Wednesday 11 May 2016

Grand Viennese Coffee Houses
Café Sperl in Mariahilf


Coffee Melange
Served the Viennese way,
with a glass of water, topped
by a downturned spoon, on a silvery tray


Café Sperl
In the quiet of a weekend morning


"... 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."
Stefan Zweig


Photographed in the early morning
of a weekend in June
at
Café Sperl
Gumpendorfer Strasse
Mariahilf, 6th District
Images © by Merisi


Quote from Stefan Zweig's memoir,
"The World of Yesterday"
"Die Welt von Gestern.
Erinnerungen eines Europäers"
© Viking Press 1943
The University of Nebraska Press

34 comments:

  1. Beautiful sequence! You make me want to visit Vienna.

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    1. Thank you! :-)
      Vienna's appeal is magical, with the right mindset.

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  2. Ah! Bliss - and beautifully photographed!

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth!
      You must come back, soon.
      Can't wait,
      hugs,
      M.

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  3. This is a great b&w serie!
    Love it, - I'll take my espresso now!
    My post at: https://hanshb.wordpress.com/

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  4. What a beautiful post, a classic portrait doing justice to an elegant café. I do love the spirit of cafés that is described here. The US is getting into this tradition more & more..But they aren't old & elegant like this one...for example, Starbucks...I did go to Starbucks in Paris, I wonder if Vienna has let them in...?

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  5. I like the special feel of monochrome in these images.

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  6. it sounds so elegant and decadent

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  7. Your post made me all nostalgic.. I lived in Vienna for a while and fell in love with all the beautiful cafés.
    Gorgeous shots. :)

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  8. I like the feeling I get from your photos. Relaxed and happy.

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  9. Beautiful photos! I really would like to be there!

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  10. very good bw quality on each photo. They kind of pop out!

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  11. The atmosphere of the café itself really draws me in.

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  12. Beautiful photos, a wonderful coffee! Excellent B & W !!

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  13. Elegant. The black and white is both classic and timeless. You do coffee so well.

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  14. Nice black and white shots. I really like the little silver tray-very pretty.

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  15. Very beautiful photos and words. It sounds like a wonderful experience to visit one of your coffee houses.

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  16. Beautiful photographs! I wish I could visit there in person.

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  17. really great b & w pics!!!

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  18. really great b & w pics!!!

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  19. James, Williamsburg, VA30 March, 2015

    Absolutely beautiful and it wouldn't have been this good in color. Imagine the conversations these walls have witnessed.

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  20. Ansel would say: "well done Merisi"

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  21. Lovely pictures, thank you. I wish British cafés would serve coffee with the style with which this is done in Vienna. Thanks for reminding me of the Stefan Zweig quotation too – his memoir (although oddly unforthcoming about some parts of his life) is worth reading by anyone interested in the history and culture of Central Europe.

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  22. Wonderful this "democratic club"... :) :) Gorgeous the way of sharing these amazing aspects in b&w related at the quote!! Have a sunny week of Spring!

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  23. beautiful b&w pictures!

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  24. Wow. I would like this experience sipping coffeee and enjoying those beautiful chairs too. Looks like a grand place for dreaming.

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  25. Thank you all for your kind comments, I appreciate them immensely!

    I read the quote from Zweig's book for the first time when I was still living in Rome and had never been to a Viennese coffee house. I imagined they'd look like Cafe Greco in Via Condotti or Cafe Latour on Via Cola di Rienzo (now gone, sadly).

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  26. Was just there today and found it a bit disappointing. Too busy and hectic. Not the gemütlichkeit that I was expecting.

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    1. There are times when coffee houses get pretty busy. Too much Gemütlichkeit makes them go out of business. I can assure you, though, there will always be moments of quiet, even on busy days.

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  27. Would love to sit there with a nice cup of coffee...great pictures Merisi!
    Love from Titti

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    1. Thank you, Titti! One day we will be there! :-)

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  28. i am so behind in blog visits ... apologies ... i do love the simplicity of these monochromes very much

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