8 Viennese Coffeehouses for Any Trip to Austria

"Who better to whip up a tasty dessert than grandma or grandpa? At this unusual second-floor café just steps from the center of town, a whole team of baking grandparents turns out daily cakes using tried-and-true family recipes, served with a side of life stories. Like granny’s parlor, it’s chock full of comfy mismatched furniture and countless framed photos on the walls. Vollpension opened in 2015 to help reintegrate seniors, such as server Marianne Hofmann, age 80, into the labor market thereby reducing senior poverty and isolation. “I’m going to keep working,” the spry grandmother tells me. “I love it. I can earn something extra to supplement my pension, and I meet guests from all over the world.” This is the place to try a Buchtel (as Hofmann suggests I do), a fluffy sweet yeast bun filled with marmalade and drenched in hot vanilla sauce. Or an Austrian specialty called Punsch-Schnitten, a nougat-and-jam-filled sponge cake soaked with rum. Want to learn the secrets of these and other local specialties? Take a half-day class at the Vollpension Baking Academy, the world’s first grandma baking school." - Veronica Stoddart