The culture of Havica Cafe

When we went to Vienna with our companions, we wanted to shoot the night view of St. Stephen's Cathedral on the third night. A heavy rain dampened our enthusiasm, but we couldn't bear to go home and suggested going to Hawelka for a while. The cafe is located at the end of Dorotheergasse, this small road is easy to find, but Hawelka is not so easy to recognize, the door of the cafe is introverted; only on the walls of the entrance are signs with the words "Caf é Leopold Hawelka"; and the lights of the two bars on the side are so bright that all these add a bit of mystery to the cafe. Push open the small door of Hawelka, only more than 20 square meters of coffee shop, the light is dim and voluptuous, one table next to the table is full.

Leopold Hawelka and his wife, Josephine Josefine Hawelka, founded the cafe in 1939. They ran the Old Vienna Cafe on Baker Street in 1936. Three years later, in May, they took over the Ludwig Cafe in Dorotheergasse 6 and renamed it Havica Cafe. It was the outbreak of World War II, and the cafe did not reopen until the fall of 1945. After the war, Vienna returned to a quiet living environment, and the cafe once again became a small post station in the city, as well as a place where writers and critics talked and thoughts sprang up. Havika became a gathering center for artists in the 1950s and continued until the sixties and seventies.

As Harvika became more and more popular, people affectionately referred to the boss and landlady as Papa and Mrs. Harvika. The cafe used to be open almost 24 hours a day, with my father on the day shift and my wife on the night shift. The habit ended on March 22, 2005, with the death of Mrs. Havika, who is 103 years old, but is said to greet guests in front of the cafe from time to time.

Hawelka has a special muffin (Buchteln), which is baked by Mrs. Havica's exclusive recipe, and the daily baking time is fixed at 11:00 in the evening, which is probably the reason why Mrs. Harvika always works the night shift.

We sat right next to the bronze statue of the old couple. Buchteln, steaming hot, looks like a bun at first glance, but it is a little sticky, because it is coated with a thick layer of powdered sugar and takes a bite. It is extremely soft and soft, and the honey is very sweet and delicious.

Hawelka condenses all the features of an European cafe: "small", a small cafe with small tables and chairs; "elegant" with warm and dim lights, plus slightly sunken or raised black wood floors; and "leisure", where you can chat with anyone, or listen to the chatter at the next table while reading the newspaper. The shop assistant is also "casual". He may suddenly suggest to you whether he can share a table with others or let others share a table with you, or he may suddenly ask you to get up because he wants to add a table next to you.