Fête Impériale 2011

Start:	Jul 7, '11 8:00p
End:	Jul 7, '11 11:45p
Location:	Spanish Riding School

http://www.fete-imperiale.at/






Der Ablauf

Ein exklusives Programm für besondere Gäste.

20:30 Uhr. Einlass am Josefsplatz, Tisch- und Logenkarten: Eingang am Michaelerplatz
21:00 Uhr: Defilé der Komitees in die Winterreitschule
21:45 Uhr: Eröffnung der Fête Impériale 2011, Live Übertragung in die Stallburg
22:15 Uhr: Diverse Orchester und DJs
24:00 Uhr: Traditionelle Quadrille
4:00 Uhr: Ende der Fête Impériale 2011

Tenue
Damen: bodenlanges Abendkleid
Herren: Frack mit Dekoration, Smoking, Dinner Jacket, Gala-Uniform

Ancient Oberbereiter

Some pictures of ancient "Oberbereiter" (Chief riders) of the 'Spanische Hofreitschule' - Spanish Ridingschool, in Vienna.

Time area: 1900-1940

FÊTE IMPERIALE

Start:	Jul 10, '10 8:00p
Location:	Spanish Riding School

„Trend meets Tradition“

A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes true: An imperial summer ball within and around the Spanish Riding School! Vienna is different – and Vienna’s summer balls are different too. Two prestigious Viennese establishments liven up the summer season in Vienna!

Together Vienna’s coffee house association and the Spanish Riding School will create this innovative ball which will breathe life into Vienna’s summer season!

Maximilian K. Platzer, chairman of the traditional ball organized by the owners of the Viennese coffee houses: “Both Vienna’s coffee houses and the Spanish Riding School represent Viennese culture and lifestyle and have always been closely linked to Viennese tradition. It therefore seems obvious to award this bond an exclusive, unprecedented ball night.”

Guests will be received in the impressive Michaelerkuppel – straight in front of the Spanish Riding School’s main entrance, where they will be put into the mood for an unparalleled ball night with music and exotic cocktails. The ball will be imperially opened in the gorgeously decorated Stallburg with its mobile roof. For the first time since its completion in the 16th century, Vienna’s most beautiful Renaissance courtyard will be transformed into a ballroom for the “Knights of the Rose”! Nowhere else can one find a dance floor measuring more than 1000m2 and horse boxes turned into luxurious VIP boxes!

The baroque Winter Riding School, which was completed in 1735 by the architect Fischer von Erlach, will also quite literally experience a “renaissance” as the world’s most unique ball room. The riding arena will be turned into a dance floor and two-legged dancers will be able to perform the Kapriole, Levade, Courbette, School Quadrille and Pas de Deux. Bernd Fröhlich and his live orchestra will accompany Tini Kainrath and provide trendy music for exuberant dances. Due to a special lighting concept the three enormous Lobmeyr chandeliers will seem to float above the dancers’ heads, giving the impression of dancing under the open sky.

Those not inclined to dance will not miss out either: a corso invites strollers to observe and enjoy – “to see and be seen” has always been an important part of the fun during the Viennese balls.

Spanische Hofreitschule Virtual Tour

 

Virtual tour of the Spanische Hofreitschule. If you have never been there, see what it is like. If you have been there, relive some memories.

http://www.moving-pictures.de/vtour/spanische_hofreitschule/index.php

The Vienna Fiaker

No matter how heavy the traffic in modern Vienna, there always is room for the horsedrawn cab known as the Fiaker. The German word " Fiaker’ refer to both the two-horse cab itself and to the cabby, who is generally dressed in pepita-check trousers, a velvet jacket and derby hat.

