Tag Archives: Austria

May 16, 2012 · 07:55

Fascinating Gobal Beer Industry Trends

Hi, today I am proud to announce my first ever Guest Info-Graphic to you. It was created by Jeet, who loves Beer and has a lot of talent for graphics.

This Graphic is an introduction to this weeks “Austrian Cuisine” blog entry, which will focus on Beer in Austria, as we are a nation of beer trinkers (you can see the stats in the graphic)

I hope you enjoy this entry – if you do please share and visit Jeets homepage

Fascinating Global Beer Industry Trends

Did you know that China has the fastest growing beer market and world’s biggest beer consumer with annual Beer consumption of around 29,000  Mega Liters ( 1 Olympic size pool contains 2.5 Mega Liters of water) , United states is at number 2 with annual consumption of 24,000 Mega Liters of Beer. A recent infographic “Global Beer Consumption Statistics” by 1001BeerSteins.com covers more such interesting facts about latest beer industry.

Czech Republic has the highest annual per capita beer consumption of 158.6 Liters, followed by Ireland (131.1 Liter) and Germany (110 Liter). United States is at no 13 with annual per capita consumption of only 81.6 Liter.

Nevada has highest per capita beer consumption of 44 Gallons, followed by New Hampshire (43.5 Gallons). Utah and New York has the lowest per capita beer consumption of 19.5 and 23 Gallons respectively.

Check our Infographic for more such interesting facts about Beer consumption trends from all over the world.

Info-graphic about Beer and its Global Consumption

This info-graphic will give you a lot of new insights into the Global Beer Consumption.

Jeet loves the way infographics communicate complex statistics in an easy to understand manner. He has combined his love for beer and infographics in this one that he made for 1001 Beer Steins.

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May 10, 2012 · 16:23

Austrian Cuisine – Maibock and other May Specialities

In todays issue of Austrian Cuisine I want to focus on dishes which are typical for May in Austria.

Maibock (deer) is the first deer you will get served in Austria during the year. This is because the hunting season starts at the beginning of May and traditionally the hunters try to shot some two year old deer, which will later be served as “Maibock”. After the rather poor food deer eats in Winter in spring they begin to eat fresh grass and herbs again and they start to gain some weight .

Maibock is traditionally served with vegetables who are very common in Spring, like spinach, green onions, chard or aspargus.

You should be careful when ordering Maibock – because in Bavaria its a very strong beer which is only brewed in May and if you confuse these two, you might spend an afternoon being drunk and hungry.

Aspargus is the other traditional dish in May – in the Marchfeld in Lower Austria there are huge fields of Aspargus and the markets and shops are full of it. You will get it with sauce hollandaise and potatoes, you will have it as a side dish with a Maibock (see above) or fish and some people also make salad out of it. Grüner Veltliner is my wine of choice with any Aspargus dish!

Asparagus (vegetable), served with Hollandaise...

Moreover in Austria we celebrate Mothers Day on the second Sunday of May – which will be this weekend. In my family there is the tradition that the kids prepare breakfast for Mum and also have some small gift (like flowers or something sweet). Other families do some trips and have lunch or dinner with the family. Restaurants and Cafes are generally very crowded, as a lot of Austrians celebrate Mothers Day outside of their home. So be prepared, that it might be very busy in restaurants on the second Sunday of May … reservations might be needed.

 

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May 3, 2012 · 19:20

Austrian Cuisine: Gruener Veltliner

Today I do not want to concentrate on Austrian Cuisine itself, but on an Austrian wine. Grüner Veltliner is probably Austrias most important white wine grape variety. This wine grows mostly in Lower Austria, but is also grown in Styria and the Burgenland. You might get some of this wine in Slovenia and Czech Republic, too – but outside of this area there are no important wineries who produce Grüner Veltliner.

glass of wine, Grüner Veltliner, from Wachau, ...
glass of wine, Grüner Veltliner, from Wachau, Austria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grüner Veltliner developed into a huge success and was the first Austrian wine to receive good critics after the “Antifreeze Scandal” in the 1980s. In this scandal wine makers were accused of and convicted for using glycol to “improve” the wine (which is quite dangerous as overdosing of these wines could have killed you).

