Speisen getranke

I arrived in Innsbruck on Sunday afternoon after 14 hours of flying and several hours of running to and from planes. Flying into Innsbruck is an amazing experience. The town is nestled in a valley between two mountain ranges and it is by far the most breathtaking view from an airplane I've ever had. Jet lagged and starving I got to the headquarters of SOS where I would be staying for the next four nights. Nobody else had arrived yet so I dropped off my bags in the room and started out for a walk to see if I could find something to eat.

The first place I came to sounded nice and Austrian, Schlosse Cafe. I stepped inside to the most bizzare little bar, not cafe, I had ever seen. The place reeks of stale cigarettes. There are 8 cramped little booths, 4 on each side of the door. In the background I can hear "You can call me Al" playing on the speakers. After ignoring me for about 5 minutes, despite the fact that only 1 of the 8 booths is occupied, the waitress gestures to one of the booths indicating that I should sit down. She seems concerned when she realizes I can't speak any German, but takes pity on me and helps translate the menu. The cover reads "Speisen getranke" which according to Babblefish translates "Foods getranke". There are 5 pages - 2 of them with food, 2 of them with drinks, and 1 with about a dozen varieties of ice cream sundaes. For the food, this is pretty much how it went: sausage with bread, sausage with mustard, sausage with mushrooms, sausage with cream sauce, sausage with spinach, dried sausage, cold sausage...you get the picture. I ordered sausage with bread and a glass of water. The other booth in the corner seemed to have worked their way through most of the 2 page drink menu already.

Sitting back and waiting for my food I look around the "cafe". On one wall is a painting that reads "in vino veritas", or "in wine lies the truth." Caddy corner to this gem is a heavily lacquered wood carving of Jesus and the last supper. I feel like I'm in a movie.

I eat my dinner (not worth even mentioning) and make my way back to my room for a good night's sleep. I'll write more later about the next day in Innsbruck (which was a vast improvement), so stay tuned!