Once the fiakers were Vienna’s taxi transport, but today they are mostly popular for special ceremonial use and as a tourist attraction. Fiaker ranks are near the Imperial Palace, the State Opera and beside St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The well-kept vehicles and their picturesque drivers add an attractive bit of color to the Vienna street scene.
The fiaker cabs have a long history, which is recorded in the Fiakerhaus, a building that has belonged to the profession for a century. It now houses the fiaker museum and is located at Veronikagasse 12 in the 18th district.
The fiaker cabby has long been a respected person. In the museum, for instance, there is an oil painting showing the famous Aschenbrunner driving Czar Nicholas I of Russia through the gates of the Ballhausplatz in a fiaker.
The name fiaker actually comes from Paris, where cabs for hire were lined up outside the Auberge Saint Fiacre, an inn whose portal was decorated with a painting of the Irish monk, St. Fiacrius.
The system of putting cabs for hire was introduced there in the 17th century by Nicole Sauvage, and before long, cabs were plying for trade in cities all over the Continent. Elsewhere, other names were developed for cabs, but in Vienna they have always been called fiaker.
The first Viennese fiaker license was issued in 1693 during the reign of Leopold I. It specifically forbade cabbies to undertake journeys of more than four miles out of the city. Not until 1822 was this strange restriction lifted, but even then, no traveler could hire a cab without presenting proof of identity. There were other rules too. For instance, no passenger was permitted to carry a torch or lamp through a town or forest unless it was extinguished.
Every applicant for a fiaker license had to show that he had been in the transport trade for several years and that he knew how to drive. He also had to own a reasonable amount of property and be of good character. At the same time, he was not permitted to be associated with any other form of commerce, and he was exempted from military service. Clearly, driving a cab was considered a position of great responsibility and importance. Widows of cabbies were permitted to carry on their late husbands’ business, to which they could take full title.
If a cab owner refused to accept a fare, he was liable to 48 hours behind bars. An employee was punished ten lashes with a birch branch. Smoking during a journey was forbidden. Overcharging was punishable by confiscation of the fee plus a 5-guilder fine or by 24 hours in jail for a cab owner - or a birch whipping of an employee.
Until the introduction of fiaker cabs in Vienna, the normal way of carrying Viennese who did not own a carriage was by sedan chair. The traditional cry of " Trag ma Euer Gnaden? " ( " May I carry you, Sir ") is still the fiaker driver’s announcement of the availability of his cab.
Since a ride by a fiaker was anything but cheap, it was seldom used by ordinary Viennese. Realizing this, an enterprising citizen named Zeisel put covered coaches with benches for 20 people into service. These coaches were inevitably nicknamed " Zeiserlwagen " and represented the first attempt to provide a means of mass transport for the public. Eventually, these were replaced by horse-drawn and then electric streetcars.
Today, a traditional use of the fiaker by the Viennese is at Confirmation, when youngsters are brought from St. Stephen’s to the Prater amusement park by horse-drawn cabs. They are frequently used to transport wedding parties.
A fiaker ride is almost obligatory for the visitor to Vienna. Each cabby is well-versed in local history and is always delighted to tell visitors stories of the buildings they pass on their horse-drawn tour of his beloved city.

Hofburg

The Hofburg is a palace in Vienna, Austria, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburg's principal winter residence, while Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence. The Palace was the birthplace of Marie Antoinette in 1755.
The Hofburg area has been the documented seat of government since 1279 for various empires and republics.
The Hofburg faces the Heldenplatz ordered under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph, as part of what was to become a Kaiserforum that was never completed.
Numerous architects have executed work at the Hofburg as it expanded, notably the Italian architect-engineer Filiberto Luchese (the Leopoldischiner Trakt), Lodovico Burnacini and Martino and Domenico Carlone, the Baroque architects Lukas von Hildebrandt and Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (the Reichschancelry Wing and the Winter Riding School), Johann Fischer von Erlach (the library), and the architects of the grandiose Neue Burg built between 1881 and 1913.

Winterreitschule

The Winterreitschule is located between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz near the Hofburg in central Vienna. Performances take place in the Winter Riding School, built between 1729-1735. The Winter Riding School is a sunlight- flooded hall, mainly white with some beige and light grey, with a portrait of Emperor Charles VI above the royal box and opposite the entrance (to which the riders always salute before they ride), which measures 55 by 18 meters and is 17 meters in height.

The riding school was first named during the Austrian Empire in 1572, long before the French manege of Antoine de Pluvinel, and is the oldest of its kind in the world. Records show that a wooden riding arena was first commissioned in 1565, but it wasn't until 1729 that Emperor Charles VI commissioned the architect Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach to build the white riding hall used today. Prior to that time, the School operated from a wooden arena at the Josefsplatz. For a time, the riding hall was used for various ceremonies, but it is now open to the public, who may witness the training and performances by the stallions.

