just not part of their culture.
Yes, you're right. I don't think I communicated my thought very well. It's not so much about authenticity in so much as it is about metropolitan/urban living. I've been to just about every big city in the U.S. What struck me when I was in London and Brussels was how similar in many ways it was to big American cities. That's not to say that the different culture isn't present in the big cities, because that obviously wouldn't be true. But there is something about big first-world countries that gives them some sort of similar underlying feel. It's hard for me to put my finger on exactly.
I just know that when I would visit English villages it had a much different feel to it that being in say, Leicester Square or Westminster. On the other hand, Dublin is a metro area of 1.8 million and somehow it avoided feeling particularly cosmopolitan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
lol! Be careful what you point at and grunt! My cousin went to Germany, and spoke a little of the language but didn't know anything about the food. She went to a restaurant, had no idea what to order, and basically pointed to a thing called "Blutwurst mit kartoffel" and grunted, lol! She was shocked when blood sausage and potatoes were served to her.
That's a great story. My time in England and Ireland taught me to avoid blood sausage in any form. Thankfully I know what "blut" and "wurst" mean, but undoubtedly there will be some other interesting cuisine we'll encounter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lhafer
I'm a Texan who's currently living in the Netherlands. We love it here, and moved here this past August. So far we've been to Cologne, Paris, various spots around the Netherlands, Antwerp and Brussels, and we spent New Year's in Barcelona.
A few summers ago, we vacationed in Park City, Utah for 5 weeks. In that time, I put 2,000 miles on my car seeing as much of the state as I could, and went to 3 of their 5 national parks (Zion, Bryce, and Arches).
You sound like me an my wife. I had an interview in Montana, and we flew into SLC and spent a week driving all through Utah, Idaho and Montana. It was completely unplanned with the exception of the interview, but we'd just pull over whenever we saw something interesting or take a road that looked scenic.
You mentioned Paris. My wife wants to trade one of the locations I mentioned for Paris. I know there is a huge amount of history there, but it's never been one of my main interests. I told her I would do Paris if she agreed to take a day trip up to Normandy. I also wouldn't mind spending some money there given the troubles they've had the last year or so.
We would try to speak the language as much as possible, or at least be seen to be making some sort of effort. I guess in Germany, we can just point to a beer and grunt.
We did Germany, Austria, Prague, Holland, and Belgium in May of 2015. If you are going to be in the touristy areas don't worry about communication barriers being too big to over come. We learned some German before we went but found we didn't need to use it very often. It's a non-issue.
Also, everyone was really friendly. Except this one older bartender in Belgium...she was bish.
Haha - when I first got to Germany, I ordered Brott mit Knopfkasse (or something like that). I knew it meant "bread and cheese." Well, not quite. It was bread and HEAD cheese.
What you described literally means bread with a button-cash register I think you meant Kopfkäse, which doesn't exist either. That would be the direct translation of head cheese. The German version of head cheese is called Presswurst/Presskopf/Presssack/Sulz/Sülze
I find the retired people in Germany to be very friendly. Some of the young people, too.
I live in Portugal, but there is no lack of German retirees here or of young German tourists. I have found them to be very friendly and communicative, and to have a great sense of humor.
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