Banana beer at the Filmfestival

They make the best schnitzels, but when it comes to their drinking habits, the Viennese have a peculiar taste. The Ottakringer banana beer doesn’t taste that bad though, as I discovered at the Filmfestival.

Each summer the Wiener Rathausplatz turns into an open-air cinema where you can watch concerts, films and opera’s on a huge screen and eat at more than twenty eateries. The atmosphere is just great and I visit the Rathausplatz at least once a week. I love the smells of traditional Austrian käsespätzle, Thai noodles and Indian lamb curry and everybody seems so happy while drinking their ‘Gespritzter Weißwein‘: white wine mixed with water. Although relatively cheap, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the taste of the favorite drink of many Viennese. The only good thing about it, is that you can drink it all evening without getting drunk.

Of course, no party without beer. Vienna even has its own brewery: the Ottakringer Brauerei. Also with their beers, the Viennese like to mix things up. The popular Radler beer, a mixture of beer and lemonade, tastes like Fanta lemon to me. But the Banane-Weißbier  with a tiny bit banana nectar is not bad at all. Plus, you get to drink it with a straw.

Filmfestival Wiener Rathausplatz (1st district, Innere Stadt)