Vienna’s Coffee Scenes

April 25, 2019April 3, 2025 by elainevitikainen ♥ 4 Comments

It’s true what they say. Vienna has the most amazing coffee scenes. There are many cafes to choose from and each one of them has a unique story to tell. However, there was not enough time to visit all of them as I wanted to enjoy every moment rather than moving hurriedly from one cafe to the next. Here are four cafes in the heart of Vienna which I had the opportunity to enjoy during this Vienna trip.

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Cafe Diglas in Fleischmarkt was the first cafe I visited. It was just down the street from our hotel. Cafe Diglas was established in 1875. There was a homely feeling about this place. Maybe because it has been around for a long, long time. The place serves good coffee and it has a huge selection of cakes to choose from. But of course, I decided on the Apple Strudel! It was a perfect choice. There was nothing not to like about this place.

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There was a queue outside of Cafe Central. I was not about to go in but there was this feeling inside me that I have to. Cafe Central was established in 1876. The place was a bit pretentious. There was also a huge selection of cakes by the entrance. But I ordered the Kaiserschmarren, of course, because it has to be tried. It was a large portion, making it quite difficult to finish up. The cafe has a beautiful interior but very busy. The waiters were rushing about, knowing that the queue outside was not getting any shorter. It was an okay experience but it would have been fine to skip it too.

Next stop was Cafe Schwarzenberg which has been on the premises since 1861. The cafe has certainly an old Vienna charm with its old style decor and nice ambience. Its says that the interior has remained largely unchanged. It has old fashioned waiters too who served me a wonderful Sachertorte, of course. It was a good choice for my birthday cake!

The last cafe was Café Hawelka. This was the most interesting cafe I have ever been. And mind you, I have visited many cafes in many countries. The Café Hawelka was opened by Leopold Hawelka in 1939.

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There was a queue outside too which made it quite a gamble since I can’t even see from the outside what the inside looks like. Upon entering while still in queue, I wondered how this will work out as the place was packed. It was a tight mass of people! But they seemed to be enjoying the relaxing ambience. Conversations and laughters were flowing. People seemed to be in no rush whatsoever. The friendly waiter approached with no menu at all. With the three dishes on his mental list, Goulash was the most appropriate. And it was a good choice. It was tasty!

It was amazing how this chaotic place has so much order. For this, I definitely recommend this cafe for such an authentic experience.

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All photos by arivitikainenphotography.com

Peaceful Burgas

April 14, 2019April 14, 2019 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

850_5920-2 — Photo by arivitikainenphotography.com

After all the busyness of the past weeks, I had no other choice but to look forward to a very relaxing few days. Seeing a bit of a gap during these busy times, I planned a holiday where all I can experience is peace and quiet. It’s a holiday that doesn’t need to hurry to go here and there, and to see this and that. Because all I really need is some rest, to read a book, to draw, to listen to music, to do origami… A stroll on a secluded beach will be a plus factor too. And there I found Burgas in Bulgaria!

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Staying some 20 kilometres from the Burgas City centre, it is not even overrated to feel completely isolated from the rest of the world. The resort was completely empty! It felt like I have a complete possession of the place, yet with friendly people cleaning up and serving us good meals. The daily walks on the empty beach was such a wonderful routine. And to hear the constant sound of the crashing waves gave such a comforting feeling. Of course, I didn’t really finish any book and haven’t done much drawing either. But I did sleep and ate a lot!

Beautiful Lisbon

January 19, 2019April 14, 2019 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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I love Lisbon. The people, the food, the architecture, the sea, the language, the music are just some of the things to love about it. I love how the sun revealed and hid itself during sunrise and sunset. The colours gave so much delight that I wanted to witness these moments of change repeatedly by Ponte 25 de Abril and Cristo Rey, by Cais Das Colunas overlooking the Rio Tejo, by the Belém Tower and by Castelo de S. Jorge.

p1300952 Staying at a hotel on Rua Augusta near the Arco da Rua Augusta, it was easy to walk around the city and explore Barrio Alto and Rossio Square. The Santa Justa Lift is just nearby. Rua Augusta, the main pedestrian street of Lisbon, also gave a lot of good food experience. Pastelarias are everywhere to get a taste or two of the famous Pastel de Nata and the Pastel de Bacalhau. Ginha bars are also in many places to try Ginjinha, a sweet cherry liqueur which originated in Lisbon. I recommend sipping it from a chocolate cup. Although the chocolate cups came in later, around 10 years ago from Óbidos, the chocolate town of Portugal.

p1310136 Then there were lovely walks in Alfama and the sentimental Fado music experience. The costal town of Cascais was also just an hour train ride to the west of Lisbon, then walking all the way to Boca du Inferno. The weather was pleasant, not cold and not warm. It was just right. The sun was shining and even the light rain added more spice to this wonderful holiday. One thing I was always tempted to say was Arigato instead of Obrigado. After all, Arigato originated from Obrigado. It was also interesting to understand that I can now travel using both English and Spanish. I totally recommend Lisbon for your next travel destination!

Oodi, the new neighbourhood library

December 12, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 2 Comments

As an OD (Organisational Development) specialist, I find the new Helsinki library quite fitting well for me. It’s called Oodi which means ode in Finnish. However, this is not exactly a normal library. Although this library has lots and lots of books, it also has a cafe, a restaurant, a movie theatre, areas for concerts, recording studios, a kitchen, a gaming room and an immersive 3-D space whose walls can be illuminated with digital projections. There are high-tech equipments such as laser cutter, computerised embroidery machines and equipment to digitally sculpt wood. It is said that this library is the government’s gift to the Finnish people on its 100 years of Independence.

So I’m so happy. The library has lots of creative spaces, including an orange reading room. There are also many books that I want to read and comfortable chairs I want to sit on, even the Eero Aarnio’s ball chairs! And best of all, it’s only a 13 minutes walk from my flat.

All photos taken by arivitikainenphotography.com

Germany, again!

November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It’s my second time in Germany this year. The third in just over a year. Can you imagine that? After all my reasoning to avoid Germany in my recent post, there was no hesitation in me whatsoever to be back again. Why has Germany become so appealing? Why do I have to be in Hamburg for the second time?

The difference between my last visits, I think, was realising that Germany became my visual home. It was here where I found my visual connections. It was here where I acquired inspiration to continue as a visual practitioner. I have been a visual practitioner for many years but it was the conversations that occurred here that made me realise and say, “Yes, I am a visual practitioner!”

One exciting thing was being able to ask advise on visual recording in quite a concrete way. It was wonderful to observe Malte von Tiesenhausen create a picture to inspire me in this work. He, himself, is very inspiring!

Another thing I realised was how friendly and helpful the Germans are. It was unbelievable how easy it was to talk to people and to ask for directions, for example. I was really amazed by this fact.

Will I be back in Germany soon? Sure, why not!

My perfect café in Helsinki

October 24, 2018October 24, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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After three years of searching for a perfect café in Helsinki, I can say this is my favourite one. Because I really did some research and even have a coffee blog for it called Helsinki Coffee Scene. I’ve been to many, many more cafés in Helsinki which many I felt not worth blogging at all until I ended here. Here is where I belong! This is the place where I sit, listen to music, draw and eat huge amount of cakes to celebrate birthdays of whoever is having a birthday that day. It’s my go to café. And the best thing about it, it is some 20 minutes walk from my flat or even longer for my shorter stride. This means I get a bit of a exercise rather than going to the nearest one which is some 3 minutes away. I have to get rid of those calories, you know!

The place is called Robert’s Coffee Jugend located in front of the Esplanade Park. It’s in a beautiful, spacious Jugend house with a high ceiling and comfortable leather chairs. The other thing about this place is that I really like their coffee. The savoury snacks are very tasty too, along with the cakes and ice-creams. I so love to be sat in this place at any time, and any weather!

You can find my coffee blog here: https://www.arivitikainenphotography.com/blog

Autumn in Helsinki

October 23, 2018October 23, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Autumn is my favourite season and Helsinki is one of the best cities to experience it. This is because Helsinki has a lot of parks and open spaces, even in the very centre of Helsinki where I live.

One of my favourite spots for an Autumn photo is under the tree beside the House of Parliament. This spot never fails to display the rich colour of Autumn because of the colourful leaves of this particular maple tree.

Across the street from the National Museum is another open space with beautiful, vivid trees. It’s a wonderful feeling sat on the terrace, enjoying coffee and just be soaked in the surrounding beauty. Walking further is the Hesperian Park where a full Autumn bloom awaits. It’s amazing how nature reveals itself as season changes.

Photos by arivitikainenphotography.com

Mountain, sea and sunset in beautiful Norway

August 26, 2018August 26, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

There is no denying. Norway is beautiful. I have been to Hammerfest before and I know this to be true. This time was about exploring another part of Norway to enjoy the mountain, the sea and the sunset.

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The first day was an easy climb to Ersfjord in Kvaløya. Kvaløya is just some 15 minutes drive from the Tromsø city center. It was such a breathtaking beauty!

Also climbed Brosmetinden on the same day. Brosmetinden is only 525 meters above sea level but it is very steep and the way is very rocky. It also didn’t help that it started raining resulting to low visibility. Basically walking through the clouds and I did like that!

Can you see me? The one and only! Felt like a weather forecaster in the last photo or at least checking the state of the rocks. Hello rocks, how are you?

Drove to the cold, windy, rainy and pretty Sommarøy island the next day. Beautiful but empty beaches because of the weather that day.

But such a sunset drama unfolding. It was a spectacular sight!

Left Sommarøy after a night there and took the ferry to Senja. The ferry ride was some 45 minutes from the Brensholmen to Botnhamn. Stayed in Skaland in Senja to explore the Husfjellet the next day.

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Husfjellet was such a hard climb because of the rain the day before. It was very steep, muddy which made it very slippery and was basically walking on the swamp. But what a lovely view on the top and a peaceful walk going down.

Then a magnificent sea sunset in Skaland where baby whales can be seen from afar.

After two nights in Senja, it was time to head to Ersfjordbotn. But wait, one last look at the mountain I climbed the day before. This time it was very windy. I was about to be blown away literally!

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Stayed by the fjord in Ersfjordbotn. What a striking sunset view! Can you see me?

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The last evening in Norway this time was spent climbing (again!) to see a better view of the Ersfjorden and thinking of returning to Norway someday soon! One thing about this trip was to understand how the weather changes easily. It was an alternating sunny and rainy days. I also had to retire my red shoes because it was soaking wet!

(All photos by Ari Vitikainen)

Helsinki and the HAM

July 28, 2018October 24, 2018 by elainevitikainen ♥ 3 Comments

Most of my travels include a museum visit. I love that feeling of serenity – that state of being calm, peaceful and having the notion of being unaffected by the world outside. I’m one with the art and I can stay in that state for hours. In Helsinki, the museums are almost part of my living room. I visit them as often as I can that sometimes it feels like I own those pieces of art!

The nearest museum from the flat is some 4 minutes away by walk. HAM stands for Helsinki Art Museum. They offer art activities on Saturdays and the workshop is always open if you feel like sketching or having a try at graffiti art. Also, Wednesdays are free entrance. Two large frescoes by Tove Jansson are on permanent display there. There is also a room with a sofa and a shelf filled with Tove Jansson’s Moomin books in different languages. There is a table with coloured pens and papers, and chairs.

And of course, a place to relax with colourful pillows.

So I was at this room, sat on the sofa, writing away on my Moleskine. I was writing a part of Tove Jansson’s poem which says, “I paint you on the wall and there you’ll be like you were when you loved me.” Then people started greeting me, like the lazy museum guard I was in my black t-shirt. (I always wear black t-shirt!) I guess I was looking like a permanent fixture! I moved to the workshop and a kid approached me to ask if he can write also.

The mum said the kid was so inspired to copy what I did and he hanged his writing next to mine.

But the best place is the whole top floor where they have the graffiti exhibition.

If I had to write a thesis again, it will be about graffiti art. These would be all my textbooks.

And of course, it will be hand-written on a Moleskine!

The magnificent Mt Fuji

July 16, 2018September 9, 2024 by elainevitikainen ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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After taking a very expensive Shinkansen ride from Kyoto to Mishima, it took a bit over an hour to reach Fujikawaguchiko on a Thomas’ Land bus. It was a lovely surprise to get on a Thomas’ Land bus. It was the cutest bus I’ve ever been!

850_3331 Arriving in Fujikawaguchi, Mt Fuji’s presence can be easily felt. It is very domineering that there is no way to miss it. It is behind the bus station and it shows itself at the restaurant while eating a bowl of soba.