This is the second in a series of stories from our recent trip to Germany and Austria. You can read part one here.
When I was about ten years old, my parents took me and my brother to a tiny German restaurant which had a sign on the wall: “This place can seat 250 people — twelve at a time.”
I remember it for that and because I saw a word on the menu I’d never seen before: “spaetzle.” I asked my father what it was and he answered, “Trust me, you’ll like it.” I trusted him, and that faith in my father paid off when the waitress brought me the German equivalent of macaroni and cheese. It was delicious.
I thought of that moment on our recent trip to Germany and Austria, during which we visited five cities: Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. In one of them — I can’t remember which — I saw that “spaetzle” on the menu again, ordered it, and discovered it’s still just as delicious.
I can’t say the same for much of the other local cuisine we consumed, except for grilled bratwurst, of which each city has its own variation. The same goes for schnitzel of all kinds — veal, chicken, or pork that’s flattened, breaded, and pan-fried. I tried it several times and, honestly, couldn’t have identified the meat inside because it was all gray and bland.
On the other hand, we had some delicious pastries from numerous bakeries and wonderful meals at the Italian restaurants that are plentiful in both countries — as are gelato shops. And to complete our Eating The Axis program, we even had Japanese food one night.
As we’ve experienced elsewhere in Europe, the public transportation was reliable and efficient in all five cities — and on the intercity routes, too. We had originally planned on renting a car to get around, but I’m glad we didn’t, since the subways, busses, and trams were cheap and easy to use (hat tip to Google Maps, which is connected to the transit APIs to give not only directions, but details on arrival and travel times). And while tickets are technically required, there are no turnstiles or personnel making sure every rider has one (we did, but nobody ever checked).
When it comes to automobiles, Germans and Austrians drive almost exclusively small cars, which isn’t a surprise when gas costs almost $7/gallon. But I was surprised to see that on many streets, they are parked perpendicular to the curbs. I’m used to seeing that in parking lots, but not on busy city streets.
I’ll share more stories from our trip tomorrow.