I thought you'd enjoy a Viennese lad's comment. :)

First, the spelling "Hapsburg" upsets me, since they are correctly spelled Habsburg, but I think in English it's spelled like that for some odd reason or another, so no mistake on your behalf.

So, let's get into it. :) Past glory is about all you get here, I believe, so you captured it perfectly. Ever since the end of the monarchy, Austria has been one big bore. Except during World War II, history gets interesting again in that period, but after that... Nothing at all worth mentioning. The best things under that bloody Second Republic all come from the European Union. Long live the Union, the mother of nations. (Yes, there actually are European patriots. :D )

Yes, people tend to believe cafés here are an attraction. Some of them are, but most of them aren't. Most of them could be anywhere in Europe. There are a handful of those nice typical cafés, however, where you get cakes and several kinds of coffee and tea, not to forget the hot chocolate, and breakfast 'til 11. Of course, most of those "classical" cafés are expensive. So I never spent several hours in a café, and I only went there when someone else was paying (like my parents, or my uncle when we went to Demel - those cakes are delicious, but it's unbelievably expensive).

Not sure if Mozart was much of a café visitor, he rather was a man for taverns, as far as I know. :)

Anything else? Well, as I said, past glory is all you get, but the cakes are worth killing for (especially that lovely Sacher chocolate cake... my parents get me one for my birthdays, and I could devour the lot of it *g*).

Oh, and while you're at the image with the snow: Viennese winters are often very cold, and rather stormy. The wind makes the cold worse, it comes in violent gales and makes you shiver. Might be a good reason to slip into a café... :)

This was a very pretty poem... it painted many images throughout my head. The rhythm was good too. I've been to a German Cafe, and it is much like you imagined... except I was there in the summer, so there was no snow, but I assume it would be like what you described. Excellent job.

That was good, and I'm not usually one for poetry. Keep it up, E.

I love coffeehouses, so you've earned points right there. I loved how you combined the coffee elements with the historical elements. I'm still picturing a cup of coffee with twirling steam. Great job.

Oh, and do Strauss and coffeehouse really rhyme? If they do, I've been saying Strauss wrong all my life. A definite possibility.

A very picturesque scene of Vienna. I've been there this past summer, and, due to time constraints, didn't get to spend time in the cafes, unfortunately. I've felt like this on many occassions, and still anxiously wait for my prince charming, as it were, to come this way, preferably dressed in 18th century costume. XD Great work, I love the rythmic (sp?) flow to this piece. I look forward to more of your poetry.

Good poem. Any decent coffee house is better than starbucks :P Come to Melbourne, we have many fantastic coffee shops. And starbucks, which I eschew.

Yes, I like this.

Beautiful!