You are reading Part 1 of our Big Trip of ! With only 50km between them, flying into Bratislava can be a cheap and convenient way to get to Vienna, with a simple direct train to Wien HBF central station. They even offer a couple of vegan dishes, quite a surprise. Tiny, cheap and completely shorn of pretence, this is a holdout boozer that has perhaps a minor cult reputation around the city.
Part of that is to do with the service which, it would seem, is equally unfriendly to locals as it is to the very few tourists who wander in. The locals are not hostile and the atmosphere feels tolerant. After a short while of being sussed as English, we had a friendly chat about football with a few of them. The train then beckoned and this concentrated hit of Slovakia had to suffice. Off we went to the station and to Vienna.
Travelling with my partner, Vienna was a first time visit for her, something like 6th or 7th for myself. I had found the city a tough nut to crack for bars, most of the best venues spread out geographically, some hidden behind opaque terminology and formats. This is not like Prague where in some districts you have a genuine chance of finding a nice pub on any street corner.
One of those pubs that maintains low lighting throughout the day, once inside time appears to stand still. It could be 7pm, it could be 3am. A true refuge. It was also very busy, slightly taking us by surprise though it was Saturday night, it tends to get going after 10pm meaning the first 30 minutes were propped at the bar until a table became free.
A duo of servers go back and forth, the elder of which I remember from my first visit in There have been some changes though, with the Belgian beer bible cut back although still extensive allowing for a much bigger range of Austrian beers than previously.
