Cafe Zambezi: When You Want To Eat Caterpillars In Zambia

Livingstone, Zambia is a walkable town with a number of restaurants that seem tourist-friendly.  On our first night, we ended up walking just down the street from our hotel to Cafe Zambezi, an Africa/Caribbean restaurant located in a strip mall!  Odd mix!

While its in a strip mall, the restaurant is quite large.  The front is all enclosed like a normal pub, but the back opens up to include outdoor seating!  The crowd was a mix of locals and tourists, both international and African, and one could certainly meet fellow travelers here.  All of the staff spoke English and were quite accommodating!

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Mendoza Part 1: An Introduction

Dan and I visited Mendoza in November on our trip to Argentina! I liked everything about Mendoza, and recommended it as a short getaway to anyone in northern or western Argentina or northern Chile.

Mendoza is in Western Argentina in the Cuyo desert region, and it is the capital of the Mendoza province.  The city is a popular spot for wine production and tourism. While best known for wine, Mendoza has a number of adventures for the outdoorsy. Its near the Andes mountain range, including Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia. There are opportunities to hike, fly fish, partake in extreme sports, etc.  But, we didn’t come to Mendoza to be extreme, we came to drink wine, and drink wine we did! Continue reading →

A Weekend in Salzburg, Austria – September 2014

The last stop of Eurotrip2014 was Salzburg, Austria! Salzburg has long been on my travel wish list, and I was very happy to travel here!

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We rented an apartment in Apartment City, which was a great location just off the Getreidegasse, between the Altstadt and the University area.  Gorgeous views from the apartment!  In addition to the views, there was a beautiful old church that turned into what appeared to be a drug-fuled, underage rave on Friday…luckily it stopped at midnight, and went right back to a church on Sunday morning!  #clubchurch

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We arrived on a Friday night, and our first stop was Augustiner Bräu Mülln – also long on my wish list!  Augustiner Bräu is a brewery and beer hall, serving delicious, delicious beer and housing a variety of stalls selling food.

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On our first full day, we toured all of Salzburg’s best sites, including the Mirabell Palace Gardens, Mozart Square and residences, the Salzburg Cathedral and the Festung Hohensalzburg.

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We also stopped for coffee, breakfast and the famous Sacher Torte at Cafe Sacher.  The cake was decadent!  Bucketlist  – check!

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After hitting the “must see” list, it was finally time for shopping on the Getreidegasse!  The Getreidegasse is a pedestrian-only shopping street abounding with international chain stores, restaurants and tourist shops selling Mozart balls and countless other Mozart paraphernalia. In addition, to shopping, Getreidegasses is quite picturesque, as all of the stores, including the McDonalds, have metal signs displaying a picture of their wares, harking back to the time when the masses were illerate.  The street was so picturesque, I returned early Sunday morning to take pictures without the crowds.

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My favorite shop on Getreidegasse was a small shop called Spirtuosen Sporer.  Sporer is a family-owned liquer store, selling countless varieties of flavored brandy and schnapps – from pine to edelweiss to blackberry – since 1903.  We tried a variety of samples and all bought bottles to take home.  Plan accordingly, Sporer is closed on Sunday and closes at 5 on Saturday.

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Later that evening, we dined at a delicious restaurant – Bärenwirt.  his may have been the best schnitzel I had on the trip (close with my Hallstatt schnitzel), and this was certainly our best meal in Salzburg.  Our waitress spoke perfect English and was extremely friendly.  The mean ended with a complementary bowl of gummy bears!

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Our final day (SAD), began with a stroll down an empty Getreidegasse for pictures and then a visit to the famous Cafe Tomaselli for some truly delicious coffee!

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After, we set out for what was one of the most fun events of the trip!  We walked about 30 minutes to the Stiegl-Brauwelt, or the Stiegl brewery, for a brewery tour!  This is truly a great brewery tour and it is one of the best I have ever taken.  The brewery also has a restaurant, beer garden and a fabulous giftshop!

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We ended the trip on a touristy note by a Mozart dinner concert at the Restaurant St. Peter Stiftskeller.  The performance was very good and the location was gorgeous.  A good way to end the trip!

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I was very sad to leave, but we had a great time in Salzburg!

Cafe Sacher

We stopped for coffee, breakfast and dessert at the famous Cafe Sacher after visiting the Mirabell Palace Gardens. The cafe is very close to the Gardens and Mozart’s birthplace and makes for a great break before or after.

We walked right in and took a seat. Despite its fancy exterior, you can wear whatever you want to the cafe. Plenty of tourists stroll in wearing something terrible. To my surprise, Cafe Sacher has a full menu (breakfast, lunch, dinner, cocktails).

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We opted for breakfast, coffee and dessert!  Dan definitely ordered best!  He choose eggs with truffled ham.  SO DELICIOUS!!!!  I opted for the vegetarian baguette, which was just mediocre.  I guess that is what I get for ordering vegetarian.  The coffee was great – I had the cappuccino with a side of their liqueur.  After, we all had the famous Sacher Torte!  The cake was so decadent, rich chocolate with an apricot jam in the middle, topped with whipped cream and a Sacher chocolate!

The cake was quite big for the price and was easily split between two people.

LOGISTICS

Cafe Sacher

Hotel Sacher Salzburg

Schwarzstraße 5-7

A-5020 Salzburg

Tel.: +43 (0) 662 889 770

Bärenwirt Salzburg

In Salzburg, we dined at a delicious restaurant a short walk from our apartment – Bärenwirt.  This restaurant is just up the hill from the Altstadt on the way to Augustiner Bräu.  We walked by this restaurant earlier in our trip, and we were so glad that we returned!  Dan and I dined on pumpkin soup, a meat platter, schweinschnitzel and German chocolate cake. YUM!! This may have been the best schnitzel I had on the trip (close with my Hallstatt schnitzel), and this was certainly our best meal in Salzburg.  Our waitress spoke perfect English and was extremely friendly. The meal ended with a complementary bowl of gummy bears – so cute!  When the waitress saw that we were excited about the gummy bears, she gave us some extras in a to go bag!

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Bärenwirt also claims to have “the best friend chicken.” Craig tried it, and he seemed to like it.  Growing up in Virginia, it was hard for me to get on board with this.  However, it seemed like a valiant attempt.

LOGISTICS

Bärenwirt Salzburg

Müllner Hauptstraße 8

5020 Salzburg

Tel +43 (0)662 422 404

We didn’t make a reservation and were able to walk-in around 8 on a Saturday.