Dadu - Lithuanian Pistachio Icecream Cone [@NLi10]

I was running early for a `peaky `blinders escape room in Birmingham so popped into the little Lithuanian supermarket bye Snow Hill

They had a surprisingly large selection of interesting import ices from Europe, so I had a look

And chose my favourite 

And it looks divine! The top is protected by choco fondant so it stayed fresh.

The cone is squidgy and weak, but that is forgivable

The Icecream in side isn’t that strongly flavoured (not like Kulfi) but was a really nice pick me up on a hot summer evening.

Will have to go back and try the rest!

 

Show Us Yer Knoppers! - Peanut & Hazelnut Snack Bars (@NLi10)

I know I've featured the Knoppers bar before.  Initially hilarious, then intriguingly moorish - then a staple of the snack pile.  They recently started basically making a Snickers with the same stuff(which I first got in Germany) - so naturally we are talking about that now too!

This one has peanuts though - which makes it much more like a really light Snickers.

It really isn't big enough to share - but we did anyway.  I enjoyed it - but it's a very different mix to the real thing.

I also got the version I tried in Germany again

The size is more apparent here.

And is basically a light, Nuttella Snickers.  Still enjoyable. Still a little snack not a big one.

Sky Tapas (@NLi10)

To get back from my eco friendly eurotrip by train I could either spend 2 days on trains or 2 hours on a plane - so I took the easy option and flew back to Birmingham from Prague. And of course there were delays, and crowding, both of which I’d not had while waiting for trains. But when on board I had a row of three seats to myself # and the option to buy food.

So I went for the Tapas. As we’ve discussed before - the noise of the plane causes the flavours in the food to become muted so umami flavours like tomato juice are best - so my haul was tapas, olives, tomato and a doughnut.

Sky tapas is quite affordable, it’s long lasting, light and packs away neatly so you don’t pay as much for the fuel and maintenance as for most things.  It’s very meaty and requires a certain amount of messiness, but the flavours are strong and hold up well. I even put my noise blocking headphones in to see if it restored a little sweetness and it did.

The tomato was again the star, it just tastes amazing up here! And the olives were nice too, but I do love olives.

The whole box probably wasn’t massively healthy and is over packaged out of necessity but I’ll be trying to replicate this in future. 

Here we see superhero Donuter and a quite luxury baked doughnut with actual dried fruit. I was hoping for a more exotic flavour but I’ll take this!

This was a little overpriced but as part of the whole deal it worked out ok, and as I had my headphones I still could taste the sweetness of the fruit and doughnut.

A fun way to end a culinary tour of Europe!

And at this rate I’ll get to go back again before they make it much harder to float over borders!

We made it to Prague! Lets try local food. (@NLi10)

I got into Prague by train from Graz very late so followed the locals to a cool indie restaurant where all of the hip people hung out.

Just kidding.  I had a KFC Twister meal.  I did get to hear the other British people there struggle to explain what they wanted to eat - then have a blazing row about it and storm out of the place.  This was especially confusing as any sober person could tell that all of the staff spoke perfect English and could have happily taken their correct order had they managed to ask...

The next day I went looking for more authentic things - these are made in Germany but would have come back for our cat if they hadn't been so darn expensive.

I eventually found small places where the drinks were cheaper.  This is actually Pepsi Max which was a cruel prank to play on someone who needed all the energy for walking.

Maybe I was supposed to get all my calories from these tourist traps that had all of the sugar in them.  These and the nibbly feet fish shops make up around 10% of the centre of Prague.

But I also found these!

Taking the place of the Belgian Waffle shops were these Trdelnik stores.  I grabbed the first one I spotted but there were loads!

I think I should have had one with something inside it as they were very very dry.  They were more bread like that I'd expected and I didn't really fancy a second one.  Maybe Czechia is a savoury place and not one for top sweet treats.

They do have a temple of capitalism next to the museum of communism so they at least appreciate Irony.

Exploring the snacks of Graz, Austria (@NLi10)

One reliable constant when travelling is that if you can find a East Asian grocery shop you can eat cheaply - and get a decent tea.  This one wasn't amazing, but did quench the thirst nicely.

