Dining with Children in Austria

Does hat mean you intend to visit the other 7 provinces?

M.

We plan to spend most of our time in Vienna, Lower Austria and Salzburg/Salzkammergut. We plan to stay in/near Reutte in Tirol to explore sites on both sides of the border. We hope to meet friends who recently moved to Zurich, perhaps in the Kleinwalsertal (but that depends on their work schedules). I have never been to Carinthia, and I am curious, but it might be too much on top of everything else. I've already outlined a lot of travel. We are flexible, but the boys will impose some limits on us. I'm looking for ways to narrow our focus, while still satisfying our boys' need for adventure and downtime, and my wife's and my desires, which include exploring food and wine.

"casey miller" in news: snipped-for-privacy@News.Individual.NET...

In my opinion as a periodic foreign visitor, Carinthia and so on are very nice (Zürich's weather can be grim, any time, because of the cloud cover -- as with the Northwest and the eastern Great Lakes zones of the US, for example), but one could easily spend three weeks just getting a casual acquaintance with the current food offerings in Vienna. Which change seasonally. (And regarding your children, I don't know their ages but I can tell you that visiting Vienna for the first time at age 16 more or less turned me into a food fanatic.)

-- Max

Just 2 days ago Michelin held a press conference to launch their fisrt edition of th red (restaurant) Guide Austria: 4 times 2 stars, 48 times 1 star. Go get the guide, even if they don't get it 100 percent right, they are pretty close to the truth.

M.

Thanks. I didn't know there was Michelin Red for Austria.

You will be there during the beginning of ski season, so ski resorts like Innsbruck, Klagenfurt , Kitzbühel, etc. might be fun for the boys. Like Max, my time spent in Austria at age14 forever changed my attitudes toward food and much else. At that age, Vienna was a fascinating place that I could easily have spent a month in, and Salzburg was mostly of interest because of the Mozart link but was a bit kitschy for me even then. I also really liked alpine outings (we were living in the Osttirol) but weather will probably restrict what you can do. As far as dining with children, I think you'll find that Europeans in general are far more tolerant of children in restaurants than in the US, even in fine dining establishments -- provided that your children can behave reasonably well in them. I live it to our European correspondents to verify this, however.

Mark Lipton

Do you know if this is available in Austria now? Amazon.de does not have it in stock yet and does not list an availability date.

Thank you again for your help.

"Mark Lipton" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@purdue.edu...

True, kids are accepted here in restaurants and hotels generally better than in the States.

If there is snow, there is also a chance to go tobogganing with the kids. Lift tickets and rental toboggans are available at almost every ski area.

Carinthia is especially known for its kid-friendliness, catering to children aged about like yours.. There are several thermal baths there with fun pools for kids and other attractions. If they are city kids, there are nice farm holidays with animals and a children's program that lets the parents escape for a bit of time alone. If you haven't booked for every night yet, try

If you are in Tyrol, try Stanglwirt in Going(5 star hotel, be warned! but prices are half-board -

Wherever, don't forget to say you have kids traveling with you. There are great discounts for kids on most room rates. And if there aren't or if they are minimal, don't bother to go there; they probably don't want kids!

Excuse me for delurking to post about a subject I know quite a bit about!

Reka

Snip

Confirmed. No flames, please, if I hurt patriot feelings.

Casey, I think you have the right attitude in choosing Gasthäuser instead of restaurants. Gasthäuser are more comfortable and somewhat reflect the "terroir". Restaurants - or "fine dining establishments" as Mark calls them - are more or less genereric.

I have, however, objections to your selection of places to go. This time of year the Salzkammergut is dreadful. I have a house by the Mondsee, so I know what I am talking about. Many of the Wirtshäuser are closed as it's a kind of in-between season.

OTOH I would definitely plan to visit Burgenland, esp. the Neusiedlersee region. It is very close to Vienna and some of the best wines are made there. In Podersdorf there is a gem waiting for you, the "Gasthaus zur Dankbarkeit", which may translate as "Thankfulness Inn". Maybe you should go there at Thanksgiving ;-)

The Gasthaus "Steirereck am Pogusch" is in the Steiermark and more remote ( 2 driving hours from Vienna). Some claim it is the best Gasthaus in Austria. Well, I don't think it is typical, it is a kind of show gastronomy. Since you like adventure, you might want to visit it. There were so many people that I was not able to concentrate on the food, but the restrooms really impressed me. It is, however, in an alpine region. You can be lucky, of course, but the weather end of November tends to be cold, misty, brrr.

Martin

Hey, I didn't know you can dine on Children in Austria. I'd like a nubile 8 year old, poached with my Chianti and fava beans. Oh its dining with children. Never mind.

Ham Lechter & Emily Litella channeled through

May I suggest the K+K restaurant in Salzburg? Excellent wine list, very good food and kid friendly.

Ron Lel

Probably not for the moment, but will be available very soon.

M.