At my house, we park our shoes at the door to reduce our carbon footprints since we don’t have to vacuum as much. Not! It is true that the house stays cleaner and we don’t have to vacuum as often with the shoes-at-door-practice, but the truth is we just don’t like to clean and therefore…
In 1832, Prince Wenzel von Metternich charged his personal chef with creating a dessert for a dinner for several distinguished guests. The chef pawned the job off on his 16 year old assistant, Franz Sacher…and the Sachertorte was born. Now, the Sachertorte could credibly make the claim to being the most famous chocolate cake in…
Photo by Jay8085 As you may well know, Vienna is traditionally renowned for, among other things, its cafés, music and formal balls (like the Opera Ball). However, wine is quickly ascending “Why is Vienna famous?” list. As Austrian wines have become more popular outside the country borders, more and more oenophiles are adding Austria (specifically…
In a small change of pace, this week’s “UnTourist of the Week” is our General Manager here at UnTours, Brian Taussig-Lux. We thought our feature this month — Austria — couldn’t be complete without hearing from Brian. Back in 1983, when Brian (Hal Taussig’s nephew) joined the firm, his first assignment was to start the…
Here’s a recent photo of Hal and Norma with visiting and love-bestowing UnTourist, Chris Farrow-Noble. One of the many great things about being at the UnTours Foundation is the amount of mail we receive with kind words and good old fashion love. Sometimes it’s a few hand written words in the margin of a formal…
Photo by Sanderovski & Linda After each UnTour, we ask our UnTourists for feedback on their experience with us. This is important to us to make sure you had the best possible experience on your UnTour and to give us some great advice on how to make your next UnTour even better. One of my…
Photo by Problemkind When I’m on a trip, it’s almost a certainty that I buy something that reminds me that I’ve been there (you know, in case my amnesia flares up again). It used to be t-shirts, more recently it’s been things for my daughter (who turns one on Saturday!) and sometimes I just need…
Head over early to the St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the crown jewels of Vienna’s stellar architecture. (The cathedral opens at 6 am.) to beat the throng and psyche yourself up for the 343 steps to the viewing platform at the top. Reward yourself with coffee at Cafe Landtmann (pictured above). This landmark cafe,…
Here’s why there’s no picture of Bob & Diane in Vienna: “…none of our travel photos include the two of us. We are more interested in a uncluttered photo of the object of interest, I guess. Can you run a stock photo of one of our favorite sites in Vienna such as a beautiful park,…
Photo by Traci Todd When I hear anything about the Queen, including news of her Diamond Jubilee, I think of my British friend explaining to me that the Queen’s laundry is ALWAYS hung on a line and never put in a clothes dryer. “Only renters in Britain use clothes dryers, and the poor dears have…