ECLAIT VOYAGER : Vienna

Showing posts with label Vienna. Show all posts

As I walk down the cobblestones in Vienna, window hopping from one café to another, I could not help but feverishly eyeing those cakes through the transparent glass. It is like window shopping for shoes to a woman.

What am I in the mood for? How would trying this hazelnut cake compared to a strawberry tart add or diminish my collection of happiness? If Alice is choosing a chocolate torte, should I try something else instead so we can get the best of both worlds?

It may sound crazy such simple decision making can become a hugely complex process.

Oh how torturous that we can only pick one cake at a time!

So if you only have 24 hours in Vienna, here are the top café and their relative desserts to try:

No. 1 Oberlaa Konditorei – Lemon Torte & Lemon Meringue

Lemon Torte: It comes with a traditional sweet biscuit shell (yes 0.4cm thick only), a soft, airy lemon curd filling and topped with lime meringue. It is very different from any of the lemon tarts that I have had, which usually has a very strong, alert acidity for the lemon custard filling with a glossy finish. Instead, this is a very subtle dessert that has a wonderful calming effect.

No.2 Zauner Konditorei - Chocolate torte

Technically this is in Bad Ischl but it is worth the drive to go for the dessert! I was so bedazzled by the desserts there that I forgot to note down the name of this, and even after I scrambled through my receipt it did not have the name on it. Looking on the bright side, I can still fully re-capture the ingredients with precision. So this is a hard-shelled ganache with almond crust, pistachio sprinkles and caramel chocolate at the center.

Decadent!

No.3 Café Central -- Orange zest Plunder & Millie Feuille

So I’ve been to café central for quite a few times, and apart from its fancy selection of mille feuille to raspberry cakes, I am absolutely fond of its simplistic pleasures – like their orange zest plunder.

You will be surprised that something so seemingly innocent has such strong flavor and packed with character. The sugar glazed orange slices is not overtly overcooked that it loses its texture and orange tanginess. As you bite into it, the interior is filled with cream custard and apricot jam. A very delicate finishing note.

Its mille feuille is top notch, with a blackberry and custard creme filling with nutmeg and cinnamon. Very unique and subtle undertone of the spices, and definitely very different from traditional French mille feuille. Recommended to those who want that Hungarian touch!

No.4 Demel – Hazelnut Cake

Demel has that x’mas charm of walking down a 5th Avenue's window display. Its window display is full of pastel colored desserts, flowers, chandeliers, dancing couples: it has the full package of a girl’s fantasy for desserts. You can also see all the action of a dessert chef through its open spaced kitchen.

No.5 Café Alt Wein -- Apple Strudel

I am surprised that there are so little mention about Café Alt Wein.

They have top notch apple strudel (yes even better than the ones they served at Schonbrunn Orangerie ad Café Sacher). The shell is soft and flaky and quite different from the texture you will get from a croissant. The filling consists of rum, raisins, cinnamon and apple. I am not surprised that people like to eat it with fresh cream, because the dessert itself has crunchy apples that really adds layer of depth to the dessert.

No. 6 Sacher – Sacher Cake

What can I say, it is the Sacher cake. To be honest when I first had it, it really didn’t give me goosebumps for an astonishingly wonderful dessert. However, what is interesting is that it has a hard ganache shell (which was rather sweet) – as I thought perhaps a dark chocolate ganache would have worked out better to tone down the sweet apricot jam filling. The texture worked out nicely with its softer layer of chocolate cakes and yes to the apricot jam!

No.7 Simply Raw Bakery - Vegan, gluten free cinnamon & walnut bars

Delicious and rejuvenating energy bars -- I did not have lunch and only had this --which was very filling and satisfying afterwards :) They also have a wide selection of vegan, organic and gluten free desserts.

The Spanish Riding School is one of the oldest riding institute in the world. Its 400 years of selective breeding ( and only from 6 different sires) has formed a strong foundation of a new breed - the Lipizzans that equivalents to strength, beauty and intelligence.

Henry de Toulouse Lautrec - White Horse

(I wonder if this was a Lipizzan!?)

One must wonder why a riding school in Vienna is not called the "Viennese Riding School" instead. Since the Hasburg Karl V ruled his empire in Spain, he brought back the Spanish horses (which was a cross bred between Berber and Arab stallions with Iberian mares) as well as other menagerie to Austria.

This called for a need of a Stallburg.

A bit of a surprise on the street -- all that jazz

Here our guide explained to us that there's only 6 foundational sires of breed lines, so it is a very controlled and selective breeding.

