Drinking lots of wine as the epitome of
Wiener Gemütlichkeit is a
German abstract noun whose closest English equivalent is
cosiness . However, rather than basically just describing a place as not too large, well-heated and nicely furnished (a cosy room, a cosy flat),
Gemütlichkeit connotes, much more than
cosiness, the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the spending of
quality time in a place as described above. The similar word
gezelligheid in Dutch language has an own German equivalent (
Geselligkeit), which means staying together in a "gemütlich" atmosphere.
Queen Victoria is said to have been one of the first to use the adjective gemütlich in English. Today, the word is frequently used in descriptions of holiday destinations. Gemütlichkeit may be sought by adults as well as young people, who do not necessarily always prefer excitement.
