by wnissen » Thu Jan 21, 2021 7:59 pm
Happy Birthday! Yum, I could go for a piece of that right now, even though it's before dinner. Sachertorte was one of the highlights of our trip in Christmas 2019. The cruise ship had bikes so I headed over to the Hotel Sacher relatively early in the morning, like 9 or so. There was already an hourlong line outside. Not wanting to spend that much time outside I called an audible and went to Demel nearby. It's a similar high street confectioner/cafe. When I think back to it now, the whole thing seems bizarre that I was able to sit at a bar next to many other patrons and order a traditional Viennese "melange" coffee. I am still amused that no one seems to agree how it is different from a cappucino, but everyone agrees it is categorically not a cappucino. The other thing that everyone seems to agree on is that the Sachertorte is a bit dry by itself and needs some liquid. Certainly the coffee made an excellent companion, and the cake wasn't moist in the way that I feel most cakes are. My breakfast finished, I ordered some strudel and mini Sachertorts to bring back to the ship. The other noteworthy aspect of that trip was the outstanding cycling infrastructure. Even on the more industrial/commercial outskirts of the core there were separate lanes (with separate colors) for bikes and pedestrians, with universal cyclist signals. I felt safer in an unfamiliar big city than I do in my suburban town where survival is sometimes completely out of my hands.
Walter Nissen