One of my favorite things to do when we travel is to explore the local drinks situation (alcoholic and not). I could spend hours in the local grocery/wine/liquor store just studying the shelves. Ken is not as enthusiastic about this activity, so I usually send him off to climb a mountain or something.
When we’re traveling, I post my little travelogues on the go and off the cuff. Instagram only allows 2,200 characters per post, so I have to be stingy with words. Maybe that’s a good thing. 😉 One of the reasons I started this blog is so I could take a pause after our trips, and look at something(s) more in depth.Like the local drinks situation.
Without further delay, here is my guide to drinking in Salzburg and Munich:
Bier
There is no better sip of beer than your first sip of bier when you’re in Germany/Austria. It just hits different. Ahhhhh. I only rarely drink beer at home, so when we’re in Germany/Austria (and all of Europe, really), it’s a priority beverage.
Fun fact: Austria ranks behind only the Czech Republic in global beer consumption. Germany is #7 on that list, which was a surprise to me. The US? Doesn’t even crack the top 30.
Radler
Radler is the Bavarian version of a sports drink. It was invented in the 1920s by an innkeeper named Franz Kugler. As the story goes, a large group of very tired and very thirsty cyclists arrived at his tavern, and Franz realized he didn’t have enough beer for everyone (egad!). So, he decided to stretch his supply by adding sparkling lemonade to the kegs. He called his drink Radler, which is the Bavarian (German) word for cyclist.
For as much as I enjoy beer in Germany/Austria, after about 5 days, I’m bier-ed out. That’s when I switch to Radlers. They are both delicious and low in alcohol, so pretty much a hydration beverage.
I’m starting to see more and more bottled/canned versions of Radlers here in the US. I can usually find the Stiegl Radler. Delicious, but not as delicious as a Radler mixed from the tap in Bavaria.
Wine
I don’t generally drink much wine when we’re in Bavaria. I’m mostly focused on beer (and Radlers). We did enjoy this outstanding Austrian Riesling at Mozart’s opera one evening.
Schnaps
The word schnaps refers to a whole family of distilled fruit (usually plum, cherry, pear, apricot) brandies. Most are clear in color, but some are aged in wood and pick up a darker hue. German/Austrian Schnaps is very dry and very strong, and absolutely nothing like American schnapps. Here in the US, we have the regrettable cultural tradition of peach schnapps, which, btw, is one of my kryptonite beverages. Thanks, college.
Schnaps has a long history in Germany & Austria – probably dating back to the Middle Ages, when it was used for medicinal purposes. Ken’s oma used to break this stuff out after almost every meal because, “it’s good for digestion.” Sounds counter-intuitive, but I honestly think here’s something to it. Downing a shot of schnaps after a heavy meal sets off some kind of tiny bomb in your stomach, and suddenly, you feel less heavy and less full. I can’t explain why this works, only that it does. Schnaps should become part of American Thanksgiving.
I found a wonderful store in Salzburg that sold almost exclusively Schnaps. The proprietor was extremely knowledgeable, and I walked out with some goooood stuff.
Coffee
The Germans/Austrians make a pretty good cup of coffee. But I’m not a coffee connoisseur. I drink one cup of coffee a day – in the morning. I wish I was a sit outside at a cute cafe and sip on a coffee in the afternoon kind of person, but the caffeine would keep me up all night. And I don’t trust decaf coffee in cafes.
Exception: Eiscaffe. A scoop of vanilla ice cream with coffee poured on top of it. This may turn me into a sit outside at a cute cafe in the afternoon kind of girl. Who needs sleep?
Almdudler
Apparently, Alsmdudler is the national drink of Austria. Huh. I thought beer was the national drink of Austria. Anyway, Almsdudler is a blend of grape juice, apple juice, and 32 natural alpine herbs. Tastes like a lemony, herbal ginger ale. OK, but not something I would ever seek out. Especially if I have the choice to buy a Fanta Lemon.
Sparkling Apple Juice
Every chance I get. This is pretty much my water when we’re in Europe.
Fanta Lemon & Coca-Cola Zero Lemon
I’m starting to see a trend here. I really like lemon flavored soft drinks. And you can’t get either in the US. I’m always disappointed when I have to settle for Fanta orange, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
Sidebar rant: I cannot stand the new European plastic bottle tops. You know, the ones that you cannot remove unless you have a chainsaw. There is a (relatively) new EU regulation that requires all plastic bottle caps to stay tethered to bottles after opening. This is supposed to reduce the use of single use plastics – by annoying you into using reusable containers. I get the intent, but the stupid tethered cap hits your face every time you take a drink. And if there’s a few drops of beverage in the cap when you take a drink, your face is now wet. Also, I can’t tell if the top is actually ON all the way and then it spills all over my bag. OK, I’m done now.
Prost!
I was in heaven in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I love a good Riesling. By good, I mean the half-dry that’s so prevalent over there. Here in the US it’s rarely on menus, even in high-end restaurants and that really annoys me. People still act like it’s an inferior wine – like in the white Zinfandel category.
Riesling is quite possibly the best white grape on the planet. It’s one of the few grapes capable of producing the full range of styles, from bone dry to medium-sweet, sweet, or luscious (cavity) sweet. It has no competition as a partner for food. But perhaps most endearing of all, good Riesling tells of its place like no other wine.
One of the biggest problems with Riesling in the United States is that it suffers from an image problem. Customers see Riesling and assume cloying and sweet. Frustrating.
YES!!!!!! But how many more decades do I have to wait until they “get it” here??? I just ate dinner at 5 fabulous restaurants in Brooklyn and all of the rieslings were shitty picks, or non-existent on the menus.
Unfortunately, I fear the shitty picks are here to stay . . . le sigh.
I hate those tethered bottle caps too! So annoying they hit you in the face and are difficult to put back on tight.
So glad I’m not alone!
What an interesting comparative read – unfortunately I am still waiting for my first mug of coffee, an absolute necessity – strong black with half a sugar – cannot begin my day without it 🙂 ! Great to read of your German/Austrian favourites and remember back myself. Oh, I do recall schnapps from childhood onwards as being the medicine for all ills . . . and I think it often was and is. Am afraid beer or shandies have never drawn but daily wine – of course! Mostly the chardonnays and chenin blanc et al attract – am not a riesling gal myself. What we here call ‘soft drinks’ . . . a ‘no’ for me for health reasons, as I do try to keep all sugars and alternatives to a minimum – I actually love plain water and joyfully drink gallons of it daily . . . usually having a full glass on tables I pass around the house and sipping as I go by . . . to each their own way.
I need to figure out a way to be better at drinking plain water. Maybe if I start leaving glasses in every room? Great idea!!
Methinks it does depend on the taste of what comes out of the tap :)! I live semi-rurally with five dams, at the moment full, around me – actually the taste is better than some bottled waters I have tried 🙂 ! And, if I don’t see it, I may not think of it !!!
Agree – not all water is created equal. I definitely have preferences. Much prefer to drink purified water over spring water.
When I lived in Germany back in the late ’70s while I was in the military, the beer was always warm. I remember drinking a Doppelbach that was 12% alcohol, they told me it was the bottom of the barrel beer.
Good morning and thanks for stopping by! By American standards, German beer probably is “warm”, but I think of it more as a cool room temperature. I can’t explain it, but it just “works” in Germany! 12% alcohol will get you pretty quick, huh? Prost!!
What I mean is they never refrigerated beer back then. The few times I’ve been to Germany since then which was much more recently, the beer was colder.
Ah, gotcha. Opa never refrigerated his beer – had it delivered and kept it in his basement year round.
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