Vienna Calling
Next stop on the Maria-Theresa Tour is Vienna. Napoleon was right when he declared that an army traveled on its stomach. We heartily take that same view. We eat our way through countries! If you are really serious about it, you begin with dessert. And what better place to put that to practice than in Vienna.
Jay in his element — the coffee house
I have heard for years about the superior pastry skills of the Viennese. I had always thought, “Just how good can a cake be?” Well, the distance from a doubter to an evangelist is merely a single forkful away. The cakes were indescribably delicious; delicate, light, gently sweet, moist. Never is the tongue more confounded than when words prove inadequate to describe what it has tasted.
Heaven behind glass
The city is filled with coffee houses and the rituals that reside within. Coffee is a very specific and personal choice. Whether it is espresso, cappuccino, turkischer, schlagober, or pharisaer, it is delivered on a small silver tray with a glass of water. This is a ritual to be savored. This is not the world of the to-go cup. It is an unhurried time for conversation or newspaper reading, usually encircled in an ever-present halo of cigarette smoke.
My pharisaer. Strong black coffee with a generous dollop of whipped cream and a shot of rum!
As Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Maria Theresa needed a place to escape the city and the rigors of her exalted office, so she remodeled Schonbrunn. Once the royal hunting grounds, the divine EMT recast the medieval lodge as an imperial palace; a residence more befitting her rank.
It’s good to be the queen - or even better an Empress!
This sprawling summer palace on the outskirts of Vienna afforded enough room for her 16 children to freely romp about. The most famous of the royal brood was undoubtedly #9, Maria-Antonia, later frenchified upon marrying Louis XVI to Marie-Antoinette.
Perhaps it was simply a homesick Marie-Antoinette yearning for her hometown’s famous baked-goods when she uttered those immortal words, “Let them eat cake!”
The view from my cake eating spot in the Gloriette at Schonbrunn.
At the turn of the 20th century, Vienna was a seething hot bed of new thought. Freud was busy analyzing dreams and artists and architects were challenging the historical ideals of conformity. They were called Secessionists. Gustav Klimt, Joseph Hoffmann, Adolf Loos, at the time considered insurgents of radical thought, they are now revered for their trailblazing creativity.
Old Vienna
New Vienna (circa 1899!)
Known as the Majolikahaus, majolica house, after the glazed pottery tiles that clad its surface. This colorful building helped to usher in the new thoughts about architecture at the beginning of the 20th century.
Secession Building
The Secession Building was a gallery created for the Vienna Secessionist artists. It was constructed in 1898 as a visual metaphor for their motto, “Der Zeit ihre Kunst, der Kunst ihre Freiheit” which translates To every Age its Art, to Art its Freedom.
With so much to see, our days in Vienna were a whirlwind of touring and of course, eating. They quickly passed and before we knew it, we were on the train to Prague.
Sunday, June 15th, 2008 at 11:35 pmand is filed under travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.