Sachertorte (2022)

Karl, who works for a quiz-question editorial office in Berlin, meets Nini, an Austrian woman, outside Konnopke’s Imbiß on Schönhauser Allee. For him, it is love at first sight. The two spend a few hours together before Nini returns to Vienna. But Karl loses Nini’s phone number. All he knows is that every year on her birthday, she eats a slice of cake at Café Sacher at 3 p.m. Under the pretext of researching Austria-specific questions for the editorial office, he travels to Vienna at his employer’s expense to see Nini again. Since he does not know her date of birth, he plans to go to the Sacher every day at 3 p.m. for up to a year, waiting for the woman of his dreams. Because the internet connection is poor both in the shared flat where he is staying and in the library where he does his research, Karl goes looking for good Wi-Fi so he can work. That is how he meets Miriam, the café owner, who falls in love with him. From then on, Karl does spend a lot of time with her, but at first he sees her only as a good friend. Almost too late, he realizes that the woman of his dreams has been right in front of him the whole time: Miriam. After more than a hundred days, on December 19, he does meet Nini at the Sacher, but only to say goodbye to her. During their brief conversation, he also learns that Nini’s birthday is August 24, meaning he would have had to wait another 248 days. Before confessing his love to Miriam, he also helps bring about the personal happiness of the Sacher’s head waiter, who has fallen in love with a woman who lives at the Hotel Sacher and also spends her days in the café.