Cafe visit

Ah, too bad. I could have told you where to go.

I had your list but alas, this was my only option

You were so close to my favorite secret place.

...but you got to hang out where Sigmund Freud and Gustav Mahler liked to hang out.

Emily, don't give away those secrets! One of my pet peeves about travel magazines and their "undiscovered" destinations. Keep them close.

Emily, don't give away those secrets! One of my pet peeves about travel magazines and their "undiscovered" destinations. Keep them close.

I'm reminded of Cinque Terre and "you know who".

I'm reminded of Cinque Terre and "you know who".

Do you mean "he who shall not be named but keeps on traveling?"

Yeah, that was the main example I was thinking of. In one of his travel talks even RS acknowledges what he did.

But I was reading a post on another travel site about how people used to travel back before the internet, and if someplace was listed in a guidebook it was guaranteed to be swamped with tourists. So it has always been thus. In Amboise after eating at a RS recommended restaurant I held up my book and said Did you know you're in the book, the guy laughed and said oh yeah.

But I was reading a post on another travel site about how people used to travel back before the internet, and if someplace was listed in a guidebook it was guaranteed to be swamped with tourists.

If you haven't done so already, read Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad". It shows some things haven't changed.

Guy named Baedeker started it all in the 1820s

Oh, I would love to know where to go with my daughter. We would love to have more of an authentic cafe visit, since I am not sure when we may ever get back. What are some nice cafes (and any good ones near the opera)? I really appreciate any help you can give!

I had a good experience at the Landtmann on a rainy afternoon--I had just finished touring the Burgtheater (fabulous Klimt ceiling frescoes) and needed fortification before continuing on. I had a chicken salad followed by some apple strudel, and it didn't feel overly touristy to me; the service was decent, perhaps perfunctory, but that was fine . It was then just a short walk to Schreyvogelgasse for another look at the Harry Lime door.

Ask Emily she'll be glad to help

Sorry that you had such an experience. During my visit years ago, Landtmann was less well known since it's slightly off center. So, I was able to enjoy my time with mostly locals (or at least they were German speakers). These days, I would pick a cafe or restaurant outside most tourists' target zones.

I imagine a Cafe' experience is one of those things that if you go with expectations, you will be disappointed. You can't force it, you can't manufacture it, it is as much dependent on the people you're with as the place you are in. It is like other enigmatic phenomena, it exists, until you try to observe it.

My experience in this is limited to only one cafe in Vienna. The cafe is quite far from the Ring, have been there a few times (solo) usually between 1-3 PM

It is located on Nußdorferstraße, called "Kaffee, Konditerei Monarchie" The title sets the mileur of the establishment, coded too in its name. Nice place for lunch and dessert, etc.

Interesting in terms of observing the social dynamics in a place frequented by locals from the neighborhood from the way they socialize and act with each other, a lot of seniors plus middle age folks.

No foreigners, tourists at all. Once it was pretty crowded at lunch as a British tour bus of seniors was present when I walked in.

Sounds heavenly, I think it would still be worthwhile getting off the beaten track & spending some time in Vienna cafes? 2 decades ago I had planned on hiking with a German girlfriend near Salzburg, but we got rained out. So we went into Salzburg to 'drink coffee & eat cake'. We took our books, small art supplies, lots of time & basically spent 2 days hanging out. The places were mostly filled with pensioners relaxing & reading old newspapers.

I think Paul hit the nail on the head.
OP sat and had his strudel and noted that all there was to do sit and look at other tourists. I would think that is about it anyway, even if they were not tourists and you were in the proverbial local place. An actual authentic place. Pretty much anytime you go out, anywhere, for anything, you are basically sitting there with your beer, coffee, meal and looking around at other people, tourists or not. That’s it.
What else is the expectation?
This is an example of the yearning penchant by tourists to be part of a scene they have conjured up in their mind about the place they are in, city, cafe, and bar. It is as if they were looking down on themselves and their time and place at the moment and judging the validity of their experience against some conceived notion in their expectations.

I think treemoss2 hit the nail on the head:

...the yearning penchant by tourists to be part of a scene they have conjured up in their mind about the place they are in, city, cafe, and bar. It is as if they were looking down on themselves and their time and place at the moment and judging the validity of their experience against some conceived notion in their expectations.

@ Sandancisco.....I would say almost "heavenly" since the atmosphere of Kaffee Konditerei Monarchie" is missing the appropriate element, ie, music, that by J. Lanner and the Strauss family. That music would enhance the atmosphere which the name of the cafe is aiming to convey.

The cliente is all German, one only hears German spoken, and if you have a good understanding of the language, all the better. That cliente , as you point out, does include a good number of seniors reading the local newspapers.

That sort of establishment and due to its location, ie Nußdorferstraße, I don't expect to see any international tourists at all. Other than that British senior bus group, I've never seen any foreign individuals walk in speaking English, Spanish, a Slavic language etc.

All are local patrons, they dress , talk , interact like it with the cheery staff. Most pay in cash, the exceptions are some of the younger customers.