The Coffee House Culture in Vienna

If you're planning a weekend break in Vienna, here's some advice: leave the diet sheet and the calorie calculator at home. The lure of the Viennese Kaffee Hausen will rob you of all your self- control when confronted by the vast array of cakes and pastries that are an essential ingredient in this traditional Austrian experience. Forget Starbucks, and any other coffee chain you might have frequented in the past...this is a totally different ball-game.

The Turks are credited with bringing coffee to Vienna in the latter part of the 17th century. The Turkish army had invaded Austria and when they were forced to leave, in somewhat of a hurry, they left behind several sacks of coffee beans. The Viennese decided to try coffee for themselves and have been hooked ever since.

By the beginning of the 20th century there were over 500 coffee houses in the city, offering not just coffee and cakes, but newspapers, chess boards, and in some cases, billiard tables. They were also renowned as gathering places for the literati, as well as Viennese business men. Sadly, in the last 20 years dozens have closed, and some of these prime sites are now occupied by international coffee chains and fast food outlets .

But the brightest and the best are still holding on,and no visit to Vienna would be complete without stopping of at one of them for a coffee-and -cake pit-stop in between the sightseeing. Many of them still provide newspapers, and once seated there is no pressure to drink up and move on. The Viennese believe that coffee drinking is a social event, so friends meet and gossip in a leisurely manner.

Having selected your coffee house, and found a seat, preferably in the window if you can manage it,you will be confronted by a long list of coffees, and an even longer list of waistband -stretching pastries. Don't think you can get away with ordering just 'a coffee'. This will mark you out as an amateur. There will, in all probability, be at least a dozen varieties on offer, and you'll be expected to make a considered decision and order appropriately. So here's a few you will find on the average menu...there will be loads more, but let's not get complicated at this stage.

Schwarzer – Strong black coffee like an espresso.
Kleiner(small) or Grosser(large) Brauner – coffee with cream
Kapuziner – coffee with a dash of milk
Melang – coffee with frothy milk similar to a cappuccino
Einspanner – mocha coffee with whipped cream
Fiaker – mocha coffee with brandy...a must-have if you're in Vienna on a cold winter's day.

Then there's the cakes and pastries to be ordered. After all, such delicious coffee must be accompanied by something, and the sweeter and more calorific the better. More sight-seeing will soon burn the calories off.

The mention of the word 'Austria 'conjures up images of mountains, Mozart , and sacher torte, that most Viennese of confections invented by Fritz Sacher when he was apprenticed to the court of Prince Metternich at the beginning of the 19th century. There is only one place to eat it - in its spiritual home, the Cafe Sacher in Philharmoniker Strasse. Try to get a seat in the conservatory which faces the Opera House, order a Einspanner coffee to go with it, and sit and watch the world go by. Sacher torte is even better when served with a dollop of cream, but that might be considered to be going into dairy overload. But the Cafe Sacher is such a special place that a little over-indulgence can be forgiven.

Other varieties of 'torte' are on offer, as they are in all Viennese coffee houses. Why not try marontorte which is similar to sacher torte but filled with chestnut puree?

Or linzer torte, another mouth-watering Austrian speciality? It is reputedly the oldest tart in the world, having been first recorded in 1653, and is a deliciously light confection comprising two layers of buttery almond pastry filled with plum or raspberry jam. Apelstrudel is another popular favourite, butter-light paper-thin pastry layers filled with apples and dried fruit. And, according to Rodgers and Hammerstein, one of Maria Von Trapp's 'Favourite Things'.

Small pastries are just as varied... try a golatschen – a flaky pastry slice filled with cream cheese, or a zimtscnecke – a spiral shaped pastry filled with nuts. The list is endless and you really will be spoilt for choice.

But where to go for an hour of sheer, sweet indulgence? Well 'kaffee hausen' are scattered all over the city, and there is bound to be one near your hotel or on the tourist trail. But try to visit the genuine article. There are many coffee chains in Vienna now. Starbucks has arrived so globalisation has invaded Vienna, but the old kaffee haus is still around and soldiering on.
Some of the best are:

Cafe Central...one of the best known, so by merit perhaps a little 'touristy' but the magnificent vaulted ceiling more than makes up for it. Past clientele included Beethoven, Goethe, Mahler and Trotsky( when he wasn't spouting revolutionary ideology) so you'll be in good company. There is usually a resident pianist which may (or may not) appeal .Cafe Central can be found on the corner of Strauchgrasse and Herrengrasse but it's so well known it's hard to miss.

Cafe Pruckel overlooks the Stadtpark at Stuberning 24.....a traditional kaffee hause with high ceilings and great pastries.

Cafe Sperl, on the Gumpendorfer Strasse ....the Viennese rate this cafe as the only 'genuine 'coffee house in Vienna. The interior is original to its 19th century inception so it has atmosphere in bucket loads, and a nice line in cakes too.

If you would like a master class in making the perfect 'apfelstrudel' the Cafe Schottenring (Schottenring 19)offer tuition in the art at 6.30 in the evening for a mere 13 euros. Check with the tourist board in the city centre or at your hotel for reservations.

Coffee houses are the perfect antidote to a long afternoon taking in the Hapsburg splendour of Vienna and a great start to an evening of Viennese culture. After sampling coffee and cakes you'll be completely in the mood for a night at the opera, for which Vienna is justly famous.