The Coffeehouses
The three key attributes of a good Austrian coffeehouse are serving good coffee, obviously, holding a selection of the "finest" Austrian and international newspapers and offering cakes and strudel.
Prückel was the first coffeehouse we went to and geez things are fancy there. Waiters in three piece suits and bow ties, expensive designer bags everywhere you looked (no Bali knock offs here) and coat racks filled with thousands of dollars worth of coats. You walk in through three different doors (in an attempt to keep the cold out) and it opens up into a massive room with tables expertly placed around the room to offer everyone equal levels levels of comfort. Prückel is true to its name, this is a coffeehouse. It's huge.
We shared a piece of sticky, dense, sweet apple strudel and each had the Prückel classic espresso with cream. Both were decent but it's more about the experience.
The generally held belief is that Viennese coffeehouse waiters are a grumpy lot but our first experience was pretty good.
Our second experience, at Cafe Hawelka, turned the first one on its head a bit. This coffeehouse is as old as Vienna itself and whilst still very fancy felt a lot more homely. Prückel is bright and open whereas Hawelka is dark and almost cavernous with tables poked in everywhere physically possible. And there are no menus here, you just ask the waiter what's on offer and go with it.
We went for a couple of espressos again and a piece of "nut cake", on the waiters recommendation. The coffee was average again but the cake v good. Thank you bow tied waiter man. And once again the waiter's attitude towards us stupid English speakers was great.
The Operatic Gala
So with our €5 standing room only tickets in tow we headed out for a fancy night at the opera. Who said I was uncultured?
Our view wasn't the greatest and standing still the entire time wasn't much fun but the opportunity to do it in Vienna was unmissable. And after I pulled on a collared shirt we weren't the most underdressed either.
The City
Whilst walking around the city we were astounded by how grand and spectacular Vienna truly is. In every direction there's a building that would be the tourist highlight of most cities but in Vienna it's just one of many. The self guided walking tour we went on didn't even provide detail on particular buildings, cathedrals etc. that most cities would sell themselves on.
Barrie-ometer of "Feel" - delusions of grandeur
Pug Sightings - 17
