My travel experiences are heavily influenced by food, my enjoyment of a city is inextricably linked to the meals I eat, the cafes I visit, and the countless cups of judgmental coffee I drink (unfortunately there is no other way to drink this beverage as a Melbournian). As a vegetarian, this quality can be somewhat problematic – particularly in countries where the concept of not eating meat is not as culturally ingrained.
So how did I fare on my recent two week jaunt around Germany and Austria, a region best known for its proliferation of meat in various shapes in sizes? I think to answer this question most fairly, I have to break it down in two parts:
1) On a local food front I did not have the best food experiences – traditional meals are quite bland (let’s just say the spice route could have helped out by extending a tad north… I’m looking at you 16th century traders), and the vegetarian options while always available were not remarkable. The cakes and sweet treats, however were freaking delightful, I’ll give them that.
2) Thanks to globalisation we did find some delicious meals that were non- local, and also found hipster cafes that were Melbourne-esque enough to make our Australian hearts feel warm and fuzzy.
Anyway for the sake of posterity, here is a highlights reel of the cafes, restaurants and bars that were visited in the German/Austrian winter tour of 2015.
Vegofoodie 