Travelfood

If Paris is considered the most romantic city in the world, what should be said about the Austrian beauty? Maybe it is the incredibly beautiful scenery that actually lessen the romance, since you just stare at the wonders of nature instead of your partner? When the Alps tower the background of a calm, cold mountain lake and are reflected with a beautiful monastery or a castle on the surface, you easily forget the closeness of a human being. When all this comes with good food and fresh mountain air, there is not much missing in life.

Vienna is a beautiful city, but it feels a bit cold and stiff in all its baroque glory. You get the same feeling of the Austrians although you do feel welcome in their country. The best of Austria is certainly experienced in small towns or on the countryside. From Vienna it is easy to go with a fast train to the neighbour city Bratislava in Slovakia, where prices are lower and architecture not as impeccably perfect and clean as in Austria.

Gastronomically Austria is perhaps best known for its desserts and especially the cakes in their highly developed café culture. The tarts are perfected into beautiful art pieces and the most famous is probably the chocolate and apricot jam filled sacher cake. In Mozart’s home town Salzburg, confectionaries sell Mozart kugeln, a chocolate ball-shaped praline. In Vienna I asked for something traditional and was served something called Serbian bean soup, which was very tasty, rich and fat. A street kitchen sold bacon balls, which were especially creamy. Austrian wienerschnitzel (breaded veal) is much better on spot than the ones we get in our home countries. It is easy to get Bavarian sausages, knödle and cheese spätzle (shredded pancakes with grated cheese), but my own favorite was boiled veal by the name Tafelspitz.

Austria must be experienced through small places. Salzburg and Innsbruck are interesting and beautiful, but smaller villages in for example Obersalzberg or the Salzkammergut area are almost always a joy for the eye. It is worthwhile to rent a car in Salzburg and drive towards the German border and stop in for instance Lake Königsee, Lake Wolfgangsee or Fuschl. If you cross the German border, you will reach Berchtesgarden and Hitler’s Eagle’s nest, which is a true tourist trap.

Austria, Europe, food, travel, travel experiences