Mariazell II

Last night I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, a charmingly alpine room with antlers adorning the dark wood panelling. I had something typically Austrian: gebratene Knödel mit Eier, that is, fried dumplings with eggs. The dumplings are sliced and fried in butter, then eggs are added and stirred until scrambled. It is delicious and a treat -- if you don't think about the cholesterol count. Along with it a lovely green salad and a stein of frothy beer. A meal fit for a king! The hotel owner told me that the USA had won the soccer match against Algeria and moved into the next round in the World Cup Games in South Africa. Quite astonishing as soccer is not a strong sport for the Americans. I told him that most Americans would have no idea about the importance of that victory. He said that the American team played well, with style. That is quite a compliment. Soccer is not just about winning, but about how the game is played. It can be graceful and elegant. Soccer is HUGE in Europe and the rest of the world. Only in the USA is it a curiosity.
The small pleasures of life. In that I include breakfast, one of my favorite meals in Europe. They certainly know how to put on a good breakfast here. This morning the buffet included delicious Brötchen, those light, crusty rolls, as well as the more substantial multi-grain breads; there were trays of cold cuts and freshly sliced cheeses, several varieties of jams (and I suspect these were homemade), a huge bowl of fresh yogurt that was probably produced by the cows down the road. (It was, if I may say so, udderly yummy!). In other words, everything is of the highest quality. This is quite unlike the barely edible breakfast buffets one finds in American hotels, with their canned and pre-packaged foods and practically inedible bread. The photo is of the Hauptplatz, immediately in front of the basilica, in Mariazell. As I said, it is picturesquely situated.