Month: September 2023

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Grandma’s Apron

It is interesting how reading something can sometimes spur memories about the most mundane things. Recently, while reading an article in the BB News, just such a memory came back to me about my grandmother’s apron.

When I was a child, we often visited my grandparents on the weekends, both to see them and frequently my other cousins. She would always be baking or cooking something and we never went hungry while in her culinary sphere. Though she always wore an apron, it was often, if not always overlooked. For us, it was just part of  her attire – Grandma’s Apron.

I imagine, the main purpose of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, which makes sense, since she was always in the midst of some task around the house. I guess she wore aprons because they were easier to wash than dresses and aprons could be taken off easily and tossed in the laundry, a replacement always at hand. In addition, it served as a pot holder for removing hot cakes and pies from the oven. It was always splashed, dotted and dashed with smears of a myriad of different things that were either cut, diced, blended, tasted or cleaned.

It was a wonderful garment for drying and collecting children’s tears and even occasionally used to clean dirty little faces or ears. When company came, her apron was an ideal hiding place for shy children, or pulled by cousins looking for something to eat or drink. And when it was cold, it kept Grandma especially warm and was her constant companion when she forayed outside. And when it was warm, her big apron wiped a lot of sweaty little foreheads.

Her apron was used to collect and bring all kinds of vegetables from the garden. She would also use it to gather onions, potatoes or apples from her larder in the basement to the kitchen, in preparation for another family meal. When unexpected company drove up, it was surprising how much furniture her apron could dust off in a matter of seconds.

In the morning, Grandma would use it to put her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. When dinner was ready, she walked out onto the porch in it, while gently wiping her hands, and everyone knew it was time to eat.

It will be a long time before anyone invents anything to replace the “old apron” that served so many purposes. Most would also go insane, if they ever found out how many germs were on that apron. But, I never remember catching anything off her apron—except love.

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Budapest, Hungary – Odds And Ends

Here are some final thoughts on Budapest, that would not fit in the previous articles.

Budapest Sightseeing

Normally were are not ones for taking sightseeing ventures of most any kind, unless it is very personal and involves a tour guide with a smaller group. However, sometimes you feel you have to try something new, oh well.

Legenda River Cruise

We took this river cruise on other recommendations but were a bit disappointed. Here’s why we would not recommend them:

    • We felt that though the cruise did show you the city at night, the tour was essentially something you could watch at home on TV, in fact, you actually do watch it on TV on the boat as it cruises, while listening in your headset.
    • The video and tour were often out of sync, so you could not actually see what they were talking about, boring and unprofessional.
    • The front is rather closed in and uncomfortable. In the summer the boat has to be adapted to warmer weather, like the rear of the boat.
    • The waitress tries to remember your free-drink offer and terribly forgets. Multiple times. I wouldn’t mind so much, but some of us didn’t even receive our drinks. So don’t buy the “free drinks” bullshit line!

Aside from the above, here are some photographs.

The Metro

Budapest has a pretty good metro. Though not terribly extensive, it does not go to the airport, it does however cover a pretty good portion of the city. Each entry point is marked with a stylized ‘M’ and you will have to pay attention to the direction of travel, the end-point or terminal station. Direction of travel on most signs is noted, as well as all of the stops made by the line.

The M1 Metro Line

Clearly the oldest and the noisiest for sure. Luckily this line runs up the old Andrássy ut avenue and fairly close to where our hotel was situated; so we were able to take this line a number of times.

The Remainder of Budapest

Here are some left over photographs from our visit to Budapest.

Restaurants

Here are numerous restaurants, most of which we really liked.

Spinoza Cafe

The Spinoza Cafe was a lark, since we were just walking away from the Jewish quarter back to the hotel. It has a viable menu with very good service.

It was a bit warm outside, but we ordered something light and made the best of it.

Bestia Restaurant

A fairly good restaurant downtown that has plenty of outside seating. We did make reservations for this one, but not sure they were actually needed. However, making them ahead of time will never hurt.

Mazel Tov Restaurant

I have to say I was very surprised and delighted with Mazel Tov. Not only do they have a very good venue, restaurant saying, they also have very good food.

I ordered the soup and pastrami sandwich and was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture, they really know how to slice pastrami, nano-thin.

