MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Germany and Austria Trip
Day 8 - December 13 2016
We woke up early to begin our 2.5 hour train ride to Salzburg. The train from Munich to Salzburg has some amazing sights as it cuts through green hills sprinkled with a few tiny, pastel-colored towns.
We got on the tram after exiting the Salzburg train station to head to old town center. From there, we navigated the cobblestone alleys lined with unique shops, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. Christmas lights and garland are hung across the alleyways to make the area even more festive.
We found our Airbnb building and were shocked. The location couldn’t be better- tucked in a small square in the middle of old town city center. There’s even a gentleman roasting chestnuts in front of the building. How cute is that?!
Severin, our host, shows us through the giant forged-iron doors and up three flights of stairs in a building built in the 1300’s. Unbelievable. The apartment is huge and has seen some renovations, but retains it’s old door, complete with a giant keyhole and iron hinges, as well as its wooden furniture and paintings.
When opening the apartment door to leave, we’re greeted by one of the creepiest paintings we’ve seen. You can see we were shaking with fear taking the picture of it.
We were starving at this point and headed to the closest recommended restaurant, which thankfully was about fifty feet from our place- Golden Kugel. We ordered pork knuckle and goulash. The pork is fried and crazy crispy, nestled in a pool of brown gravy. The goulash is rich and full of smoky paprika flavor. Washed down with a couple Austrian beers, of course. This was one of our best meals yet!
We made our way to the old town Christmas markets, which we actually liked better than the ones in Germany. Salzburg’s main Christmas market is huge and as close to a fairytale-Christmas-town-come-to-life as I ever would have thought existed.
One of the stalls was selling hot White Russians, so obviously we ordered two (how could you not?? they were delicious by the way) as well as a specialty dessert made with pancake pieces, raisins and walnuts, all topped with applesauce. Wonderful.
After wandering around the Christmas markets, we decided to try out a couple of the nearby bars. After seeing a sign for an Irish pub, we thought it would be funny to grab a quick pint there. The two story pub was nearly empty, the beers were flat, and it was more sad than funny. We were also surprised one of the few guests that came in ordered a cappuccino and a pizza…in an Irish bar… in Austria…
We decided to stick to the places we had vetted ahead of time. Next up was Darwin’s Bar. The cocktail menu sounded good, but was a bit pricey. Since we had been burned by sub-par, overpriced cocktails in the past, we ordered two beers. We quickly regret the decision once an English couple sitting at the table next to us orders cocktails. The bartender started making some serious works of art. He’s hand slicing and twisting garnishes, shaking cocktails like no one’s business and genuinely enjoying making these fancy drinks. We watched him in awe as he made them. We stared, nearly drooling, as this couple drank them. No wonder the drinks were ten Euro a piece!
The same couple beside us said they had been in every night of their stay because of this bartender and his concoctions. Well, now we had to try some. Mike ordered a Smoky Godfather and I got a Winter Pina Colada. For Mike’s drink, the bartender put wood chips in an espresso cup, lit them with a hand torch, and placed a whisky glass upside down over the smoking espresso cup, trapping the smoke. While Mike’s cocktail glass was filling with smoke, he started blending my drink – a gingerbread rendition of the classic pina colada. Once my drink was complete, he grabbed Mike’s glass, added a giant ice cube, 16-year Lagavulin and a splash of Amaretto. Both drinks were beautifully garnished and delivered. We both thought, this is either going to be life changing or a complete racket. Thankfully, it was the former.
For our second round, Mike ordered a smoky old fashioned and I asked him to surprise me. I was lucky enough to get a Cosmopolitan Charley which was the genius’s take on the classic. Get this- he used a handmade cranberry jelly instead of cranberry juice. Seriously, it sounds like a gimmick but all of it was mind blowing.
As we chatted with the couple next to us, we took turns ordering different cocktails to see what other tricks were up his sleeve. Soon we were tasting each other’s drinks and pushing our tables together. They’re from a little town in England and are seriously some of the most pleasant people we’ve ever met. We talked and laughed over drinks, and the bartender even made five small cocktail shots of his choosing and brought them over to drink with us, on the house. The bartender’s name is Atilla, by the way, and is from Hungary. Can’t make this stuff up.
The couple were sweet enough to invite us to the dinner they made reservations for, even though it was their last night in town. We went to Gasthof Alter Fuchs, a traditional Austrian restaurant where we had a ridiculously tasty meal. We tried rabbit for the first time and it was delicious! Two of us reminisced about the rabbits we had as pets over bites… it was not my greatest moment… sorry Snickers (my beloved childhood pet rabbit)!
We talked and talked until very late in the night. They gave us the open invitation to come to England and to stay with them, and show us around their favorite spots. We may just take them up on their offer! (7-year-later edit: We did!)
We exchanged info, said our goodnights, and floated back home. What a fantastic night in such a charming city.