Austrian, Greek or German... The Food is All Good!

IT'S STILL COLD HERE!! It's is currently 58 degrees, cloudy and rainy. This is not what I signed up for. I just checked the forecast and more rain tomorrow. All of the nationals say that this is why the country is so green. But enough already, I could stand a little less "green" and a lot more sunshine. Its Tuesday is business-as-usual, which includes class, studying and running errands such as purchasing replacement pencil leads. Yep, it's not all glamour in the country of the Fairytale Castle. It was an uneventful Monday and one of the first weekday evenings I've had "off" as pretty much everyone is up for going to dinner to try new German or other wonderful European cuisine with, of course, a sample of what the special beer or other tempting beverage of the house may have : ).

Speaking of meals... Munchner Suppenkuche!! When it rains, one wants a nice hot bowl of soup, and where better to go but a soup kitchen!! No, we didn't have to show our student IDs to prove that we needed free soup (it's not so free). Could it have been the model for the famous Jerry Seinfeld "Soup ___" (shhh... it's illegal to say that word here), one never knows. All I know is that it's good!! I'll have to take a picture next time (and there will most likely be a next time : ) ) I go.

But, I am not done with my exursion to Salzburg - there's more! Above is yet another photo from the tour van (I think you can see my reflection in the window) ... this is where Constanze, Mozart's widow lived after his death. I know it's just a building but I love all this history stuff : ).

This is a monastery in the city of Salzburg. You could walk up this small mountain (yes, I am being sarcastic) to take a tour and eat at their restaurant. This was the first restaurant in Salzburg, and the city started with this monastic development. I bet they have good beer : ). Side note about monks and beer. I have learned that the beer in Munich is so good (and so famous) because the monks who first developed the area brewed and perfected their own. When they would fast, they would brew a special beer that was like a meal so get them through their hunger. I think it was either the Helles (lager) or the Weisebier (wheat beer), I forget. I think I may have had a couple of them by the time someone was telling me this story : ). Another side note: food: I had the best Wienerschnitzel yet in Austria. Yum!

The Salzburg Music Festival happens every summer in late July. They were already preparing when we visited.

This is the interior of the Hohensalzburg. It is the fortress that the Prince-Archbishop would retreat to in times of war. I believe it was built in the 1400s. I didn't really get a great shot of the outside (it was cloudy and rainy - go figure!), but I thought the inside was impressive. This was the last shot I got before I was told to put my camera away - oops!!

Ahhh, the perfect end to a day trip to Salzburg - Ouzo. After we returned, we journied to an excellent Greek reastaurant. The food was the best I have had so far. So good, we want to enlighten others and are making plans for another trip : ). As is Greek tradition, you finish the meal with a shot of Ouzo, a licorice tasting liquor. However, the waiter didn't just give us a shot - he gave us the bottle.... [insert your own ending here] : ).