Slovenia, Austria: Part 12 - Day 13: Guided walking tour, 'overrated' coffee house culture

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 13.

4/8 Day 13: Guided free walking tour (10am - 12pm). Experienced coffee culture at Cafe Demel. Visited St. Stephen Cathedral and Wien Museum.

Costs

(1) Tips for Guided walking tour - EUR3

Food

(1) Breakfast at Cafe Museum - Breakfast set EUR8,30, espresso and cream EUR6,90

(2) Fika at Cafe Demel - Slice of sacher-torte EUR8,50, espresso with whipped cream EUR7,90, tip EUR1,15 (my share)

(3) Lunch at Sausage stall - Sausage and bread EUR5

(4) Dinner at Giersterbräu - Orange juice 250ml EUR3,80, Krautfleckerl (Austrian noodles with caramalised cabbage and onion) EUR16,80

(5) Beer at Hawidere Bier & Burger - Non-alcoholic Almdudler EUR3,60

The Story

04082024 : It was forecasted for a rainy day today. So, we brought our ponchos out with us. Our Airbnb was located about an hour's walk from the meeting point for our guided tour. It was quite far and the legs were tired but we made the conscious decision to walk. Haha! We thought that it would be okay. Along the way, we stopped for breakfast at Cafe Museum. It was a very expensive breakfast. It did not come across my mind that Cafe Museum is part of the 'coffee house culture' cafe. It is hence, the expensive breakfast! The 'coffee house culture' in Vienna is awarded a UNESCO intangible culture heritage. I thought Sweden has a coffee culture with almost everyone drinking coffee. But Vienna has a UNESCO award. Wow. So, the coffee house culture experience in Vienna is something else. It is characterised by coffee house with high ceilings, wooden floors, upholstered sofas, racks with newspapers to borrow, waiters and waitresses dressed in tuxedo and white blouses respectively, coffee served in cups with the mark of the coffee house together with water and coffee spoon sits upside down on top of the glass of water. Of course, no one reads newspapers that often nowadays.

Here is our breakfast set. The coffee spoon did arrive upside down on a glass of water. And our coffee cup bears the mark of the coffee house. So, check! Coffee house culture is as per description. The coffee is espresso and served with cream. 

It is a very small breakfast set, compared to the breakfast we had the next day. The cheapest set on the menu. I was annoyed when my travel companion tipped the waiter. I did not think the waiter did anything exceptional and everything was already expensive! As if we had not paid enough with the breakfast set... Hmph!

It started to rain at the end of our breakfast. We thought the guided tour will be cancelled but we saw other tourists waiting too. I did not enjoy the walking tour as I hoped as I could not hear the guide properly. The tourists in the group were spread out so the guide moved herself around when she spoke and her voice got carried away. Also, there was no connection or relationship in her stories. She explained the history or stories based on where we stopped. The town was filled with a LOT of tourists. SO MANY tour groups. It was very crowded.

Impressive St. Stephen's Cathedral. 

After the walk, we went to Cafe Demel to experience the coffee house culture. Initially, I booked Cafe Central because it was recommended by most and it has beautiful interior design. The guide informed that the pastries and cakes in Central were not as good as the ones in Demel and the prices are expensive in Central. One pay for the interior design and not the pastries. So, I cancelled my booking in Cafe Central and we queued up for Cafe Demel. Gosh, it was a LONG queue. We stood in line to get into another line. It took us 40 minutes to finally get a table. So much for 'lending a newspaper to read' to experience coffee house culture. Who has time to read when there is a queue and we are probably expected to leave after finishing our meal. 

My travel companions waited in line while I went inside to take photos. A well-known Austrian pastry is the Kaiserschmarrn - shredded pancake served with plum compote. The pancake contains rum-soaked raisins. We were very surprised of this pastry as we eat similar pancakes occasionally in Sweden. But there are no raisins in the pancakes in Sweden. The pastry is so famous that there is a designated spot in the cafe to buy it - from a window and take away. 

We met a friend in the evening and her husband said that Cafe Central has good pastries. He did not agree with what our guide said that Cafe Demel was better than Cafe Central. He is a local and he has been to Cafe Central. This make me disapprove the guide even more as I cancelled my booking in Cafe Central after listening to her opinion. Hmph!

I walked in Cafe Demel to take photos of the pastries and cakes. 

Waiting in line on the stairs.

After the stairs, we got in and entered the second queue to enter into the dining hall. There were pastries on display right next to the queue. One can buy as take-away which is cheaper at EUR7,90 a piece or slice.

The shredded pancake and its plum compote. I saw a waitress cutting open a huge packet of plum compote and pouring it into a giant pot. I thought it would have been made from scratch...

Finally, we got our spot by the window.

Our pastries and coffee. The coffee came first. According to the guide, Austrians enjoy their coffee with whipped cream. Back home, when we are out of milk and we have cream, we use the cream to our coffee. Such an expensive coffee - I was very appalled by the price.

Then came our pastries.

The sachertorte - a chocolate cake with apricot jam in the middle. There is a Cafe Socher where the original cake originates. Eaten with whipped cream as the chocolate cake is supposedly dry but I did not think it was dry.

This is sweet bread with vanilla sauce.

Apple strudel with vanilla sauce.

Once again, my travel companion who is in charge of the payment tipped the waitress. I am annoyed again. The pastries and coffee are expensive. I don't understand why he needs to tip... He said that he thinks the service is good. Really? The waiters and waitresses are just doing per their job description - to take orders and serve. 

Next stop - St Stephen Cathedral. It is free entry but some areas need a paid ticket. By now, the rain has stopped.

After the church visit, we went to the famous sausage stall with a giant green rabbit on the roof located in front of Albertinaplatz. The sausage and bread were nothing exceptional. We wanted something to eat for lunch. A queue was there too. It was a lot of bread and I took a long time to finish it.

Next up, we walked to Wien Museum that has free entry. Also, a long queue where we stood in line for 20 minutes. I guess places with free entries are always a hit. There was a lot of information to take in and read. I could have used more time to read the descriptions. I think one can spend a day here. 

There is a miniature version of St Stephen Cathedral.

On the way to our dinner place, I was intrigued by a tree found on the streets in Vienna. Eventually, after much research, I found out the name of the tree is Sycamore Maple. I never thought that the day will come when I am more interested in finding out the name of a tree rather than reading up on Austria's historical 600-year old kingdom. The tree reminded me of an eucalyptus tree. 

We had dinner with some friends. Here I had orange juice and short pasta with cabbage. A bit oily. It was nothing extraordinary but it is a local food so it is worth trying.