1. Graben, Kohlmarkt, Hoher Markt and their bystreets
Graben with the The Plague Column (or Trinity Column) - v.g. photo
2. Vienna is safe, mostly clean, well organized
3. Exquisite pastry shops, such as Demels (Kohlmarkt), Oberlas (Neuer Markt), Cafe Diglas (near Stephansdom), the whole coffee house culture is amazing
4. The good manners of the locals (immigrants from other cultures are trying to catch up)
5. The following have made me a devoted returning customer at the Tichy ice cream parlor (Reumannplatz): Eis-Marillenknödel (vanilla parfait balls filled with apricot jam) or Eis-Mohn-Erdbeer-Knödel (filled with poppy seed and strawberry jam)
6. The revitalized, improved Mariahilferstrasse
7. The charming restaurants and bars in Naschmarkt and in the 4th district
8. Beautiful villas and gardens in the 13th district
9. Chicken thighs in breadcrumbs in one of the restaurants of the Wienerwald chain, near the museum area
10. You can always count on there being an outstanding temporary fine arts exhibition somewhere in town
1. I appreciated the mostly conservative, petty bourgeois way of life of the locals, but I also missed the alternative scenes (which make Berlin, for instance, so cool)
2. Dog poop on the sidewalks –watch your step
3. The local German accent is not as melodic as high German (Hochdeutsch)
4. The Danube in Vienna is not as spectacular as it is in Budapest
5. The gloomy housing estates built in the fifties and sixties
6. Locals are pretty distant and seem to be somewhat prejudiced and conceited
7. Everything is terribly expensive in the 1st district
8. Being perfidiously and irresistibly seduced by the cakes displayed in café windows
9. Vienna’s multiethnic character is a blessing in many ways but it also puts its traditional culture and authenticity at risk