Vienna on foot

I can vouch for the Underground trains in Vienna. Clean stations and modern trains. Just a fast cheap way to cover a lot of ground. I don't use them in Chicago much. If your time is limited and you know where you want to go they can help you pack a lot in. Some in the center have cafes and shops down below the street. Everywhere in Vienna there is food and drink to be had and like me they love to eat outdoors.

This narrow little street is home to the much-loved Cafe Hawelka which inside looks like it's a hundred years old. It's down on the right under the Berlitz sign. Closer on the left is Cafe Trzesniewski which appeared in a Rick Steves show on the city. They specialize in small sandwiches served with tiny glasses of beer (say what??) for people in a hurry. There are standing tables in the street to assist.

We do take Rick Steves guide books with us when we travel to Europe and he has interested us in some places we have quickly grown to love. Hawelka was one that Carol was familiar with as she stayed in a hotel above it many years ago on her first visit to Vienna. They have tables outdoors for people like me.

Blue sky above and it is warming up. We are planning a riverboat tour on the Danube (called Donau here) this afternoon.

Heading back to the Opera House (green roof). In the center (which is the Sacher building) is a street cafe of some renown-Cafe Mozart. We had only ever had lunch there and thought it a possibility for dinner later that night. Just like the squirrels in our garden we always remember where food is hidden.

So now I am thinking got breakfast at the Opera Cafe which is a sidewalk cafe at the Opera House where we have eaten before. We don't start the day there with bacon eggs and fried potatoes as we do in the USA at a hotel but rather have a light Viennese breakfast of fresh rolls, coffee, boiled egg and some thinly sliced Ham of the Gods, washed down with more coffee and fresh orange juice.

The coffee is by Julius Meinl and is our favorite of all the coffees we have tasted. Yes, there are Starbucks stores in Vienna-one is a fifty yards away-but we love the smooth deep flavor of Meinl. Their HQ building is across the street from the Opera House and they are long established here. They now have three outlets in Chicago.