Geocaching in Salzburg & A Traditional Dessert

One of the bonus pleasures of this awesome trip was finding geocaches. I had spent a number of hours researching the areas we'd be visiting and then trying to find geocaches that might be near our tourist stops. I often had to translate the cache description from German to English (Thanks, Google) and write notes on the printed cache page. I poured over maps looking for the train stations as that is often a cache location. Most of the time we were not on guided tours, so we had the flexibility of walking another block or two or three to search for a nearby geocache. Tall buildings and narrow streets restricted satellite reception making the search a little harder. Not all geocache containers are universal, either.

As in the case of visiting any US city, we almost always check if there are virtual and earth caches that would be of interest and educational. We lucked out in Munich as there were very few visitors in the plaza the morning we spent looking for fossils in the building walls or looking for cameras mounted on buildings.

Hubby and I were excited to add Austria as another European country to our collection. OFD had shared the area she planned to spend our time in Salzburg. I found five geocaches as possibilities and then one other at the train station. Here are photos from our Salzburg geocaching adventure.

And they're off walking the footbridge in search of geocache #1.

made the find & signed the log

telephone booth for #2

#3 had Hubby puzzled, I made the find on this one

#4 was in front of Mozart's birthplace and museum. It was so very, very busy. We spent a LONG time speculating where the cache might be hidden, trying to be nonchalant as we looked behind plaques, under door handles, in cracks of walls, etc. OFD went shopping. Finally, after more reading and discussing and scouting of the area, we determined the cache must be in the corner next to a bench. Two women sat on the bench with no intention of leaving. Hubby waited and waited. Finally, they left, he rushed in and commandeered the stone bench and quickly found the geocache and log sheet. An older gentleman was roasting chestnuts on that corner and I am certain he wondered what 'those two tourists' were doing. Hubby is all smiles on #4. He took off looking for another one across the river, but struck out. 

We did find #5 at the train station and once again, my research skills paid off and saved us many extra steps and minutes of searching. 

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OFD had researched a place she wanted to try for lunch or dinner while in Salzburg, The Elephant Hotel & Restaurant. It was in the Mozart Plaza area. We had to get some help from a local resident and then with our friend Google, we were able to find the right street.

on the wall when we walked in

interesting wall art as everything else and I do mean

everything else was elephant related

including the table napkins

the girls had schnitzel

this was served with cranberries, I loved it

Hubby had fresh trout

also delicious

But we came because of the dessert...

Salzburger Nockerl

"a sweet soufflé served as a dessert, 

a culinary speciality in the Austrian city of Salzburg"

served by the waitstaff 

we waited about 30 minutes for the dessert to come 

to the table

raspberry sauce

The sweet dumplings are made of egg yolk, flour, sugar, and vanilla, mixed into a thin dough. Then egg white is whisked until it is stiff and folded carefully into the dough. Afterwards dumplings (Nocken, diminutive: Nockerl, cf. Gnocchi) are formed and baked on low heat in an oven.

Salzburger Nockerl are always freshly prepared and served warm with powdered sugar, sometimes with a raspberry sauce. Like any soufflé, the preparation requires a bit of practice. Though traditionally a dessert, the dish is so filling that it is also suitable as a main course. - Wikipedia

like eating meringue

Presumably derived from French soufflé dishes, Salzburger Nockerl, like Kaiserschmarrn or Apple strudel, have become an icon of Austrian cuisine. Legend has it that they were invented by Salome Alt (1568–1633), the concubine of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau in the early 17th century. In any case the golden dumplings represent Salzburg's Baroque atmosphere left by the territorial prince, whose life of dissipation came to an end when his archbishopric was challenged by the Bavarian neighbours. They are supposed to represent the hillsides surrounding the city centre: Festungsberg, Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg. The dusting of powdered sugar resembles the snow-covered peaks. - Wikipedia

We also stopped at Paul Fürst. We were supposed to try dessert, but we were all too full from The Salzburger Nockerl to eat anything else so it was just a place to rest the weary feet and grab some liquid refreshment.

it was so busy, there was no room outside on the plaza

the 3 of us sat around an itty bitty table inside

I did buy Mozartkugel, but from a neighboring store. It is a small ball of pistachio or hazelnut marzipan, coated in praline cream and finally dipped in melted chocolate.

ice cream seemed to be a favorite treat the day we stopped

 We grabbed dinner at a stand near the train station before we headed back to Munich. Salzburg is a beautiful city and I am glad I got to spend my time in the oldest part of the city, enjoying its charm and history. Another successful day for all three of us!