They even put out the red carpet when we are in town!  OK - so I got lost and walked through an outdoor theatre bit - but I don't think it was private.  The restaurant looked a little above my prices.

This is more like it - street art and bread products.

This was near the youth hotel complex - in a very dodgy part of town.  The bakery was very good but I suspect people came off the main road, parked up, and sped away fast!  The filling was chocolate.  Mmmmmm.

The station had surprisingly got a lot of high quality snacks - including this choc that I remember Cinabar giving me a decade or so ago! 

I already had too much to carry.

I'll settle for this - more of the lovely Austrian Kombucha and some apple tarte thing - both gorgeous!  All of this hiding in the modern art museums air-con which makes it both a worthy cause and a great snacking venue.

The place also looks like an alien space-craft just like the train station back home. 

More Austrian Meals - and avoiding nasty surprises! (@NLi10)

I'm a big fan of eating out of my comfort zone, and I like to chose things from the specials menu.  Not only do they tend to arrive faster, but it's often the thing the restaurant is most known for.  So - In Graz, Austria I ordered my beer and had a look at the specials.  

Luckily for me - after a lot of confusion over what I was getting I translated the menu's title.

As someone who hates mushrooms this was a lucky escape.  I once had a sort of odd truffle thing that was made with mushrooms that I didn't hate - that's as close as it gets.  I had saved myself the embarrassment of picking out lots of horrible things.  

In fairness the picture should have been a clue but I hadn't even spotted that.

Beer fine, if not a little darker than usual.

What I finally went for was a kind of pumpkin-seed schnitzel with crinkle cut chips!

It was the kind of place that charges for the bread and sauces whether you asked for them or not, but I could cope with that as both of these were fantastic.

So explore the menu - but do google for allergies and general disgusting fungi...

Both Kinds Of Mozart's Balls (Silver & Gold) - Salzburg (@NLi10)

Everywhere you go in Salzburg sells balls.  Mozart must have been pretty keen on these weird little treats because years after his final symphony everyone is still talking about and selling his balls.

I'd been instructed to buy some for work and family - so when I found a BILLA supermarket outside of town selling them cheaply I jumped on them!

4 euro 79 for 16 balls is a good price.  You can pay more for boxes that wont make it home in one piece but it's all about the value for money.  300g also isn't too heavy really.

There are artistic balls

Hearts and instruments

faded ones - and even a rival school that claims to be the originals!

Silver balls are more expensive at just over a Euro each.

I only bought one.

That's the hole where all the stuff is piped in.

Just chocolate shell, light brown filling and almost green filling.  Very nice though, quite refreshing and a little compulsive.  They are basically a kind of complex marzipan.

Even the Mozart museum is getting in on the act - a giant shiny ball!

And as you leave they remind you to buy more!  And I thought that was it - Mozart's Birthplace (& Spar) complete I moved on to the hotel to get the bags and go for the train - and what did they give me as I left...

Balls!

It did mean I got to eat the other version (scarily now owned by Mondelez who bought up our own local chocolate Cadbury's) actually in Salzburg too which was cool.

This has more layers, but I suspect isn't piped inside the shell and feels more constructed up.  I'm fine with this as it's all quite nice, but the silver one feels more luxurious.  Both taste great though.

And I ended up getting an air-conditioned carriage on the train to myself too!

The best Spar in the World? Mozart's Spar - Salzburg (@NLi10)

Sometimes tourist hot-spots have been owned and protected by their founders since the beginning.  Motzart's Birthplace has essentially been a museum since the family moved to a nicer place on the other side of the river during his childhood - and yet...

Downstairs is a Spar! Now - ordinarily this would be a bit of a tacky cash in, but they have used the space well, sell lots of very welcome cold drinks and snacks and lots of themed things.  They even put Mozart on the receipt!

I suspect it's a franchised one that is actually owned and run by the museum and saves them having a cafe (although there is a cafe connected to it due to the way these historic buildings flow.

From the museum itself you get a lovely view of people taking selfies in front of the museum.  I did the same too but my hair was very bad that day :D

This was very early in the morning before I escaped for the train.

This selfie in the reflection of Wolfgang's dad's poster is the best you'll get today.  I also went to that museum on the same day (in the place they moved to, which is a lot bigger and quieter) but they did not have a Spar.