 

Mystery Hotel Restaurant

The Mystery Hotel has a very good view of Budapest, for those wishing such a thing. We availed ourselves of an evening of drinks here, after a long day of sightseeing and museum visiting. Unfortunately while we were there, they had a music mixer that was definitely one-dimensional, playing the same bum-bum-bum crap that belongs more in a club venue, than a restaurant.

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Budapest, Hungary – Royal Buda

Buda – Where The Royal Life Was

Budapest is split into two parts by the Danube River. As a natural obstacle, it offered some amount of protection, or defense, against enemies or in some cases, the population. Buda is such a place. It is where the royal families of Hungary chose to build their fine castle.

Buda Castle Hill

Buda Castle Hill is mostly wooded and covers only about a third of the entire city of Budapest. Its most prominent feature is the Castle Hill, where the Buda Castle and the Church of Matthias stand.

On top of this hill sits the Buda Castle and most royal buildings. It has a very good view of the valley below and Pest on the other side.

The Underhill Hospital Museum

One of the more interesting curiosities on the hill is the Underhill Hospital. A short walk from the Budapest-Déli M2 stop through the Vérmezö Park will get you there, that is, after climbing a few sets of stairs, it is on a hill.

Unfortunately, you cannot take photographs inside, so inside will have to remain a mystery until one visits. However, a bit of history may peek one’s interest. It started as a system of caves dug out from the hill for storage and then protection. Later, it was confiscated and repurposed as a hospital during the wars. It was also used as an air-raid shelter and later efforts were made to make it into a hospital which could take patients in the event of a nuclear war. Though noble, it will become quite clear to anyone who visits that the approach, space and logistics were oversimplified and in the end – unpractical.

The Matthias Church

One can not help point out the Matthias Church [1]also known as The Church of the Assumption of Buda Castle when they reach the top of the hill. With its one tower and beautifully shiny tiles, it does not show its true age. It actually has a remarkable history which actually makes it tightly woven with all Hungarian history. Two kings had their coronation there and it has had many names in the past and has been rebuilt and reconstructed many times. Definitely worth a visit.

Széchenyi Chain Bridge

The two sides of Budapest were not formerly brought together by bridge until 1849, when the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. It is probably one of the most remarkable features of the city, just because it is so different. Happily, the Hungarians had the prescience to rebuild it after the war exactly they way it was before, preserving it character and that of the city. A walk over this bridge is actually worth the time.

Restaurants

We only ate at one restaurant on the Buda side, since there were only a couple points of interest for us on east side of the river.

Arany Hordo Cafe

The Arany Hordo Cafe might be called the Gold Barrel Restaurant on you map application, not sure why.

It is a small cafe on the corner of Tárnok utca and Anná utca on Buda Castle Hill, not far from the Matthias Church. It has nice open air seating, if you can get a table. The food is decent, as well as the service and the prices are reasonable considering the area.

We stuck to simple fare for lunch and enjoyed it immensely.

References

References
↑1 also known as The Church of the Assumption of Buda Castle
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Budapest, Hungary – Lively Pest

Pest – Where The Real Life Is

Budapest is a very clean city, with a strange, almost quiescent nature to it. For the most part there is a noticeable absence of police, yet there appears to be very little crime, or at least the appearance of no crime, unlike other countries like Italy or France, where the authorities parade around with weapons and make their presence known.

The Pest side of Budapest has most, if not all, of the hotels and many of the restaurants. It has monuments on every corner and more history than you probably want to consume. Both sides are very active, but the Pest side is the side where all the boats dock, like Viking River Cruises and others, so it can get quite busy after ten o’clock in the morning.

Though beautiful, after a while you realize, like so many other cities in Europe, it’s all about the facade. It’s all brick underneath, mortar and stone.

Parliament Tour

For anyone visiting Budapest, the Parliament on the Pest side is an attraction that must be seen. However, be careful when purchasing tickets! There are a few official looking websites out there that purchase them for you at double the price. Check and double check your search engine and map application to ensure you have the official website. It will be quite obvious if you do, since you will receive your tickets immediately, instead of waiting for them to „appear“ in your mailbox.

Looking at the front of the building from the land side, you enter from the right and below ground. There are also some interesting monuments before you enter worth seeing, so keep your eyes open for them.

