Blogging
From Abroad

Today, I felt privileged to go shopping with Doris, Hannes’s girlfriend and a good friend of mine. She is an authentic Viennese, having grown up in Vienna. She knows all the tricks of getting around town and the shopping opportunities that cannot be found in guidebooks because as I came to notice, we went a bit off the beaten path. Since downtown is a close walk from her flat, we left from there. Our mission: to help me get special Valentine’s Day gifts for my ladyfriend, “Sacher Tort” and misc items for myself.

After roaming around in and out of little shops tucked away in the alleyways off the main drag, we settled on some items, then came the highlight of my day. Sacher Tort for those who do not know, is a world famous, two-layer chocolate cake with an apricot layer between them. The Sacher Cafe, located beneath the also famous Sacher Hotel is where one can get the Tort. The Sacher Hotel was once a military hotel after WWII when the city was occupied by 4 powers. It can be seen best in the movie, The Third Man, an excellent old film that depicts Vienna as it was after the war.

Enough of history, let me get down to what is really good. The Original Sacher Tort is something that can only be appreciated by true chocolate afficianados, a certain something that tickles your taste buds with a balance of flavors nearly matched to perfection. My photo needs almost no description, it speaks for itself.

Paired excellently to a cup of Viennese coffee (I have only recently dabbled with coffee, and this coffee rocked my socks off!). The two go together like spaghetti and meatball! (ok, I am allowed atleast one Adam Sandler movie quote in each blog). Wow, such a pairing cannot be described most accurately with words. I spent probably an hour with a routine; a bite of cake, then a delicate sip of coffee, then a sprinkling of water to the tip of the tongue to rinse off the sweet spot, then repeat after a long reflecting pause and chat.

I mean everything on the table was picture perfect, nice chocolate cake on the plate (vastly understated, but simple, yet elegant), “foo foo” foam on the coffee and shot glass of water for cleaning my palette. Why did it take so long for me to discover this?!!

I am sorry, I was lost for a minute there, it is easy to get caught up with chocolate! During our cafe endeavor, I had mixed feelings about looking up and seeing this across the street. Who knows how much they paid for that location.

And in case you were wondering how I was right before I tried my tort, as well as a brief look at the artfully designed interior of this cafe, have a look…