Vienna: land of perfect coffee, free proseco, and general fabulousity

This is overdue and I guess pretty obvious, but Vienna is great. In addition to what now seems to us quite run-of-the-mill architectural grandeur (shared by Berlin, Prague, and Dresden so far), Vienna has a culture of refinement not present in its German and Czech counterparts. There is an art to almost everything. Even the H&M's are nicer here. Contemplative and deliberate design is apparent in everything from sandwiches to seating.

Part of our affection must be attributed to an impromptu evening at a gallery opening. Over the years we have seen our fair share of free wine and cheese, but this was unprecedented. Had it only been unlimited proseco and prosciutto it would have been one thing, but as soon as they asked if they could offer us some truffle oil on our cheese and honey, well that pretty much sealed the deal. Best city ever.

Zum Schwartzen Kameel presented a second gastronomic highlight. After work, instead of grabbing a cocktail at a bar, the Viennese stop in for open-faced sandwiches and a glass fo local wine (Vienna is home to more wineries than any other city in the world). Sooo posh.


This scene was topped only by that at Julius Meinl's artisinal: two floors of meticulously shelved panatone, marzipan, chocolate, cheese, and sausage.


More traditional highlights included the Kunsthistorisches, especially the Bruegels:


The Naschmmarkt, especially the falafel (the best we've ever had) and the fruit selection:


And of course, the coffee. This was a particulary fine cup at the famous Cafe Sperl:

Last but not least we attended a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony (which was premiered in Vienna at what is now the home of the Sacher hotel and, therefore, the famous but in our opinion over-hyped Sacher Torte) at the incomparable Musikverein:

xoxo Jessie