After this scandal the Austrian winemakers turned their approach from cheap wines to high quality wines and Grüner Veltliner was the first wine to make this step. Grüner Veltliner is a rather dry white wine, which is very food friendly. There are different approaches to Grüner Veltliner – there is the wine created for the “Heurigen”, which will be drunk as a young wine wines (they are best in their first year). Others get drunk watered down with mineral water (Spritzer) – one of the Austrians favorite drinks at hot summer evenings.

Some have an excellent taste which develops only after years – these come mainly from the region around the danube, where the wine gets a very pure minerally taste. In the plains it develops to a more fruity wine with a hint of pepper or even tobacco flavor and some stronger influence of peach or citron flavour.

In recent blind wine tastings the best Grüner Veltliner wines beat famous french chardonnays like Mondavi or Maison Louis Latour.

Grüner Veltliner developed into a huge success in the United States, where it is often called GrüVe (pronounced groovy) – this development lead into higher prices for the top wines, but you will still get great value for money at most of the wineries in Eastern Austria. If you visit Lower Austria or Vienna in Autumn you should make sure to visit one of the “Heurigen” – bars that serve young wine and offer typical snacks (which are run by the wine farmers).

Grüner Veltliner is very food friendly and you can combine it to a lot of meals – in spring you can enjoy it with aspargus (a dish that does not fit to a lot of wines), it can be combined to veal, chicken or all kind of vegetables and it is obviously great to fish.

I am a real fan of Grüner Veltliner and I hope you will enjoy it, too. I would be very happy to receive some feedback about your GrüVe experience.

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April 26, 2012 · 15:17

Austrian Cuisine – Zotter Chocolate

I am rather busy at the moment, and as this article is published I am on the way for a short ski-touring break away. But I still wanted to keep my Austrian Cuisine articles running and I came up with a somehow different idea for this issue.

Easter is the time when people get a lot of chocolate as presents (at least it is in Austria) and I was especially happy to get some delicious Zotter Chocolate. Josef Zotter is a chocolatier from Styria, who started to create his own chocolate in the 90ies. He was bored of the dullness of industrial chocolate and wanted to try something else. Moreover he decided to only use Fair Trade and organic ingredients.

The Zotter chocolate bars are something special, as they are created for special events and with combinations of flavor you would never think of.

Josef Zotter – Schokolade

This proved to be very succesful and nowadays Josef Zotter runs a chocolate manufactory, where the hand scooped bars are created. The manufactory can be visited – unfortunately I have not done this yet.

I strongly advise to try some Zotter chocolate while being in Austria and it is also a great present to bring back after heading home!

You can find more information about Josef Zotter on their Website!

 

 

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April 20, 2012 · 14:12

Skitouring Silvretta

Skitouring Silvretta

I picked this picture as it was taken 2007 when ski touring from Ischgl in Tyrol to the Bielerhöhe in Vorarlberg: We will do this next week again (Thursday to Sunday) and I am really looking forward to this. Its one of the greatest things to go skitouring in spring, when it is still cold in the mornings (when you go touring) but after arriving on your hut (which is normally at lunch time) it is really warm and you can enjoy the Spring sun!

+ Perfect spring skiing (obviously)

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April 19, 2012 · 14:10

Austrian Cuisine: Cakes and Strudels

Today I want to concentrate on one of Austrias best things: Cakes and Strudels, by presenting the three most famous “Mehlspeisen”: Gugelhupf, Sachertorte and Apfelstrudel

Mehlspeise means meal made out of flour and it is a term you will hear a lot of times in Austrian Cafés – the waiter will not ask you if you want any cake or dessert, but ask you if you want a Mehlspeise.

