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July 15th, 2010Resources, The Gluten-Free Life
Phew. I’m back from my vacation in Austria; a well needed break from the daily grind. I got some sun, took in beautiful views, and made some big life decisions (girlfriend no longer, I’m engaged!). I also ate a lot of sausage. I have to imagine that being a vegetarian in Austria is more difficult than being gluten-free. Austrians love their meat, pork, especially.
While I was in Austria, I spent 4 days in Vienna and then 4 days in the southern region at a lake called Millstatt. It was lovely to be able to see the city and the countryside. It also allowed me to experience gluten-free Austria eating in and eating out.
Eating OutTags: Austria, gluten free, traveling abroadBefore I left, I posted a quote about traveling and food (among other things). Basically, it talks about the value of eating like a local while traveling. By embracing the local food culture you get to participate in the larger culture by doing something you have to: eat. Therefore, I’m a big advocate for eating out while traveling, although it does pose certain challenges for those wish dietary restrictions, if you’re armed with the tools mentioned previously in “Traveling Abroad Gluten-Free” you should do just fine.
Traditional Austrian cuisine includes a lot of key dishes that sadly us gluten-free folks can’t enjoy: wiener schnitzel, knudel, spaetzle, and many many desserts. However, Austrian cuisine is also generally meat and potato heavy, so you’re likely to find a dish you can eat (just make sure to ask about the sauce). Even though you probably won’t learn German for a 10 day trip, make sure you know certain key words like gluten, wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and flour. If you can communicate with your waiter that you CAN’T eat those things, you’re in good shape.
Even though I ate in most of the time while in Vienna, Alex and I did have one big dinner out to celebrate our engagement at Zum Schwarzen Kameel. We made reservations far in advance and Alex explained to them that I couldn’t eat gluten. When we got there, the waitstaff was fantastic. They spoke English perfectly and were incredibly accommodating to make sure my dishes didn’t contain a trace of gluten. We had a very filling three course meal consisting of lobster, fish, and steak. It was very indulgent, but hey, we were celebrating. I imagine you’d have a similar good experience at any well-respected fine dining establishment.
In the South, we ate everyday at the Inn we were staying at: Villa Verdin. All their food was cooked in house, to order, fresh, and local. One night, I ate a trout that was caught that day from the Lake-can’t get more fresh or local than that. Since I happened to be traveling with a bunch of native Austrians, they did most of the work for me, determining what I could and could not eat, but like I said, if you know the key words, you’ll survive. Additionally, this particular place served plenty of salads and vegetables-items naturally gluten-free, and didn’t cook at all with flour.
Eating InIf you’re staying in a hotel with a kitchen or an apartment while in Vienna, I suggest cooking in once or twice. Don’t get me wrong, I think that eating like a local is a big part of the travel experience but with a gluten intolerance/allergy or celiac disease, Austria can be a bit tough. A break from eating out once or twice during the week will probably feel good and ensure that you’re staying away from gluten.I was lucky enough to have many native Viennese help me locate gluten-free foods while I was in Vienna. It turned out a friend of a friend also has celiacand I got the inside scoop of where to shop. In Austria (and Germany, I’m told), there are stores called Reformhaus which carry organic and natural products. Like in the states, organic and gluten-free seem to piggyback, so you’ll find a selection of gluten-free items here. In Austria, there is an organic food store that is a mecca for us gluten-freerscalled Bio Maran. “Bio” in Europe is code for organic. Bio Maran was great. There was gluten-free bread, beer, pasta, snacks- you name it. Most of there products were in one section labeled “Gluten Frei.” Throughout the store, there were labels under gluten-free products with this phrase which made finding gluten-free products a no-brainer. I picked up some gluten free beers from Neumarkter Lammsbrau (yayayayay), some muesli, rice cake snacks, bread, and crackers. I could have gone way overboard, but these seemed like essentials.
Another perk of having these few gluten-free items was that when I went to Lake Millstatt, I had my own supplements to the provided breakfast (muesli with their yogurt and my bread with their jams). I also was able to enjoy the delicious spreads they provided with bread before dinner. Although it felt slightly strange to carry around my bread and crackers, I felt like I could enjoy meals with the rest of my gluten eating clan without feeling left out.
