A Week in Wien: Piece of Cake [On The Road: Vienna]

A regular psychiatrist couldn't even help you. You need to go to like Vienna or something. You know what I mean? You need to get involved at the University level. Like where Freud studied and have all those people looking at you and checking up on you. That's the kind of help you need 

Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld episode “The Pitch”) 

Capital and largest city in Austria, Vienna is a city of music, long tradition of opera and classical music. Well-known musicians lived and worked there including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, and Brahms. Their gastronomy or Viennese cuisine is influenced by different countries, such as the Schnitzel from Milan or the Goulash from Hungary. Hot dog stands and traditional coffee houses complete the picture. 

Vienna from the sky

Things to do include walk across the Innere Stadt and enjoy the magnificent architecture of Albertina, Hofburg palace, Stephansdom, Rathaus, and the Vienna State Opera. Go shopping in Kärntner Straße. Eat a Sachertorte at any of the famous coffee houses such as Demel or Hotel Sacher. Wander around Schloss Belvedere. Immerse into their arts and culture at the Museum Quartier. If you’re a Third Man fan visit the Prater and take a ride in the Riesenrad to have a panoramic view of the city. Get some street food and local produce at the Naschmarkt. Go to spend a sunny summer day by the Danube in one of the Alte Donau bathing complex. Have Venezuelan rum or a cocktail at the Loos American Bar. Try the biggest schnitzel in Vienna’s popular Beisl Figlmuller, just remember that they don't sell beer to wash it down but you can have wine from the owner’s vineyard, and get early as the queues are as big as the schnitzels. Finally, to burn the schnitzel calories try to do some exercise and climb the 343 stairs on the South Tower of the Stephansdom. 

Tram quite convenient method of transport

Stephansdom

Loos American Bar

Klimt's Kiss

Rizzi art gallery

Riesenrad

Sacher where is my Torte? 

If you’re in Vienna you can’t leave without trying some cake. So after long hours of research and following advice of Anthony Bourdain and the Lonely Planet I visited three cafes in order to get their sweet baked dessert. 

Sachertorte

Hotel Sacher / Café Sacher 

Long queues and packed with tourists to try the Original Sachertorte at the Hotel Sacher. The hotel opened in 1876 but the recipe of the cake dates from 1832. Funny enough it wasn’t the first place that served the Sacher Torte. Let’s just say it’s fault of Emperor Franz Josef to endorse the chocolate cake with apricot jam improved by Eduard Sacher while working at Demel bakery. 

The Cafe beside the Hotel

Inside

The History

The famous cake

We got the Sachertorte, quite lovely the cream refreshing the dense and sweet chocolate. 

Piece of the pie

Cafe Sacher

T: +43 1 514 560

Coffe House

Approx Damage: €8pp

Area: Innere Stadt

Vienna

Twitter: HotelSacher

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Cafe Mozart

Nice café, Cafe Mozart opened since 1974, and almost besides Sacher, decent outdoor tables to see people wandering around in front of Albertina. The menu has 26 cakes to choose and 18 coffees. 

Mozart place

Mozart Torte

I got the Melange, half espresso half hot frothy milk and the Mozart Torte. Nice cake less rich than the Sacher but still quite lovely. I can easily get used to this sweet tooth revelation.  

Marisol's hot mint chocolate

My Melange

Another cake bites the dust

Cafe Mozart
T: +43 1 24100 200
Coffee House
Approx Damage: €7pp
Area: Innere Stadt
Vienna

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Demel 

Demel is another famous coffee place in the heart of Vienna founded in 1786. They were the first one to serve the Sacher Torte but lost at court the claim to Original Sacher Torte. Favourite bakery for Empress Sissi in order to get sweets and the violet sorbet. The place is like a maze, well designed for tourist with an open (glassed) kitchen so you can see the master bakers and pastry chefs creating the cakes quite lovely except for the 200 tourist me included wanting to get a snap. 

Demel

Cake in the making

Cake time

Service was quite bad, in fairness it didn’t help the overcrowd café. Finally we got a table in front of the kitchen, and ordered the Anna Torte and Marisol the violet sorbet. The cake was really nice, great the combination of chocolate with nougat, it was moist and amazing, but the highlight was the sorbet, it was unbelievable, the violet blossom extract with champagne is worth the wait.

Annatorte

Violet Sorbet

Demel
T: +43 1 535 17170
Coffee House
Approx Damage: €8pp
Area: Innere Stadt
Vienna

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