Gugelhupf

Central European cake called "Napfkuchen&...

A Gugelhupf is a Bundt Cake and you will get it by the name “Napfkuchen” all over german speaking countries. Its roots go back to the romans, but there is also the story that the “Three holy kings”, after visiting Baby Jesus came to Alsace, where they were served a Gugelhupf. The French, call it “Kouglouf” and believe that it comes from Ribeauvillé. In the Biedermeier Period (between 1815 and 1848) the Gugelhupf became a symbol of the rich burgher, and was served with tea or coffee on sunday afternoons. (The Biedermeier was a time in which the Burgher did no longer press for political influence, but were satisfied with monetary gains). Since that time, this is a typical cake to serve for guests, especially family.

Sacher Torte – one of Austrias most famous exports

Sachertorte from Hotel Sacher, Vienna

The Sacher Torte is named after Franz Sacher in 1832 when count Metternich wanted something special for his guests. The Chef was sick, so the apprentice Franz Sacher took over the important task and created this chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam and chocolate icing. He later on opened a deli, where he also sold this cake. His son Eduard made his apprenticeship at the Café Demel and improved on the existing recipe in this time. Later he founded the famous Hotel Sacher in Vienna. Due to this story there have been long legal battles between the Café Demel and the Hotel Sacher, who was allowed to use the name “original” Sacher Torte. After years of arguing the result was that the Hotel Sacher can use the name “Original Sacher-Torte” and the Café Demel the name “Eduard-Sacher Torte”, which is commonly called the “Echte Sacher Torte” (real Sacher Torte). Both variants are delicious and you will get them as “Sacher Torte” in every good Austrian Café. Leaving Austria without having tried one is an absolute “No-Go”, so do not miss out!

Apfelstrudel – an Austrian Classic

According to Wikipedia this is a “national dish” of Austria and when I asked friends about typical Austrian meals, no one missed out on that one. There are some similiarities to Baklava, so many historians believe that it might have come to Vienna during the War against the Turks. Apple Strudel is made of apples, raisins, bread crumbs and some cinammon and sugar – this is put into a pastry. It can be served hot, fresh out of the oven, or be eaten cold. You might get it with whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla custard, but originally a Apple-Strudel does not need any of them.

Apfelstrudel, a Viennese speciality

I can vouch for all this “Mehlteig” Classics and hope you can enjoy them on your next trip to Austria. If you already got any experience with any of this meals, I would be happy to hear about it!

 

 

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April 12, 2012 · 07:55

Austrian Cuisine: Five fantastic Sweet Meal Options

The Austrian Cuisine might be famous for Schnitzel and Schweinsbraten, but what will make you long to come back over and over again are the sweet dishes you can get in Austria. Today I want to start with 5 sweet dishes, which you can get as a main dish or as a dessert. Next week I will follow up with some famous Austrian “Mehlspeisen” (cakes and Strudels).

Palatschinken – Crepes the Austrian way:  

The Austrian form of Crepes is a typical Austrian dish: its history goes back to the roman empire and it traces back to regions, which are now part of Romania, Hungary and Czech Republic. Most times Palatschinken are filled with jam or curd cheese, but there are also variants with Mushrooms or Spinach. The Palatschinke itself is also cut into small stripes to be used in a Fritatten-Suppe. If you ever see Omelette in Austria, you should be aware that this is a variant, where the pastry is thicker; an Omelette is also bigger and a lot of cooks make it a little crispy, by adding sparkling mineral water.

