When an American goes to Europe, they are doing so in part to see, feel, and experience things different. Buildings older than those anywhere at home line the streets, foreign languages give voice to signs on streets, shops, and restaurants, and cultures that stretch back centuries define the rhythms and movements that bring locales to life. All these things catch the eye given their alienness to American life. But, amidst differences in language, culture, and appearance, life in Europe, and in Vienna, Austria where I put pen to paper, is life anywhere.
People in Vienna go to parks, grab morning coffee, congregate at bars, and make reservations to dine out at this historic city's countless restaurants. Sure, they do these things in a way, at a pace, and in a language that may be different than done in America, but still, the Viennese do these things. They differ, however, in important subtleties. Morning coffee might last for hours at a historic café, and it may involve ice cream (Eis), cigarettes smoked at an outdoor table, and a copy of a local German language paper like ‘Heute’ (Today). A visit to the park might be completed as an all-day affair, taken slowly with or without friends in tow, but certainly with a book in hand. Even when the Viennese do things that Americans do, they do them in a way that is unique to Vienna.
For an outsider, what makes a café visit in Vienna special if one does not know how to enjoy it in a Viennese fashion? The Kaffee (coffee) here, typically served espresso style and with some form of dairy, frozen, whipped, or liquid, is exceptional, but cafes in America are not unable to offer a great pour. So, if it is not the quality of coffee alone that makes the experience singular, what then is it? In Vienna, the special aspects of the city and its meeting places are felt in the waltz between the inanimate and animate that whirls its way around without interruption. A café's uniqueness here comes from the combination of gorgeous Viennese buildings, the German language spoken more gently than one might expect, the easy but steady cultural rhythms, and of course the unbeatable coffee. It is these ingredients, mixed perfectly together, that make a Viennese café visit Viennese, especially if the visitor orders a Grosser Brauner (my speciality).
With so many intangibles involved in concocting the Viennese experience, what should an American look out for when they visit a Viennese café? In the tourist-heavy areas, you will find not just historic cafes but also newer locations that do not stretch back to the 1800s and you will even spot some named ‘Starbuck’s’, yes, that Starbucks. While sitting alongside local Viennese while enjoying time in a café might be a prerequisite for it to be capable of offering an authentic Viennese experience, one can feel and know they are in Vienna wherever they go. However, to truly take in a café Vienna style, one cannot feel rushed to order to finish their drink, they must hear quiet German conversation around them, and if they are indoors, they ought to be surrounding also by thick building walls that lend sense of protection to one's self and inner thoughts. You must also be able to bask in the comfort of knowing nobody is staring at you and nobody expects a polite nod should eye contact accidentally be made. Sure, thick walls can be found in all cities, and so can cafés, but there is something different that can be felt in the cultural milieu that makes a Viennese café experience something that can only be taken part in here, regardless of how I may try to describe this indescribable phenomenon.
While cafes in Vienna may be a uniquely Viennese offering, restaurants are a different story completely. How, say, can a restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese Pho, Spanish tapas, or traditional Chinese fare offer a Viennese experience regardless of its location in the heart of this city? How can an Erdapfel (potato) or Schnitzel-free menu be considered even remotely Viennese, regardless of what language the menu is presented in? What could be Viennese about experiencing these exotic cuisines in this city? The answers are not immediately found upon restaurant entry, which is fine because dining can be enjoyed slowly here.
The ‘Vienneseness,’ if you will, of these excellent establishments serving non-Austrian cuisine shows its face in glimpses throughout a night out. Just as you are being lulled into enjoying Spanish tapas or pho, gentle reminders of your locale reenter your consciousness. Perhaps you overhear a nearby table politely order a tort in German, or perhaps the table of young women next to you rises immediately upon their main courses being served to enjoy a cigarette break. Perhaps it dawns on you that this is their third such break in as many tens of minutes. Even in these authentic yet non-Austrian restaurants, Viennese culture cannot long be lost, particularly after a diner pays the Rechnung (check) and returns to the easily navigable Strassen (streets) and Gassen (alleys) that make this historic city so easily navigable. However, despite the culinary diversity found here, and the culture's penetrating nature, the city's Vienneseness is best felt while enjoying its authentic city.
Throughout the city there are countless captivating Kirchen (churches), museums, and historical sites that will forever be associated with Viennese culture, but still, Vienna is a city that makes its singularity known and felt in its subtleties. It can be known by this history and architecture coupled with its modern and well-engineered subway system. It can be known by the anonymity with which one can stroll Vienna’s sidewalks absent the expectation of smiling or nodding at passersby countered with the welcoming attitude that restaurateurs and shopkeepers offer to all who enter. It is felt while observing the astounding and well-maintained remnants of Habsburg opulence coupled with the modesty in which residents live and conduct themselves. It is in these complements and contrasts that Viennese culture obtains and maintains its originality.
Sure, it is a city just as other cities are cities. Certainly, its restaurants are still restaurants and its cafes still cafes. However, interspersed with their location and its history, the commonplace within Vienna’s culture is made special. It is a careful and natural mix of existence and time that combine to make Viennese culture unique. Though the city’s monuments, churches, and palaces have captivated millions, this is not a city that is attempting to compete with Positano or Santorini for natural beauty. No, the beauty in Vienna is found as it Is being searched for and experienced slowly. For every jutting of Santorini’s cliffs that catches the eye, Vienna offers something that will evoke emotion if one heads down an alley to find the perfect Vienna bar or cafe or truly relaxes at an iconic Viennese restaurant and lets the uniqueness of Viennese culture fall over them. It is in these subtleties that the observant visitor can find that much sought-after difference in search of which they came to Europe and Vienna.
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