In Paris, you go to a café. Obviously as the name suggests, they have the standard array of cheap and burnt arabica coffees. But more often than not, you meet at such establishments pour un demi after work. In the UK, you’ve got pubs. No need to explain what that’s for. In Wien, or Vienna, you’ve got your Kaffeehaus, which is a standard Viennese institution. Apparently back in the 17th century during the Ottoman wars, 1683 to be proper, a brilliant Polish army officer found numerous sacks of coffee beans which the then-defeated Turks had brought in (if you think you can wage a war without morning coffee, you’re sadly mistaken. hats off to the Turks). This bloke then asked his king to take possession of said beans and thus opened the first coffeehouse in Vienna, establishing the tradition that extends down to our day. It’s quite a social agenda and packed in with other frozen bodies during our winter visitation, we enjoyed coffee, served with the obligatory glass of cold tap water, and some delicious cakes and tarts. You can stay in such coffeehouses for hours on end if you’d like, reading newspapers or writing poetry, as such places might inspire you to do. GabrielDesigns recommend Leopold Hawelka, one of the more cozier ones.
