A Lunchtime Excursion.

Discovering hitherto unknown parts of Burgenland.

We decided to take a scenic drive to show our friend the area and we thought might end up at a nice restaurant in Hungary. Well, off we drove only to realize that not all of us had our passports on us and none of us had any form of communication...no cell or smartphone to be had. Nice under normal circumstances but without identification and phone we chose to rather meander about in Burgenland.

Bob is great at finding little out of the way places that make one glad to be there and see. It always feels as if we've traversed a huge tract of Burgenland when in actual fact we've only gone in a big scenic circle with a 30 kilometer radius. Along the way we saw wonderfully authentic and romantic Gasthauses but judging by the overflowing car parks, not one with any table available.

As we got closer to Oberwart we stopped at two different possible places to have lunch. I was sent in as a scout for a table and I was told almost verbatim by both waitresses;

" You do know it is Stefani's Day today and we are full. You should have phoned ahead and booked a table! "

Oh, there was a tad bit of Schadenfreude involved but I merely smiled. Eventually after trying at two Oberwart restaurants to no avail we headed for Grosspetersdorf and its Strohriegel.

Gosh, I stuck my head through the entrance and hesitatingly enquired about a table. Oh, I was expecting another bit of Schadenfreude but what luck, they had one left and didn't make me feel stupid for not booking ahead of time. Literally the last available table, a small one in the smoking section but we didn't care and took it. No one smoked in any case so it was fine. The smoking areas of most restaurants are full of character and authenticity and it seems unfair to make them smoking areas.

Their menu was shortened for the festive season and I didn't spot anything vegan but no problem, I ordered rice and plain vegetables...it tasted amazingly nice! Isn't it funny how our own backyard still has the best places to eat...

Biggi