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6 Lifestyle Ideas I Brought Home from Europe

We are just returned from our 18 day trip to Munich, Prague and several cities in Austria.  

Travel (both domestic and international) is a shared fondness within my family and so we are always planning our next trip.  We love exploring new places, learning the history of the place, and how one city’s history figures into the history of the world.  

I also enjoy observing different lifestyles and bringing back snippets of those lifestyles to incorporate into our home.

Viktualalienmarkt in Munich, Germany at www.NourishandNestle.com
Viktualienmarkt in Munich, Germany

This trip had been in the works for well over a year and it didn’t disappoint. Just as a quick overview, we flew to Munich, Germany and spent 2 days there where the highlights were the Viktualienmarkt and touring Dachau Concentration Camp.  From Munich, we took a train to Salzburg, Austria where we were met by a charming couple from Headwater Tours who took us to Bad Ischl, Austria from where my family began our hiking trip through the Austrian Lakes.

In a nutshell, the four of us hiked an average of 12 miles a day through the mountains and around the lakes in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, spending our nights in Bad Ischl, Strobl, St. Gilgen, Fuschl, and Mondsee.  It’s my idea of hiking as our suitcases were transported from one picture-perfect inn to the next picture-perfect inn by Headwater Tours.  Headwater provided us with a map and directions from inn to inn, but after that, we were on our own.  From the pictures, you can see that the hiking terrain and trails were varied, as were the sights and experiences, even within each day. 

Hiking along the Wolfgangsee from Strobl to St. Gilgen
Hiking along the Wolfgangsee from Strobl to St. Gilgen
This was taken after a strenuous uphill climb to this meadow
This was taken after a strenuous uphill climb to this meadow
A farm and farm house.
The directions told us to walk to the post then through the farmyard.
kate and terry in st gilgen
Two of my loves in front of the Rathaus in St. Gilgen

The hiking portion of our trip lasted 6 days, after which we spent a few days in Salzburg (and toured the Obersalzberg which is home to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, WWII German bunkers and other WWII German military sites) and Vienna, Austria; Prague, The Czech Republic and then back to Munich.  It was wonderful, it was fantastic, but it was also good to get home.  (If you are planning a trip and would like more information, I have detailed where we stayed and what we did with our thoughts about each here)

4 of us on top of Mtn in Obersalzberg
Taken on top of a mountain in the Obersalzberg, where Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest is located.

Our almost 3 weeks in Europe gave me all sorts of ideas that I’m anxious to incorporate into our world at home.  

6 lifestyle ideas I brought home from Europe:

  • Water Carafes on the Table  I think this is a whole European thing as I remember it from Italy and France as well.  While in many of the cities you need to buy a bottle of either still or sparkling water, we were very satisfied to have a carafe of water placed on our table at each meal.  Not only does it help you increase your water intake each day, but I find it lovely touch.  Within days of returning home from our trip, I purchased this carafe and it has been on our dinner table every night since.  
  • water carafe
    Fresh Vegetables at Breakfast  Every breakfast in every city included fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers at breakfast, in addition to eggs, cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, muesli and an assortment of bread with jam.  I’m accustomed to eating fruit for breakfast and vegetables for maybe lunch and for sure dinner, but I was happy to start my veggie consumption earlier to get them all in!  As we were there in the summer, we obviously had summer vegetables, but I have it from a good authority that tomatoes and mushrooms are what you’ll see in the fall and winter.
vegetables at breakfast
seewinkel breakfast
  • Walk More One of the things I loved about spending my college years in State College, PA was that it was a small town and you could walk wherever you needed.  I was reminded of this in Europe this summer.  It’s harder to do in our suburbs with everything so spread out, but we are determined to find more opportunities to get out and walk.  In fact, on our hikes we noticed many families with young children traipsing along the trails on little day outings.  
  • Additions to our Traditional Tossed Salad Most tossed salads we were served included pumpkin seeds, corn kernels and krautsalat (a simple, vinegary coleslaw).  Kate and I really enjoyed these additions and have already incorporated them at home.
  • Flowers EVERYWHERE!  It was hard not to notice the abundance of window boxes, planters, and beds overflowing with flowers, predominantly petunias, and geraniums.  While I have areas of flowers in my yard, masses of these relatively inexpensive plantings make a powerful impact.  
flowers in europe-1
flowers in europe-3
flowers in europe-2
And who would have thought of planting Hydrangeas in pots??!! It made a stunning display.
  • Pumpkin Seed Oil We started noticing that pumpkin seeds were added to every salad once we were in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, which is just southeast of Salzburg.  Doing a little research, we found that the Styrian area of Austria, south of where we were, is well know for its pumpkin seeds and seed oil.  The particular Styrian pumpkin grown is used solely for its seeds, the pulp being composted back to the soil. The seeds are eaten and pressed into oil, the repute of which for its health properties dates back to a proclamation made in 1773 by Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.   Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil enjoys the same PGI (protected geographical indication of the EU) that Champagne, Parmigiano-Regiano and Cognac share.  I purchased some oil in a grocery store in Vienna and am anxious to use it on our salads and in other dishes.  Its rich, nutty notes will add a significant flavor to any dish and here are some recipes that have caught my eye:

Austrian Cheese Spread with Pumpkin Seed Oil

Carrot Salad with Pumpkin Seed Oil Vinaigrette

Honey, Ginger Panna Cotta with Pumpkin Seed Oil

Pumpkin Seed Oil and Herb Salad

Styrian Style Pumpkin Seed Oil Salad Dressing

Pumpkin seed oil does not tolerate heat well and goes rancid quickly, so I’m keeping mine in the fridge until I need it.  Don’t tell Terry, but the pumpkin seed oil he schlepped across Europe could have been purchased on Amazon…who knew?  The La Tourangelle BrandLa Tourangelle Brand and the appropriately named Styrian Pumpkinseed Oil hail from the Styrian area of Austria.

Either from domestic or international travel, it’s fun to incorporate some of your travels into your daily life.  What are some of the additions to your daily life that you found through your travel?  I’d love to hear.

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Until next time, 

lynn
pinterest brought home

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!

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8 Comments

    1. Living in Austria for the winter and loving it! Thanks for sharing your hiking Tour!! Want to try it some Time!

      1. Hi Pam, how very lucky you are! I imagine it is just beautiful, especially around the holidays.

        That hiking trip was so great. It’s the second one I’ve taken with Headwater/Breakaway Tours…they are top shelf. Every inn we stayed in was really lovely.

        Have a fantastic time enjoying that lovely country!

        And pop back and let me know if you end up doing a hiking tour!

        Have a great day.

        Lynn

  1. Germany and Austria were the first two countries I experienced in Europe, and immediately fell in love. I so look forward to returning one day. I love the flowers, the architecture. It’s just beautiful. I found you from SITS today.

  2. We lived in Germany years ago. We still practice many things we adopted years ago. I hope to take our younger daughters there soon. We often went to the areas you wrote about. Beautiful pictures and great summary of the practices that caught your attention. Thanks for sharing. Linda

  3. Hi Lynn, this is a lovely post about your vacation! Travelling is the best, getting to know new cultures and places and get inspired by them – it’s great! We will be in Munich at Christmas time and believe it or not I haven’t been before, so your post comes in handy 😉 I’m from the North and this will be great going. I haven’t been for a long time and can’t wait to hear German all around me! 🙂

  4. Really great post!! these are things I love as well and will definitely miss when we move back to the US. The flowers are always my favorite thing when walking around particularly in Germany. Window boxes aren’t as prevalent in finland but everyone in the suburbs has large yards that are full of all kinds of pretty flowers. I think owning a house comes with the prerequisite that you have a green thumb. And they do the water carafes here and veggies for breakfast as well

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