The first time I visited the town of Bad Aussee, my brain fritzed out a little; irony wired city hipsters like me have a hard time processing a place where lederhosen and dirndls are common attire, even amongst the young. Bad Aussee is very pretty; it’s a spa town but it came to regional prominence …
Dear valued customers, We closed Backerei Klackl on August 15, 2011. We could not continue to run our bakery without either raising our prices or compromising on quality and variety. We were not prepared to do either. For more than 250 years there’s been a bakery next to this former toll bridge. For generations, this …
Austrians like to claim they invented (fill in the blank) when it comes to food. Thing is, they once had such an extensive empire that okay, okay, the well known (fill in the blank) was probably conceived on their turf while they had that turf. Austrians claim the kipferl, the progenitor of the croissant, as …
We have had extended kitchen table discussions — in Austria and the US — about what, exactly, “topfen” is. I contend it’s ricotta, but the Austrians insist its something different. These state department level negotiations have not prevented topfenstrudel from appearing in my Seattle kitchen on numerous occasions, though said strudel has always appeared upon …
This part of the Ennstal is a river valley lined by a bunch of tiny villages. People have lived here for a good long time; the church just up the hill was established in the 1100s, but there’s still not much by way of urban — or even suburban — development. The bakery closed, and …
Top: Campers stowed for the season in the Aigen campground. Bottom: View towards Puttererschlössl from across the lake. Established in 1200, it was the seat of a fancy local land baron. Now, it’s a youth hostel.