The Obama Factor

At the Amerikahaus, Simon Inou was in constant motion, organizing the last details for the Radio Afrika & Co celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama, a consortium of NGO’s representing the migrant communities in Vienna supported by the U.S. Embassy.

We caught him in the final moments before the festivities were to begin. The inauguration of Barack Obama was, without question, a day of days.

“For our generation, in our Africa countries, there are no statesmen who have done anything like this,” Inou said, clearly moved, reaching for just the right words. “It’s unbelievable! The picture of a statesmen…, someone who gives you hope that you can reach the goal that you commit yourself to achieve!”

Even after more  a decade in Vienna, Inou feels racism as a constant presence, defining what is possible for him and others of African descent. The experience of Vienna International School teacher Mike Brennan, beaten by Vienna police on the platform in the subway at Spittelau on Feb. 11, is only the latest in a long list of incidents. The ZARA Racism Report reports 406 reported incidents of racism in Austria in 2007 alone. Assuming many go unreported, the actual number is surely even higher.

In a parallel he sees with Obama, Inou spent his childhood in a developing country and trained himself in the ways of the West. Born in Cameroon, he studied sociology at university and has since spent a lifetime in journalism. He has lived in Austria since 1995, serving as chief editor of Radio Afrika International from 1995 to 2005, and now founding head of the web portal Afrika Info (www.afrika.info), covering immigrants of African descent living in German-speaking countries.

Barack Obama has changed his view of what is possible. When Inou tries to imagine how this has could have happened, he comes, inevitably to Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham Sutoro.

“When I think of this woman, this young mother, and what she managed to accomplish, that she had so much strength to get from Kansas, I am overwhelmed,” he says, It’s so convincing, the way she just got things done.”

But the biggest thing for him is feeling that his reality is being considered.

“That’s the difference,” he said, “representing the values of the minorities.” But it’s not affirmative action. “With him, I believe that his skin color hasn’t played such a big role. It’s a picture of someone who has accomplished something.”

He paused, acknowledging a visitor who came over to great him, and another who haled him from the doorway. Then, he turned back, apologizing, and caught my gaze.

“Personally, it all very emotional,” he said. “I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that something like this could happen in my lifetime.”

Is Grinzing Doomed?

Tour buses from around the world choke the narrow lanes of Grinzing, pouring out visitors heading for the carriage ways, where small pine branches hang above doorways, signaling that the inns are open for business. In the village of Grinzing, on the edge of the Woods in Vienna's 19th District, the Heurigen-season appears to be in full swing. Round the narrow lanes and paths the 'Buschenschänken' string together, in a village of 'Heurige'- special Austrian wine taverns whose name derives from the German adjective 'this year's' and refers to the wine they sell.

But might this idyllic scene be endangered?

'In Grinzing, cultural artifacts are being destroyed, and nobody ever asks the residents their opinion,' says Michael Lenzenhofer of the initiative Weltkulturerbe Grinzing (World Cultural Heritage Grinzing). He is contesting a trend towards, what he considers, thoughtless urban renewal in Grinzing, and is fighting for the village's nomination to become a UNESCO-world cultural heritage site.

Recently, this Heurigen-village on the edge of the city has increasingly received negative headlines, as journalists have reported the continuous suffocation of the historic neighborhood by the twin pressures of tourism and development. While designated a historic site, the area still suffers inadequate protection from development. The magistrate of the 19th district has applied for nomination as a UNESCO-world cultural heritage site, however the application has not yet received the necessary confirmations by the City of Vienna and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Locals fear that the Heurigen tradition might eventually be lost, as more and more Heurige are being bought up and rebuilt as luxury apartments. Although a so-called 'protected zone' exists, the Vienna magistrate cannot prohibit certain remodeling options to which applicants are entitled under current zoning regulation plans. For example, a developer can buy an inoperative vineyard and wait until the soil has deteriorated -- a circumstance that qualifies for rezoning.

