Christmas Vienna – close and personal

When I wrote about the Viennese coffee in Rousse, I did not have even a clue that I will drink it soon in its original version and original location. But that’s the best thing about life – unexpected things happen. And all we have to do is look for them and accept them as they come!



So I went to Vienna with two goals – to see Gustav Klimt’s paintings and drink punsch at a Christmas market in Vienna (these markets are called Christkindlmarkt which seems too long a word but very sweet once you get used to the sound of it).
I did visited three exhibitions of Klimt and 5-6 Christmas markets as you can see on the picture above. The orange punsch was great although prepared with artificial essences and not with real orange fruits.

But I really couldn’t miss the chance to taste a cup of real Viennese coffee. As far as I could see there were two major types of preparation – espresso with whipped cream and coffee mélange. There is the whipped cream one.
I did taste that at the Kunsthistorisches Museum café among great statues and rich secession arches after I’ve climbed the staircase painted by Klimt himself (I tell you, it’s incredible!).

Then I checked the mélange at two places – the Demel Bakery and a nameless café in the Kunsthalle building where many young artists gather for a nice chat in a cosy place. Here are the Demel mélange and cakes.

Conclusion is – it’s up to the place and personal taste. Melange is lighter and smoother for drinking. But the whipped cream café made me feel somehow special with that white curved top sneaking beyond the edge of the cup. And the cakes and strudels were great all around Viena ;-)