Hiking to a Heuriger

The 19th district of Vienna is known for vineyards, vineyards, more vineyards, oh yeah, and most importantly of course, the wine that comes from the vineyards. 

So it was a sunny, beautiful afternoon in the city, and I decided to venture way up north to the 19th to experience some of this authentic wine culture and find the best heuriger (wine tavern). When I arrived there (by tram), I was disappointingly greeted by many a coach tour bus and tons of tourists snapping pictures and piling into heurigers with cheesy names and lots of kitschy decor. Grinzing (the 19th) is picturesque and there is alot of fine dining, but really, steer clear of any restaurant named "Beethoven's Gasthaus" or where it seems a band dressed in lederhosen is waiting in the wings to play some "authentic" dinner accompaniment. 

Instead of dining in Grinzing, I continued via public bus up to Kahlenberg, which is even farther up in the hills and has the greatest panorama of the city. There is one cafe there that overlooks the city, but still, it seemed a bit too touristy for my taste.

In an effort to just get away from all the tourists, I took a dirt path from Kahlenberg and descended below into the landscape of vineyards. Finally, I was alone. I hiked through the hills—and was literally the only person on these dirt paths running directly through the vineyards. I could reach out and touch the grapes (but I didn't, don't worry). I kept wandering down the hill in the direction of the Danube and finally stumbled across the type of Heuriger I was looking for—small, authentic, and no tourists in sight. A few peeling picnic benches were placed under umbrellas and decorated with lanterns, but honestly the decor didn't matter because I was so distracted by the unbelievable view. Hills rising up on three sides, and in front, vineyards stretching below all the way down to the tiny town of Kahlenbergerdorf and the Danube. Simply unreal.

I drank spritzer, ate some knodel, and just took in that view. I have officially found my favorite restaurant in the whole city.