I’ve now written two blog posts already about my mega train adventure earlier this year. One about the journeys I took and the other ranking my favourite stations. This blog post will be a bit random. I’ve scoured my photos and found photos of the meals & drinks I had.
I’m not going to lie though, it’s a bit splatter gun. I’m not sure why I took photos of some meals/drinks and not others but to commemorate the trip I’ll reflect and score what I have. So here we go… in chronological order…
Food & Drink scores
Also a word of warning… before you judge me… this probably isn’t going to make me look the healthiest person with these meals! Again, understand this is not my usual diet. I do eat vegetables, do not worry.
Belgium
I only had 1 night here but I found a traditional meatball spot (yes, Belgian meatballs) on the way to a nice pub.
It was at this place:
You could pick different sauces with the meatballs but I just went with what the waiter suggested. Belgians are masters of chips so they were great as you would expect (I am certain I stuck mayo on them at some point).
After the meatballs I took a walk to a local bar that had high reviews. I absolutely love a kriek (cherry beer) so had to order one. The vibe in the bar was great. Just the right level of busy, amazing beer available and everyone sitting around enjoying each others company.
I had a few more beers. All excellent as you would expect (some being quite strong) before I moseyed back to the hotel.
Rating
8.6/10. Not the healthiest but absolutely wonderful after a long train journey/treat. I’ll be more generous with scoring when the dishes are regional speciliaties.
Germany
Bit of a mixed bag but mostly good.
First up was a burger after I had been stuck on delayed trains all day. I think it was late-ish and I just wanted something before the walk to the hotel. I remember the burger being pretty good and the place being popular. I believe that they were semi-famous for cheesy fries so did get a pot of the sauce, I’d say the cheese sauce was maybe overkill.
Next up with a little vegan brunch place I found on the way to going to some museums. I got my first coffee of the day, blasted a podcast and they delivered this scrambled tofu sandwich that was absolutely delightful. Maybe the top sandwich of the trip! Nicely seasoned/use of spices. Did not care for the olive knifed into the sarnie.
On the more touristy end of food delights I got myself a currywurst in a cafe in the park. Was in the middle of a long walk through Tiergarten. It was just ok, the surroundings were better. Except at the end of my meal when I saw a man in my eyeline try to find a private spot to wee but I could quite clearly see him. Thankfully I had already finished.
On my final day in Germany I got lunch in a very sunny spot near Potsdamer Platz. Had a beer (felt like I needed to given I was at a Paulaner establishment) & ordered Spätzle. Which is basically cheesy pasta (please don’t cancel me for the lazy comparison). It was great but very very filling. Crispy onions were a very nice touch.
Rating
7.8/10. Solid all round. Nothing blew my face off but don’t remember being overly disappointed with any of these. I had some average eats while in Berlin but clearly didn’t take a picture of them. Shout out to the sushi place that messed up my order while they had a TV crew filming in there while I waited.
Austria: Part 1
I seem to remember Austria being a bit more expensive than Germany. Regardless, I went about trying to eat traditional food where I could. First stop was a nice spot where I got a sort of goulash of sorts. It was good. Nice potatoes and crispy onions. Nice sparkling water to wash it down.
Next stop was schnitzel. Classic. Was a nice little place a little walk from the train station (which I walked to in the pouring rain). This place had a bit of a 70’s vibe with everyone in there over 50 but food was great! Solid portions and not overpriced. Hearty.
On my Vienna wanderings I also found a spot in the famous Austrian coffee house Landtmann’s. I got some traditional sausage and famous Austrian dessert. The dessert was a bit heavy and dough-y. A bit too big a portion. Coffee and surroundings very nice. Staff also great.
Rating
8.1/10. Lots of traditional dishes. Some are a bit, dare I say, bland. Nice but not zinging me with flavour. Absolutely would love these in winter. Very nice, very solid but not life changing.
Slovakia
Bang average little brunch/breakfast this. I think I was just out for a little tourist day and was wanting a coffee and snack before hiking up to the castle. Everything seemed absolutely fine. I think I spectacularly failed trying to say thank you in Slovakian to the waitress which might of flooded me with shame.
Coffee and cake did improve things later on in the day. Wasn’t the best I ever had but solid enough.
Rating
5.4/10. Fine. Nothing remarkable to see here.
Austria: Part 2
Back into Austria and now in Graz. I had a break during the day so I nipped out for lunch. This place near my hotel had these odd rolled sandwiches. They were just ok. I don’t think rolling sandwiches will catch on. A stottie is still the premium bread.
For a nicer dinner I went to this place:
It was actually very good to great. Got a few courses and had one of the funniest seats at a restaurant I’ve ever had. Sort of sat in a spot that made it look like I worked there manning the cloakroom (yes, someone did ask me to check their coat). There was some traditional chicken and I ordered mostly what the waitress told me to.
On my last meal before I left to head south I had a local delicacy which is basically fried chicken. I’m not a fried chicken guy usually and if I’m being honest. This didn’t move me either. It was fine but the local wine was better.
Rating
7.5/10. Some real highs at the nice restaurant but some disappointments. Nothing bad in the slightest though.
Croatia
OK, first is a dish I still have no idea what it is. It was sold to me as an innovative place that did fusion and I think this was Mexican inspired. It didn’t taste bad. Was a bit like a burger/kebab. To be honest it is not something I’d order again.
