true confessions of a studel snob

It is official that Austria is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. After spending just a couple of days in salzberg...hannah and i were practically ready to move there.
Yesterday we took the sound of music tour which was so great. Part of the tour was in the lake and hill district of salzberg which was pretty much the prettiest place on earth. (we also got caught in a total mountain thunderstorm...complete with full bolts of lightning right in front of us as we were running back to the tour bus. i am very glad that i am over my fear of thunder and lightning or that would have been the end of me. haha)

We had some warm cheese srtudel (not gonna lie...ive had better), but it was served with THE BEST vanilla ice cream ive ever had in my entire life!! i cant even describe it. they really know how to do dairy in austria. It has been our main diet, in one form or another. :)

This morning after breakfast at the hostel (which consisted of a role with a vat of fresh cream cheese...im telling you i piled it on!! best cream cheese ever. philiadelphia is weeping over the quality of austrias spread), we went into the childhood home of mozart. there are two of his residences in salzberg, the one that we went in houses all of his instruments. Seeing his pianos, violin, and viola were pretty much a huge highlight of the trip for me. There were also original compositions written by hand. AMAZING!!! (you arent allowed to take pictures anywhere in the musem...but i am proud to say that i snuck a pic of a score...and then the ultimate...HIS PIANO FORTE!!!! i did get caught a little bit for that one, and was subsequently followed around the museum for the rest of the time by a surly austrain...but who really cares?? that picture is getting blown up and framed baby!!!)

Afer touring his house we stopped for a little post breakfast breakfast (a tradition we have started and embraced. we eat the free food at the hostel, and then go get a pastry and coffee an hour later. lol...) This is where i ate the best apple strudel of my life...and now consider myself to be quite the strudel snob...and i dont think ill ever eat it in the states again. It was served with warm vanilla creme (aka vanilla custard...) and it was soul moving. hannah and i are now different people. (i realize that most of this post is about food...but come on people, its me! im surprised it didnt happen sooner...) We also ordered a capacino (which now i know was named for the cappacine monks of tyrol who wear brown robes with white hoods) with whipped cream on the top that has also ruined me for american whipped cream. The best way i can describe it is that it was almost exactly like the filling in a really good cheese pastry. Amazing.

Dinner consisted of a mozerella and tomato sandwhich, suplimented by a hearty selection of cheeses from all over europe. ( i cannot get over the fact that we paid €1.59, the same as for a can of pringles, for what would equal probably 10 dollars worth of cheese in america.) needless to say we have kept the dairy farmers of austria in business for the past couple of days. lol.

We are now in Bolzano, italy after the most beautiful train ride to date, through the alps...which still have snow in some places. They are amazing. Bolzano is in the tyrol region of italy, so its still pretty german here, but there are already vinyards lacing up and down the mountain sides. We are huge fans of italy already...tomorrow we head to venice, which will be an adventure for sure...we shall see if the 5 star hilton lets two homeless looking packpachers in. we may have a fight ahead of us. lol

quick funny story about the border crossing into italy:
hannah and i were barricaded in our little sleeper car (we have mastered the art of taking over multiple rows....throw your crap everywhere, scatter everything as much as possible...and then flop on top of it and pretend youve been sleeping that way for the past 10 stops.) , when we hear the italian crossing guards approach. hannah and i are totally sprawled with nothing ready. The two men fling open our door and brush aside the curtain, and proceed to both peep in their heads for 2.5 seconds, smile, and then slam our door and keep walking. I barely had time to smile, and deffinately did not have time to get out a "buena sera". Needless to say, we did not get a stamp, as our passports werent even looked at. Wierdest experience ever.

anyways, i must go...and one quick moment to get down on one knee so that i can beg for some comments from whoever is viewing this thing 169 times and not leaving comments. you know who you are!!! Much love from italy!! Ciao Bellas!!