Cafe customers face charge to charge

Grumpy waiter service is as traditional as apple strudel in Vienna, but a cafe in one of the city's most recognizable landmarks has caused disquiet with what seems to be an Austrian first: charging customers for charging their phones.

Tired of tourists powering up batteries for hours, cafe owner Galina Pokorny has introduced a 1 euro ($1.06) fee for those who plug in their mobiles for too long.

"Tourists - always electricity, electricity, electricity. Sorry but who is going to pay me for it?" said Pokorny, owner of the Terrassencafe im Hundertwasserhaus.