DANNY ROBINS' INDIE TRAVEL GUIDE TO... VIENNA

It famously meant nothing to Midge Ure and Ultravox but our destination in this week's guide is Vienna, the capital of Austria.

It felt like an appropriate place to visit at this time of year with its Christmas markets and famous cafés where you can get a nice Viennese hot chocolate.

You can fly there cheaply with Easyjet or take the train if you don't mind spending more.

The Man in Seat 61 gives you the various options train-wise.

It's been home to so many composers, artists, philosophers and intellectuals over the centuries. It's the city of Freud, Klimt and Mozart and still attracts arty and intellectual types today, perhaps drawn to its history but also its café society and now its nightlife too. Patrick Wolf recorded some of one of his albums there I know.

The language is German, but there's a bit of a rivalry between the Germans and the Austrians. They have rude nicknames for each other and I noticed on one Viennese tourist website that it said the language they speak is "a correct and pure form of German that is melodious and pleasant to the ear" - kind of implying that actual German German isn't, I felt!

As far as I can work out the Austrians think the Germans are stuck up and the Germans think the Austrians are country bumpkins. Anyways, you can ignore the Teutonic turf wars and just get on with enjoying Vienna, it's a city that combines history, art and beautiful buildings with a certain degree of hipness.

NB - Did you know that most of the video for the Ultravox song 'Vienna' was actually recorded in Covent Garden?

R-R-Rock Me Amadeus...

Obviously Vienna has a pretty impressive musical history with the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Johann Strauss living there in their day, but what's it like now? Let's face it, Austria's not exactly famous as an musical hotspot these days. In fact the only Austrian musician you're likely to be able to name is Falco of Rock Me Amadeus fame. But are their hidden indie depths in this historic and picturesque city?

Well yes, there are quite a few Austrian Indie bands and the place to find out more about them is Austria's equivalent of 6Music, FM4. They broadcast programmes in both German and English, have a strictly alternative music policy and broadcast out of a building in Vienna, brilliantly named the Funkhaus. Worth tuning into when you're there to get some tips on local bands and gigs.

They also have an initiative to discover new Austrian indie talent called FM4 Soundpark where bands can post their MP3s on the website and some will get played on air. They also had a Soundpark Tour round Austria - so it's a great way for bands to develop in a country not famed for its indie.

Where to see gigs...

Vienna's got some good gig venues, here's a few of them...

Flex

An underground club with what is rumoured to be one of the best sound systems in the world. Great place to see bands and there's an Indie rock night called London Calling which seems to be on pretty much every week.

WUK

An amazing cultural space which hosts workshops, theatre, readings and gigs - they've got Mogwai and Two Door Cinema Club coming up soon along with various German and Austrian artists.

Arena

The biggest space for alternative bands. Higher profile acts play here

Or if you want to get with some real old skool jams how about checking out the world famous Vienna Philharmonic. They play fairly regularly and have concerts coming up on the 11th and 12th of December.

Of course, in the city of Mozart, there's no shortage of people performing his stuff too.

The Museums Quartier

One of the spots for young Viennese dudes and dudettes to hang out and sip their coffees is The Museums Quartier - the place any local would probably arrange to meet you. It's a large area of central Vienna that's been redeveloped to be a cultural district, full of museums such as MuMok, the Museum of Modern Art, and public art installations, but also cafes, bars and restaurants. It's particularly good in the summer when it's full of people sitting outside. At night they do interesting things with lights, projecting various things on the streets and buildings.

There are also some really cool shops there - like Subotron (sounds like a robotic version of Susan Boyle), which is a sort of museum meets shop devoted to retro gaming culture. They sell old consoles and gaming-inspired art and have workshops and a permanent exhibition of geeky computer stuff.

Cafe Society...

Vienna is all about cafes. Austrians love the concept of "gemütlichkeit" - a word that doesn't easily translate but basically means a mixture of coziness, belonging, the absence of anything hectic and spending some quality time - what Austrians like to do in cafes essentially. It's perfectly acceptable to linger there all day. Sitting in one, soaking up the atmosphere , is an integral part of any trip to Vienna.

Legend has it that the first Viennese coffee house was set up after Austrian soldiers in the war against the Turks in the 17th century captured a bag of beans from Turkish soldiers that they initially thought were camel feed until one of them experimented with some sugar and milk and -voila! - the first ever latté.

