Grab a Paper, Spend the Day (Cafés 2)

Other places have clubs or pubs, trattorias, bars, bistros; Vienna has coffee houses. The rules are simple: find a seat, order a cup of coffee, grab a newspaper, then another one, talk to a friend, spend the day - without placing another order. The server will let you be. He might replace the glass of water that comes with the coffee with a fresh one every once in a while, but he will not bug you. When you decide to leave and ask for the check he might take his time, showing you that he couldn't care less. It's a game, it takes practice.

Vienna's coffee houses are the L.A. antithesis: they are slow and they have no regard for those who seek to produce themselves.

Pictures: seating area and newspaper rack at Café Zentral

Comments

Les flaneuses said…

Dear Christina,

I am the Content and Community Manager of Travelavenue.com, the new community travel guide.

I am very happy to tell you that our editorial team has selected your blog to be a part of our program “Travelavenue favorite blog 2010”.

How can I contact you? I would like to present you our program.

See you soon on Travelavenue,

Laure
lh@travelavenue.com
www.travelavenue.com

June 23, 2010 at 5:50 AM

Ban on Plastic Bags Bugs L.A. County

Paper or plastic? Bag from South Africa. My friend recently came back from a trip to South Africa and brought me a reusable grocery bag. It is from Woolworths, one of the largest retail chains in South Africa; it is made by a community project and serves as a symbol of the company's commitment to sustainability and social development. I will think of this whenever I use my new bag. Thank you, dear friend! The Woolworths bag is not my first reusable bag. I carry two baggies which fold up into packs smaller than a deck of cards in my purse and a bunch of bigger ones in the trunk of my car. To me this feels like an easy way of making a difference environmentally. Others seem to have a harder time. When the county of Los Angeles recently introduced a ban on plastic bags for its unincorporated areas the new ordinance was met with resistance. Shops bemoan that paper is more expensive than plastic. They charge customers ten cents for every paper bag. Shoppers complain about ...

Another Word for Fast Food? Trzesniewski (Pile On 1)

The other day I passed by a new Subway sandwich place which had opened a few blocks from our house. As I was reflecting its green and yellow sign images of foot long chunks of white bread came to mind, mayo smeared on one half, mustard on the other; ham, provolone, pickles, jalapenos, onions, peppers, olives, tomatoes in between and a bag of chips for sides... People in America like to pile on. I also thought of my favorite fast food place in Vienna, which goes by the unspeakable name of Trzesniewski. The original Trzesniewski opened in the first district more than one hundred years ago. Its oldest location is tucked into a narrow street off of Graben. Other outlets are scattered around town. Trzesniewski sells open face sandwiches, slivers of rye bread (white or wheat? no, you do not get to choose!), topped with spreads made from either egg or tomatoes or cucumber, pickle...

5 Weeks + 13 Days: Austria's Generous Vacation Law

Today's Room for Debate in the New York Times asks, why Americans don't have longer vacations. Interesting topic. To read the debate and join it click here. Austria has 13 national holidays. The minimum vacation time is five weeks. As a reporter in Vienna in the 1990s I got so much vacation time (plus the national holidays plus compensation days for working Sundays) that there was no way I could have spent it all. Unfortunately for my employer the unconsumed days and weeks carried on to the next year and further to the next. When I quit my job the paper had to pay me for all the free time not taken which added up to almost three months salary. I spent it all.

Across the Pond

Search This Blog