We were directed by the friendly doorman, clad in a top hat and crimson coat with tails, to the Café Sacher, which had its own entrance at the side of the hotel. The café was no less opulent than
the main hotel, with upholstered red velvet seats, shimmering chandeliers, and marble-topped tables. A waitress in a traditional black-and-white maid’s costume (yes, including the frilly white cap!) settled us in a cosy nook and left us to peruse the menu.
Our attention, though, was soon distracted by a couple sitting next to us. The salon
was not a large space and tables were placed close together, making it hard to ignore those around you—especially when they were enthusiastically kissing each other, the plate of cake on their table forgotten.
“Tsk! Tsk! Young people nowadays…” said Mabel, giving them a disapproving look. “No sense of shame at all!”
“I think it’s rather romantic,” said Glenda, looking at them wistfully. “To be so in love that you don’t care who sees you…” She sighed dreamily. “I can remember being in love like that once!”
“Once?” snorted
Mabel. “I would say you’re in love at least once a week, Glenda!”
Ethel and Florence tittered.
“I might have had the odd gentleman friend on occasion,” said Glenda with great
dignity.
“Odd is the word for it,” said Mabel. “Really, Glenda, that fellow you were chatting to at bingo last week—he didn’t even have his own teeth!”
Glenda glared at her. “Well,
some of us aren’t too old and shrivelled up to appreciate romance…!”
“Er… so have you decided what you’re ordering?” I asked, hastily changing the subject.
“Ooh, yes, I’m looking
forward to having a romance with a slice of Sacher-Torte,” said Florence, chuckling.
When the waitress returned to take our orders, the Old Biddies demurely ordered a slice of Sacher-Torte each, but I—motivated by the recent walk through the chilly autumn evening (and okay, perhaps a bit of greed too)—decided to opt for the
“Sweet Sacher Tower”: a four-tiered cake stand featuring generous slices of Sacher-Torte accompanied by fresh whipped cream, a rich chocolate mousse with juicy strawberries and tangy sorbet, a soft, fluffy pancake filled with berry compote and dusted with icing sugar, and a plate of chocolate bonbons to finish.
It was a magnificent
sight when it arrived, although I did feel slightly daunted as I picked up my fork. Thank goodness that Florence—who loved her food—needed no second urging to join me, but even with her help, I felt quite ill by the time we had made our way through the four tiers.
As I leaned back from the table, trying not to groan in an unladylike manner,
I caught the eye of a gentleman seated at the next table, who was watching me with amusement. He was a handsome, suave-looking man in his fifties, very well dressed in a dark suit and grey silk tie that enhanced the silver hair at his temples. I noticed that he only had a small tray with a black coffee and a glass of water on his table.
“I’m
beginning to wish I had your restraint,” I said ruefully.
He laughed. “It is something those of us who live in Vienna quickly learn, if we are to keep our sanity amidst all the delectable cakes and treats on offer."
(from Chapter Six - Apple Strudel Alibi, Oxford Tearoom Mysteries Book 8)
Well, imagine my surprise and delight when I opened the following email from Petra, complete with photos!
"I hope you are able to
follow my thoughts because I am not an English native, I am from Austria... although I live near Vienna I have never been in Café Sacher – til yesterday. Because you described it so lovely in your Oxford Tearoom mysteries I decided to treat myself. So I invited a friend to the Café Bel etage Sacher, it was really a lovely experience and it is really not only a tourist thing. Afterwards we made a ride with the Fiaker, like Gemma and her friends. And I can tell you: it was overwhelming. There is
really no better way to explore a city as by carriage ride. So thank you so much for your recommendation. We felt like real tourists in our own home city and it was great!!"
(And Petra has given me permission to share her pictures with you all:
