The "orangina" at the Julius Meinl Cafe in Vienna
Jon and I just returned to London this evening after a weekend in Vienna. The weather was warm and sunny, and Vienna’s pretty cobblestoned streets were uncrowded (likely because all the Viennese are spending their August in Greece, Turkey and Spain, just like their German neighbors).
In any event, while in Wien, I whiled away many hours in cafes, and I thought I’d share an odd experience I had at the Julius Meinl Cafe:
I ordered an Orangina without looking at the cafe menu, and the waitress came back with the beverage pictured above at the top of this post. It turned out to be hot coffee, spiked with orange liqueur, and topped with a *lot* of whipped cream. (And all for the bargain price of 7.50 euros – how nice).
At another time of year (oh, I don’t know – say, December?), the Cafe’s version of an orangina would be hugely appealing. But on a warm summer afternoon, I was hoping for a bottle of the “real” (and more famous?) Orangina, like so:
Everyone's favorite carbonated citrus beverage (from Kevinsung.wordpress.com)
So, Vienna visitors be warned: for citrus refreshment, you’ll probably have to ask for Orangina by some other name. Not sure what that would be, exactly.
An American in London 