'It is a catastrophe -- I notice new encroachments in Grinzing every day,' says leading architect Gustav Peichl, in a recent interview with Die Presse. 

Activist Lenzenhofer holds the city responsible for the condition: a 2005 renewal-plan reduced the village's protected zone by roughly 30 per cent. According to Lenzenhofer, renewal-possibilities have considerably increased; ancient, one-story houses can now be razed and two-story loft-enlargements built in their place.

In a related loss to Grinzing tradition, more and more Heurige have been converted to so-called 'Heurigen-restaurants' that don't serve their own wines and sell qualitatively poorer white wine than the authentic Grinzinger Heurigen. The real 'Heurigen' operate under the 'Wiener Buschenschankgesetz' of 1975, based on an earlier law established by 'People's Emperor' Joseph II in 1784: It allows anybody to dispense wine and fruit juice as well as selected cold and warm dishes, all year round and at any price, provided all goods are home-made.

The 'Buschenschankgesetz' however, does not specify any necessary provisions to be met in order to call a tavern a 'Heuriger', as the term is not registered by law. As a consequence, 'The so-called 'Heurigen-restaurants' are going to put the originals out of business,' Lenzenhofer is convinced.

Because of repeated complaints of Grinzing's residents, Rudolf Schicker of Vienna's City Planning Board launched the initiative Leitbild Grinzing ('A Plan For Grinzing').

In this plan, basic approaches for the development of the townscape's overall appearance will be established and compared. Lenzenhofer is not convinced.

The project is a 'piece of impudence,' he says. He was apparently not informed personally, but heard of the initiative purely by chance: 'After the first inspection of the village they decided on the construction of a traffic circle -- based solely on one study, some EUR 220,000 have been spent. For me, it's clear: demolition-procedures are progressing.'

Despite these negative voices, there are also other, more positive ones:

Christian Schuhböck, secretary general of the non-governmental organization 'Alliance For Nature,' who is compiling a documentation on Grinzing's cultural assets, says that a chance for the village being named as UNESCO-world cultural heritage site definitely exists -- 'assuming the goodwill of the politicians'.

Andreas Wiegel, works manager of the small and family-run Heurigen 'Wiegel' would prefer to set the subject aside: 'All of these actions and rebellions over Grinzing are just bad publicity for our village. In my opinion, we are doing fine.' Lenzenhofer's actions and the initiative 'Leitbild Grinzing,' he says, are unnecessary.

'And,' Wiegel continues, 'nobody from City Hall has ever shown up at my place anyway.'

The Viennese Coffeehouse

Sent to me by a friend in Vienna. So you will know where to go to get a great coffee when visiting this amazing city and what to order. Never been to Vienna??  Well, it is time then!!

 

 

Viennese Coffee Specialties

Mokka

(Small) strong black coffee without milk

Melange

Mokka "lengthened" by a shot of hot water, with steamed milk and frothed milk

Cappuccino

Strong coffee with plenty of milk, topped with frothed milk and chocolate flakes

Kapuziner

(Large) black coffee with a shot of milk

Franziskaner

(Light) Melange topped with whipped cream

Einspänner

Mokka in a glass with whipped cream

Fiaker

Mokka in a glass with a shot of rum

Türkischer

Turkish-style, unfiltered mocha

 

Where the Best Coffee is served

Bellaria

Art Nouveau Café

Bellariastrasse 6, 1010 Wien, tel.

+43-1-523 53 20, www.cafebellaria.at

Mon – Fri 7:30 a.m. – midnight, Sat 10 a.m. – midnight

Bräunerhof

Stylish café – Thomas Bernhard’s favorite

Stallburggasse 2, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-512 38 93, www.braeunerhof.at

Mon – Fri 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sun & public hols 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Central

Tradition revived

Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-533 37 63–61, www.palaisevents.at

7:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily

Diglas

Perfect example of a good, old coffeehouse

Wollzeile 10, 1010 Wien, tel.