The tour is rather long but very thorough. We were even able to catch a glimpse of their unicameral legislature in-session! We were actually quite impressed with the thoroughness and professionalism of the tour. Though we thought they spoke at length, perhaps too long, about the crown jewels, which of course you were unable to photograph.

Restaurants

Here are a few more restaurants we visited in Budapest, one of which I wish I never went to due to social media idiots.

New York Cafe

There is a term in America and it is quite apropos here, „lipstick on a pig“. My thoughts regarding this cafe were that it was totally over-priced for the quality of food and service received, though the interior was quite impressive

In fact, that can be considered one of the downsides to this cafe; there were so many people mulling around and taking photographs, it was actually quite annoying at times. Especially in this day of social media, where everyone has to take the so called infamous and narcissistic „selfie“ or „influencer“ pose. It makes a person like me almost puke at times.

The food was sub-par for such a restaurant; we had the Pasta Pomodoro and thought although the pasta was done properly, the sauce tasted of nothing. The wine on the other hand was satisfactory in taste, but way over-priced at 50€/bottle. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except the service was just not so great.

Pick Bistro Deli

This little bistro, on Kossuth Lajos tér, is not far from the Parliament building and a great place to stop for lunch after your exhaustive tour.

They have many great Hungarian lunch items to choose from and the staff and service were excellent for us. They also have plenty of open-air seating, which during a warm day makes the visit all that much more enjoyable.

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Budapest, Hungary – First Thoughts

Before leaving Linz for Budapest, we had to get a bite to eat. What better place is there than a Jindrak Konditorei? There appear to be satellite pastry shops of this company all over the city, including very close to our hotel.

Shortly afterwards, we were on the road for a four hour drive into Hungary. In about two hours we left Austria for Hungary and the Budapest signs started appearing quite regularly.

Budapest

Entering any city, anywhere at rush hour, is normally not a good idea, but we hardly had a choice. In any event, it went rather smoothly considering the bridges from Buda into Pest and all of the one-way streets. Soon we were at our destination, the Mystery Hotel.

The Hungarian people are extremely nice and most speak very good English. So, there shouldn’t be any issues in the immediate area.

Not far from our hotel is Liberty Square; this is where the American Embassy is located. Here you will find monuments, statues and buildings of interest.

At the entrance of this square is also an eternal flame memorial.

Saint Stephen’s Basilica

Not far from our hotel is the Basilica of Saint Stephen. Though we did not enter it, if only from church exhaustion, the outside is rather impressive and very nice to see, especially in the evening.

Hotels

There are many hotels to choose from in Budapest. We chose one that would be close to things, but not to far out from the center that you could not get to it by a tram or metro, as well as reasonably priced parking. The Mystery Hotel fits that bill nicely and is decently priced such that it should not break your bank.

Mystery Hotel

For people interested in driving or taking the train, the Mystery Hotel offers a great five star option close to the main railroad station with valet parking. It is also a few blocks away from the oldest Metro line in the city, the M1.

Since the hotel occupies an old renovated building not initially intended for occupation, the rooms are interestingly configured inside. Some even have lofts, so stay flexible, since they are well maintained and well appointed.

Restaurants

As the capitol of Hungary and at a very busy intersection of Europe, Budapest has a huge selection of all kinds of different cuisines, especially Hungarian.

Retek Bisztro

Rather pricey and on the high-end of restaurants is the Retek Bisztro. It is located not far from the basilica and in downtown Budapest. It is a very busy place, so make reservations before you leave on your trip, since it fills up fast.

The restaurants offers most authentic Hungarian cuisine, from Hungarian Goulash to Hungarian meatballs. You will notice that most of my photographs came out a bit orange, since there was a red lamp very near our table.

Along with a bottle of wine, the entire bill for four people and drinks came to 220€.

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Linz, Austria – Home Of Linzer Torte

Our trip from Bad Gastein to Linz took us through the Berchtesgaden Alps of Salzburg. As the train starts to navigate through the narrow pass of Salzachtal, the mountains rear up quickly to the point where you aren’t even able to take a photograph of them anymore from the train window.

Linz The City

Linz is a typical Austrian city and the capital of Upper Austria or OberÖsterreich. It is for the most part clean and has the typical European city layout, with an old medieval part surrounded by a newer main street and some other ancillary shopping avenues in a more planned pattern.

