The Ritual Master Welcome to our 17th video in the Austrian Advent Calendar.
Coffee and culture are two of the words that best describe Vienna. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I feel so at home when visiting. And with each trip, I get to discover a new facet of these two great passions.
When I first decided to make this year’s Calendar all about Austria, I owned only two books related to the theme : Rilke’s Letters to a young poet, and Robert Seethaler’s The Tobacconist. I bought this second one in a hurry from Liverpool airport and didn’t have too many expectations. But Seethaler’s writing was so charming and refreshing, It rapidly became a truly memorable read. Imagine my joy when I saw my local bookshop organise an evening with Robert Seethaler for the launch of his latest translation into French. I was already working on my Advent Calendar, so I took this as a sign, and a great one it was !
His latest novel (pending translation into English) is called The Café Without a Name, and is an ode to the beauty of small communities tucked into the heart of a great city.
Robert Simon works as a day labourer at the Karmelite Market in Vienna. Every morning, when coming to work, he observes an abandoned little coffee place and dreams of one day opening it back again. In the effervescence of life after the end of the nazi regime, he takes a leap of faith and signs a lease with the local owner. His life will forever change. The people he meets, the energy he puts into the transformation of the café and the joy that it ends up bringing to his life, are so beautifully put into words, it feels like a story from a world that knows no evil. Where people have beautiful souls and even when they make mistakes, the consequences are never dramatic. Seethaler’s Vienna is beautiful in its famously conservative ways. Since what it stands to protect is the kindness in people’s hearts. And the symbol he chooses is the community gathered in a café.
Vienna’s café culture is world famous, and has its roots back in the time of the Turkish wars that brought the coffee bean right outside the fortified walls of the city. You only need to take your pick from the exceptionally beautiful cafés for an afternoon gift of a coffee break. Just remember to make a reservation ahead when they offer it.
I decided to combine coffee and culture in Vienna by going to the Café of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Located in the dome hall of the 19th century museum, this is a place to treat yourself to a memorable cup of coffee. And what could be more typical than an Einspänner. A strong black coffee topped with a generous amount of whipped cream is what the fiaker drivers would drink, since the cream provided a thermal barrier for the coffee to keep warm underneath. As for the sweet tooth, we endulged in a creative spin of the Sacher Torte, that kept the classic flavours of chocolate and apricot, and turned them into a soufflé. A historic place to enjoy a quintessential Viennese delight.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your cup of coffee !