+43-1-512 57 65, www.diglas.at

8 a.m. – 10.30 p.m. daily

Dommayer

Coffeehouse elegance

Auhofstrasse 2, 1130 Wien, tel. +43-1-877 54 65, www.dommayer.at

7 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily

Griensteidl

Illustrious past in a great location

Michaelerplatz 2, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-535 26 92

8 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. daily

Hawelka

Smokey artists’ haunt, congenially shabby. Buchteln cakes!

Dorotheergasse 6, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-512 82 30, www.hawelka.at

Mon, Wed – Sat 8 a.m. – 2 a.m., Sun & public hols 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.

Hofburg

Large café in an imperial setting

Hofburg/Innerer Burghof, 1010 Wien, tel.

+43-1-241 00-420, www.cafe-wien.at

10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily

Hummel

Spacious meeting place, practical and original

Josefstädter Strasse 66, 1080 Wien, tel. +43-1-405 53 14, www.cafehummel.at

Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – midnight, Sun & public hols 8 a.m. – midnight

Landtmann

Next door to the Burgtheater, where politicians and artists meet

Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Ring 4, 1010 Wien, tel.

+43-1-24 100-111, www.cafe-wien.at

7:30 a.m. – midnight daily

Mozart

Shining splendor

Albertinaplatz 2, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-24 100-211, www.cafe-wien.at

8 a.m. – midnight daily

Museum

Traditional café – fitted out by Adolf Loos in 1899

Friedrichstrasse 6, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-586 52 02, www.cafe-museum.at

Mon – Sat 8 a.m. – midnight, Sun & public hols 10 a.m. – midnight

Prückel

Ringstrasse café with a 1950s interior

Stubenring 24, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-512 43 39, www.prueckel.at

8:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily

Residenz

In Schönbrunn Palace. Apple Strudel Show at the Court Bakery

Schönbrunn Palace/Kavalierstrakt, 1130 Wien, tel.

+43-1-241 00-310, www.cafe-wien.at

9 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily

Ritter

Oasis of calm in Mariahilfer Strasse

Mariahilfer Strasse 73, 1060 Wien, tel. +43-1-587 82 38

7:30 a.m. – 11.30 p.m.

Sacher

Elegance par excellence

Philharmonikerstrasse 4, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-514 56-661, www.sacher.com

8 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. daily

Schottenring

Contemporary and classic

Schottenring 19, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-315 33 43, www.cafe-schottenring.at

Mon – Fri 6:30 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sat, Sun & public hols 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Schwarzenberg

Vienna’s first Ringstrasse café

Kärntner Ring 17, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-512 89 98-13, www.cafe-schwarzenberg.at

Sun – Fri 7 a.m. – midnight, Sat 9 a.m. – midnight

Sperl

Popular and award-winning – coffeehouse romanticism at its finest

Gumpendorfer Strasse 11, 1060 Wien, tel. +43-1-586 41 58, www.cafesperl.at

Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sun & public hols 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; closed Sun in July & Aug

Tirolerhof

Urban reservation

Führichgasse 8, 1010 Wien, tel. +43-1-512 78 33

Mon – Sat 7 a.m. – 10 p.m., Sun & public hols 9:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Weimar bei der Volksoper

A meeting point for audiences and artists at the Volksoper

Währinger Strasse 68, 1090 Wien, tel.

+43-1-317 12 06, www.cafeweimar.at

Mon – Sat 7:30 a.m. – midnight, Sun & public hols 9 a.m. – midnight

Messing with Mélange

As I step through the door, I am greeted by the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans and smoke -- the cold autumn breeze and hovering grey clouds are replaced by the cozy hum of conversation mixed with the distant chime of spoons on porcelain and the gargling of milk being foamed. Globes of warm light hang from the ceiling and smaller lamps with orange shades lean on the collage of posters and pictures, photographs and paintings on the wood-furnished walls. As I work my way through the narrow maze of paths that remain between the cluster of tiny marble tables, the diverse range of wooden chairs and striped velvet futons, I exchange a smile with the waiter: 'One mélange please.'

