Postcard from Vienna

'Let them eat cake' said Marie Antoinette. So I did …

I didn’t plan to spend my time in Vienna eating cake. I actually went for a big wine event, VieVinum, but kept on getting caught in colossal downpours and having to dive into the nearest café. Which is not a problem in Vienna as there are cafes everywhere. 

Don’t be put off by the queues. There are queues for everything - you just get used to it and they move quite quickly. Once in you scan the counter and choose your cake. Within 48 hours I’d had a shokozauber (chocolate cake with vanilla crème brülée) at Café Central and a superb creation called an erdbeer kardinalschnitte which was like a giant marshmallow filled with strawberry mousse and a crisp meringue topping at Café Landtmann. That’s the way to do gluten-free.

I always thought the French were masters of patisserie but I reckon Austrians have the edge. Or maybe I just don’t spend my time in France scoffing cake. 

I had a vague recollection that Marie Antoinette was Austrian and so it proved. However it’s disputed that she actually said ‘let them eat cake’. But why spoil a good story?

Have I had a schnitzel yet? Indeed I have - it’s been a bit of a schnitzelthon. Three to be precise or three halves shared with my various dining companions because they are COLOSSAL. The schnitzels, not my colleagues, I hasten to add.

Obviously we were not in training because the couple next door at lunch at Figlmüller Bäckerstraße yesterday wolfed through theirs with no difficulty at all although they didn’t have them with any sides (usually a selection of salads including the most divine, slightly vinegary potato salad like this one.)

The other striking thing about Vienna these last few days is the pervasive aroma of flowers, mainly from the lime trees you find everywhere lining the streets, the syringa (mock orange blossom) and the roses as I passed through the Volksgarten each day.

At this time of year Vienna is a delight. Actually it is in the winter too - and a lot less crowded.

I’ve walked miles and miles - or rather kilometres and kilometres - including up to the Belvedere Palace to see the Klimts (above) which are really magnificent, along with a carefully curated selection of paintings which shed light on the less glamourous side of the city’s social history.

Did I mention wine? I’ll be writing about that in the Guardian but honestly there is so much good wine, including in Vienna itself. The city, has some 600 producers up in the surrounding hills where they also serve food from small restaurants called heurigers. Or buschenschanken depending on the kind of food they offer. (Heurigers can serve hot food - including schnitzel, of course.)

MTF, as they say… Do share any favourite places in Vienna below.

See you on Friday if my computer doesn’t misbehave which it has been doing intermittently all week, endlessly requiring me to change my password. Gah!

If you enjoyed this post it would be great if you’d share it or give it a ❤️