The Wiener Eistraum

All around the city, you can see posters for the the „Wiener Eistraum.“ The picture is very ambiguous and just shows the outline of a polar bear against a blue sky with snow falling around it. The reality is much more fabulous.

The Wiener Eistraum translates to „The Vienna Ice Dream,“ and it takes place right in front of the Rathaus in Vienna. The Rathaus is not a house for rats (or at least I hope not). It’s the town hall. And right in front of Vienna’s Town Hall is a huge assortment of skating rinks, restaurants, and snack bars. Welcome to the Eistraum!

The whole set up is just incredibly beautiful. Anyone who visits Vienna at this time of year and braves the overcast weather and cold should reward themselves by going to the Eistraum. There are happy families skating around, teenagers acting all angsty and trying to decide whether or not to hold hands, lovebirds skating around the rink arm-in-arm, food, drink… everything. There’s also lots of loud pop music playing that seems totally incongruous with the majestic Rathaus in the background, and you can try different regional specialties–everything from Apfelpunsch to goulash from neighboring Hungary to cake to knodel (Austrian dumplings). It is so much fun, and such a welcome relief from the otherwise dreary weather!

You can follow the link below to see a picture of a pretty happy guy with his cheese hotdog! There was actually cheese IN the hotdog… I don’t understand how that works, but it did! Then the whole thing was baked in a baguette. Love it!

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