European Bookshops: Shakespeare & Company - Vienna

I miss writing in English so much that I decided that I am going to write this post in the language of the beloved-by-many, yet despised-by-some Queen of England.

This is a story which will hopefully be a part of a bigger collection about English libraries and bookshops around Europe. I love reading books and I am very keen on travelling, so I made a decision to combine those two into a lovely, easy-to-read post.

Let me start by saying that I explore Vienna (the capital of Austria) frequently. However, my boyfriend always says that I visit Vienna way too rarely. It is a matter of perspective – Vienna is a hometown for him, but just a place on a map for me.

Every time I stay in Vienna, I need to use a bus, tram or tube service. Driving a car in a big city terrifies me, so willy-nilly I take advantage of public transport, which by the way is very good in Vienna – quite cheap, convenient and frequent. Anyway, when I wait for a bus or I am on a bus already, it usually occurs to me that I have plenty of time and I start to wish that I had a book with me. My knowledge of German is shameful, so a simple corner bookshop won't do. I have to find a bookshop which will provide me with English books quickly and for reasonable price.

I knew one pretty nice bookshop in the very centre of Vienna, close to St Stephan Cathedral, but I truly hated breaking through crazy crowds of tourists there. As a result of my laziness and unsocial behaviour, I did a quick search on the Internet and later found this charming, family-run bookshop, called Shakespeare & Company.

It's the best, most alluring, irresistible, traditional bookshop I have discovered so far. Located in the old part of Vienna, hidden in the narrow, historic street the bookshop is just unique. It has a perfect ambience of knowledge and adventure hovering in the air.

However, when I was standing in front of its display, I wasn't convinced yet. I am too old (erh mature) to judge a book by its cover. Life taught me that it leads to a bitter disappointment. At last, I opened a door with a pounding heart in my mouth.

The first thing that I got was the smell. This terrific smell of paper, dust and mould which only a connoisseur of literature will appreciate. I was gazing at shelves full of books, endless ceiling-tall bookcases. 'Oh my tiny heaven' – I whispered to myself. When I snapped out of my blank amazement, I started to look through the books, but the choice was overwhelmingly enourmous. I shyly asked the shop assistant for her help. I am glad I asked, because she knew her little kingdom of books well and one could tell that she was pleased to talk about different genres and authours for hours. She just added another colour to the place.

To sum up, if you ever go to Vienna and you have a special place in you heart for traditional, paper books, then you definitely need to treat yourself to the experience of book shopping in Shakespeare & Company. It is a wonderful experience, but be aware of you wallet getting a lot lighter.