Linz has somewhat of a checkered past and has had a difficult time getting out from under that reputation; there are reminders in the city everywhere, with it’s Hitlerbauten. Aside from that, the places of interest are all in an area comparable to places like Munich or even Copenhagen. So, you should be able to reach everything within a good twenty to thirty minute walk.

One comes away with the immediate impression that few, if any of the structures are original. This is probably partially due to the war and the Linzers going contemporary, when they can. The bridges that jump the Danube are for the most part modern, as is much of the architecture in the city. At times you could mistake the city for a similar place in the United States, since many of the shops use English and have cosmopolitan origins.

The Innenstadt

Most restaurants, cafes and shops seem to be along the Hauptstraße in the Innenstadt. Here is where you will find the main tram line, which goes the entire length of this street all the way across the bridge to Urfahr on the other side.

Churches

There are several churches worth visiting while in Linz, with special attention to Ursuline and Marien Dom if you are pressed for time. The following two were photographed, but not open at the time. Ignatius Church is also known as the Alter Dom and was the primary church prior to the Linzer Dom being built.

Ursuline Church

The Ursuline Church is on Landstraße and is somewhat difficult to photograph from the street.

However, it has a magnificent inside which many will find interesting.

Martin Luther Church

In true protestant style, both the outside and inside of the church are rather basic. But from a historical perspective, still interesting to visit.

Marien Dom

This is Linz’s Cathedral and the largest church in Linz and in Austria. The Marien-Dom is also known as Mariä-Empfängnis-Dom, the New Cathedral or the Linzer Dom. It borders the Altstadt and can be found along the Herrenstraße and Baumbachstraße

It is a true cathedral and adheres true to the dimensions of the cross in its architecture (seen from the air).

The Altstadt

The old part of the city is rather small and unremarkable. It is near the Castle and park and runs up to the Upper Austrian government buildings. A short walk down the Hofgasse will bring you to the Schloßberg where the old castle and its grounds are maintained.

Schloßberg Castle

The Schloßberg Castle is not open on Mondays, so before going there you may want to check the entries times and dates. The other direction you can take to reach the castle is via Tiefergraben and walking through the back part of the park first. Walking this way first you will come across Martins Church and a statue of Kepler.

The castle is another example of the Linzers throwing old and new architecture together. We are not at all to happy with this trend (including the Louvre in Paris), however, we do not live in the city either and its people obviously feel a need to move forward and live in a more contemporary setting.

The grounds have a small park which has a few monuments in it and a very good overlook of the Danube river and Pöstlingberg.

Pöstlingbergbahn And Pöstlingberg

A good half day trip is taking the tram up to Pöstlingberg using the Pöstlingbergbahn or tram. It starts in the Hauptplatz and stops several times along the way to service local residents and students, since there are a few university stops along the way.

The view of Linz once you reach the top is truly worth the time and effort.

Wallfahrts Basilica

On the top of Pöstlingberg sits the Wallfahrts Basilica of the Sieben Schmerzen Mariae, or the Seven Pains of Mary. It has a commanding view of Linz and the surrounding areas.

The basilica inside is quite impressive and is also known as the Pöstlingberg Pilgrimage Church.

It also has a very nice park adjacent to it where you can leisurely stroll while the cool air up there offers a breeze on warm days.

Grottenbahn

There is also the Grottenbahn for those that have children or are young at heart. Apparently, it is a miniature railway inside that takes young people fantasy ride where there are gnomes and other fairytale characters, most likely with an emphasis on European tales.

Though we did not take the adventure, we found the cost for one adult to be around 6€/person.

Restaurants

Since we were both feeling a bit under the weather, due to an unusual virus we had both caught; we decided to eat in at the hotel most evenings. Below are the exceptions to that rule and are special places to eat while in Linz.

Jindrak Konditorei

Located throughout Linz are copies of this original konditorei located on Herrenstraße in the altstadt. They are known for the amazing Linzer Torte and other baked delicacies. For any serious dessert lover and a must Kaffee und Kucken stop in mid afternoon when in Linz.

