Bavaria, A New Indian Family, and Serbian Kebabs

My latest travels took me to a wonderfully different part of Europe that I feel I had slighted in the past. I started my journey in Munich....the Bavarian capital of Germany, and ended in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. I was able to spend just one night in proper accommodation at a hostel in Salzburg Austria, whereas the rest of the time I couch surfed with random people I met through the internet site couchsurfing.com. This was in itself a new experience and admittedly an exciting one. I met some wonderful people along the way and truly got to dig deep into the cultures of the places I was visiting. Avoiding tourist traps and the typical A-list attractions was not only a money saving affair, but a time savings as well.

Munich, the first stop, is an enticing German city and stereotypical in my opinion of what Americans perceive Europe to be. It has castles, beer houses, ladies in lederhosen, heavy meats and potatoes and a host of historically important events that centered around the city through the ages. Since it is home to the annual Oktoberfest, Munich is a haven for travelers daring to try the many beers that originate and popularize this region. Pints are pulled by the liter and serve as a wonderful accompaniment to the Germanic foods that can be found in the city. I was, as always, traveling on a shoe string budget so I never ate much in the way of a proper meal while I was there. You could however notice the warm glows of the other patrons in such establishments who were enjoying such fare...their mugs and blood pressure raised in delight. While I simply fell in love with the grit and diversity of Berlin during this holiday season, it was nice to meet a German city that you could in fact 'take home to mom'.

Salzburg Austria was the next stop on this tour. Salzburg is roughly two hour train ride due east from Munich. During the ride you are escorted by the Alps which you constantly flirt with as you move. It took some ingenuity to manage my way onto the train at a price I felt was fair. Germany has a wonderful rail system, arguably one of the best in Europe. The problem with that system is that it is expensive. There is however one great deal called the Bavarian ticket. This ticket allows up to five people to travel for 24 hours within Bavaria for 28 euro total. Split 5 ways this is a steal. The counter to that is that when you are traveling solo you pay 20 euro for the same ticket. In lays opportunity. My first approach was to convene at the rail station with a cardboard sign that said 'Salzburg - Bavarian Ticket'. My hope was that I would be approached by someone looking to go to Salzburg that morning and we would either split the ticket or find a couple of others to chop the cost further. I stood just outside of the main bahnhaus and waited. I wasn't there for more than about three minutes before the train Gestapo put an end to my pitch. Since I am officially an illegal resident of Europe now and a wanted criminal in Berlin (thanks to Hanife's ill advised intercity rail advice that landed us a 'currently outstanding' fine for illegally riding a metro without a proper ticket) I had to abort my efforts. I was just about to break down and drop the 20 euro on the ticket when suddenly I spotted my 'family'. It was an Indian family three strong. They were headed to the Salzburg platform. Perfect! I offered the man of the house 10 euro for a spot on their ticket. It saved me 10 euro and saved them 10 euro. He agreed and we boarded the train. It was a comedic exchange onboard the train when the guard approached to check our tickets and I pointed to 'dad' as the keeper of my pass. Classic!

Salzburg is a fairy tale city, plain and simple. It has a mountain back drop that oozes beauty and a city center that is simply perfect. Perfection comes with warning though; the city is a tourist trap. The whole place is over priced and nothing (except the architecture) is authentic, but it still emits this amazing feel and charm to it. It is a must do day trip from Munich. You can see the city in a long day and leave with euro in your pocket by dodging the exurbanite cost of a night's accommodation....I stayed in a hostel that night which ran 17 euro....not too bad, but not great either. At one point on the train I thought about pushing my luck with the Indian family and asking them if they had any extra room in their hotel......that would have been interesting.

After Salzburg it was time to catch another train that would take me the whole distance across Austria, through the Alps, and punch out on the other side in the sleepy little city of Villach. At this point I was traveling with a half gnawed loaf of bread, a tillahook block of mozzarella cheese, and a few pepperoni sticks that I picked up two days before when I made my exit from Munich. This was not a trip of culinary discovery but rather an exercise in minimalism. My train ticket allowed me to hop on and hop off the train as much as I liked during the day. There were trains every two hours so I planned to make one stop along the way and see the Alps a bit more intimately than from behind cabin glass. I selected Bad Gastein as the place I would stop. It was deep into the Austrian Alps and I thought would give me a taste of what this range had to offer. Living in Colorado I have certainly seen my share of ski areas and the surrounding towns that adjoin them. This place was different though. It was nothing like the sprawling mega plexes of American ski areas. Bad Gastein is a quaint little village with just a single line train that towed skiers in and out throughout the day. I hiked around the city for about an hour and a half...walking the many small alleys and cobblestoned paths. I eventually made my way to a nearby hill top where I had a great view of the slopes across the valley as well as the exit to the female sauna where an occasional 'snow angel' would get made in hopes of cooling off. I returned to an outdoor seating area where weary skiers were taking a break with hot beverages and light snacks to wait for my train. An hour later I was in Villach.

Villach is a truly sleepy little town on the southern border of Austria. I arrived in the city on a holiday so literally nothing was open. I wandered around the city center for a few hours and waited to meet up with my couchsurfing host for the night....once she arrived we had a light dinner at her place and then I crashed, taking an opportunity to stay out of the cold for an extended period of slumber. Two days later it was time to head further south to Slovenia. I again hopped on a train.




Now here was an interesting place. Slovenia occupies a geographic position that truly makes it a melting pot. You have the Balkans to the south, Italy on one border, the Germanic influences of Austria and Germany to the north, as well as lingering 'spice' from the eastern block that sits not so far away. I had no idea what to expect when I got to this place, but I was certain that my host and good friend Primoz would show me a good time. My first encounter with Slovenia was a pizza shop called Azur (spelling?)....here I had a pie that was to die for. I don't know if it was the fact I had only had cheese and half spoiled pepperoni for the half of week leading up to the meal or what, but this pie was amazing. I gobbled it down at break fork speed nearly impaling a waiter along the way. The next indulgence was a cup of coffee on the city's main river walk. A perfect cup. Much different from Scandinavian and other European coffees I have had during my time here. We explored what we could of the city the first day and I took a few pictures along the way. The second day we took a short drive to a nearby city that was situated about an hour away from the capital. Here Primoz had a meeting with some colleagues of his so I was escorted by his girlfriend to a cafe nearby where we were to wait. Here I had a massive slice of chocolate cake with a cherry on top. Delicious! When Primoz finally returned we headed back to the capital for the afternoon. In the evening (after not eating anything substantial since noon the day before) we set off to experience Serbian cuisine at a local spot Primoz was familiar with. He took the liberty of ordering and I'm glad he did. Out came this tray of meats! Sausages, beef steaks, chicken breasts, chicken skewers, and did I mention sausages. Along side sat warm pita bread and a host of salads and toppings to garnish the carne. We gorged to a point of discomfort and rolled out of the place with pants unbuttoned. The final day we took a scenic drive as we headed back to Austria to the airport there. Slovenia has an amazing range of mountains that when covered in snow was simply beautiful. I think this is a country that those traveling to Europe should seriously consider throwing on the itinerary. Great food, surprisingly friendly people, amazing coffee, and a few mountains to stimulate the cornea make this a truly undiscovered hot spot for westerners looking for something a bit different in Europe.