Palatschinke

Be aware that the german word for Ham is also Schinken, but this two things are not at all connected: a french friend once made the mistake to order Palatschinken as he did not speak german and thought that some Cooked Ham with Sauerkraut would be a great meal – he was rather surprised to get a sweet dish! Continue reading →

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April 11, 2012 · 07:04

Reality Check: Arlberg – the cradle of Alpine Skiing

In response to my ski resort article I added some “Reality Check” articles, in which I wrote about skiing in some of this resorts in the 2011/12 skiing season. Yesterday I had my last day on skis for this season (I will still do some ski-touring though) and I can finish this mini-series for this year with a real highlight. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me yesterday, as this was a hardcore-skiing day with some pals, but one of my friends took some pictures, so I might add them another time.

Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tyrol, Austria),...

Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tyrol, Austria), view from north. Deutsch: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirol, Österreich), Ansicht von Norden. Italiano: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirolo, Austria), vista dal nord. Lietuvių: Galzig (St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirolis, Austrija), nuo šiaurės. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Arlberg is one of the most famous skiing resorts in Austria and in the Alps. This it the place where Alpine Skiing was developed – hence their claim “Arlberg – the cradle of alpine skiing”. The Arlberg is a mountain pass between Tyrol and Vorarlberg (which name means “before the Arlberg”) and the Arlberg ski-resort is divided into two parts: Zürs-Lech and St. Anton. We did our skiing in the St. Anton part of the resort, which lays mainly on the Tyrollean side of the Arlberg. Overall the resort consists of 86 lifts, 276 km of pistes and 180km of powder runs.  Continue reading →

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April 9, 2012 · 15:23

My favorite places in Feldkirch for a night out

Today I want to contribute with some ideas of what to do in Feldkirch, my home city.

Feldkirch is a beautiful place to visit and its also a great place to go out, especially if you consider, that its a really small city with a population of about 31.000 people. All the bars and clubs I mention here are located in the centre of Feldkirch, you can find some more in the outskirts, but this are not places that I normally visit.

  • Dogana: The Dogana is my personal favorite in Feldkirch – during the day it is a very nice café, but in the evening it is one of the best bars in Feldkirch. Moreover it features a great restaurant upstairs, which I have to recommend. If you are inside the downstair bar, they have a menu, but you can also ask for the upstair menu. You can sit outside and have a great view towards the Schattenburg.
  • Rauch – Café, Bar and Restaurant: The Rauch has two locations, one is the Café, Bar, Restaurant, the other is nearby and is a Club, who should be considered if you do love alternative electronic music. The Rauch itself is a rather small bar, which is always very crowded. Its definitely a place to meet the hipsters of Feldkirch. The Restaurant is very good, but frequented from quite a different crowd. Great place to sit outside in Feldkirchs central “Marktgasse” in Spring and Summer.
  • Braugaststätte Rössle – the Rössle used to be a traditional tavern, but it now resides in a very modern building, beneath the landmark of Feldkirch, the Schattenburg. This is a great place to get traditional Austrian and Vorarlberg Cuisine, have some really great beer and a chat with your friends. They also show Champions League football on big screens, which always attracts a lot of people to visit this place. In summer its really nice to sit outside and have a beer there, especially as they have some for a rather long time.

This are great places to visit the whole day and in the evenings – if you want to go out and dance until early morning you should consider this two places in Feldkirch.

  • Rauch Club – partner of the Rauch Cafe, Bar, Restaurants. Very hip and very trendy with a lot of great DJs. Probably the best place in Feldkirch if you want to dance to Electronic Music.
  • Stone Club – this is a hidden gem: to find the entrance of this very small Club you might want to ask some locals, as it is really hidden. Once inside you find a really old school bar with a great alternative music line up. People go there after midnight and it is open as long as the owner, Klaus, likes the atmosphere 😉

 

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April 6, 2012 · 10:42

Mountains and Water

Cascade in FerleitenCascade in Ferleiten

This pictures were taken “behind” the Walcher Wasserfall (Cascade) – in Ferleiten. Ferleiten is a part of Fusch an der Glocknerstrasse – here is the toll station for the Glockner Hochalpenstrasse. You can visit this cascade doing an easy hike of about 2 hours.

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