What & Where we Ate

We indulged in all kinds of fabulous foods while on our honeymoon, most of which I took pictures of so we could remember everything we tried.  Our first day in Munich, we ate lunch at the Glockenspiel Cafe.  I had a gnocchi with pumpkin and Aaron ordered another pasta dish.  Both were delicious and, since all we had eaten was plane food, we scarfed down our meals.

That evening, we ate dinner at the Hofbrauhaus.  On our tour guide's suggestion, we ordered a pretzel and a pork knuckle with a potato dumpling.  It was all so tasty!

Pork knuckle with potato dumpling

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel (all of our accomodations had a breakfast buffet) before heading to the castles.  Lunch consisted of a few snacks while exploring and then we stopped for dinner in Oberammergau.  We ate at the Ammergauer Maxbrau and I would highly recommend it.  The atomosphere was great and the food was excellent!

Spaetzle

Braised beef with red cabbage and potato dumplings

On day three, we skipped lunch and opted for a midafternoon snack at a food truck.  Bobby and Fritz served currywurst and pommes and I wish I could have brought some home to share with everyone.  It was the perfect little bite to eat while we walked around Olympic Park.  That night we ate at Wirtshaus in der Au and opted to order a smorgasbord so we could try all kinds of tasty food.  This specific platter included a knuckle of suckling pig, roast pork, duck, spicy sausages with sauerkrout, red cabbage, and potato and bread dumplings.  It was a feast!  To top it off, we ordered dessert.  Aaron ordered schokoladenbatz (homemade chocolate mousee served in an almond wafer and vanilla pears), while I orderedapfelschmarrn (Bavarian sliced pancake with apples served with mixed cranberries and vanilla sauce).  Both were so so so scrumptious!

Currywurst and pommes

Sauerkraut

Red cabbage

Pork knuckle, roasted pork, duck, sausages, potato and bread dumplings

Bavarian pancake with vanilla sauce and cranberries

Chocolate mousse with vanilla pears

Day four was our first day in Salzburg and we again opted to skip lunch.  While exploring the town, we came across the oldest bakery in Salzburg and ordered sweet bread.  We both immediately wished we would have ordered more than one.  Later that evening, we went to Biergarten die Weisse for dinner.  We both ordered pork wienerschnitzel and were very satisfied.  After walking back to the hotel, we decided we should order some dessert.

Sweet roll

Wienerschnitzel

Apple strudel

Bavarian pancake with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

Day five was spent in Berchtesgaden and we grabbed a pastry to eat before our bus tour.  We got back to the hotel later, so we opted to eat at the restaurant there.  I have absolutely no idea what we ordered here, but I remember eating almost all of my meal so it must have been good!

On day six, we did our Sound of Music tour and grabbed some snacks for the road to Vienna.  After visiting Mauthausen, we ate at this farm to table restaurant called Moststube Frellerhof where hardly anyone spoke English and no English menu was available (everywhere else we had been had an English version of their menu).  We opted for our waiter's recommendation and it was a cold plate of fresh veggies, meats, and potato salad.  Not quite as filling as we wanted, so we ordered room service back at the hotel before calling it an early night.

The next day we were ready to explore Vienna.  We had a late lunch at Kurkonditorei Oberlaa and ordered veal goulash.  It was hands down the best meal we had on our trip.  They had a fabulous selection of desserts and ice cream, so we decided to try a slice of lemon pie and a dish of strawberry and vanilla ice cream.  I don't know if you've ever had ice cream in Austria, but it was better than any ice cream I have ever had here in the states.  In fact, after exploring a bit more, we decided dinner would just be ice cream :).  When in Rome Vienna right!

Veal goulash

Lemon pie/torte/I don't remember exactly what it was called

Strawberry and vanilla ice cream

Our last day, we stopped at a Wurst Stand for a traditional bratwurst for lunch and then went to a restaurant called Tino's Cafe for dinner.  Since I hadn't tried veal wienrschnitzel yet, I ordered it and would have to say it was much better than the pork version.  We walked around a bit more, Aaron ordered one last dish of ice cream and we bought some macaroons before settling in at the hotel before our flight home the next day.

It was a wonderful adventure full of fabulous food!

Blogtober

In an effort to push myself to blog every day for one month (#87 on my 101 things in 1001 days list), I've come up with blogging topics for each day and would love for you to join in!  I'm calling it Blogtober!  Here are the topics for every day in October (excluding weekends).

October 1st-Three random facts about yourself.

October 2nd-Every job you've ever held and which one was your favorite.

October 3rd-The one book you could read again and again.

October 6th-A photograph that you love and the story behind it.

October 7th-Five of your favorite blogs and why you love them.

October 8th-A day in your life including photographs.

October 9th-Your go to outfit when you can't decide what to wear.

October 10th-A memory.

October 13th-Your worst date ever.

October 14th-If you could pick a different career, what would it be?

October 15th-Who is the one celebrity you would like to meet and why?

October 16th-Show us your favorite room in your house.

October 17th-A favorite recipe.

October 20th-Describe where you come from.  Your parents, grandparents, etc.

October 21st-What do you do to relax?

