Vienna

[JeffD]

I am going to Vienna in July!!!

I was thinking over coffee this morning, wondering if there were any bowlback mandolinny opportunities of which I should be aware.

[JeffD]

I guess there is nothing obvious to pursue.

[billhay4]

I assume you, like I, went through the builder pages on this site. Nothing listed for Vienna that I saw, but I don't know the geography of Austria, so I don't know if there was anything close.
I did do a Yelp search and came up with this.
Bill

[Beanzy]

I have a look on the neues favoritner mandolinen orchester page every now and then just to get a feel for what's happening over yonder.
You may get a name you could e-mail from there.

[timv]

Scanning through Google and Yelp results, the problem I see is that Vienna has lots of music stores just like any big city, and most will be generic shops that give lessons and sell standard beginner and intermediate instruments, just like anywhere. I've had some wonderful music-related experiences when I've visited Vienna, although none were related at all to mandolins. It has an unparalleled musical history and there's always something happening if you check the entertainment listings, and it seems like there would have to be some good dealers in rare and vintage instruments, if you can figure out how to sort through the clutter.

Maybe Hogo will chime in here, or you might send him a PM. He's in Slovakia but only a few hours away. Mandolins from the Czech Republic have a great reputation, even if they aren't the crazy bargains they used to be. It seems to be a much bigger thing there than in Austria, although they seem to be into bluegrass instruments more than bowlbacks. Prague is stunning and full of life and an easy train ride if your schedule permits. I wish I could help more but maybe keeping this topic alive will get someone with more local knowledge to speak up. Safe travels and have fun!

[JeffD]

I don't yet know how much time I have or where else I might be taken. I was hoping someone would say, "oh yea go to 'Ye Ole Vienna Bowl Back Mandolin Shoppe' and ask for Giselle"... but it looks like its not going to be that simple.

[Beanzy]

You may find your Giselle here http://www.vamoe.at/vereine.aspx ?
That's an awful lot of pluckery (and hammering) going on in one relatively small country.
If there was someone with good German they may be able to make some sense of it for you in terms of likely email addresses to contact for advice or a pointer as to what could be on when you're there in the summer.
Having a read/guess about the various groups & concerts etc. it looks like Keith Harris does a lot of work in Austria.

[btrott]

I met Herr Jenner many years ago while we were visiting some friends in Austria. He is a superb maker, and does some mandolins I think, though mostly other early strings. His shop is now in Vienna it looks like, so perhaps a vist there would be interesting.

Barry