I ate eggs and chocolate cake for breakfast. No, not mixed together. I went to Cafe Sacher and immediately knew I’d be overpaying for food from the look of the decor. Chandeliers, grandma’s wallpaper and marble tables.
There was some information on the table bragging about their famous chocolate cake. A secret 188 year old Viennese recipe. I thought it might be trickery, but I’ve also bought into the fame of Cafe Du Monde’s beignets. That’s because they’re delicious.
After finishing my overpriced ham and eggs, I ordered a piece of cake. It came with a mound of whip cream nearly as big as the cake. It was probably not the best breakfast choice, but it was delicious.
I headed to the tour pick-up to wait for the bus. There was a huge market set up across the street. Huge stands selling dried meats and bread. I’ve seen this a lot in Europe and would love to see it back home. Unfortunately we don’t have the weather to support it.
My tour group was the smallest I’ve ever seen. It consisted of an Indonesian couple, a French guy with his Lebanese girlfriend and then there was me. I usually befriend another solo traveler on tours, but chances were looking slim on this one. The tour guide was Walter Gruber. I resisted the urge to ask him about Hans Gruber.
The tour guide told us how the Doppler Effect is different in Salzburg. On one side of the river it comes from drinking 2 liters of beer. He also mentioned buying beer at McDonald’s, but there’s no way I’m eating there.
Once we arrived in Berchtesgaden, we only had 45 minutes to explore. Instead of going to a cafe or restaurant, I walked outside the city and hiked up a half mile of steep 45 degree paths to get a view of there city from above. On the way I saw some artists carving a snow/ice sculpture. Check out the video here.
We went to the Salt Mines next. This required us to wear these jump suits. I don’t have any photos of the tour because it was against the rules. First, we rode a tiny train down narrow tunnels. Then we walked through the mines and learned about the history. We followed that up by going down two slides. The Indonesian couple from my group invited me to go down the slide with them both times. I accepted because where’s the fun in going alone?
After we arrived back in Salzburg, I decided to give BioBurgerMeister another shot. It was well after lunch rush anyways. I was able to get a seat and anticipated this high rated burger. Unfortunately, it was just as disappointing as if I had gone to the McDonalds that serves beer. You can read my more detailed review on Google Maps.
I had already seen most of the sights and didn’t want to spoil my plans for Friday so I just started roaming the city and looking at the shops. Most shops seemed to carry high end clothes so I didn’t buy anything. I can already tell I’m getting better about not overspending on my trips. To reward myself for that, I spent some money on my first drone. It will help me take better footage in my travels.
This evening I decided to eat my favorite cuisine, Japanese food. Before you judge me, there’s only so much sausage a guy can take. Not a double entendre.
This restaurant called Nagano had high ratings so I thought I would go. It was supposed to be a Japanese restaurant, but the food consisted of dishes named by fusing Korean and Japanese words together. This was odd considering the workers were Chinese. That’s nothing new to me though.
The gyoza was done perfectly. It was crisp, hot and delicious. The Gyuniku Udon (noodles and beef) was deceiving on the menu. The broth, beef and noodles all tasted good, but the bowl was comprised of more than 50% vegetables. There was barely any beef or noodles.
My only discrepancy was with the service. It seemed like, if you didn’t speak Chinese, they forgot about you and ignored you for the good duration of your visit. I asked the guy who brought me my gyoza for another beer, but it never came so I had to ask someone else.
I always feel bad about tipping poorly, so of course I overtipped like usual. This must have made their day because instead of giving me just a fortune cookie like everyone else, they gave me mochi and a fortune cookie. This made it difficult to rate the restaurant.
On the way back to the hotel I caved and walked into a souvenir shop. This was the first time I wanted to do a cheesy tourist thing.
There was a store that sold locks with free engraving. You can buy them and attach them to the the love lock bridge. You’re supposed to put something like “Archie + Veronica 4ever.”
I decided to put eatingwhiskey.com on mine. The shopkeeper was supposed to carve it in all caps, but he messed up. He started over on a new lock with no charge to me. He even went back and finished the first lock in sentence case and gave it to me. I ended up tipping him for the dedicated work.
I went to the bridge and placed both locks in separate places. Maybe I’ll come back one year and move them. I ended up eating more Uncle Van’s before going back to the hotel. It’s probably my favorite place in the city. Maybe tied with eggs and chocolate cake.