Trail Food in Europe
I love the bumper sticker that says, “I bike to eat!” I’m not sure if that’s why I bike, but I certainly enjoy both biking and eating. So one essential ingredient in the whole European biking experience is the opportunity to try lots of different foods. Both the types and presentations of food are different in Europe. Some common foods over here, that are much less readily available at home include:
- fish & chips in England
crepes in France- Quiche Lorraine in France
- Pizza Napolitaine in Italy & France
- fruit stands in France
- gelaterias once only in Italy but now ubiquitous in Europe
- bakeries in France & Germany
- schnitzel in Germany
Food Presentation in Europe
strawberry pastry
As you can see by the photos, the presentation of food is a big deal in Europe. I’m not just talking at the expensive restaurants. So far, it’s been at every restaurant I’ve visited from mom & pop restaurants, trailside restaurants, food stands & even museum restaurants. Each dish is an edible piece of art. And serving sizes/portions and cost is fairly similar to restaurants in the United States.
Trailside Munching
Obviously I haven’t taken pictures at every place I’ve eaten. But I’ve certainly been impressed by every place I’ve eaten. The food
pizza Napolitaine
has been delicious, the service quite good and prices reasonable. Here on the Moselle River Trail, there is no lack of trailside food options. My only disappointment has been the hours the restaurants and food stores are open. It’s a little tough to get used to. All the hotels where I’m staying provide a fairly hearty breakfast, and I don’t start getting hungry until about 3
:00 (15:00). Well it seems that first, restaurants are often closed on Sundays and Mondays and … well they’re closed a lot. And the ones that are open on any given day are often open from around 11:00 to 2:00 then close until 7:00, then open up again. Even local stores keep similar crazy hours. The bottom line is, they’re often closed when I’m hungry. Maybe that’s why when they’re finally open, I enjoy their European trail foods so much.
Does this panoramic photo make my butt look fat? No, but you may want to cut back on the apple strudel.
