Reviews (9)

Useful but limited and too patronizing
There is no denying it, this book has lots of useful tips and is easy to use but I did find the tone a bit patronizing at times. I really don't need someone to tell me what to think, even when in a foreign country. I also did not like the "show this book for x% discount" offers - I rather pay full price elsewhere and know the place is in the guidebook on its own merits.
Trite and conventional
Was very disappointed with this book.Not only did it cover only the most touristy places, but it left out many more interesting, not as common, sites.The real tip off is that he lists places that "guarantee the price listed here if you show them your copy of this book" or offer a "10% discount" with this book.That isn't really objective reporting in my opinion.

A bit too opinionated for me!
I haven't see the TV show, but a friend loves the series and strongly recommended the book.Before our family trip for 10 days throughout Germany, I purchased a few different travel guides. After having each of them in hand before leaving home, we took 3 books with us.By the 3rd day, we only carried 2 books with us: Daytrips Germany, 6th Edition and then as a BACKUP, Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2006.It was okay, but a bit too snarky for me.Using the 2 books together were great for finding tourist sites, great restaurants and hotels that could accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids (most hotels don't have rooms with 2 beds!). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - Eastern    3. Europe - Germany    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Austria    7. Germany    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (11)

Eyewitness Travel Guide Vienna (2003)
Rugged bound handbook for touring Vienna. Outside cover is plastic coated card stock, doesn't soak up water when lying on the lunch table, easily cleaned. Glossy paper throughout its 288 information packed pages: a district map on inside front cover and public transport map on the inside back cover.
As rich as a piece of Viennese cake
The Eyewitness DK guides are beautiful books in their own right--you would enjoy reading them even if you didn't make the trip. The text is well organized and extensively illustrated with artwork and 3-D pictures of the major tourist attractions. The directions are excellent and they direct you to the important things to see at each location.
Excellent reference material to plan your Viennese vacation
There are two kinds of travel guides, and both are useful: those guides that help you to plan your trip, and those to carry in your shirt pocket when the shoes hit the pavement.This Eyewitness Travel Guide is one of the best, if not the best, guidebook to use for planning your Vienna trip before you go.There is a tremendous amount of material, so the book uses small fonts and thin glossy paper; still, it has quite a bit of heft and may not be convenient to carry in your shirt pocket (and if you think this is thick, you should see the China guidebook).But I read about a lot of attractions here that I couldn't find in other reputable publications, and found more details in DK.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Guidebooks    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Vienna (Austria)    7. Travel / Europe / Austria   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - Germany    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Austria    7. Germany    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Europe / Germany   

Reviews (1)

Travel Guide
Great pictures and lots of information.I'm using this information for my itinerary. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Austria   

Reviews (3)

Good Map for a hard to navigate city!
I have travelled through much of Europe and I am a pretty good navigator.Usually armed with a good guide book and a map I can learn my way around in no time.Venice presented a particular challenge because of the canals, and narrow streets, alleys, plus the unique naming system. While I still was not often sure if I was going the right way, this map definitely was an asset and was the guide to the city that I have seen.

Highly overpriced poor map
This map was a terrible disappointment. It leaves out whole important sections of the city (the Giudecca, even the Lido!), gives only the main streets (thus making it much easier to get lost in an already maze-like place), and leaves out vital information found on standard tourist maps, such as water-bus (vaporetto) routes and opening times for museums. My advice: save your money and get a decent map for a few bucks when you get to Venice.

