Wiener Kaffeesieder Ball

I know it has been over a month since a blog post. We have been down with covid followed by the flu and various other fun things. However, we were able to get our health back in time for the Wiener Kaffeesieder Ball. This magical evening started for us with a conversation very early in Stephan and my relationship. As a student in Vienna, he had been to a couple balls. As an American, I had not been to any. So we added it to the bucket list of things we always wanted to do together.

Fast forward a couple decades and the stars aligned. We chose the Wiener Kaffeesieder Ball because, well Viennese coffeehouses. If you know Stephan, you know his love of the Viennese coffeehouses. And over the years, it has rubbed off and I am a huge fan. (Our most recent find: Cafe Frauenhuber, the oldest coffeehouse in Vienna). Most balls are based on the various guilds vereins or groups. On the train to Vienna we sat with two ladies that were headed to the Tyrollean Ball. The Kaffeesieder is for the coffeehouse guild and celebrates the coffeehouses of Vienna.

Stephan has fond memories of being a student, working all day while savoring his one cup of coffee, surrounded by people and still alone to study. We were going to wait until next year (as we always do) to get tickets but the stars aligned and called to us. So we bought our tickets along with friends/cousins Ferdinand and Sonya and took the adventure together.

The Ball is held in the Hofburg Palace in the center of the city. It was elegant and glamorous. I was worried I would feel out of place, but just the opposite. Once through the doors, it was a delightful escape filled with warmth. We enjoyed exploring the various rooms and venues. There were different rooms and music.

As part of the event there was a raffle with the benefits to Caritas. The coffeehouses and sponsors donated the prizes. Some of the prizes were highlighted.

And so - I will leave with some of the photos of the night.

The ball ended at 4:30 in the morning - we made it until after 2. All the coffeehouses were open until 7am that morning, but as we were leaving a cold breeze sent us home. It was a perfect night.