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Sitting at the Arabia Cafe drinking tiny espressos with cream in a narrow street off Graben.

Austria 2001

Trish
2004-01-08 21:56:09

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Sitting at the Arabia Cafe drinking tiny espressos with cream in a narrow street off Graben. The apartments here all stretch up four or five stories past shop level with wide windows. It seems like dream real estate. For me, it looks like Edinburgh, for Cory, Quebec City. Yesterday was a blur, a longish relaxed breakfast and then a tour of the city. By the end of the day, both Cory and I were lagging behind Don and Pat, casting longing looks at tantalizing alleys that stretched away from us. A bit disorienting to whiz around a foreign city, stopping for sushi lunches and American dinners, what juxtaposition of cultures are we emeshed in?

After dinner exhaustion set in, but knowing we had to stay awake to adjust from jetlag we pulled ourselves out of lethargy and took the U1 line to the Danube where we found tons of bars but all with sleezy feel. Walking on the Danube at night, how typically romantic, except we were in a place described by Cory as Coney lsland.

We reboarded the subway and travelled down to Stephensplatz which was far more alive and vigorous. Walking around Graben Street there were several outdoor cafes of the glass fence variety, chairs packed so tightly together. We walked on sidestreets, passing one bar called "American Bar" which was inviting by it's entrance but too repelling by it's name - American bars being best visited in America. Further down was Cafe Leopold, perfectly authentic to our eyes, where in a dark wood, golden wallpapered room our suited waiter brought us two beer from Graz, light and germanic, with small 200mL glasses. The place filled up quickly with other tourists and locals with no one rushing our conversations. I sat facing in, but Cory's eyes roved constantly and in the (supposed) anonimity of english we discussed dinner and plans. To feel like we'd found a real coffee house... that fabled Wien insitution....

Back at Don and Pat's, C fell ...