Not on tap: Vienna cafe lovers irked by water fee
Source: Agencies |
July 19, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IN Vienna's legendary coffee-house tradition, a free glass of tap water with your coffee has been a cherished part of everyday life.
Now many Viennese are up in arms over a move by restaurateurs to start charging for tap.
It amounts to cultural sacrilege in a city where delicious tap water-fed by Alpine springs-is seen as a birthright, and part of the whole experience of lounging in centuries-old cafes or savoring young wine at one of the Austrian capital's many leafy outdoor eateries.
For now, payment is voluntary, with 11 restaurants participating in a charity campaign meant to collect funds for clean water-starved Sierra Leone. But the establishments pocket half the water fee and prominent restaurateurs are starting to lobby for an obligatory tap water charge, unrelated to aid for Africa.
Many Viennese suspect that the Sierra Leone campaign and industry calls to charge for water cannot be pure coincidence. Some see a cynical ploy to take advantage of charitable feeling for extra profit. And many are determined to resist.
To charge for water would "be absolutely outrageous," says Marinko Medic.
Caroline Wehner, a waitress, says a free glass of water with an order should routinely be "part of good service in Vienna."
Now many Viennese are up in arms over a move by restaurateurs to start charging for tap.
It amounts to cultural sacrilege in a city where delicious tap water-fed by Alpine springs-is seen as a birthright, and part of the whole experience of lounging in centuries-old cafes or savoring young wine at one of the Austrian capital's many leafy outdoor eateries.
For now, payment is voluntary, with 11 restaurants participating in a charity campaign meant to collect funds for clean water-starved Sierra Leone. But the establishments pocket half the water fee and prominent restaurateurs are starting to lobby for an obligatory tap water charge, unrelated to aid for Africa.
Many Viennese suspect that the Sierra Leone campaign and industry calls to charge for water cannot be pure coincidence. Some see a cynical ploy to take advantage of charitable feeling for extra profit. And many are determined to resist.
To charge for water would "be absolutely outrageous," says Marinko Medic.
Caroline Wehner, a waitress, says a free glass of water with an order should routinely be "part of good service in Vienna."
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