Wednesday, 03-July-2024
Similar to the feeling of familial memory in the Art History Museum cafe was Cafe Central.
I’d first heard about it from a friend of mine, who was adamant that I needed to check it out while I was in town – After looking it up, I absolutely had to agree with her. It looked amazing; an exceptionally fancy and classy breakfast spot right in the heart of the old city of Vienna, dating back to 1876 and boasting patrons as storied as Sigmund Freud, Leon Trotsky, and many others.
I mentioned this cafe back in my “Exploring Vienna” post, but I’ll risk repetition by doubling down – More importantly to me, aside from hosting conventionally famous thinkers, Cafe Central had very likely hosted my own family, back when my Grandfather was a young boy living in Vienna… Prior to their escape to the United States some time after Kristallnacht. A chain of events which, in recent years, has led to my own repatriation to Austria.
Getting back to the focal point of the post – Cafe Central – I walked in with a bit of trepidation… though thankfully it was mostly attenuated by the long line I’d had to brave in order to get in. Once I was greeted by the Matre’d, though, I was simply swept up in the glamor of the place. Immediately upon entering, I was stuck – The ambiance was amazing, with desserts beautifully displayed right at the front, and the sense of history and “why yes, I am exceptionally fancy, thank you” was incredible. The Matre’d himself was dressed in a full suit (possibly a tux), and treated me like I was visiting royalty.
It was… really fun. I sipped coffee, nibbled at the fancy “Viennese breakfast”, and enjoyed myself immensely.
Immensely enough, I’d like to note, that I came back for lunch.
By the time I came back, I’d finished my walkthrough of the Vienna Museum, which… well, I’ll get to that in a follow-on post, but suffice it to say that the museum was challenging and rough, if informative and enlightening.
I needed something to lift my spirits, though, and so ordered a double-portion of dessert. It didn’t fix everything, of course, but it did go a long way to buoying my spirits.
