Our Tour Guide Ella's Favorite Vienna Picks
After 3 years of building our business on the side while maintaining two full-time jobs (and having a baby), we realized: We need help! never would we have dreamed to have the chance to show so many people around our beautiful city, and since we mainly specialize in small groups, we often had to turn people away simply because we knew we could guarantee them the experience they were looking for. So earlier this year, we started looking for someone to join our team. Someone passionate about both food and Vienna, someone fun to be with, someone who loves to meet new people as much as we do. Not an easy task! After fielding over 200 CVs, we finally found a wonderful candidate. Meet Ella!
Originally from Tyrol, an area in western Austria famous for skiing and its delicious alpine cuisine, Ella loves food almost as much as traveling. She speaks 4 languages (one of them Korean) and is also a very talented musician, currently studying music in the city of music (check out this blog post on her 5 favorite musical experiences in Vienna!). Find out more about Ella and her favorite Vienna picks here:
Where is your favorite place in Vienna?
I love being outdoors! In summer, you‘ll always find me in one of Vienna‘s beautiful parks like Türkenschanzpark in the 18th district or Burggarten in the city center, doing sports or playing cards with friends while having a Radler (a true Viennese classic - beer and lemonade mixed together! It tastes a lot better than it sounds, I promise). During colder months, I love spending time at one of Vienna’s many wonderful cafés or the Wiener Konzerthaus. Checking out one of Vienna's many great museums is the perfect way to spend a rainy day! My favorite are MAK, Leopold Museum and the Albertina Museum.
What Austrian food or drink do people have to try when they’re here?
First things first: Austrian food is something you share! If you make Kässpätzl at home, you'll always invite your friends (because you'll make waaaaay to much anyway) and nobody makes Schnitzel without making it into a "Schnitzel workshop" for children. It’s a family effort! Something that most people underestimate is the high quality of Austrian wine and beer. And because it’s so popular with the locals, you can get an amazing selection for a very reasonable price both in restaurants/bars and supermarkets. I recommend trying one of our wonderful dry white wines such as Grüner Veltliner or Gemischter Satz! Finally, a visit to the sausage stand is a must: You have got to try our delicious sausages, pickles and pair it with a nice, cold beer. Just ask for a Käsekrainer (grilled sausage filled with cheese) and you won’t be disappointed! Bitzinger in front of the Albertina Museum is always a good idea, but also the Wiener Würstelstand in the 8th district where they have both organic and even vegan sausage.
In your opinion, what is the best time to visit Vienna?
All seasons have their perks! There are so many great things to do in spring or summer - visit one of our lovely wine taverns (called “Heurigen”) or go on a bike tour along the Danube. There are great music, arts and culture events and festivals every week, and many of them are even completely free! Then again in winter, we have our famous Christmas markets, and I couldn’t imagine a year without spending some time there eating all the amazing food and having delicious mulled wine.
What are your favorite picks in Vienna right now?
I’m a soup person - I love pho and ramen! The best soups I had are a Tibetan ThenTuk at Songtsen Gampo or a Japanese Shoyu Ramen at Kuishimbo. But I also love this hot brown bean soup called coffee ;) I love and live Vienna's “Kaffeehauskultur”; my favorite places are Wirr am Brunnenmarkt (or any other café at Yppenplatz), Café Jelinek and Café Drechsler.
