beef – Energy and Time

Austria days 34-35: Obertraun & Hallstadt

September 22nd: A long driving day. We stopped for lunch at a small roadside food stand that turned out to be surprisingly good, with many regional specialties.

I had a “bread soup”: beef-onion soup with chunks of bread and thinly-sliced crepe/pancake “noodles”.

Carol had a nice fried bratwurst that came with an intense mustard and grated horseradish.

We didn’t buy an Austrian toll-road pass, so we had to drive back roads that wound through a lot of scenic mountain passes. But the weather was a bit cloudy.

Eventually we arrived at our almost-lakeside hotel, the Seerose, in Obertraun.

The next-door Pizzeria Kegelbahn looked pretty good, so we had dinner there. It turned out to be excellent. I ordered soup and a cutlet, while Carol went for comfort-food lasagna. (Kegel is an Austrian form of bowling or skittles, so “Kegelbahn” could be translated as “bowling alley”; the restaurant has 2 lanes near the back.)

The garlic soup was creamy, intensely garlicky, and utterly delicious.

Turkey schnitzel with cranberry relish and parsley potatoes

Lasagne Bolognese, and yet another attempt to find a decent dark beer

September 23rd: We planned to see the Dachstein ice cave in the morning, but their cable car lift was out of order. They said it would be fixed in half an hour, but 2 hours later it was still not working. So, we wasted a couple of hours sitting around waiting for it, but eventually gave up, which was wise , because they never did get it running that day.

So instead, we went to the nearby Salzwelten (“salt worlds”) salt mine above Hallstadt. This is the oldest known salt mine on the planet, dating back about 7000 years.

It’s a long cable-railway ride up to the mine.

Looking down across the lake to Obertraun

For some reason, I don’t appear to have taken any still photos inside the mine. But Carol did.

About to enter, wearing my pink knit cap

Video of Carol and I descending the wooden slide

For dinner we went back to Pizzeria Kegelbahn. Why go searching for something else when you’ve got something this good right next door?

Carol opted for a Salzkammergut Pizza featuring local meats with corn, onions, and mushrooms.

I got the Hearty Lumberjacks Steak, “pork with roasted potatoes, onion, bacon, mushrooms”.

Croatia day 27: Paklenica

September 15th: In the morning, we snorkeled a little in Pag before heading out. There was an entry point less than 100 meters from our apartment. Nothing spectacular, but lots of small fish.

On the way out of town, I noticed a sign to St. Duh.

“Svetnik” or “svetnica” means “saint”, so this sign appeared to be pointing to a church of Saint Duh. A patron saint of obviousness? There are too many possible puns on this to list here, so I’ll let you make up your own. Just pray that there are no spherical holy relics, or we’d have to call them “sveti balls“. But it’s a bit more complicated than that, as “Sv.” can also be an abbreviation for “sveti” = “holy”. And “sveti duh” means “holy ghost”.

Our main target for the day was Paklenica National Park, known for its narrow canyons, numerous rock-climbing routes, and a secret military bunker (now a museum).

The former military bunker displays nature photos and provides an air-conditioned alternative to hiking outside.

Triple Caramel Chunk is called Caramel Chew Chew in Croatia.

Then we drove to Gračac, where we stayed 2 nights. We ate dinner at the Kralj Zonomic restaurant.

I had beef goulash, and Carol had the mixed meat platter (note the bowl of ajvar sauce).

Croatia days 16-18: Split

September 4th: We flew out of Keflavík with a 5 hour layover in Copenhagen, during which Carol insisted on finding a Danish danish.

After arriving in Split, we got a taxi to our apartment in the old city center. It was small but well-located; there were at least 7 restaurants, 3 ice cream shops, 3 bakeries, and 2 grocery stores within 3 blocks. We got dinner from Kantun Paulina, a renowned street-food vendor only half a block away. They are especially famous for their ćevapi.

Ćevapi is a short sausage, which can be served alone, but usually in a bun with onions or cheese or, most often, bright red ajvar sauce made from roasted red sweet peppers. These buns were fresh-baked and still warm.

The drawback to our central location was that the nightlife and conversations outside our window went on for hours after we crashed.

September 5th: We were expecting to spend most of our time in Split just recovering from our vacation in Iceland.

We had breakfast at Baza. I got the omelet, with a latte and fresh-squeezed orange juice. But then we lazed around till lunch. I think I caught up a little on blogging Iceland.

Carol had a traditional Dalmatian beef stew with gnocchi.

I had a really nice grilled chicken, and a side tub of carrot salad.

The rest of the evening was a blur. Carol crashed, and I probably should have.

September 6th: We toured the area a bit.

a museum to tell you which Game Of Thrones scenes were filmed here

But the main target for the day was Diocletian’s Palace, built around 300 AD, which is the heart of old Split. Since it was only 300 meters from our apartment, a quick tour was obligatory.

medieval churches always tried to outdo the Roman construction

the stairway leading down to the South Gate, which was at dock level so supplies could be directly offloaded into the palace basement

Part of the basement. I think the scene where Arya discovers the dragon skeletons might have been filmed around here.

The important thing to understand about the palace is that it isn’t a ruin, isn’t (just) a tourist attraction. It’s been continuously inhabited since around 300 AD. When the nearby Roman capitol city of Salona was sacked by Avars and Huns in the 7th century, the residents fled here to take refuge inside the palace walls, and Split became the new capitol of Dalmatia. The palace is still the city core. It’s packed with shops and restaurants. It’s lived in.

In the afternoon, I napped while Carol walked down to the ocean and went snorkeling.

But I woke up in time for dinner. 🙂