Würstelwaggon – Würstelstand

It’s full of smoke and a thick Viennese dialect. “Do you know of Kaiser Franz’l?” The proud Würstel chef asks me in a string of Viennese dialect I take a second to untangle.
“The past Emperor of Austria, you mean?”
“Genau – we have our own Franz Kaiser here”, he says slamming a glass of water in front of a big cuddly guy, bursting out laughing along with the rest of the people packed in the wagon.
The big, cuddly Franz Kaiser shows me his drivers licence to prove that he is the real Emperor sitting in an over 50-year-old train carriage called the Würstelwaggon. This display of warm, Viennese cheekiness carries on as soon as I walk into the door, to the moment I leave to a chorus of, ‘Servus!’ (a word of greeting, or parting, originally meaning “I am your servant”)
Requiring quite the trek to get out to this Würstelstand housed in an old train carriage plonked beside the road, you wouldn’t just come here for a mere Würstel and Semmel (bread roll).
This place is so much more than just a Würstelstand – it’s a truly unique, authentic Viennese experience, and a local treasure where everybody knows each other, and if you’re new, you’ll know everybody soon enough.
“Wie oit bist, Franz’l” (translation: How old are you Franzy?) – asks the Würstel chef.
“Fie oit” (translation: very old) – answers Franz.

Sausage selection: All of the standard Würstel favourites, including one a meter long that will “make you jealous”, according to the Würstel chef.
Würstel of choice: Ask the chef and he’ll make it “Ganz frisch for dich!” (translation: will make it fresh for you)