I embarked on a small excursion yesterday. Destination- Krems, a small town nestled in the Austrian mountains. I immediately felt relieved when walking along the cobbled streets, since as most people know, I am definitely not a city person. Place me in a quiet country-side setting any time. Krems was, then, a perfect destination.
The churches are to die for. I kept randomly discovering one
after the other, from Baroque to Gothic. Some were tidy white churches with minimalist charm, others were grandiose heavily gilded golden ones. My favourite: a large church with a gorgeous organ, and eerily realistic wooden statues of Christ.
Carnivores are made for Austria. Or Austria is made for carnivores. Either way, as a vegetarian, I have to laugh when I read menus. Pigs' feet, stuffed veal, roasted Taffelspitz (a local delicacy... Austrians love meat. At the supermarket, I asked an employee if they sold fish. Cocking an eyebrow, she took me past a splendid meat counter and pointed at two packets of frozen fish. "That's it?" I asked, trying to keep the dissapointment from my voice. She nodded energetically. Ah, the joys of being vegetarian.
Apart from meat, what do Austrians eat? One of my favourite dishes is Spinatnockerl, a dish of spinach dumplings in cream sauce. Sounds heavy? Absolutely. Other classics are strudel, which also come in the salty variety, either spinach, ham or asparagus strudel, again in cream sauce. I suppose the heavy dishes explain why Austrians are stereotyped as heavy, robust, good-natured, bon vivants. Yesterday, a holiday, the residents of Krems walked about in their Trachten, the traditional Austrian dress for women and Lederhosen for men (molto sexy... not) and enjoyed beer at terraced cafes. I love them.
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