You will still find a deadend
Regardless of the map you WILL find a deadend in Venice - turn the corner and there is no more - either a wall or a canal.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Europe - Italy    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Travel    5. Travel - Foreign    6. Italy    7. Maps, charts & atlases    8. Reference    9. Travel / road maps & atlases    10. Venice    11. Venice (Italy)   

Reviews (5)

Very uneven, but sometimes useful
I agree with the other reviewers, who objected to Steves' dismissal of Rudesheim and Heidelberg. It's particularly arrogant of him to include nothing about them in the book. I visited both and enjoyed them, particularly Heidelberg, and I'm not a Disneyland/Hilton kind of traveler. He has some good nuggets of info. For example, we tried to get a room in Dresden on the spur of the moment, and the tourist office had nothing within 10km of town. But an agency listed in his book, renting private apartments a stone's throw from the Frauenkirche, had some very nice, reasonable units. That alone was worth the price of the book, but overall I think Steves is a little too sure that he knows the one and only right way to see Germany. Take another book with you, too.

Reasonably accurate with caveats
Ricks book on Germany was, for the most part accurate and useful. I had booked my trip and planned my itinerary before I had purchased the book so I mainly utilized the dining, shopping, and points of interest information. Rick was dead on about skipping Mainz--I should have--but didn't and wasted 2 perfectly good days in Germany. However, I feel Rick was totally wrong about skipping Rudesheim, inasmuch as I had the best time partying with the natives in the beer gardens along the Drosselgasse, and the Asbach cognac factory tour and tasting was neat too. Combo gondola/chairlift/river boat ride package from Rudesheim to the Germania monument then to Assmannshausen to sample spatburgunder and back to Rudesheim for 9 euros was a bargain and great fun too.Rothenberg was more of a tourist trap than I imagined, but Rick's book got me some incredible discounts at the store he recommends. A very useful book to have, but not the only one I would use !

Don't leave home without it
Will be bringing this with me in Sept. for a tour of Bavaria and Austria. Rick's books even have up to date hotel information. Can't wait to try his recommendations. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Europe - Austria    3. Europe - Eastern    4. Europe - Germany    5. Germany    6. Guidebooks    7. Travel    8. Travel - Foreign    9. Eastern Europe    10. Travel & holiday guides    11. Travel / Europe / Eastern   

Reviews (6)

Lovely!
Ideal for anyone contemplating a precarious excursion to Germany.

Married to a German and this was very helpful..
I have never been to germany although one day I really hope to go. My husband is german and his mother does not speak a lick of English. This desperate daughter-in-law was saved many embarrassing and fustrating moments by this book. It is a handy size to keep in the car or in a good size purse. I had to live with my MIL for a couple months and weeks at a time and this book has helped me communicate with her on many levels about many necessary topics, especially when my husband wasnt always around to translate or got tired of it.
It'll work, yep.
The ultimate compliment you can pay a travel guide?"Works as advertised".I'd argue the same goes for this survival guide of Germany and to a less extent, Austria.Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Conversation and phrase books    3. Description and travel    4. English    5. Europe - Austria    6. Europe - Germany    7. German    8. German language    9. Germany    10. Travel   

Reviews (17)

The German Way
This is a great book even though it is ten
An OKAY guide...(Used for a school trip to Austria)
Just to let everyone who is reading this know, I was assigned this book for a class I took while studying abroud throughout Europe. I was specifically interested in using this book for information on Austria. Here's what I think:
A Quick Read
This slim volume presents dozens of aspects of German culture.For example, why do Germans value privacy?Why do they always close windows when they feel a draft?I definitely learned a lot from this book.My only complaints is that it could have gone a little more in depth about the causes of German behavior.Also, this book is a little out of date.It was published in the 90's, so there is a lot of talk about Marks rather than Euros, and you read a lot about the reunification of Germany, which is not as hot a topic as it was in the 90's.Even with these weak points, I think you'll be able to learn a lot.I wish that the author would release a more up-to-date version, though. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Etiquette    2. Europe - Germany    3. German    4. Germany    5. National characteristics, Germ    6. National characteristics, German    7. Social life and customs    8. Sociology    9. Travel    10. Travel - Foreign    11. Anthropology    12. Language learning: specific skills    13. Travel / Europe / Germany    14. Switzerland    15. Travel Guide    16. Austria   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Travel Guides    5. Austria    6. Czech Republic    7. Hungary    8. Travel & holiday guides    9. Travel / Europe / Austria   

Reviews (10)

Travel Prep
A great book in preparation for your trip to Austria.Several smaller, yet interesting, areas are discussed.

