Thursday 14 April 2016

The Art of losing oneself
in a Cup of Coffee


Pane e Tulipani
Bread and Tulips?
Emphatic no!


It's Sacher Demeltorte!
We are at Demel's,
after all.


Wiener Melange
Translation: Cappuccino,
Viennese Style
Would you believe that
when I am at Demel's,
I lust not after their sweets
but the silver sugar bowl?



Kandierte Veilchen
Candied Violets
You may eat the candy,
I keep the box.
Deal?



Kleine Naschereien
Small Sweet Temptations
All I am seeing
is this pretty little
two tiered dessert stand!



Fire Place Mantle
Being a world class pâtisserie and chocolatier,
you ought to have a fire place in your shop,
with a large mirror above
to better reflect your treasures,
don't you agree?

Oh well!
Once upon a time,
when I was a little girl,
the room with the fire place
was furnished with coffee tables and chairs.
Yes, in the good old times
you were able to sit
around the fire place at Demel's,
sipping Kaffee mit Schlag and nosh on Annatorte
and feeling right at home.
Imagine
the stories that mantle could tell,
the secrets, the moods, the sheer humanity
it must have absorbed,
while people did nothing
but drinking coffee.
Or so they say.




An Empty Cup
Good coffee served,
a few pages read,
our quiet contemplation
has to come to an end,
"that enchanted realm
containing all the wealth
and riches of the world
" *)
has to be left behind, again.

*

*) Quoted from "A Journey Around My Room" by Xavier de Maistre,
who penned this book in 1790, while under house arrest
for forty-two days as punishment for having gotten himself into a duel.
The French original, "Voyage autour de ma chambre,"
can be read online, at the website of "Association de Bibliophiles Universels"

Images and own Text © 2008-2016 by Merisi
First published in 2008

12 comments:

  1. The little violet box is beautiful! Well, it all is!
    No one has ever made having a cup of coffee look more beautiful or more romantic! Lovely photos as always.
    I gave your blog address to a friend who was going to Vienna over the holidays and she was so excited! Can't wait to hear if she made it to any of your haunts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Candied violets make me think of my Mom. Her name was Violet and when I was young I would buy her those little tins of candies because of the name. thanks for the long lost memory.
    the Melange looks so inviting. I see you drank it all and didn't wait for me... (:0)
    Love your post Merisi.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Candied violets remind me of my grandmother, who always carried a little tin of them (not so beautiful as these). You may keep the tin; I would like a Kaffee Melange and a seat close to the fireplace so that I can overhear the conversations ; )
    Gorgeous, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ah; a fitting photo journey a day before temple food diet sets in. Journey Around My Room; wasn't that also a movie?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Demeltortes...that is what I want...sounds scrumptious and had my Saturday Cafe' Mocha, and now, whenever I go to plain old Starbucks, I think about the many delightful places that your days take you. Oh well, I am happy to at least have this little ritual and it really is very tasty~

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful festive world !!!
    May 2012 get you lost so every single day !
    Bonne et heureuse année !!!
    xxxxxxxxx
    Marie-Noëlle

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh lalalalalala ! :) Won-der-ful ! Wien is like these photos, délicate ans tasty.

    Thank you Merisi !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lose myself in a cup of coffee.... hmmmm, that would be one BIG cup of coffee - ha! 8-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Il faudra un jour que je vienne à Vienne !!!!
    Très bon week-end to you !!!
    See you soon !

    ReplyDelete
  10. So typically Viennese. You're a lucky lady to live there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. YES< I TOO would be lusting AFTER the sugar bowl..........better check my handbag when I depart!!!!!!XX

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great images, and so many other beautiful things that goes well with enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.