Food

A gasthof, as distinguished from a restaurant, is defined as an informal, less expensive eating establishment found in city neighborhoods and small towns. They can be compared to English pubs, except that they are, on average, much classier, the menu much more extensive, and the food is better. (2000)

Gasthof Seigen in a small village near Neukirchen am Grossvenediger along the Tauerenradweg in Salzburg Province.

Gastgarten (guest garden) at a gasthof in Kaprun along the Tauernradweg in Salzburg province. A little later in the evening, in front the gasthof in the town square, there was a big band concert put on by a group from the Zell am See school of music. (2000) `

Gasthof in Graz, capital of Steiermark, along the Murradweg. You can see the bench and chairs covered with very comfortable cushions that are found in every gasthof. Notice the Sturm (2002)

Hotel Oswald in Lendorf in Carinthia along the Drauradweg. This was probably our most elegant dining spot. Lendorf was a small village up a hill; and this was the only place to eat that didn't require going back down the hill. (1999)

Serious business at a gasthof in Ferlach along the Drauradweg in Carinthia. (1999)

A gasthof near Ferlach along the Drauradweg in KÃ¤rten (Carinthia). (1999)

Outdoor seating in a gasthof in Oberperfus, high above the Innradweg in Tyrol. We could see planes landing below us at the Innsbruck airport. There was also children's play equipment. Note the two bottles of the soft drink Almdudler (not the Kaiser beer in the foreground). Every kid, and some not so young, who traveled with us soon became addicted to Almdudler. (2001)

Gasthof Blaue Trauben (Blue grapes) in Mondsee in the Salzkammergut in Salzburg province. (2002)

Dessert at a sidewalk Italian Restaurant along the pedestrian zone in Melk in Lower Austria. (2004)

A Turkish "gasthof" in Bludenz in Vorarlberg. This was obviously a regular gasthof that had closed and had been bought by Turks: same outdoor guest garden and same cushy chairs and benches. But instead of a crucifix on the wall, there was a picture of the big mosque in Istanbul.. (2003)

A radlertreff along the Donauradweg at the turn-off to Melk in Lower Austria. A radlertreff (literally bicyclist meeting point) refers to snack bars located along bike paths. Actually, this one is more elegant than most because it is located at a boat dock where coaches drop off tourists for cruises on the Danube. The cruise ship is from the Netherlands. (2004)

A more typical Radlertreff, i.e., rustic. This one is along the Traisentalradweg just south of St. PÃ¶lten, capital of Lower Austria. Note the tiny bike on the right end of the bike rack. (2003)

A farm just outside Radstadt along the Ennsradweg in Salzburg Province. After the Almtrieb -- the ceremonial bringing of the cows down from their high Alpine meadow summer grazing spot to barns in the valley -- everyone adjourned to a nearby farm for food and drink. (2002)

Under the "Sign of the Chicken" at the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), a chain of restaurants specializing in chicken. This one is in the middle of the main street of the Favoriten district in Vienna, which had been converted to a pedestrian zone. Note the store windows in the background. (1998)

At a biergarten in the English Gardens (park) in Munich. A genuine Munich beer garden is actually a park in which food and, of course, beer is served. It is perfectly acceptable to bring your own picnic food. (2004)

Wurst und Durst (Sausage and thirst). A WÃ¼rstelstand (little sausage stand) is a small stand-alone snack bar that can be found on every other street corner in Vienna. Note the "hot dog" sign. Austrians are not chauvinistic when it come to language, although in this case, to call wurst a hot dog is an insult of the wurst kind. (2004)

A cafe-konditerei in Gostling and der Ypps in Lower Austria. A cafe specializes in drinks and fancy baked goods, not full meals. They usually close much earlier than a gasthof or restaurant. (2004)

Enjoying a late afternoon Eis at Cafe Zauner overlooking the Traun River in Bad Ischl in the Salzkammergut. This cafe was particularly fancy as the string quartet playing in the background attests. (2003)

An outdoor cafe in Bad Radkersburg in Steiermark. The fancy umbrellas are designed to protect one from both sun and rain. (2002

Restaurant on Trobachersee (lake) near St. Peter - Freienstein in Steiermark. The pig was being roasted for a private party that took up the whole indoor dining area. Fortunately, there was outside seating since we had walked over a mile. It was also fortunate that the building had big eaves since it started raining while we were eating. (2002)

Yes there are a few McDonald's in Austria. This one was on the outskirts of Villach along the Drauradweg in Carinthia. (1999)

BICYCLING IN AUSTRIA

Food