The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-03-22
THE CAFES OF VIENNA.
The Part They Play in the l. fe OF the
Gay Austrian Capital.

Cafes are for the Viennese second
home. and they all have two Kinds Of
clients, the "stammgaeste." or hab!tues,
and the "laufande, or transsnts. The
hsbitues commonly called "Nirthaus-
bruder" (cafe brothers) have tables re-
served for them. and woe betide the man
who ventures to take possession OF this
sacred property. There are many Wen
nese who. in the past thirty or forty years
have sat at the same table In the same
corner, day after day, drinking the same
brew OF beer or brand Of wine. and sniok-
ing the came sort of tobacco In the same
old pipes. A stammgaest generally spends
from three to four hours every day at mis-
cafe, the natural result being great loss
of time ana morey. But the Viennese
ARE not miserly. Ihe maxim they follow
is found In the German proverb which
seems to have teen written on purposs
for them: ''Leben und lsten lassen''--
"Live and let live -
Besides these cafes there are a number
Of restaurant cellars" in Vienna. simi-
lar to the cellars Of Leipsic, HAMBURG
and Bremen. where people so to drink
wine and psrtake Of delicatessen. pats,
oysters, caviar, smoked 1sh, Msstphalian
sausnges and other eatables Of the same
general sort. There are certain eellara,
ranged like grottoes. The Felsenkellsr
has teen visited by many Europsan ce-
lebrites, and on Its walls are scratched
the autographs Of Victor Hugo, Meyer
beer. Wagner, Brahms Alexandra Du-
mas father and son, and many others.
The most picturesque Of these cellars
Is the Esterbazy Keller, open every day
from ii u m. until l:8o the following
m morning. In ttis subtsrransan resort
there are no tables, chairs or gas lights.
few old benches against the walls and
some wretched candles are the only fur
nishings. The demi-monde pstit monde
and the quart de monde frequent this Gel
lar to great extent. A Terfeot babel of
languages prevails - German. Polish,
Czsch, Russian, French, Hungarian,
Slavonian, Italian, Servian. Bulgarian,
Roumanian and Greek may all bs heard
spoken in tho spacs Of n few minutes,
giving q splendid idea of Vienna,s cos
mopolitan nature and striking proof
that the imperial capital of the Hapsburgs
is not q German city, but town which
Is neither European nor Oriental, and
possessing.a oachst OF it's own. which par
takes both CT tte East and the West.
notwithstanding the Bohemian aspect Of
this Esterhazy Keller and the poor
quality of the food provided, the two
kinds OF wine served are worthy Of q
royal table.
Excellent wine is to b. found at all VII
emma cafes much OF which Is native.
Austria and Hungary together grow
some fifteen different wines. Empsror
Charles Nv. transplantsd In i34s vines
from Burgundy TO MelDik and Czernosek.
In lower Austria vineyards ara found
5000 feet above the sea level. 2he wines
of Gumpoldskirchen, Voesiau and klos-
tsrneubourg can vie with Burgundy and
certain Rhine wines.
In southern Tyrol in Styris, Carin-
thia, Noravis. lllyria Dslmatis, Hun
gary and Croatia first-class wins Is
habitual drink or rich and poor alike.
The consequence Is that the Slav races of
Austria are tar moro energetic I'D of
finer physique than the German Austri-
ans, who become tloatsd by excessive
beer drinking.
IL Is not easy to nnd good food at the
Vienna cafes and restaurants however.
The Vionnese smanner OF cooking is as
international rs are the Visnne,e them
selves The best L. found in tho hotels,
all of which have three different classes
of r. cstaurants--ons under ground for the
"petits emplotes" ana toachinsn, one
on the ground floor fcT the NisnGese up.
per and middle classes. and finally one
ON the first floor for foreisnerss For 90
cents OF american money Visnnese
gets n portion of meat vegetable and
sweet Dish. which is certainly MT cheap
when compared TO other continental capl.
tails. Ihe usual tine for dinner is frum
t13 p. m. and supp is taken any
time between and n. As the theatfes
are over ry 10. supper is taken afterweri.
At that tims Uf nisht every cafe In Wen
ma is crowded A Nisnne,e Who hes
gone To the theatre with his wife and
children wonld irnft1re oil cnntc tinrs
N ne DID n take his family 10 sup ut o
fthta..n Iaf n. a.n