Needs more guidance and priortization; also missed info
I just returned from a brief trip to Austria.Lonely Planet is a reliable guide, but it has many problems some of which have been discussed already.I agree that it is a bit too oriented towards backpackers, wanderers, and poor students.This is not bad, because some guides such as the Guide Vert don't even acknowledge hostels it seems.
Less than Informative
I have used Lonely Planet Guides in the past and have been pleased with the information they provided.This iteration, however, leaves much to be desired.I use the guides to point out the "obvious" places that should not be missed, and "secret" places that are off the beaten path that the writers share with their readers.I found this book lacking in both instances.Vacations are never long enough, and as such, they require research and a seasoned guide to separate the worthwhile sights from the rest.After reading this guide, I was not much better off than before I started.Further, I found the guide is written for a backpacker mentality; fine for them, but not for me.Way too much time and space was devoted to finding one's way via public transport, and where to find the next hostel. I am well beyond that.I recently received the latest Fodor's and Frommer guides for Austria, and in one chapter, I was miles ahead with either guide over where LP left me.LP was extremely helpful for my travels to Australia and Belgium.This edition was rather disappointing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Austria    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (4)

Up the Danube without a Paddle
I packed two guidebooks for my trip to Vienna: this one, and an ancient Michelin Green Guide to Austria that devoted about 20 pages to Vienna.I found the latter more useful, even though much of the information was frozen in a long-forgotten 1978.
New format messes up a classic
I've long been a Lonely Planet fan, never thinking twice about buying the appropriate Lonely Planet book whenever I travel.However, the new format and emphasis of the LP guides has made me re-think my commitment.
Incredibly helpful
The fancy of going to Vienna next summer crossed my mind more than once so I decided to pick this up just to get some more information on the City of Music.It's a very concise book that can be easily toted around in a bag or pocket, which I immediately liked because should I go I would want to keep it on hand.I liked the layout for places to stay, going from campgrounds to hostels, to the hotels, going from one star to five.It has a great listing for restaurants and has the city pretty much covered in respects to places to visit and a calendar of events, which makes planning a trip a lot easier.The history was a nice added bonus for someone not knowing about the city, as well as historical people that spent time/grew up in Vienna (ie: Mozart).Colour photos and things such as political mindset, attitude towards children, the legal system are nice touches as well.However, take the prices with a grain of salt, especially with the new introduction of the Euro. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Travel    3. Travel - Foreign    4. Austria    5. Travel & holiday guides   

Editorial Review

This is a very Italian book, reminiscent ofItalo Calvino andRoberto Calasso. Part history, part philosophy, part travelogue, this is literature in the richest, most amply rewarding sense. Writing with tremendous exuberance,Claudio Magris has produced a paean to what Hölderlin called "the river of melody"--the Danube, Europe's main artery, and the heart of that elusive but fascinating zone known as Mitteleuropa. Magris is certainly erudite, and not afraid of displaying his erudition, but he also has a fine sense of humor and an eye for the absurd. According to one eminent sedimentologist, he tells us, the source of the Danube is a leaky tap in a remote mountain farmhouse. And of course, the one color it isn't, ever, is blue. The Hungarians call it blond, apparently. "Muddy yellow" might be more accurate, says the author. His greatest passion, however, is people: poets, singers, murderers, emperors, Dracula,Kafka,Wittgenstein , Josef Mengele--all human life is here. And it makes doubly fascinating reading for having been written back in 1986, when brutes like Ceaucescu were still in power and the Iron Curtain was still in place, though beginning to tremble slightly in the wind of history. Read more

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (7)

