Hot, hot Austria!

Austria was literally HOT! Some of the highest temperatures were in the 40s (felt like back in KL!) while most days were in the high 30s. Some commented that since I’m from tropical country Malaysia, such temperatures don’t matter but they forget that most Malaysians (and Sporeans, and Indonesians, and Filipinos, etc, etc…) spend their time indoor, inside highly air-conditioned buildings to hide from the heat. Unless really necessary, we hardly go out under the sun – hence why we’re usually bewildered by foreigners who sun-tanned at the beach. To us, that’s like the easiest way to get skin cancer! LOL …

Ok, back to Austria.

We were in Austria for a glorious 14 days in summer in August (yes, yes, I know, it’s last year’s summer; I blame it on procrastination *wink). I can sum up Austria in three words: What glorious food!

Reason being, Austria has fried chicken (with skin on!), plus we were very fortunate to have local hosts in Graz and Vienna who brought us to some local delights. So here is an illustration of our itinerary:

4D/3N: Salzburg

4D/3N: Innsbruck — IMPORTANT: Get the Innsbruck package that includes Innsbruck card, plus discounts to hotels and free entrances to main attractions

4D/3N: Graz

4D/3N: Vienna

Salzburg

“The hills are alive with the sound of music…” Ahh, who haven’t seen The Sound of Music? I was excited of the idea of seeing Salzburg cos I am a fan of the movie (watched it a dozen times, maybe more…) but I must say, Salzburg didn’t turn out to be the highlight of the trip. Perhaps it’s the rain and the gloomy weather – the only days we had sun and blue skies were the day we arrived and the day we left (irony!), or perhaps I just had too much expectations. Having said that, Salzburg was pretty and cosy and the ol’ town is magnificent. I could walk over and over in the ol’ town and not be bored. Literally.

It was the Salzburg Festival 2013 during our visit and we took the opportunity to watch an opera (our first time!). The opera was about Falstaff, a character in Shakespeare plays. We bought the tickets online months earlier and Blue Eyes checked the dress code for the evening and we thought we were all set. Until we arrived at the Haus fur Mozart theatre. What we didn’t know was the day we chose happened to be the opening night, when the audiences were dressed to the nines. No kidding. Tuxedos, suits, evening gowns, plus numerous camera crews cos’ there were some public figures and celebrities at the event. So we felt totally under dressed. But the opera was entertaining and we had good laughs.

Besides the movie, Salzburg is also famous for being the city where Mozart was born. Everywhere we go, there’s mozartkugel (mozart balls), mozart chocolate bars and mozart museums. We visited one of the museums, the family home where the talented musician was born and grew up in. There were some interesting stories; for me, I was impressed by the way Mozart’s parents dedicated themselves to grooming his talent.

We also went hiking to one of the mountains and watched a beautiful sunset. Food wise, we tried the Sachertorte, one of the most famous cakes in the world. Erm, maybe not my cuppa tea. We also had the wiener schnitzel, which is basically a piece of fried breaded veal. Erm, again not my cuppa tea.

Innsbruck

 We rented a car from Salzburg and decided to take a detour on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road before driving to Innsbruck. Note: Must allocate extra time for this as there are many gorgeous pit stops to make, plus a coffee breat at Berggasthof “Edelweiß-Hütte”, which stands at over 2,000 metres above sea level.

By the time we arrived to Innsbruck and checked in, we were dead tired. Unfortunately, the hotel where we were staying was rather secluded and out of the way from the ol’ town and city centre so options for food were limited. We ended up having a late dinner at the hotel’s restaurant but service was slow and food was just so-so.

The highlight of Innsbruck for us was the hiking trip we made (it’s free thanks to our 72-hour Innsbruck Card). Our hiking group comprised of an experienced guide, Hesse and two friendly Aussies Susie and Lynn, who in their 60s were on a 5-week hiking tour in Europe – WOW!!! Man, when I reach my 60s, I wanna be hiking mountains in Europe too! 😉 Their stamina put me to shame *sheepish grin* but I thoroughly enjoyed their company, as well as our knowledgeable guide, who happened to be a Swiss now living in Austria for the past 16 years.