'Would you like a piece of fresh Apfelstrudel with it?' he asks me, addressing me informally, as he would an old friend who has just arrived and sat down in his living room. He brings the coffee promptly on an antique-looking silver tray, accompanied by a tiny glass of tap water topped with a tiny silver spoon beside an even tinier glass bowl containing two perfectly arranged cubes of sugar. As I lift the cup, I inhale the soothing scent of freshly brewed coffee and let my eyes wander over the rim, across the room: A man at a table by the door is sipping his coffee over a newspaper that extends beyond the borders of his bubble of privacy, seemingly unmindful of the busy murmurs around him. The table across from mine is occupied by two elderly couples, chatting away, sporadically nipping at their tiny coffee cups and indulging happily in a piece of warm apple strudel - the same I was offered upon arrival. I dip a cube of sugar in my coffee, waiting for it to soak up slowly, before dropping it into the cup. The coffee is hot and strong and delicious.

Café Hawelka is one of the most renowned Viennese coffee houses, first opened by Leopold Hawelka and his wife Josephine in 1939 and passed down in the family for meanwhile three generations. Though it was temporarily closed during World War II, the café later reopened, becoming the hot spot for artists and writers in the era of the Coffee House poets during the late 50's and 60's. Today, Hawelka is as heavily frequented as ever, having undergone little to no change for almost a century in terms of popularity or interior design.

At Café Hawelka, I feel at home; it is everything I need, whether it is company or solitude, relaxation or inspiration, quiet or commotion. The coffee is just a bonus. Four women -- apparently German tourists - sit down at the table next to mine, chatting and giggling as they peel off the multitude of layers they are wearing to shield themselves from the chilly air outside. I can hardly contain my amusement when they ask the waiter for a menu. 'We have coffee: strong or weak, tall or small, with milk or without. I can bring you hot chocolate too, apple strudel or sausages if you are hungry. So, what is it going to be?' The women laugh incredulously at the selection's simplicity, and place their orders.

I smile as Mr. Hawelka himself dims the lighting over the two tables at the front of the café, right by the windows. I catch his eye, and he leans over to me, lowering his voice as if to share a great secret with me. 'Now it is perfect: See those two lights? They cannot be on during the daylight hours. That is the tradition. If the old one comes, he will scold me. You cannot change the traditions as long as the old generation is still around.' In a Viennese coffeehouse, it is easy to forget the time. But not just in the sense of hours or minutes, even in terms of years and centuries. Lifting my eyes from the screen of my laptop, I would not in the least be surprised to find Stefan Zweig, Arthur Schnitzler or even Gustav Klimt at one of the adjacent tables, sipping mélange, reading a paper, discussing politics, or scribbling in their notepads like they used to. Little has changed between then and now; time passes by outside but stands still within, leaving the café oblivious to modernization, globalization, hybrid cars, the World Wide Web, war, revolution, global warming, corporate social responsibility -- and even Starbucks.

What started out as a small West-Coast coffee shop, discovered rather than founded and later bought by Howard Schultz in 1981, Starbucks is the fastest-growing restaurant-chain in the world today: it has approximately 16,000 stores worldwide, though exact estimates are hard to make given 1,000 new openings each year -- that is three per day. With an annual turnover of $9.4 billion and an exemplary marketing strategy, which has repeatedly proven competitive attempts around the world futile, the global coffee giant seems uncompromising and unstoppable. Though once threatened by fast-food brother McDonalds, when the latter introduced its so-called McCafés and thereby caused Starbucks a 40% drop in market value, Starbucks now plans an expansion to 40,000 stores worldwide, therefore outgrowing their competitor who currently runs 'only' 31,000 restaurants.

So, in an age when time is considered money, and speed and efficiency are key to success, when newer and bigger and faster and better are the words that make the world spin round; when global brands constitute the golden calves of our time, how does a place like Café Hawelka survive? Looking in from outside, it may easily appear just a matter of time before this venue, too, is conquered by a glistening storefront crowned by a green and white figurehead, home to a cozy interior designed by a former Disneyland architect, with a polished wood bar that incessantly spits monstrous recyclable paper cups of fair-trade Frapuccinos off the conveyor belt. However, in a town like Vienna, the matter is not quite that simple.