A Migration

A magnificent panorama of a very complex history
Throughout history, the Danube has meant many different things to many different people:a highway, a playground, a barrier against the Turks, a symbol of eternal life or of life's melancholy.Magris structures this book as a travelogue, following the Danube from its source(s) in Germany through its debouchment into the Black Sea in Rumania.But in every place he visits, from a humble bench on the riverbank to the major cities of Vienna and Bucharest, he paints a vivid picture not only of the place itself, but of the people who have shaped its character and history.
A river of memory
In this fascinating journey, Magris takes us from the very -and much disputed- sources of the Danube in the Black Forest, in Southern Germany, to the mouth of the river in the Black Sea, in Romanian territory. Along the way, Magris recreates the legends, stories and historical moments of every village and city he visits. The Danube area is, of course, full of history, since most peoples who ever set foot in Europe seem to have crossed it one way or another. Princes, wars, writers, lovers, many interesting and even fascinating stories illuminate for the reader the waters of the Danube. It really makes you want to make the same trip.
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Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Europe - Austria    3. Europe - Eastern    4. Europe - General    5. Travel    6. Travel - General    7. Central Europe    8. DANUBE RIVER AND VALLEY    9. Eastern Europe    10. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    11. Nature / Rivers    12. Southeast Europe    13. Travel writing    14. VOYAGES AND TRAVELS   

Reviews (2)

Needs a better layout
Every major city is on the spiral, which makes it difficult to read the highway names around the city. Also, the detailed views of the major cities didn't show enough of the surrounding area. Many city maps had only 2-3 highways shown, with no other details.

Great Map Book for Driving or Studying
Excellent map book. This is NOT a guide, it is a spiral book with detailed maps of these countries. The scale is:
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Subjects:  1. Atlases    2. Atlases - General    3. Europe - General    4. Europe - Germany    5. Maps & Road Atlases    6. Reference    7. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (1)

Shiny shapes:The Zeughaus Graz
Shiny Shapes: THe Zueghaus GrazRead more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History - General History    3. Photography    4. Photography Of Specific Subjects    5. Travel    6. Art    7. Austria    8. Design    9. History    10. Militaria, arms & armour    11. Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides    12. Non-Classifiable    13. Ordnance, weapons technology    14. Science / General    15. Weapons   

Reviews (4)

a world long gone
Despite its rather blunt title: VIENNA TYPES is Dr. Emil Mayer's surviving masterwork of street photography. The plates are deeply moving & offer glimpses into life in that grand old city of 100 years ago. Like a Sleeping Beauty aroused by the careful ministrations of Edward Rosser, this collection of exquisite photgraphs is timeless & evocative. ARTISTIC, MOVING IMAGES
Images such as those found in "Viennese Types" render words superfluous.Capturing a time long past, a serene turn-of-the-century Vienna, Dr. Emil Mayer has preserved street scenes perfectly representing individuals often seen, such as sidewalk vendors, window shoppers, a scissors grinder, a carriage driver, and more.All of these photographs are artfully composed, beautifully rendered. Most amazing, perhaps, is the intimacy and sympathy these images convey.It is almost impossible to view them without being moved. Beautiful photographs of a vanished world
In photography when things turn out well it's often because there's been an especially graceful coalescence of art and science. The photography of Dr. Emil Mayer (the "Dr." was an honorary title in common use by lawyers in Austria) is a sublime example of that happy merging. Mayer was an enthusiastic practitioner, teacher, and proponent of bromoil process photography - a method that allows for a freedom of expression via a series of laborious chemicalmanipulations of the negative, and produces a monochrome print that has a softly grainy appearance, and a sort of quietude, in addition to effective, evocativepainterly depth. From this collection and the essays that accompany it one comes to understand Mayer had the soul (and the eye) of an artist, and the patience and skill of a scientist. The results are terrific.Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria & Hungary    2. Individual Photographer    3. Individual Photographers And Their Work    4. Photo Essays    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Pictorial works    8. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/Europe    9. Vienna (Austria)    10. Austria    11. Photography & Photographs   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. Maps    3. Maps & Road Atlases    4. Reference    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign   

Reviews (11)