We then go up a notch and land at a nice little Zagreb spot. I popped in here for lunch after failing elsewhere to get a table. It was actually pretty brilliant. It was a local beef shin pasta dish. Somewhat like gnocchi.
Place was here:
Before a night train I had time to kill and went to a restaurant on the way down to the station. I found a spot and didn’t quite know what I ordered. I think this was pork and some potatoes. It was functional but not spectacular.
After said night train I arrived early morning bleary eyed into Split. I needed coffee and a place to wait out the day until I could check into my accommodation. Found a little spot next to the water which was pleasant. Got through some podcasts and charged my phone, etc.
After a long hike later on in the trip. On the way down from the peak, I found a place to get some squid, salad and some iced tea. This scratched an itch. Like a bit of squid when on holiday and near the water. Had been a hot day out so nice to get some shade and eat some seafood (cannot guarantee how fresh it was but it tasted good).
I must have been on a real roll with photos of meals in Croatia. Here was a sort of Mexican inspired stew. It had black beans and was really quite nourishing actually. Bread was freshly baked too.
For lunch I found a small bagel place. I seem to remember it was pretty good. Sat there near the water and contemplated life.
After so much bread (see many meals above) I was craving more salad. So boom. A nice little caesar salad in a picturesque square. Was very good. On the more opulent end of salads but delicious.
I had to go back to Zagreb to continue the rest of my journey so two more dishes snapped. First was a passable ramen that I got on a drizzly evening. Ate it in my hotel room, which normally I would say is a bad idea because of the whiff but thankfully wasn’t terrible.
My final meal was a little grilled chicken dish in the baking heat. It was actually quite well seasoned despite looking plain.
Rating
6.8/10. So many dishes, so hard to score. Some gems but a lot of meh.
Slovenia
Found a sunny spot on my first night and got a few nice beers and ate a burger (not something I usually eat despite already appearing in this post but perhaps the long travel days brought it out in me). The waiter told me this is what they were famous for so I just went with what he told me I should order.
Lake Bled is beautiful and I went on a hike around it. Apparently there is a famous cake from the region and this is it. A sort of cream/custard cake. It was a bit much for me. After a hike, it was a nice sweet treat.
I found a little Indian restaurant not far from my accommodation. It was surprisingly pretty great. The poor lady running the show was rushed off her feet but the food was well priced and quite delicious.
One lunch time, before needing to take a train. I found a good spot to work from. The spot also served some local sausages. So I got some as thanks for using a powerpoint for a couple of hours. They were quite good. It looks terrible but the sauces were nice. A surprising recommend.
Final shots from Slovenia were from an awesome little food market they put on in the evenings. Super wonderful. Loads of food stalls and places to get some local wines and beers. First was some steak and frites with a nice local beer.
Next was a mini paella.
As the sun went down I had a couple more beers. Wonderful setting.
Rating
7.9/10. Lots of good in here. Slovenia is really great and no bad in this list.
Austria: Part 3
Another trip through Austria, albeit short. Grabbed a few things as I swung through Vienna to get to Switzerland. First up was some ribs in an old school beer cellar.
Traditional sandwich at Vienna station. It’s sort of like meat loaf? I actually don’t know if I’ve had meat loaf so that could be wrong. It’s porky and I got the chilli version. It was sorta great. Bread was fresh and I could see why there was always a queue outside of this place to get said sandwiches.
Rating
8/10. Can’t really fault these two. Maybe a bit overkill on the pork side of things.
Switzerland
Ohh this looks odd. First night in Switzerland after a very long journey to get there (including a night train). Bit strange but I had curry wurst again. I think I was knackered at this point but it was basic. Fine, nothing more.
A pit stop on train travels through Switzerland. I managed to grab cake and coffee. I think this was a dry brownie outside a train station. It was poor.
Gyoza! In Switzerland. I know. What was I playing at. It was walloping it down outside and late. Found a little spot to grab something before closing time. These were crap. Sorry to the establishment but they were so average it bores me to even look at them. Disappointing.
Rating
3.1/10. What can I say? None of these impressed me. I did eat some good stuff in Switzerland but it is not here. All of this was expensive and not impressive.
France
Lovely France with some great beer and food. First was a sunny beer in Lyon. Look at this beauty. Local Lyon beer.
Then down to Lille & I sampled some local cuisine. Very beautiful patisserie founded in 1677. They have a sort of stroopwafel dish that is pleasant but the cake I got after blew my socks off.
Star of the show was this passion fruit bomb. Description I can find says it includes “crunchy muesli and cranberry, creamy dulcey and passion fruit, passion fruit and yuzu biscuit, whipped vanilla ganache”.
Rating
8.2/10. Mostly cake and beer but they were great cakes and beers!
UK
Back! Met friends to celebrate my arrival. Was at a pub near Borough Market. Obviously when I got back it was all Coronation theming everywhere. Picked up this bang average themed ale to celebrate. Did not move me but the company solved any woe.
Conclusions
This was long! Any insight I can draw? I should take more photos of my healthier meals plus Switzerland must do better. Shout out to Austria that was a good mix of high quality dishes and easy to get local fare. France has lovely baked goods (shock!) & Slovenia is a delight.
Fin.