Anyone
visiting Vienna should be sure to visit a gheurige,h the name of the
inns to be found in suburbs of Vienna that offer customers new wine
on tap.
The inns are generally located outdoors. Going through the entrance,
one sees large tables in the shade. Guests gather around the tables
in groups and spend the evening enjoying homemade wine and buffet-style
Viennese food. A live performing group plays Viennese folk songs to
enhance the atmosphere. When Japanese tourists make an appearance, they
even come up with Japanese folk songs and popular songs.
A bunch of pine leaves is suspended to show that a heurige inn is open.
Therefs an interesting parallel here with Japan, where sake distilleries
hang a ball of cypress leaves for the same purpose. The bunches of pine
leaves are hung from long cypress logs protruding from the front of
buildings. The slightly uncouth presentation is, however, different
from the Japanese style. To enhance the atmosphere, the proprietor appears
with a waitress dressed in folk costume at the entrance to greet customers.
Enchanted by the atmosphere, I soon found Ifd drunk too much and succumbed
to a violent headache. From the next day I couldnft bear even the smell
of wine, and for the rest of the trip I made do with beer. The effects
of that experience remain with me today, and I still rarely go anywhere
near wine.
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