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Bad Gastein, Austria – Stubnerkogel Heights

Early in the morning from our balcony the weather looked most promising, regardless of what our weather forecasting tools were trying to tell us. It appeared we had finally came into some good weather on this trip after all. When we started it, it didn’t look as promising…

Bad Gastein

Flanking Bad Gastein on either side are some fairly tall mountains, which may be ascended using a gondola ski lift. During the summer months, weekend trekkers from all over come for a breath of healthy air and what appears to be a heightened exercise regime.

The cost for a day trip is 33€/person at the window, though I do believe you can save a few Euros, if you purchase your tickets online.

 

Stubnerkogel

The cable car ride is straightforward, as any skier will tell you. Fortunately, during this time of year it is not very busy, so you will usually get a car all by yourself.

The ascent is rather quick, considering the distance up the mountain. The first part is rather steep and there is a midway station, so stay on, if you want to go directly to the top.

The Stubnerkogel is part of the Goldberg Group or mountain range and sits on one side of the Gastein Valley, while the Ankogel Group sits on the other side.

The Summit

On the summit the views are spectacular. The air is bracing and it is typically a bit windy up there, so bring something extra to wear. Even with the sun, we were taking things off and putting them back on, depending on whether we were walking, sitting in the shade, or sunning ourselves on the restaurant veranda enjoying a drink.

I won’t bore you too much with details, just watch the following slideshow to enjoy our experience. It was most walking around and just enjoying the fresh air and surrounding views.

Conclusion

Though we enjoyed the area, we were frankly a bit disappointed with the lack of town amenities. There appears to be a lack of restaurants, and those that do exist, seem to offer the same fare at a similar price. So looking for something different to experience will be a bit of a culinary adventure.

I have already mentioned that the town’s central thermal spa has been closed, so that is itself a big negative. However, the trails and sights are great and there are plenty of places to visit and stay busy. I am not sure I would recommend deviating your plans to stop here, but if you are headed to or from Salzburg and through Villach, Austria on your train route, you may want to stop for a day or two. I would not commend more than four days, you will run out of food options by that time.

Salzburger Hof

For us, the Salzburger Hof hotel appeared to be a good choice, we had an excellent room and the service was first rate. Though they did miss our need for extra coffee dairy and other supplies, the room was kept extremely neat and we always had plenty of towels and other accessories.

Tomorrow it is off to Linz, Austria via Salzburg. There we will spend a few days and eventually meet up with our daughter and son-in-law, Ericka and Gabi. So the next week or so will be a busy travel week for us.

Until next time, Tschüß aus Bad Gastein!

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Bad Gastein, Austria – Böckstein Hike

Yesterday, since the weather was definitely improving, we decided to take a walk or hike to Böckstein, another town along the river that feeds the majestic Gasteiner Falls.

To get there you can hike the Kaiserin Elisabethe Promenade, which is for the most part paved and relatively flat. It is probably important to remember to bring water, since there is not much wind in the valley and the sun can make it quite hot without any shade or clouds to protect you.

Böckstein

Located a bit more than three kilometers south of Bad Gastein is Böckstein, a small hamlet of houses at the nexus of the Pallner Bach and the Naßfelder Ache.

The town center has some historical buildings and items of interest, and of course a museum that was not open. Check the times, because like many other businesses in the area, they are probably only open from 15:00 – 18:00. However, if you do get to visit, definitely stop, I heard the museum is quite interesting and well presented.

Within the park there is an old mining train on display. The Elektrische Grubenlokomotive, or electric mining train, is part of the Montanmuseum of Böckstein and a very interesting find for train enthusiasts.

Restaurants

The unfortunate thing about Bad Gastein is the lack of restaurants. There are about a handful of them that are owned by the same entity that owns our hotel, therefore the menu in each becomes rather predictable. Our hotel does have the Ritz restaurant, however it only offers a five-course meal at a fix priced. Which is in and off itself okay, but the quantity of food sometimes is just too much.

Angelo Pizzeria

Located on Karl-Heinrich-Waggerl-Straße, Angelo Pizzeria is actually part of the group that owns the Salzburger Hof hotel. It is usually open from 15:00 to 20:00 and has fairly good pizza. The soup was actually quite good, I had their tomato soup with creme fraiche and it was very tasty.

