Vienna (Austria) Energy Drink Journey 2019

Austria, a country you'll want to visit again even before entering

The immigration process was incredibly fast with a stamp and no conversation. This might be because most of the passengers on the direct flight from Japan were Japanese and EU citizens, but it was still unusual, and I was glad to be Japanese.

It takes less than 30 minutes by train from the airport to the city center, and the fare is about 600 yen. It’s wonderful! Countries with such good public transportation make you want to visit again and again.

The ANA direct flight that departs late at night and arrives early in the morning allows you to make the most of your time, so if you have a three-day weekend, spending a weekend in Vienna is definitely an option.

Finish the hunting in the morning

I arrived at the hotel early in the morning and completed the early check-in. The room was a spacious corner room, although it was far from the elevator.

Since it was still breakfast time, I had a light meal while rechecking the locations of nearby supermarkets.
The hunt begins right away!

I was surprised to find that Austria only has supermarkets, and there are no convenience stores. Supermarkets are scattered around like Japan's convenience stores.

Also, every supermarket chain is closed on Sundays. So, I wanted to buy everything on Saturday before I couldn’t shop the next day.

The first supermarket I entered was this one.

As expected from the country where Red Bull was born, Red Bull was lined up. There were also energy drinks I hadn’t seen before. Each one cost about 70 to 80 yen, so the low price left a good impression.

On the other hand, there was a Japanese-style energy drink called DAISHO, but it was priced at 1.5 euros, the same as the major brands, so I didn’t feel good about it. I really wanted to ask why they chose to sell it at that price, and why anyone would buy it. This is not just about DAISHO, but all energy drinks, both domestic and international.

I bought everything available there.

Next, I went to a “Spar” supermarket. Spar is an EU supermarket chain, known for having a lot of their own private label products.

I had been looking forward to getting the Spar private brand energy drink, S-Budget, here.

S-Budget from Spar, priced at just 0.49 euros, under 60 yen. Isn’t that ridiculously cheap!?

It’s a 250ml size, which is easy to drink, and there are many flavors to choose from. The design is just covered in the Spar logo, so it looks a bit tacky, but they’ve made sure to create a color logo tab like Red Bull. With so many flavors, it’s quite a sight.

Having bought a lot from two stores, I went back to the hotel to drop off my luggage, organize, and take a break.

I always drink tonic water available at hotels abroad (*´ｪ`*)

I had listed many supermarkets in advance, so I decided to visit all of them by the afternoon.

At a super-cheap supermarket, I didn’t find anything new, but I did discover this ridiculous design energy drink. A muscular arm is growing from a 250ml can.

At 0.39 euros, under 50 yen, it’s cheap, but who would buy this design? Of course, I bought it, though (^_^;)

The original Monster was also cheap. It was 0.89 euros, about 105 yen. Even though Monster was so cheap, I saw a mother with a small child finishing her shopping and drinking the 0.39 euro energy drink with the muscular arm design. If it’s a 250ml size and super low price, I guess it makes sense to pick it.

As I continued walking around the city and visiting supermarkets, I kept coming across new energy drinks and new flavors…

A plethora of cheap energy drinks in Austria

First up is Kong Strong.

This is also a private brand energy drink from an EU supermarket chain. It’s ridiculously cheap at 0.39 euros. With that price, I would buy it too.

I thought there were only two types: original and sugar-free, but there are actually five flavors.

Despite being so cheap, there’s a solid variety of flavors, which is impressive. It would be difficult to do the same thing in Japan, both in terms of flavor variety and pricing.

There’s also a 330ml XL size.

It seems that in Austria, private label products typically come in big sizes. The can surface feels smooth and doesn’t look cheap.

At another supermarket, I found Flying Power.

I remembered seeing this energy drink. It’s also 0.39 euros, ridiculously cheap.

I was wandering around the store when I found a huge stack of them.

Flying Power also had five different flavors. I believe the value in micro-brands lies in these kinds of prices, and it’s great to be able to choose your favorite flavor from the cheap energy drinks.

On my way back, I stopped by a Spar and found the flavors of S-Budget I hadn’t gotten yet!

Coconut, cola, and pineapple – three flavors. I’m glad I entered every store because I made this discovery. This kind of excitement is what makes the hunt so addictive (*´艸｀*)

Even though I hadn’t seen it anywhere else, I also found two types of Monster Hydro!

Now that I think about it, I hadn’t been able to get this in Austria until now.

I checked a few more supermarkets on Monday, but there weren’t many stores that carried Hydro, and the only stock was the red and green combination... It seems that availability differs by region.

By the afternoon on my first day, I had managed to buy all the energy drinks I wanted! By the way, Rockstar had withdrawn from Austria a few years ago, so the only global major brands in Austria are Red Bull and Monster Energy.

Red Bull Winter Edition 2018

I had been looking for the Red Bull Winter Edition from last year for a while. I visited many supermarkets, but there was no stock anywhere… I didn’t even see price tags left, so after over half a year since its release, it’s clear it’s tough to find.

By 2019, the Summer Edition had been released, so it’s no surprise.

Since all the supermarkets are closed on Sundays, I dedicated the whole day to sightseeing.

I visited such a beautiful church...

I went to a café...

I visited art museums...

And went back to a café...

The old town of Vienna is like an artistic treasure, and I was inspired by everything around me. I had such a great time (●´ω｀●)

After finishing sightseeing, I happened to need cash, so I went to find an ATM.

Since all the supermarkets were closed, I stopped by a nearby gas station...

And there, to my surprise, I found stock of the Winter Edition!

This was a miracle. If the supermarket hadn’t been closed, I wouldn’t have stopped by here. This is the fun of the hunt that keeps me going ((o(´∀｀)o))

The fatigue from walking around all day disappeared in an instant.

Before going to Austria, several friends had told me that finding the Winter Edition was hopeless, and some even said, “If you can’t find it, I’ve got it covered,” but I really wanted to find it myself, so this was an emotional moment. I felt like I truly experienced the joy of being an energy drink traveler at the very end.

I actually spent less time on energy drinks than expected, yet I bought a huge amount that I couldn't even fit in this post, and still had plenty of time for sightseeing. I was enchanted by the beauty of Vienna. Many people sent me messages saying, "If you’ve come to Vienna, you should come to our country too," but if I could, I would love to keep coming back to Vienna. I really hope to visit again next year or later.