Resources for Eating Gluten Free in Austria
Orlando de Castello (gluten-free menu)
Book of Yum’s Post on Traveling Gluten Free in Austria and Germany
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June 24th, 2010Resources, The Gluten-Free Life
- leaving on a jet plane…
As you know I spent most of last week away from Gluten Free and the City and the United States. I was in Budapest for a big work meeting. Budapest is a lovely city, and this past trip was my third time there. Memories of previous trips to the city (which is really two cities Buda and Pest, joined by many bridges over the Danube River) are dominated by herding adults to various locations, puzzling over the spelling and pronunciation of Hungarian words, and enjoying hearty Hungarian food. This past trip was sure to include the first two items, but I wasn’t so sure about the third. This past trip was my first time in Budapest gluten-free.
Traveling abroad gluten-free is a challenge. Speaking the language is a serious benefit, but even then, trying to explain celiac disease and gluten in my native tongue can be difficult. I do not speak Hungarian, and I bet that most gluten-free travelers are also not armed with that tool. So because you will probably not be able to eloquently articulate your gluten intolerance and why it is important that your salad not be prepared in the same bowl as the one with croutons, you must arm yourself with a couple of other tools.
Knowledge of the Cuisine
Having been to Budapest before, I am familiar with the food. It is hearty, meaty, starchy, and has all the potential to be contaminated with gluten. Since I was at a large meeting, all our meals were buffets and I didn’t really have the option of grilling the waiter anyway. I avoided anything that looked like it could have gluten. Sadly, this meant I didn’t enjoy the goulash, any sauce dishes, and rarely a dessert. I did have a mix up once though, where I thought what was actually gnocchi was rice. I luckily asked a native Hungarian before I ate any, but it was on my plate. I stuck to salads and simple meats. Knowledge of the cuisine is especially important when traveling to China or Hong Kong, since pretty much every dish is seasoned with soy sauce, which is wheat based.
Research
Since one of the joys of travel is tasting the cuisines of different cultures, you’ll probably want to sample as much of the local food as you can. At least, I do. In this case, do your homework and research potential gluten-free restaurants or grocery stores where they carry gluten-free items. I’ve heard rumors that European countries are more gluten-free friendly than the US and it is possible you’ll find some great GF restaurants or reliable GF shops that you would not have found otherwise. You can also do research on gluten-free brands worldwide. Also, if you have your heart set on going to some great restaurant that isn’t gluten-free, contact the establishment. Most likely, someone there speaks some English and can help you out. It is better to prepare the restaurant for your arrival then to spring your dietary restrictions on them (especially true for set menus).
Know the Terms
Learn how to say gluten-free in whatever language is spoken where you are going. If that isn’t a popular phrase or saying, learn how to say wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and the most common gluten-containing items like flour, pasta, and bread. You can use these phrases in your email or phone call to the restaurant. A great service that does this for you is Select Wisely. They provide information cards that explain your allergy/intolerance in many different languages. This should ensure that you can dine free of gluten.
Be Prepared
Worst case scenario is that that the cuisine is gluten abundant and your research has failed to provide an alternative. This is super unlikely. Most likely, you’ll be sick of eating salad all day and not enjoying dessert with your travel companions. Because this is likely to happen unless the cuisine is amazingly gluten-free friendly, you should have some snacks on hand to satiate your cravings. This is especially important on long plane rides. I request gluten-free meals, but sometimes they are really pathetic and sometimes gross. I bring Larabars and trail mix on my plane rides, and usually this does the trick.
Traveling to Budapest gluten-free was actually quite successful overall. Despite eating only yogurt, fruit, plain meats and salad, that was really all I craved since it was quite hot and humid there. There were some gluten-free victories: ice cream and chocolate mousse for dessert instead of pastries; and mishaps: a waiter not understanding English at all and ending up with a wrong but thankfully gluten-free order (the same waiter misunderstood my order or lemonade and instead I got Grand Marnier!).
I’m off to Austria in a week for a much needed vacation with the boyfriend and his family (read: mom, sisters, and sisters’ significant others) and I’ve just requested my gluten-free meal on Air Berlin. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Other Gluten-Free Travel Sites
10 Tips for Traveling-Gluten-Free
Traveling Gluten-Free in France
CeliacChicks: Gluten-Free Italy
Tags: Budapest, Europe Gluten-free, gluten-free travel, tips and tricks, traveling abroad -
