we had a sausage marathon when we first arrived in Salzburg, actually i can't remember we ate anything other sausage there - because it's tasty, cheap, and everywhere. plus we just can't resist the smell. Eating those super size sausages with bare hands on the street in a chilly, drizzling day in Salzburg, we were really feeling it - we are in the high Austria! :)
there is just one problem - to order it. but soon we mastered it, in the sausage department. easy, just stick around for a while and point at what other people got. :) my most memorable sausage experience was at Hohenwerfen (a castle about 30 minutes south of Salzburg) where they serve sausage with hot sauerkraut. yummy! In the restaurant, it got a little more difficult. thankfully our bible Lonely Planet has a menu survival guide that lists the basics. since there are big signs of "tourists" written on our forehead, it wasn't too much a shame to bring out the book to study the menu. sometimes we looked around and found ourselves not the only people doing that. ha. great (traveling) minds think alike. :) In most cases, I just gave up and asked the servers to explain the menu to me. and i am often sold as soon as i heard the keyword "pork chop" or "stewed". i got lucky several times (or perhaps they are just overall good). loved the stewed pork dishes there! The soups are also wonderful. we had Frittatensuppe (clear beef soup with strips of pancakes) and Gulasch (think beef stew soup) a few times. it's awesome.
me with my pork chop dish. I knew i wasn't gonna remember the name of the dish so i took a picture of the menu straight away. here it is. are you ready? "Linas Bauernreindl", Zartes Schweinsfilet mit feiner Pilzrahmsauce, Gemuse und Eierspatzle"
in the sweet department, we were never too far away from a cafe or bakery, especially in Vienna. there are so many coffee shops here (note: do not mistake it with the "coffeeshop" in Holland). and there are so many choices, simply ordering a "coffe" or "latte" won't cut it.i wasn't too impressed by the taste though (no offense!, just personal experience), but perhaps it's because i wasn't too adventurous in trying out the "exotic" ones. i often went with the safest choice and got a melange (an equivellent of capuccino, maybe with different proportion of milk and espresso). but the cakes, OMIGOSH, they are so delicious. we also tried the much hyped-up Sacher Torte. It's a cake with two layers of dense, not overly sweet chocolate dough with a thin layer of apricot jam in the middle. the original recipe is a well-kept secret to this date but many bakeries have their own versions of it. It's created by Mr. Franz Sacher in 1832 when he was only learning to bake. He stood in for his ill teacher and created this cake that wowed Lord of Metternich and his guests.i wasn't overly impressed by it though, it's good, but not great. or perhaps because my head was stuck with black forest (for which we were at the wrong place). :( we only found one black forest look-alike on our last day in Austria, it wasn't what we expected but oh it tastes so good.
to the left, the famous Sacher Torte. for some reason we had it in Demel Cafe, the rivalry of Hotel Sacher, where the torte is originally from.we were also fortunate to be in Vienna during the musikfilm festival. every night, in front of city hall, huge screen plays films, operetta, or recording of music performances. better yet, it's free! and i must not fail to mention the food stands at the festival - they are a sight by themselves. it was just so great and relaxing the way it is. the only thing was all the showings are in German. still, we loved the ambiance of the festival and went a few times just for the food stands (surprise!) and be engrossed in the festive atmosphere. :) i wish there was something like that in the city i live.
me in front of the food stands.
view from top
this delicious chocolate balls are filled with hot fudge inside, freshly baked and it just melts in our mouths.
the festival. isn't that really nice?
that was a lot of talking about food! hope you had a enjoyable gastronomic ride with me as you read along. but don't take me wrong. food wasn't the only highlight in our trip. more details and pictures to come (promise there'll be no food, but be prepared for A LOT OF palaces and castles). stay tuned!
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