Monday, December 19, 2016

Salzburg food




Had our list to try Fürst chocolates, Nockerl, and have a coffee where famous people have coffee :)

No visit is complete without going to the Sacher hotel for the world famous torte.

In 1832, Prince Wenzel von Metternich charged his personal chef with creating a special dessert for several important guests. The head chef, having taken ill, let the task fall to his sixteen-year-old apprentice, Franz Sacher. The Prince told the young apprentice "Do not embarrass me tonight" Lucky for him the guest were very pleased with his torte 

They now make 300,000 tortes a year and ship them all over the world
How could I not go and try this torte 



We had lunch at Mozart cafe








Kid friendly food! Weiner and fries


In 1890 Salzburg confectioner PAUL FÜRST created the “Original Salzburger Mozartkugel”, known today around the world. The great-grandson still runs the shops.



our goodie bags with some florentines





With a praline and marzipan centre surrounded by dark chocolate and wrapped in silver foil boasting the portrait of the city’s favourite son, these are the real deal and no other shop makes them as delicious as Fürst.


There are several Fürst shops around town and they all ooze the Austrian coffee culture that cement the Salzburg social life


this was a coffee shop but it was too crowded, we didnt go in

you are greeted as you enter by a long glass serving cabinet full of little handmade 
treasure-like chocolate truffles

This was just a chocolate shop, some are coffee shops

Im not a marzipan lover but these were an exception


if they dont have the silver and blue foil then they are not the original

you want to buy these then figure out who to give them to later




the Salzburger Mozartkugels, or the Mozart Balls (no jokes please).




chocolate ones, nut ones, you imagine it they have it


They love their pretzels


they had samples of this chocolate one and they were pretty good a bit like a 

croissant not like a pretzel

pretzel sandwiches


for the teenagers 



this was a water mill attached to a bakery











we had a warm brioche, it was so cold outside this was the perfect treat.


The Sacher Torte served at the Luxury hotel Sacher built in 1866 located on the banks of the Salzach river. Julie Andrews stayed here while filming the "Sound of Music"

Tatiana got a text from her school friend that she was also in Salzburg so she met up with her at the market while Michael and I had a torte and coffee

they are so beautifully packaged, there are rules on how they must be packaged to be labeled original



Sacher's eldest son Eduard carried on his father's culinary legacy, completing his own training in Vienna with the Royal and Imperial Pastry Chef at the Demel bakery and chocolatier, during which time he perfected his father's recipe and developed the torte into its current form.







I bought some coffee




you can have cute bite sizes 








A legal battle over the use of the label "The Original Sacher Torte" developed between the Hotel Sacher and the Demel bakery. Eduard Sacher completed his recipe for Sacher Torte while working at Demel then went on to open his hotel and served his torte there. The battle went on till 1963 when they agreed that the Hotel could have the "Original Sacher seal"


I looked around and we were surrounded by tourist all ordering the torte, they all took out their cell phones snapped tons of pics and selfies. It kind of messed up the ambiance, I was hoping for it to feel more genuine, even though I was also pulling out my phone, I was hoping to be surrounded by locals and feel like Im one of them. Expectation vs Reality

here we go


its a layered chocolate cake, with apricot jam in between layers then a chocolate ganache is poured over to seal the moisture and have jam spread through layers, topped with the original seal.

served with non sweetened whip cream 


my verdict..I was very disappointed, the apricot jam was too sweet and the cake was dry, even the chocolate coating was dry, you can see how flaky it was:(
how cute are the uniforms
this is Cafe Tomaselli where Mozart had coffee every morning, now full 
of tourist having coffee Est. 1700



For dinner we went to a 14th century old house turned into a restaurant. With rustic wooden furniture, antique weapons and open fireplaces it still feels more like a friends home. Tables set with white linen in wonderful nooks and crannies reached by odd staircases give it an old world feel.



deboning fish






beef stroganoff


schnitzel



Im elefant restaurant is suppose to make the original Nockerl

We walked in and ordered the Nockerl, we didnt know it would be an hour wait for them to make it. No one else was in the restaurant besides this lady who also ordered one with a coffee. When it arrived she took some photos, took one bite, paid and left.





Is a sweet soufflé served as a dessert, created in the 1700. Three forms represent surrounding mountains and sugar represents snow. 


It has frozen raspberries on the bottom which I didnt care for. Otherwise 

its just a meringue, Ok had to try.


After an hour waiting, it was 15 euros for the Nockerl! Holy cow!




Our final night we had dinner in the oldest restaurant in Europe established in 803!


entrance to a courtyard


they had a band playing


people hanging around drinking




The entrance





it was all beautifully decorated for Christmas



We were told it was pricey but had to experience 








current owners on back of menu


















Great way to end our visit

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Hohensalzburg fortress




Salzburg's most famous landmark
Built in 1077. It is the largest completely preserved castle in central Europe.
If you like hiking you can hike up a trail or you can take the funicular.
The whole place has been restored and modernised since the last time I was there, they even have a multimedia Magic Theatre and ultra-modern media stations.
For anyone visiting we bought the Salzburg card which gives you free access to all museums, busses, trams and discounts at all tourist shops. Read the fine print because if you dont arrive at the castle before 11:00 you have to pay.

the funicular or you can do the steep hike
it was snowing

The tour guide kept saying on your right you can see the river and the peak of the
church on your left... we couldnt see anything.






the entrance you can see the cannons lined up on right

creative way to display armor

plate art
a chastity belt

a humiliation mask, they would make you wear this in the town center as punishment

the kitchen, the hole on left is where you threw out the water
the magic theater which was really cool how things would pop up as the story of the castle was being told on screen.
the stately rooms where the prince lived

he wanted to ceiling to look like stars in the sky

royal potty







beyond the door was his private library which isnt open to the public

the princes logo was a turnip

Monday, November 14, 2016

Lisbon

Michael had a meeting in Lisbon, I took the opportunity to see my friend Paula 
and do a bit of sight-seeing.




took the train to Cascais









dinner at this cool restaurant