Brussels - Munich - Salzburg

So, I am all over the map with this blog.  Literally and figuratively.  I’ve only written about 3 out of the 15+ trips I’ve taken this year; food stuff & adventures from my past outnumber the things I am currently doing.  I’m making a shift - time to discuss 2010-2011 travels before the year is over!  

all over the iPhoto map

Recently I headed to Brussels, Munich, and Salzburg to see friends, explore the cities, and drink delicious beer.  Brussels is a small city, and like it, this will be short and sweet.  Belgium is known for a few things: Chocolate, Beer, Frites, & Wafffles.  Oh, also hosting the HQ of the European Union, and NATO - no big deal.  

Belgian chocolate is creamy and decadent and i’ve been devouring my stash since I got back.  The waffles were good, but honestly, you can get a good belgian waffle anywhere in the world.  Now the hard things to replicate: the fries & the beer.  There’s something about fries served in a paper cone you hold in your hand and eat with a toothpick fork that can not be copied elsewhere.  Best toppings on the frites were mayo & yellow curry - together - and it was absolutely delicious (and probably 1000 calories).  If you’re disgusted by this - go to a different restaurant.  

On to the beer.  As good as Blue Moon is here in the states, no matter how many times they say its a Belgian style white beer, its just not the same.  I spent some time in the Delirium Cafe in Brussels with my friend Brittany.  This place holds the Guinness world record for most beers on a menu with over 2,500!! Favorite beers out of the few (dozen) I tried: Gulden Draak, Hoegaarden Grand Cru, and St. Bernardus ABT12.  Wanna know more? http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/155

Quick flight down to Munich to meet up with my friend Svenja and we were off to explore the city & take it all in.  Englischer Garten (you can SURF in part of the river - how cool is that!), Marienplatz, Olympic Village, BMW welt museum und werk, Oktoberfest... oh, wait, I had to leave the day before it began =( 

Regardless, I explored the wheat based beverage scene of Munich as well - Belgian witbier and Bavarian hefeweissbier are my two favorite types, so I was really in all my glory for this trip.  Franziskaner & Paulaner stand out as frontrunners for me - though they are widely distributed, even the local or craft brews don’t compare in my opinion.  

The Olympic Village was something I didn’t get to see the first time I was in Munich, so I’m glad I made it there this time - still intact from the 1972 Olympic games, the architecture of the olympic housing now turned student housing is so interesting.  As a blank canvas to the students who live there, see the photos of what they turn their residence into!

We also took a day drive down to Salzburg, Austria.  What a great little city to just walk around and take in the sights.  A quick climb up to the top of the hill reveals a city scape with a river separating the old & the new.  And our drive home to Munich included a lakeside, sunset dining experience offering me the two dishes I wanted most while there: Schnitzel and Spätzle.  Veal cutlet breaded and pan fried in butter with a side of egg and flour noodles pressed through a colander into boiling water to achieve the mini-dumpling or “little sparrow” (the exact translation of spätzle) look.  Polished off with a delicious wheat beer, happy and full, we completed the trip back to Munich.  

Flights on this trip: JFK-BRU-MUC-FRA-JFK