They also use a very precise naming method: where the name of the horse will always start with the sire's name, followed by the name of the mare, so they will always know which line of breed it is from.

Every rider gets their own saddle -- and yes they are very, very expensive

The art of riding: dressage!

It's shocking how beautiful the riding arena is, with a free floating ceiling without any supporting columns. The large symmetrical windows enlightens the hall with a calming glow of ivory.
When the riders enter, they usually take off the tricorns towards the portrait, to thank the Emperor for this wonderful facility they now have today to practice this noble art.

Obviously they don't let visitors ride these amazing Lipizzans so I found a place in the outerskirt of Salzburg for a true riding experience.

Getting ready for the riding lessons

Sidenote: Work of art from Neueburg

This saddle belonged to the King of Bohemia and Hungary (Rudolf II) and apart from the fact that it had an oriental look, it was filled with motif of St. George killing the dragon. The saddle also had a high rise at the back for better stability support.

These fluted armor had slim waist which was the fashion trend in those days.

Sometimes I like to take a slow stroll in the city, capturing things in black a white. It is a somewhat frightening experience, thinking all that you will have in file will be colorless, but the result is more than rewarding, seeing things by its nature, proportion and motion.

Removing the color aspect, makes the emotions more intense.

Today I headed off to the buzzing Naschmarket where all the action taking place. Not many people were out yet, but the early birds are already sniffing around for the freshest produces.

Virgin Olive oil

Vienna is such a walkable city with every turn and corner with a new surprise. I was in awe with the Stadtbahn Pavillions with its elaborate gilded ornaments and marble slabs. Designed by Otto Wagner, a pioneer in Art Nouveau movement in Vienna.

Walking ahead you see the beautiful Karlskirche, commissioned by the Emperor Karl VI in 1713 to the end of a plague epidemic. Although the architecture is designed by a famous Baroque architect, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the church itself draws inspiration from contrasting architectural elements. The front view resembles one of a Greek temple portico with Roman influenced Trojan columns.

The Seccession

Cafe Sperl - where "Before Sunrise" was shot. I didn't walk in here, since it was enough just window shopping. Each window played like a moving display of art.

Where to start for the Kunsthistorisches museum?

The building was commissioned by the Hasburg family to showcase their large collection of art and armor and an interesting side note is that the planning started in 1857, but it was not 10 years later until the competition was held. Although the original building plan was submitted by Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer, Gottfried Semper was called in as an advisor and then later commissioned to complete the plan initated by Hasenauer.

The building is largely inspired by how urban planning is done in ancient Rome, which mirrored the exterior of the Naturhistorisches museum across the Maria-Theresian Platz. Upon entering the building, you will be amazed by the majestic staircase and the cupola hall.

Antonio Canova’s “Theseus Slaying the Centaur”

Fresco painting completed by Gustav Klimt - on history of ancient Egyptian art to modern age.

I could spend the whole day in this museum, and I'd recommend dropping by at the cafe at the Capola hall to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and be dazzled by it's ornated marble decor.

Matching patterns

I think Cafe Mozart is a little over-rated, but I can understand why people go there. Unbeatable location, but I don't think the food quality is up to standard so I am just going to leave it as that and move on to State Opera, which is a lot lot more worth mentioning!

The industrial revolution and the rise of Bourgeoise in the 19th century meant that a class of industrialists and bankers now emerged, accumulating great wealth and a keen sense of greater, more "aesthetically-correct" entertainments such as collecting paintings, antiques, going to theaters and concerts. The State Opera when it was finished, however, was criticized as not having the same level of glamour as the Heinrichshof and called it only a "Half success".

The Heinrichshof (destroyed in WWII)

The architect, Eduard van der Nüll could not handle the public criticism that he committed suicide in 1868. The emperor was so shocked by Eduard van der Null's suicide that from then on, he did not say a single criticism to any new art development.

Despite this tragic history, it is now considered as one of the most renowned opera in the world.

I got my tickets for the Swan Lake, which tells a love story of a Princess (Odette), who has been casted a spell to become a swan by day and could only turn into human form by night. The Vienna Staatsoper Ballet's swan lake was choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, a prominent artist who danced as Prince Siegfried (51 out of 126 performances between 1964-1988).

Even after this magical night of performance, I can still remember the detail crystal clear, and in awe as to how beautiful the human body can adapt to such rhythmic flows. It's about precision and control, as well as emotions and expressions.

(Side note: yes there's standing tickets at less than 5 euro, but ballets are usually 3 hours long so I'd say save the standing tickets for something else instead!) For more information about standing tickets etiquette and buying strategies, click here.