MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Germany and Austria Trip
Day 9 - December 14 2016
The original plan for this day was to go skiing and snowboarding but after our late night, we decided to push that back another day. Instead, we decided to explore the city.
We started at the Christmas markets for a healthy breakfast of chicken nuggets and fries! We saw the stand the night before and the greasy goodness seemed like a great coat for our stomachs.
I read online about Hotel Sacher right across the river that was famous for an 1800’s recipe chocolate cake. We felt some chocolate cake would help fuel our tourist wanderings, so we headed to the hotel. Shortly after walking inside we realize we aren’t their typical clientele. The male waiters are in black ties, the female waitresses are in weird old school maid uniforms complete with the white lace bonnet.
Gold is on the walls
Old rich folk in the halls
This is not a place for us at alls.
We still go for it and order the “world famous” Sacher torte and some coffee. The slice was even topped with a chocolate medallion stamped with their hotel name. The cake itself was perfectly good. It was rich, but not too sweet. A slice will set you back roughly $7 a slice and you can have it served to you by a someone with their nose to the ceiling! The guest next to me had clearly ironed his scarf. We stuck out like a sore thumb and were kinda proud of that. Not the highlight of our trip, but the experience we joke about years later, so there’s that.
We decided it was time for a nature hike! Two, to be exact. The first was a short one up a hill on the north side of the river. This trail starts off of Kapuzinerberg street. Throughout the walk you’ll get breathtaking views of the Salzburg old town and the Hohensalzburg fortress above it.
We then crossed the river for another nature hike. The walk starts at Bürgerwehr, near the base of the fortress, and runs along the spine of the hill that separates new and old Salzburg. Most importantly, it leads to an old Monk brewery and beer hall.
I was really impressed and even amazed by some of the sights we’d been lucky enough to encounter on this trip. However, I was floored by this walk. The path, studded with old school lampposts, winds through the trees. It was about a half hour before sunset and the sun’s rays were peeking through the trees. Most of the green grass was hidden by orange and red leaves that had recently fallen. During the occasional breaks in the tree line we were treated with great views of old and new Salzburg, as well as the snow-topped alps, illuminated by the gold sun. The whole time we were completely alone, almost forgetting that just below us were some busy Christmas markets.
The beer hall/brewery, Augustiner bräu – Kloster Mülln, is none like we have ever seen. You enter in through two giant wooden doors, down two flights of stairs with marble statues in the corners, turn another corner and now you hear the roar of people. At least four giant open rooms are filled with wooden tables and people eating, smoking, and drinking giant mugs of beer. In the halls lining the beer rooms are food kiosks selling smoked meats, brats, bread, olives, cheese, pastries, and so on. You can buy whatever nibbles you want (we got smoked ribs, cabbage salad and baked potato), grab a couple pints, and choose your seat in any of the rooms full of happy people. As for the beer, they offered two choices: a light Marzen or strong dark Lager. So far not a single beer brewed in Germany or Austria is bitter like an IPA, which is perfect for us.
After a couple beers and nibbles, we walked to an authentic Austrian restaurant recommended to us by our Airbnb host.
The restaurant, Barenwirt, is just a couple doors down from the beer hall. I ordered the wild boar sausage on a bed of potatoes sautéed with onions and caraway seeds. Mike ordered the meat platter which had freshly carved ham and roast beef, two giant bread dumplings and cabbage all sitting in a deep, flavorful, dark aus jus. Wow, it was delicious. Especially the wild boar sausage. We ended the meal with a mixed berry strudel topped with whipped cream and a side of vanilla ice cream.
We had a nightcap with Atila at Darwin’s. Smokey Godfather and the best whisky sour ever. This guy has gotten me to like whisky! We had an early night as we are hoping to go skiing the next day.