Their mixed salad is a typical German gemischter Salat, where everything is actually not mixed, but placed next to each other. So all of the grated carrots, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes line the bowl. Moreover, on the bottom of your mixed greens, you will find a surprise of traditional coleslaw or chopped cabbage, beans, sliced beets and German potato salad styled potatoes.

Wirtshaus Jägerhäusl

This restaurant does not belong to the chain mentioned above and offers a happy alternative to the same menu. The decor is appealing and it is also in a quiet area, away from the Silver Bullet Bar that plays loud music.

Here you can actually find a Minestrone soup and other dishes that are well prepared and taste great. We both ordered the soup, I ordered the chicken sandwich and Patti ordered the chicken schnitzel. With a bottle of water it all came to 57€, which we found reasonable for the area.

Today it’s off to the top of the Stubnerkogel and a day on the mountain.

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Bad Gastein, Austria – Gasteiner Falls

We left Turin early in the morning on the 5:50AM train, in order to catch the FrecciaRossa from Turin to Milan. Of course, due to the early hour, we used the Wetaxi Application and ordered a taxi for 12€ to take us to Porta Nuovo, the main train station in this part of the city.

Our connecting FrecciaRossa, took us from Milan to Venice Maestre, where we picked up our Austrian ÖBB train to Villach, Austria. Luckily, all of our connections, and there were four, worked without issue.

An hour train north of Villach, Austria you can find the small health spa town of Bad Gastein. Though a shadow of its former self, when dignitaries and other luminaries used to visit for its waters and mountain air, it is still worth a visit, if not only for the aforementioned reasons.

Bad Gastein

The town runs at a slower pace than other mountains towns we have visited. Perhaps it is more difficult to capture tourist monies with a waterfall and health resort as the primary attractions, as opposed to say a very large mountain or a large ski resort complex.

There are parts of the town center that appear to be in eternal repair. Though there is work going on here and there, it does not appear to have progressed much in the last few years. The thermal water fountain building and the old Kurhotel of Austria appear permanently closed. Unfortunately, there are no signs posted explaining the reason, so we were just left to ponder what might have happened.

Hotels

Hotel Salzburger Hof

We stayed at the Salzburger Hof, a very large hotel close to the train station with all the amenities. It appears to be one of the better kept establishments in Bad Gastein, with two pools, three restaurants and a health spa. Apparently host to Count von Bismark and other dignitaries, including many American personalities.

The rooms are very spacious and well appointed. The hotel seems proud of its tradition of important guests, there are photographs of everyone who has visited hung throughout the hotel and in the rooms.

Gasteiner Falls

The main attraction in the center of town now are the falls. The great Gasteiner Waterfalls are indeed impressive, especially after the storm that has just passed through this region of Europe. Since a video is worth a thousand words, here are a few.

It is easy enough to get a glimpse of the waterfalls by walking the main road through town and stopping at the bridge.

After taking in their beauty from the bridge, there are also other vantage points from which the falls may be enjoyed. But, that requires a bit of climbing and some hiking, all of which can be done with modern sneakers, not equipment necessary.

There is a section above the falls where they were purposely redirected some years ago by a dam that was built by a member of the clergy. This forces all the current water down a single corridor within the rocks.

Hiking Trails

There are numerous trails for walking, hiking and biking around town. For our first day our we chose the one that visited the Upper Gastein Falls and then descended towards lower Bad Gastein.

Restaurants

La Pizzeria Napoletana

A very small Italian pizzeria stuck in the back of a another building right next to the Gasteiner Falls is the La Pizzeria Napoletana.

Their tomato and mozzarella pizza is thin and very tasty. This restaurant has a minimal menu of pizza, beer, soft drinks and some wine, there is little else to choose from if you are really hungry.

The pizza is authentic, right down to its crust. The prices are very reasonable and emblematic of what you would expect in a small town or city in Italy.

Orania Stueberl Restaurant

A restaurant that is almost always open, it is a good go-to place when you have few if any options. The food is good, but rather predictable, but that could be said for the rest of the cuisine in this small town.

The interior is adorned with numerous sacrificial animals that were ostensibly killed locally and now inhabit this restaurant’s walls. I guess I never understood if this practice was supposed to be in honor of the animal that was killed, or in spite of it. In any case, it appears a bit overdone.