Excellent guide!
This is a surprisingly effective and well-organized guide, with some interesting maps and information. If you're planning on spending just a few days in Vienna, then this compact little book will be indispensible in locating the famous streets and tourist sights. The maps are more than adequate and the walking descriptions to each locale are precise and accurate. There is also corresponding material on how to use the public transportation in the city and which station to take for each particular site. There is a separate chapter on the churches of the city with a brief ranking system for the nosiest places, the friendliest, the cheapest food, etc. Unwieldy, disorganized
I think one of the reasons I did not particularly care for Vienna was that I was trying to use this guidebook.It seemed to me that we were constantly crossing boundaries in the book's map of the city, which made it very confusing and not very convenient.My biggest gripe with the book however is that the index is printed in a very small and faint font, making it extremely difficult to read, for no sensible reason.

Great, but needs to be used in conjunction with another
This book is possibly one of the best guidebooks around as it takes a completly new way of presenting things. For the easily lost it provides good maps as well as detailed drawings of prominent buildings and descriptions of the internal and external architectural points and displays. The book is divided into sections, based on the districts used in Vienna. Apart from detailing the sights inside the Ringstrasse, it ventures to sights and museums in and around the city and gives detailed drawings for suggested walks. The details of the food and drinks around are also great, so now you can really tell what exactly to expect when ordering in a restaurant. The downsides I found to it are that the prices are provided in brackets, as in the Roughguide series. While this is a good way of hedging bets on price rises between updates, it's a bit hard for the person trying to travel cheaply. The section on accomodation also is limited to the more expensive ones, which means that if you're backpacking on a budget, you're best to buy a Lonely Planet guide as well (I'd suggest this anyway, they're updated more regularly and are pretty accurate for countries like Austria). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Eastern    2. Europe - Italy    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Italy    6. Travel & holiday guides    7. Travel / Europe / Austria   

Reviews (3)

Concise, effective--and best not left to the coffee table!
The author delivers a guide that the true European cafe wanderer will find eminently useful.
Don't Leave Home Without It
This is an excellent guide to finding some of the real treasures in Vienna, Budapest, and Prague - the coffee houses. In this suscinct, yet detailed piece, you become very close to the rich and splendid aromas and bright and unique personalities and romance that each of these social "temples" have to offer. Not only has the author captured the essence of the coffee houses, but she also shares with us interesting historical details, perspectives and notes. Enjoy the comments and discriptions of these "museums" with special attention to one of my favorite subjects, architecture. Absolutely a joy to read and use as a compass through the wonderful streets of these absolutely fantabulous cities. A Great Cup of Coffee and More
As we prepare to visit Vienna for the second time, this book is helping us to prepare our itinerary adding this time many visits to those sometimes off the beaten track coffee houses.What a gem of a book, packed with so much valuable current information such as addresses, hours, etc., as well as historic data.Its definitely being packed in our carryon luggage along with a couple tried and true tour books.Here's to the author ... thanks to the last drop!How about some other city editions? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Austria    2. Budapest    3. Coffeehouses    4. Czech Republic    5. Guidebooks    6. History: World    7. Hungary    8. Prague    9. Travel / Restaurants    10. Vienna    11. Restaurants    12. Travel    13. Travel - World/Europe   

Reviews (2)

Vienna
I am glad I purchased this guidebook for our upcoming visit to Vienna and found the information on accommodations, restaurants and sites useful.(Since we haven't visited Vienna, I can't judge the reviews' accuracy.)However, the authors' effort to stick to the "Top 10 format" sacrifices cohesion and the book is hard to follow.

An Excellent Book to Walk Around With in Vienna
I love the Top 10 travel guides because they provide a wealth of information with lots of photos and useful maps, in a very compact, portable size.They are slim volumes that can easily fit inside a small purse.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. General    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel / Europe / Austria   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Austria    2. HotelsInnsetc.    3. Travel    4. Travel - Foreign    5. Travel Guides    6. Austria    7. Transportation / General    8. Travel & holiday guides