There are lots of good cafes in the Museum Quartier as I said. Other good bets are:

Kaffe Alt Wien - the walls are plastered in vintage posters, it's shrouded in cosy darkness even during the day and is full of hipsters and students and good for people spotting.

Cafe Hawelka - probably even more bohemian than Alt Wien. It's a family-run writers' and artists' cafe; a legend in Viennese cultural circles - so many books have been written here over the years. Try the famous buchteln - a type of sweet jam filled dumpling, made on the premises by Mrs Hawelka.

The Gloriette at Schönbrunn Castle - a romantic cafe in very picturesque surroundings on a hill above Schönbrunn Castle - good place for a date.

Where to stay...

For something a bit racy, how about trying a Viennese love hotel?

Hotel Orient is a bit of an institution in Vienna. They've been renting out rooms by the hour for over 100 years. It's not as seedy as it sounds, in fact the hotel is rather grand and it's clientele include many people high up in Viennese society. It's frequented by everyone from teenagers to the elderly, honeymooners, married couples trying to spice up their love-life, and, apparently, it's always busy at office lunchtimes. The busiest time of the year apparently is right now, in the Winter, when the locals knock back too much mulled wine and get a bit frisky.

The rooms are all themed, with names like the Kaiser Suite and the 1001 Nights suite. You can stay the whole night too if you want. Could be the perfect romantic getaway?

What to say...

People in Vienna, especially young people, love showing off their English so you might find it hard to get in any German, but here's a few phrases that might just come in useful. The Viennese are stereotypically a bit cold and distant at first so these are all designed to break the ice...

"Ich bin ein grosser Fan österreichischer Indiemusik. Ich verstehe nicht, warum sie nicht ein grossere Einwirkung auf der Welt hat."

I'm a huge fan of Austrian indie music. I can't understand why it hasn't had a greater global impact.

"Rock Me Amadeus ist mein Lieblingslied. So ist für mich das Leben."

Rock Me Amadeus is my favourite song. It really sums up how I feel about life.

Ein grosser Glühwein bitte. Ich feire heutzutage ganz heftig."

A pint of mulled wine please. I've come to party hard.

A couple of useful websites...

Both Spotted By Locals and Unlike are really useful guides where local contributors give you there tips, generally skewered towards the more fun and alternative end of the spectrum, particularly in the case of Unlike.

Twips

I put a shout out on Twitter and Facebook for some tips and got some good ones back. My favourite was "leave it 10mins after you get it out the fridge and it will cut perfectly" followed by "oh wait, i thought u meant Vienetta..." Ha ha. Thanks @bobollie!

Here's the rest...

"If you're near the cathedral and are asked to buy concert tickets don't buy the expensive ones. The concert building is tiny."

"Cafe Bräunerhof (pronounced Broinerhohf) - proper traditional cafe with famously unfriendly waiters - go there and try and make them smile. Used to be the dwelling place of the writer Thomas Bernhard."

"Cafes: Ritter, Prückel, Weimar (they as well have a bar/club you can rent - very cool)"

"Chelsea - good place to watch new bands, on the famous Gürtel, with lots of cafes, bars, kebab stops and kinky sex shops."

"Fluc - pretty groovy anarchic club that has lots of electronica."

"Cool bars/Clubs: Elektro Gönner, Tanzcafe Jenseits, Lutz Bar & Club, U4, Pratersauna, Planetarium."

"Musuemsquartier is a great place to hang out - might be a bit chilly now though!"

"MuMoK) and Tanzquartier 21 in Museums Quartier - crazy but fun! Dschungel is a museum designed for kids."

"Restaurants: MAK and all the "in and out restaurants" you find on www.lokaltipp.at, Palmenhaus is great too - they have a butterfly museum next to them."

Bars

https://www.elektro-g.at/

https://www.transporterbar.at/

https://www.rhiz.org/

Record Shops

https://www.rave-up.at/

https://www.substance-store.com/

https://www.yummy.at/

https://www.totem-records.com/

https://www.soulseduction.com/main/blackmarket.php

Thanks in particular to Ed Chappell and Carola Steinberger for great tips!

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