Innsbruck, btw, is a gorgeous city surrounded by the Alps. In wintertime, it’s a popular skiing place – every year it plays host to the international ski jumping competition; it also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976. It’s in Innsbruck that I had my first Austrian iced coffee and boy, what a treat! It came with whipped cream plus a choc waffle roll topped with an umbrella.

Graz

When I was planning for the trip earlier, I read about Graz and its reputation as the culinary city of Austria. Now being Malaysian, and generally every Malaysian loves food, I have to visit a food city like Graz. And coincidentally, Blue Eyes met Hans during one of his boys’ club meeting just 3 weeks before our trip and Hans happened to be from Graz. He graciously offered to host us and we delightedly accepted – the best trip is usually with a local host 🙂

And boy, Graz was so much fun! And oh, such scrumptious meals! I’m still salivating from thinking about the fried chicken I had at the cafe outside of Eggenberg Palace.

We also had the privilege of joining Hans and his family for dinner at Steinberghof Weingut Firmenich, which the view of the Styrian farming landscape before us. The meal was quite a journey as it highlighted all the fresh produces of Styrian that are in season, plus lovely wine. One of the best and most memorable meals in Austria, not just for the food but the great company too. We had good laughs and exchanged stories, and all the worries of life seemed so far away.

Vienna

While in Graz, we met another Roundtable member, Victor who was also in Hml with Hans 3 weeks before. When he found out that we’re heading to Vienna next, he contacted Florian, who’s also a member of the same club based in the capital city, and asked if he’s free to meet us. So that’s how we met Florian and Karin, who gave us great tips of walking around the city as well as brought us to some awesome sights in Vienna.

Vienna is huge and there are many magnificent and huge historical buildings spread out in the city. The old town itself is impressive and full of tourists. Most of the expensive brands lined the shops in the old town. There are many cafes to choose from for the famous Viennese coffee. Florian and Karin brought us to Cafe Landtmann, and I had the prettiest dessert ever. Ahh, and such lovely coffee!

One of the best meals was at the beer garden at Schweizerhaus – read Tripadvisor’s reviews here. We had crunchy fried pork knuckles (I love pork btw!) served with sauerkraut, which is my favourite. So yums!

On Sunday, our last full day before departure, we took a drive to Wachau Valley thanks to Florian’s recommendation. The drive was beautiful with gorgeous mountains and fresh green fields. Note: Most shops are closed on Sunday so it’s best to be out of the city.

Bratislava

Vienna is neighbour to several other European capitals. We decided to take a day trip to Bratislava by boat, which is about an hour ride. While we’ve read about many beautiful rides on the Danube river, ours wasn’t that memorable. The view of the riverbanks wasn’t interesting and we soon dozed off and slept through for most part of the trip.

Bratislava’s old town is easily accessible by foot from the port. It’s also not a big place so spending half the day there was just nice to explore the old town and have a nice lunch at one of the many cafes/restaurants. We went to Prasna Basta after reading some good reviews and the restaurant stood up to its reputation. Blue Eyes and I shared a plate of potato zucchini pancake stuffed with beef with a chili-based sauce cos’ we weren’t that hungry and the portion that came was huge.

Prices in Bratislava were cheap compared to Austria. For a shared meal, we paid about 15.80 euros including drinks. Bratislava however, has a tipping culture – about 10%.

Here’s an overview of our expenses for 2 pax for the trip – prices accurate at the time of spending.

Accommodations (9 nights at 3 locations): 812.10 euros

Car rental (12 days): 410 euros

Petrol & parking: 185.74 euros

F&B: 647.84 euros

Austria has been a beautiful place to explore. Love the mountains and scenery. Love the food and coffee. And best of all, we made some really great friends, whose friendships I hope will last a lifetime. Thank you for a splendid summer!