Sacher Torte: What better way to end an evening in Vienna?
I rarely get to be a pure tourist in Europe. I had such a pleasure this past Sunday evening, led around Vienna’s first district by my good friend Angelo, the best late night ersatz tour guide one could ask for. Ivory King (pictured) rounded out the delightful touring trio.
We wandered by the Rathaus, the Parliament building, through the Volksgarten and the Hofburg before arriving in the thick of the first district, “old Vienna”. Angelol asked me if I had ever seen this part of Vienna before, to which I replied, “yes, but the only thing I remember is the crypt of St. Stephen’s. It was the only place my cell phone didn’t work.”
My goal for the evening was to see the Stadtpark, and possibly catch a slice of Linzer Torte. These were the last two things on my mother’s list, having spent a good deal of time in fits and starts at the epically fabulous Schönbrunn Palace, and having completely slept through my chance to see the Vienna Boys Choir.
The Stadtpark was fabulous. It deserves its own entry.
Unfortunately, our leisurely late night stroll through the Stadtpark left us rushing to find a cafe that served Linzer Torte. Angelo eventually led us to the Hotel Sacher, where we had a wonderful slice of Sacher Torte, Turkish Coffee and talk of finding food with Web 2.0.
While on a post-dessert stroll, walking laps around the Opera House with Ivory. my parents were packing for an emergency trip to Chile. I returned to the Metalab a few hours after Angelo left us, only to discover that my 90 year old grandfather had been hospitalized with pneumonia. I jumped on Skype and heard the details of the trip and my Grandfather’s condition.
In the midst of an otherwise morbid and emotionally draining conversation, the one highlight of that conversation turned out to be the accidental Sacher Torte. While my mother had specified Linzer Torte, just as I was about to explain to her that the Sacher didn’t have any–she said, “Oh! Sacher! That was the one! The Sacher Torte!”
