Herbivore

Kristen is a vegetarian, so naturally, this was a concern of ours on this trip - especially because in this region (southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.), sausage and other meats are prevalent, traditional favorites. (I love being omnivorous. And completely unpicky. Marvelous traveling advantage.) Many before us have also warned that it is difficult to find strictly vegetarian food, and that it is uncommon in the area.

But much to our pleasant surprise, we had virtually no problems finding vegetarian options throughout the trip. To boot, it wasn't even "fake vegetarian," as some vegetarian travelers have found in other countries where the meat is simply hidden more subtly in the exact same dish.

From Whirlwind Alpine Tour

Delicious, vegetarian Indian food in Salzburg
Here are shots from the somewhat upscale vegetarian restaurant Hiltl (restaurant website) in Zürich, Switzerland. The set-up is a long selbstbedienung ("self-service") bar with a huge variety of international vegetarian dishes, ranging from Thai to Greek to Indian and beyond. You schlock whatever you'd like on to your plate, weigh it and pay for it at the register, and sit yourself down.

From Whirlwind Alpine Tour

Being on the constant look-out for veggie-friendly places, I found this place in on of our city guides and suggested that we have a look. It was a bit pricey, but we decided to take it on with reckless abandon. Everything is pricey in Switzerland, why not just get a good meal out of it.

We notice there is a long bar, and hesitantly assume that it's buffet-style. I ask a waiter and find out that you pay by the plate. To make a long story short, we both end up dishing out a pretty pricey amount for our respective plates (think CHF 30-50 -- and the Swiss Franc is currently equal to the American dollar), because we discover (too late) that it's priced by weight.

From Whirlwind Alpine Tour

But Whoa. Who cares. It was superb food, and in my opinion, completely worth the one-time splurge. And every bit was vegetarian-friendly, to boot.

In conclusion, if you're an herbivore like Kristen, you'll probably be surprised to find that there are plenty of vegetarian options around, so long as your friends don't mind eating at the same places. We believe the reason people say that veggie places are few and far between is that they aren't looking for them. (Click here for a hilarious and dead-on example of how you miss what you're not looking for). But as globalization as well as vegetarianism spreads, we think you'll find that there are tons of restaurants who take their vegetarian customers into consideration as well.

*** Tips: Tipping ***

Here in Germany, there isn't always a usual percentage for tipping, per se. But it goes something like this, from what I gather. If you order, say, just a drink at a restaurant for €2.60, you would probably round it up to €3.00, hand it to the waiter/ess, and tell them, "Das ist gut." (Translated: "That's good/fine.") And it will mean they can keep the change as tip. (Fun side note: If you're in Bavaria, "Passt scho'!" works too! Okay, I know most of you wouldn't care, but I happen to love German dialects.)

Another example. If you order a meal at a restaurant that comes out to about €18.30, you would probably round the total up to €20.00 for the tipping, and do the same, "Das ist gut," procedure.

Basically, think of a very fuzzy 15% or so of the total, round up to the nearest Euro or half Euro (half Euro sometimes for those smaller sums where it wouldn't make sense to pay all the way to the next Euro, like a coffee or something), and tell the waiter/ess to keep the change. And don't leave without tipping at restaurants. In Germany, at least, you would leave a tip just as you would in the U.S. Equally so, leaving no tip means you were completely unsatisfied with the service.

Savvy on restaurant tipping now?

(Side note: Is it weird/strange that when I briefly proofread back over this post, all of it came out precisely in the German accent of one of our tutors/guides in my head??? I have been listening to the tutors and their welcome instructions for far too much today... It sounds EXACTLY like a broken English German accent and nothing else.)