The salt bread sticks (thick ones) are terrific.

Wren, you made me think about German food so my wife and I went tonight to the "Stube"
I started with Goulash Soup and had the Schmankerl Topf and my wife had the Wiener Schnitzel. With Hacker Pschorr Märzen (1 liter), and finished with Münchner Doppeldecker. Awesome! Thanks for the thought!

Nobody did mention fish so far. Here some popular dishes:

Cold dishes
- Räucherfisch - smoked fish, different varieties, best is smoked eel
- Brathering, Bratrollmops - vinegar-marinated fried herring
- Sahneheringsfilets - herring filets in cream sauce
- Matjes - lightly salted herring, often served with apples and onions

Warm dishes
- Lachs, Salm - Salmon - one of the most popular fish in Germany (although not caught in the Rhine any more)
- Zander - pike-perch, often served with Sauerkraut
- Hechtklöße - pike dumplings
- Flußkrebse - crawfish
- Krabben, Garnelen - shrimp
- Forelle - trout
- Felchen - whitefish
- Seezunge - sole
- Scholle - plaice
- Dorsch - cod

Thanks for the translations, traveller1959...convenient to pull out when we are in restaurants...in fact this whole list is going with me in my bag!

Don't forget potato pancakes. Usually not on the menu but often available if you ask.

Hey wren,
For dessert in Austria I love "Mohr im Hemd". Give it a try, it's fantastic! Beer, my wife and I really like Radler. I believe it's beer mixed with leon-lime soda. Breads...all of them.

paul

I'll second Gulaschsuppe anytime of the year! And, the salads are simply wonderful...light, crispy, and tasty.

One of my favorite dishes is Zwiebelrostbraten...roast beef with onions (usually fried) and sauce. Delicious.

I'm a soup lover and I love every soup I've ever tried in Germany/Austria.
The asparagus soup is superb and the tomato soup is yummy. Once had tomato soup, in Boppard, with tiny fried onions in it. Superb!

When in Austria, try Tafelspitz...boiled, roast beef with a mild horseradish sauce and served with vegetables & potatoes.

Can you tell I'm a carnivore??? hehe

Val

wren, I hope you have a great trip and can lquickly ose the ten pounds that you will no doubt gain. Let go and embrace the goose greese and pomme frites!

all of above +...

Up north in Flensburg and Kiel we got wonderful "Danish hot dogs"....still trying to reproduce correctly.

bauern fruhstuck-farmers breakfast-eggs, potatoes, bacon, onions, scrambled together and served in cast iron pan

traveller, I was waiting for someone finally mentioning fish. On my of first assignments in Germany I spent a year in Hamburg and Kiel and loved their fish dishes. My favorite was flounder "gutbuergerlich" style, panfried with bacon. Maybe not the healthest dish, but yummy. Also, I wanted to mention a chain of fish fastfood places Nordensee, if I remember correctly. Always a good pick for a fast unpretenbtious but tasty fish dish or snack.

The breads and pretzels!
The beer!

Last week in Heidelberg I had the most delicious, light, airly, and tasty potato pancakes to accompany the beef filet I ordered. Divine!

Pastries even at all the little train station shops were lovely!

In Salzburg -- we actually really enjoyed the dessert, Knockerel (sp?)

At a street festival in Mainz last week I enjoyed delightful crepes -- crepe places seem to be all over the place.

Beer, beer, and more beer.

Salads: mixed with lots of vegetables and sometimes potato sald is in it also. Yum!