Vienna, The Charmer
Chocolates from Demel |
Two hours of sleep, dry sandwiches in the morning, and then we were flying over Swiss mountains. The plane cruised over a sea of clouds lapping at the bottom of the bluish peaks. We changed planes in Zurich and landed in Vienna.
A few hours later, after
devouring hot wiener schnitzels with lemon basil sauce at an excellent vegan
diner, we stepped into The Purple Cave. It was a small, slightly expensive
vintage shop packed to the rafters with 60’s hotpants, 70’s dresses, patterned
shirts and collectables including a white mini trench-coat and a leatherette
catsuit with cutouts down both sides. I tried on an Ossie Clark-style navy wool
dress. My company (El Lobo and Viri the pretty Hungarian) lounged in the tiny
bar in the back of the store, surrounded by art books and torn sexy cinema
posters. They sipped cold beers and listened to records. I bought the dress.
The Purple Cave |
That afternoon we wandered around Vienna’s elegant streets past dapper old couples and horse-drawn carriages. A white-haired gentleman in a plaid three-piece suit put his camel-colored coat around his sweetheart’s shoulders. An Austrian Aphrodite with wavy red hair scurried to the metro in a long coat and stiletto heels. A young man with an angular face and sad eyes clutched a bunch of flowers on the tram. He looked just like an Egon Schiele painting. A car discreetly nearly ran us over…but everything was so calm and quiet we forgot about it moments later.
After investigating the
whereabouts of the best Sacher Torte in Vienna, we visited Oberlaa Café. No
queues, no obscene prices, just a café filled with locals and a glass case of
sweet concoctions. We ate omelettes dusted with chives and oozing with melted
cheese. And dessert? Behold the famous chocolate Sacher Torte and a Himbeer-Schaum Schnitte. The second
treat was made of a layer of moist sponge cake, cream, tart juicy raspberries,
and a thick layer of gooey meringue on top. I also recommend the Austrian version of a Monte Bianco, a
moist chestnut torte. It’s the perfect fuel for a museum marathon.
Industrial Vienna, very different from the rest of the city |
Another day, another thrill for the sartorially inclined: the dirndl outlet, right in the center of town. Imagine a forest of old-fashioned cotton dresses in every color. Viri and I parked the fellas at 1516, the nearby pub, while we tried on pale blue dirndls with cherry red aprons and crisp white blouses. I felt like Liesl in The Sound of Music, running to the gazebo.
We drifted in the frosty
sunshine to a crowded restaurant, where El Lobo and I had a dramatic quarrel,
the kind where you unearth shards of past arguments and present them with minor
disappointments of the day. Tears on eyelashes. Silence. He smoked
a cigarette. I nibbled on a lemon wafer. Apologies. We walked in the fading sun
looking forward to ice cream cones and the peace of sleep.
MARGO’S GUIDE TO VIENNA
(with
help from the beautiful Martina)
TO DO
-Visit the museums. There’s a great Egon Schiele exhibit on
at the Albertina (until June 18, 2017) but if you miss it the Leopold has a
collection of Schiele and Klimt paintings.
The upper Belvedere has a surprisingly boring collection, with the exception of
Klimt’s ‘The Kiss.’ Skip it if you’re short on time. Vienna’s natural history
museum is excellent.
-Take an Art Nouveau tour.
-Hunt for vintage clothes and stop for a beer at The Purple
Cave. (Neubaugasse 78.)
-Buy spices, little gifts, and Middle Eastern snacks at the
Naschmarkt (market) on Saturday.
-Visit old-fashioned, smoky coffeehouses like Café Bendl (Landesgerichstrasse 6,
open late some days.)
-If it’s sunny and warm hang out in the bars by the canal.
-If you like traditional dress buy a dirndl. They’re pretty and usually very
expensive…unless you go to an outlet like Original Salzburger Trachen, on
Weinburggasse 8, near the metro Stephensplatz. Try on a size smaller than you
usually wear. They also have new but vintage style suede shoes, blouses, and
bras.
TO EAT
-Try the wiener
schnitzel (a flat, breaded cutlet of veal, pork or chicken, often
served with potato salad and a slice of lemon.)
-If you’re vegetarian/vegan Vienna has lots of options. I
love Swing Kitchen, a cheap, casual vegan
diner with fantastic schnitzel, “chicken” nuggets, homemade cola,
apple soda and beer. Schottenfeldgasse 3, close to Zieglergasse metro station
and The Purple Cave.
-Drink spicy chili
beer and sample the apple strudel (a delicious combination) at 7 Stern
Braeu, a microbrewery in the 7th district. Seibensterngasse 19.
Open 11 am-midnight.
-Snack on dreamy
pastries at Kurkonditorei Oberlaa. Neuer Markt 16. Metro:
Stephansplatz.
-If you like fancy
chocolates in beautiful boxes buy presents at Demel. Kohlmarkt 14.
-Have a drink at Das Moped. They make a tasty curry mango cocktail and it’s open
on Sunday. Avoid the cake though. Salmgasse 23, Metro: Rochugasse.
CITY NOTES: Most shops and many cafes and bars are
closed on Sunday, though most museums are open. If you’ll be zipping around
town a lot get a 2 or 3-day metro pass. Many cafes and bars allow smoking
inside (Das Moped has an awesome though fragrant 60s smoking room in the back.)
Dogs are welcome in many restaurants, shops, and on the metro.
The metro in Vienna, March 2017 |
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