Thursday 6 August 2009

Coffee, Anyone?


The Viennese Way
Coffee Melange
on a silvery tray
with a glass of water

"... it must be said
that the Viennese coffeehouse
is a particular institution
which is not comparable
to any other in the world.
As a matter of fact,
it is a democratic club
to which admission costs
the small price of a cup of coffee.
Upon payment of this mite every guest
can sit for hours on end,
discuss, write, play cards,
receive his mail, and,
above all, can go through
an unlimited number
of newspapers and magazines
." *

Café Hawelka
Dorotheergasse 6
1010 Vienna

Photographed by Merisi
6 August 2009

* Stefan Zweig, "The World of Yesterday"
(c) Viking Press 1943

31 comments:

  1. I love this first pic. The clean neutrals with the rich browns as a backdrop. Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i like this club. i would be happy to join you.

    have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful ideal. I would just love to discover a coffeehouse Vienna.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fabulous images here. I particularly like that one with the Klimt in the background...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been reading your blog on and off, not sure how I found you..it is wonderful, I think another country beckons me:-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds wonderful! In many places I know the management would move you on, expecting fresh customers to part with their money in your seat :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would love some coffee! enJOY your day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. the simple things in life are the most beautiful....

    ReplyDelete
  9. If only the world were a coffeehouse.

    ReplyDelete
  10. . . . the world as coffeehouse . . . beautiful thought!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh yes, the world als coffeehouse, I am all for it! And please let it be Hawelka in August. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Viennese coffee, oui, oui oui

    ReplyDelete
  13. Is the quote Stefan Schweig? (spelling?)
    The glass of water is a very needed fine touch too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ELIZABETH,
    yes, of course,
    Stefan Zweig's the author of "The World of Yesterday"! I deleted his name by accident and have added it again, thanks for making me aware of this obmission!

    ReplyDelete
  15. You do such a fabulous job take natural light shots indoors. They are so warm and inviting.

    ReplyDelete
  16. That alone would be reason enough for me to move to Vienna...if I could speak the language and had any means of earning a living.

    ReplyDelete
  17. So appealing and lovely--so unlike the world of guzzling down gallon after gallon of mediocre coffee en route to some place or other.... Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Why is water served along with the coffee?

    ReplyDelete
  19. .
    THE RETIRED ONE:
    I have read that originally the spoon was put in the glass of water, after stirring the coffee. Whatever the original reason, it has become a tradition and I sorely miss that sip of water when I am drinking coffee elsewhere nowadays.

    I asked for a sip of water with my coffee in a coffee bar in the Italian city of Ravenna and was told that it was either buying a whole bottle of mineral water or bust (or shall I say dust?).

    While water is not served routinely along with coffee in Rome, I have had thousands of coffees there and never encountered anything but a glass of water offered with a smile, if I asked for one. And I always do. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have quit 12 cups of coffee a day ( they stain the teeth) and replaced them with cigars.....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cafe Hawelka is one of those few places on the planet I would call Coffee Heaven...

    Where you can enjoy a panatella along with the perfect Melange!

    Bliss.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'll be back. For sure!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Why do people give your water to accompany your coffee? I am not really a coffee person...

    Tea is better! ;-p

    ReplyDelete
  24. If I can't join you I shall be content to see your magical pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Certainly, I would have a good cappuccino, Merisi! Café Sperl is a very cosy coffeehouse as well: I'd be really pleased to have a breakfast or an afternoon snack there!
    All very lovely images!
    ***
    Glad to see your comment on my Sky Watch post. I also can't follow regularly all the blogs at the same time, because they are too many and because I still have a very slow connection which takes a long time to display the pages, so I understand when you feel embarassed when you can't manage to return visits.
    Have a great weekend! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I chuckled when I read the text, thinking back on my own times when I lived in Europe drinking coffee, and spending a whole afternoon...now, it is sipping a cup every day of iced blended coffee, to sit 10 min. to cool ourselves down and let our feet rest during this move from one house to another.
    Yet, I told hubby, that when it's all over, I will miss this 10-minute coffee break!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hello Merisi!
    Can you believe I went an entire month without reading any blogs? I once found myself saying, "I wonder what's going on in Merisi's Vienna?" Funny how much I thought of everyone - even a dream or two.
    So nice to be 'back in Vienna'.
    Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  28. Such a relaxing way to spend one's time.
    Beautiful photos, as always..
    LL

    ReplyDelete
  29. It is always nice to drop by your blog for a virtual cup of coffee in the most beautiful of settings.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.