Day 6 got off to a quick start. Since I was a couple minutes late getting ready we agreed to attend Mass at the cathedral in Vienna at noon. This allowed me time to run and see a saint I forgot about in Vienna, St. Clement Mary Hoffbaur, Redemptorist. As many of you know, his congregation gets the greatest credit for everything I do from the Catholic Church to coffee. I was extremely grateful to say a prayer at his tomb, in addition get some holy cards to bring back that I placed on his tomb, since I forgot in my ignorance to print some for him.

After my visit, I grabbed my last overpriced cups of coffee on the visit and found a nice coffee shop down an ally that did pour overs. This experience was nearly $30 for 2 very small cups of coffee, maybe 8 oz.. It was a fresh reminder of how good we have it in the USA since there are many economic and government philosophies that drive up the cost of many products in Europe. For example in Germany I was told pay tax just to roast the coffee. This relegated me to drinking more disappointing coffee until I eventually got on the plane. These experiences are always humbling as I am always searching for an experience that I can maybe share with others, but also humbling since it reminds me of what inspired me to start the business. Just like the Church, there’s something special developing, and I just need to do my part daily as God calls me, and He will keep doing His part in whatever way He chooses to exalt my efforts. I trust His will, since my ego is often perverted by the world’s idea of success. Many of what I previously mentioned, i.e. franchising, societal status, etc.

After we had breakfast we walked around town and found a shop that sold icons from old churches, primarily Orthodox. They were hundreds of years old, and it felt like being in a museum. The gentleman was very kind, even though the prices were a bit out of something I’m comfortable with. I bought a couple of small replica icons for my daughters shrine, since it was like the price of admission to a museum. God willing one day I’ll build a coffeeshop in the image of a church and hang pieces of art similar to what I saw. From here we found an Augustinian Church, which if I’m correct is directly associated with Pope Leo. It was a beautiful visit and my daughter asked to light a candle in front of the Divine Mercy image. It was this image, along with St. Augustine’s feast day that led me to my wife, so this moment was a Godwink that he spoke through my child’s innocence.

In this same area was a butterfly house, that was a tropical green house of sorts that had lots of different butterflies. This was special experience for my daughter who loves nature and butterflies. She was overjoyed by this experience and had to do a second lap before heading over to Mass in the cathedral. Arriving at the cathedral brought great joy as I am always grateful when a great piece of art an architecture can be experienced by tourists, while accommodating those who are there for there for it’s primary purpose, entering into the fullness of relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and God in the Eucharist. This is a regular struggle for me that scandalizes me and the church regularly when I arrive to locked doors, or fees like it’s a museum or a Jewish temple that Jesus rejected such burdensome fees. Sometimes these buildings are burdensome to the faithful as well as the upkeep is more than the congregation can afford. I always struggle to find balance and the best solution in these matters.

The liturgy was great overall, which included organs for a noon daily Mass. Again a blessed place, and a reminder of Cardinal Schonbern’s influence on my life. I read a book on the priesthood written by him, modeled after St. John Vianney. I appreciated the Cardinal’s pastoral approach and even though he just retired in January, I enjoyed the welcoming presence he has in his diocese. I was also fortunate to meet a Nigerian priest who concelebrated. Father Kenneth shared with me that he is a Claretian missionary who is currently serving in the region. He asked for my info to remain in contact and I look forward to crossing paths again since we kept bumping into each other in the town square, which led to him asking for my info.

Upon completion of Mass we made our way to Julius Meinl for lunch. I’ve known about their coffee, but I didn’t realize they were probably one of the original Wegman’s/Harris Teeter’s or whatever fancy grocery store you know that has products from around the world. Their coffee became famous as well due to a proprietary roasting technique during their early days. We found a great experience and for the price of a local meal, we got some unique items for lunch and left overs for another day. The service and sensory experience was one of the best I’ve had in a while. We went back to our room and enjoyed a nice meal, with unique regional meets and cheeses, a bottle of the sparkling rose we got in Slovakia and some unique salads. I enjoyed a fresh squeezed orange juice as well.

The night wrapped up with a carriage ride and a walk through the rose garden, before a concert my wife booked for our daughter. We wanted something for her to enjoy that was of the classical music experience one would’ve known during Mozart’s time and the other greats of that era. It was a nice mix of symphony, opera and dance which I also enjoyed, despite it being something I would not normally do. This is the second time I attended something like this, previously we went to a dance recital for my daughters school and that too was a great experience that having a daughter really helped me to enjoy, instead of missing that moment.

We ended our final evening in Vienna with dinner at one of the original coffee houses. The experience was great, and didn’t feel like a tourist trap despite it’s popularity. My wife was very happy she finally got some Viennese pastries and I drank a traditional Viennese coffee, made by the modern robots however. Our night wrapped up with the hotel being evacuated. The fire alarms went off and we were told to evacuate with no explanation. It was our daughters first emergency experience which made for a life moment. Upon walking around the building and noticing the firefighters packing their gear, we made our way back despite the hotel having others wait without information. All worked out and we had a nice rest after the anxiety.

Day 6 Vienna, Austria