Legend has it that the first coffeehouse opened in Vienna in 1683 - more or less a result of the second Turkish Siege -- laid the foundation for a century-old tradition. The Viennese fell in love with the bitter black brew and by 1714, there were eleven licensed coffee houses in the city. Almost 300 years later, in 2002, Starbucks opened their first Viennese settlement neighboring the state opera. The location was carefully selected by savvy marketing heads: the building had once been home to one of Vienna's legendary cafés. It was expected to appeal to the Viennese' sense of nostalgia, and aimed to circumvent their inherent reluctance to choosing international corporate giants over established local traditions. Within the following six years, Starbucks expanded to meanwhile eleven stores in the city alone -- a thorn in the flesh of any authentic Viennese who, by nature, hates Starbucks for endangering an adorned tradition. The silent war even escalated into vandalism in January 2008, when an anonymous globalization-hardliner shattered all the windows of a Viennese Starbucks bar.

However, I would argue that the Viennese have nothing to worry about: Despite the fact that the fast-food coffee chain has accomplished a growth exponentially faster than that of the first coffeehouses in the late 17th century -- i.e. opening eleven cafés in six rather than 30 years -- Starbucks is not successful. Upon opening in 2002, the company announced their plan to open one new store in Vienna every month -- a business objective that was clearly not met. In Vienna, Starbucks is still struggling, and seems to be losing the battle. Passing by their store on Kärntnerstrasse, and peaking through the massive glass windows, I realize that most costumers inside do not appear to be locals - almost everybody who comes out grasping one of the iconic paper cups speaks English. This lack of success does not come as a surprise however, given that the traditional Viennese Kaffeehaus has already once survived a substantial crisis when in the 1950's a phenomenon called the Kaffeehaussterben or 'coffee house death' took place: Due to symptoms of modernization, such as television and the import of trendy espresso bars, many cafes were forced to close. But others managed to survive, and are now - almost 60 years later - packed with people and are as successful as ever. A similar phenomenon seems to be taking place today, when the century-old tradition takes on the fight against globalization. It almost seems as if Viennese Kaffehäuser are succeeding in something that so far only fast-food giant McDonalds has managed to do: standing up to Starbucks like the city of Vienna stood up to and finally defeated the Turks.

Although both Hawelka and Starbucks offer the same product, namely coffee, there are differences so substantial that they seem to have nothing in common at all: Starbucks has the world's best blends of high quality, triple-roasted, fair trade coffee; professionally prepared by specially educated 'baristas'; packaged in recyclable, environmentally friendly and very convenient 'to-go' cups. They offer personalized fast-food coffee, with so many choices they require their own lingo to order: grande soy chai no-foam lattes, triple tall no-whip skim macchiatos, venti decaf vanilla-bean low-fat with-cream frapuccinos. Not to mention triple-chocolate-frosted brownies, banana oatmeal cinnamon muffins, New York cheesecakes, Snickers tarts, Danish rolls, bagels, donuts, and after-coffee mints. You can buy anything from coffee beans to merchandise; CDs and mugs and baseball hats: A true coffee megastore and consumerism at its best. And then there is Hawelka. Hawelka has coffee: Tall or small, strong or weak, with milk or without. And if you wish, you may accompany your drink with a piece of fresh apple strudel, made by their pastry chef out of home-grown apples from the garden. The true Viennese seem to prefer such simplicity over a flood of choice.

'It's not just about the coffee,' remarks the man sitting at the table next to mine, when I ask why he chose Hawelka over the Starbucks around the corner. 'It is about the special atmosphere. I like to sit here, read, chat, or simply relax; it is much more peaceful than any Starbucks could ever be. Viennese Coffeehouses are almost an oasis to me, allowing me to forget and escape the busy bustling on the streets outside. Here, I feel like time has come to a halt, as if I were sitting in a timeless, pre-capitalist living room.'

The window-front lights flicker and illume, as day turns to dusk, and the evening breaks in; I pay my bill, and throw on my scarf. An elderly man at a table close to mine gets up, and without saying a word he helps me into my coat.

I thank him, touched by the simple, yet iconic gesture. In the door, I turn around once more -- inhaling the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans and smoke -- gratefully soaking up the comforting atmosphere and the cozy hum of conversation mixed with the distant chime of spoons on porcelain before I disappear into the rainy autumn streets.