Sure, you can order a whole breakfast, lunch or dinner at Lake Neusiedl’s (pronounced something like “noisy-dills”) Mole West, but you can also slip by with a great coffee drink. Located on the lake still owned by the noble Esterhazy family dividing modern Austria from Hungary, the ambiance reminds one of a terrific private club on a beach or upscale resort. I was glad to be hosted to experience it!
There are cushioned banquets and tables outside, complete with shading that’s like a cabana.
It was about an hour since I had last had a Coffee Melange, but in the supreme battle against jet-lag, I was needing defibrillator paddles. I did decide that I was quite enamored of the new-to-me drink, though just to let you know, sometimes it’s hard to get hold of the artificial sweeteners in the area. Ah, well. . . what’s that saying about a “spoonful of sugar”? A coffee melange is a coffee drink with 1/2 coffee and 1/2 milk with foam.
Austrians are quite particular about coffee. Just like you wouldn’t just go up to a bar and just ask for a “wine,” you must be specific about what kind of coffee drink you want. Austrians like Austrian and Italian coffees. They also like to drink a local mineral water with their coffees, a sparkling one (“prickelnd”).
