FOOD … Most of the more-popular Austrian dishes are part of international cuisine everywhere—Wiener Schnitzel, goulash, and the various strudels, to name a few. There are numerous other less well-known specialties worth trying, especially dishes with small dumplings. And do not miss the Viennese pastry. Even in the small inns food is served in substantial quantities. A Continental breakfast of coffee and rolls is taken upon arising, with a heartier second breakfast at 10:00 A.M. In Vienna, large towns, and resorts, dinner is from 6:30 P.M., with a light supper after the theater. Afternoon tea, called jause, is served after 4:00 P.M. and consists of sandwiches, pastry, coffee and tea.
GAMBLING … There are two large race tracks in the vicinity of Vienna. Casinos are also located in Salzburg, Bad Gastein, Velden, Kitzbuehel and Baden (15 miles from Vienna).
LANGUAGE … German is the official language, but English is taught in the high schools. You will have no trouble getting information in English at your hotel or at other places you visit.
LAUNDRY AND DRY CLEANING … You can have your laundry done quickly and thoroughly, and for little money, by the chambermaid .at your hotel. Dry cleaning is fast and good in Vienna, but not so good in the provinces.
LIQUOR … Austria is both a beer- and wine-drinking country. The beer is excellent and the wines are wonderful. Vin ordinaire is good and is cheap. The best red wine is Voeslauer, with Klosterneuburger a close second. But Austria is best known for its white wines, such as Duernsteiner, Gumpoldskirchner, Grinzinger, Nussberger, Riesling, and Veltliner. Austrian champagne is good. Schnaps, distilled liquors, obtainable in great and potent variety, are also good. Whisky is imported and expensive. Slivovitz, a South-Slav drink distilled from plum juice, is popular and strong. The famous Heurigenwine of new vintage is served by the wine growers in the backyards of their premises in all the wine growing areas. Cocktails vary in price and quality, but are good at the large international bars.
MUSIC … There is music everywhere in Austria. Besides the famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony, there are the equally famous State Opera and the wonderful, gay, light Volksopera. These, however, like the ballet, do not play in Vienna from the middle of July to the first of September. In late July and August there is the world-renowned Salzburg Festival. In recent years, Vienna has come out with its own Spring Music Festival, called Wiener Festwochen, during the first three weeks of June. Also summer and fall peasant festivals are numerous, and most sizable villages have dances on Saturdays. Vienna has for centuries been considered the music capital of the world. From there burgeoned the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Gluck, Haydn, Bruckner, Wolf, Mahler, Lanner, the Strausses, and other great artists. The Vienna Philharmonic is world renowned. Herbert von Karajan, Dr. Karl Boehm, and Rafael Kubelik are the three leading conductors now, but there are many other famous ones. The Vienna State Opera is superb, and the gay Volksopera is not surpassed anywhere in the world. The Vienna Choir Boys are among the leading performers of religious music in the world and can be heard almost every Sunday at the Hofburg Chapel.