October 22nd-Pick a Disney song that relates to your life and explain why.

October 23rd-A video or article that inspired you.

October 24th-Describe the most adventurous thing you've ever done.

October 27th-Share a project you recently completed.

October 28th-The best advice you've ever received.

October 29th-What are your pet peeves?

October 30th-Five of your all time favorite songs and a memory associated with them.

October 31st-Your favorite Halloween costume.

Honeymoon Days 7&8

To read about days 1&2 click here, days 3&4 click here, and days 5&6 click here.

We got into Vienna late on day six and opted to stay in for the evening and relax.  The eight mile bike ride earlier in the day and the three hour car ride really took it out of us.  The next morning we woke up ready to and headed to old town.  Our first stop was St. Stephen's Cathedral.  It was hands down the most beautiful church we saw on our trip.  The pictures I took don't do it justice and it was hard to get a good photo of the outside because it was being repaired.

Our next stop for the day was Schonbrunn Palace, which is said to be the only palace in Europe to rival Versailles.  The grounds were extraordinary.  While touring the inside, the only thought going through my mind was why any single family needed or wanted that much space!

We explored the gardens and the Gloriette before heading back to old town for a bite to eat.  We walked around a bit more before retiring to the hotel for the evening.

The side gardens.

The back gardens and the Gloriette up on top the hill.

A closer view of the Gloriette.

Our view of Vienna from atop the Gloriette.

Our last day was spent visiting Prater Park and the oldest ferris wheel, walking around Hofburg Palace, and looking at art in the Kunsthistorisches  Museum.

Ferris wheel at Prater Park.

Hofburg Palace.

We ate our last meal at a little restaurant near our hotel, picked up some macaroons for family and friends, and spent the rest of the evening packing and preparing for our early morning and 10.5 hour plane ride.

It was a fabulous adventure to share together as we begin our married life.  I'm sure we have many more ahead of us!

Honeymoon Days 5&6

Our first full day in Salzburg, we hopped in the car and headed back to Germany for our Eagle's Nest tour in Berchtesgaden.  We completely overestimated how long it would take us to get there, so we had the morning to walk around this lovely little town nestled in the mountains.

The town of Berchtesgaden, Germany.

At 1:00, we boarded a bus with other Americans for our English tour of Obersalzburg and the Eagle's Nest (Kehlsteinhaus).  The description of the tour said it was more historical than sight-seeing which was just what we wanted.  We learned so much about the Third Reich and saw many of the original houses that members of the Nazi party lived in.  Many buildings were destroyed when the allies bombed the mountain, but our tour guide pointed out where buildings used to be.

Former homes of the SS or Third Reich members.  The homes are now used for subsidized housing.

We then went to the Documentation Center that detailed Hitler's "takeover" of Obersalzburg and subsequent building of a significantly sized bunker system.  The bunker system survived the bombings and a portion of it is now open to the public.

The Eagle's Nest atop Kehlstein mountain.

A portion of the bunker system that survived the bombing by the Royal Air Force.

After walking through the bunker system, we headed up the mountain on a one-way road in a specially equipped bus.  We traveled through six granite tunnels built especially for Hitler and road up a polished brass elevator through the heart of the mountain and directly into the Eagle's Nest.

You walk through the last of the six granite tunnels to get to the elevator.

Contrary to popular belief, the Eagle's Nest was not Hitler's home.  His home was halfway up the mountain and was destroyed years ago.  The Eagle's Nest was Hitler's 140 million dollar birthday present from Martin Bormann.  It had no bedrooms and was mostly used for meetings or entertaining.

We made it to the top just in time to catch a few photos of the view outside before a torrential downpour started.  There were a few more shots I wanted to get, so we braved the rain in our rain jackets and with the umbrella to snap a few more photos.

Our view from the Eagle's Nest.

I highly recommend this tour if you are ever in this area!

The next day we got up bright and early for our Sound of Music bike tour!  It started at the Mirabell Palace and we traveled eight miles to see all the locations in Salzburg where the movie was filmed.

The first place we passed was the fountain where they sang Do Re Mi.

We then passed over the Salzach River again to head to the fountain that Maria passes while on her way to the Von Trapp's home to be their governess.

After that, we made our way up a rather large hill to the convent where they filmed the scene of Maria leaving.

We then went to the house that was used as the back of the Von Trapp's home and the lake where the canoe scene was filmed.

Then we saw the house that was used for the front of the house.  It's currently used as a dorm for students studying music in Salzburg.

Lastly, we visited the gazebo.  According to our tour guide, the doors are now locked because a woman in her sixties was singing the song "I am sixteen going on seventeen" using her own age and fell and broke a hip...eek!

After our tour, we packed up our little car and headed towards Vienna.  On the way we stopped at Mauthausen concentration camp and it was an equally emotional experience.

The entryway to Mauthausen.

The prisoners at Mauthausen worked in a quarry and were forced to walk the "stairway of death" carrying slabs of rock.  The stairway was rebuilt in the 1940s so it is currently much better than it was.

The quarry at Mauthausen.

The "stairway of death."

We then drove the final miles to Vienna for the last few days of our trip.  Stay tuned for days 7&8!