New Year's Eurotour. Gastronomic journey in the holidays

On the eve of winter and New Year holidays, the soul especially insistently demands fairy tales and magic. And who is not old Europe is able to unfold a panorama of streets full of ancient legends and mystical legends.

The Old World has always attracted the attention of cities with a unique atmosphere of the Middle Ages. But often in the dream of Paris or London, we forget about the more accessible, but no less interesting Eastern part. I propose to address this injustice and get acquainted with the gastronomic features of several capitals of Eastern Europe, where you can go for a winter fairy tale. National cuisine along with other attractions is of the same interest and can tell a lot about the history of the country and mentality.

Perhaps for some, a slice of Europe under the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria is perceived as one. Indeed, they are similar in their atmosphere, medieval castles, funny language and absolutely fabulous winter. Once upon a time, the three countries united into one state before the threat of conquest by the Ottoman Emperor Sultan Suleiman. Territorially, this proximity is only reinforced, for example, if you take a train in Vienna, then in two hours you can leave in Budapest. Due to this, there are a huge number of tours combining visits to these countries. I suggest combining a sightseeing tour with a gastronomic one, the more the culinary traditions of each country and reasonable prices will only contribute to this.

When planning a trip to Europe, it makes sense to organize a tour yourself, so you can decently save on the cost of housing, if you choose budget hostels instead of expensive hotels. Below we have indicated the real lower threshold for the cost of overnight accommodation in the city (prices are taken from the Booking website and are current at the time of publication of the article), as well as the average cost of a complex lunch and a cup of cappuccino (prices are translated into rubles taking into account the current exchange rate).

So, the cost of a flight to any of the three cities in two ways, for example, from Yekaterinburg will cost about twenty thousand rubles, and if you fly from Moscow, the price will be reduced by half. By the way, those who want to save on air tickets should take into account that their cost depends on seasonality and on the day of the week. The cheapest to buy tickets for the middle of the week, and the most expensive they will cost on weekends and Mondays.

Once in winter Prague, you feel inside a toy ball with snow or the hero of a movie about the magical kingdom. The feeling of a fairy tale is aggravated with the approach of Christmas with its colorful bazaars, the smell of Prague smoked ham and mulled wine.

Every tourist visiting the Czech Republic comes to the conclusion that this is the ideal country in terms of price and quality. Staying in the country makes the Czech language belonging to the Slavic group of languages more comfortable, so you can intuitively understand what we are talking about in a particular situation. But in a cafe, it is better to immediately ask for an “english menu” so that funny names of dishes do not distract from their essence. If the absolute must see Prague is the mystical Astronomical Clock and the photograph against its background, then in gastronomic terms it is certainly beer. Czech beer has long been a brand and a sign of quality, you can treat it to a mug in Prague everywhere. And as a rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper, the cost of a beer is unlikely to exceed $ 2.

Prices in cafes and grocery stores in Prague vary greatly depending on the potential place of accumulation of tourists. Therefore, it makes sense to dine and enjoy dinner in non-tourist places, there and prices are many times lower, and there are no queues, and, as practice shows, the food is tastier.

A comprehensive lunch in a non-tourist place in Prague will cost 330 rubles, and you can skip a cup of cappuccino for 110 rubles. Having been to Prague, it is impossible to leave without having tasted such a crown dish as a buck knee in our way. Perhaps the dish was called “knee” because of its size, one portion can be safely ordered for four girls.

Burn calories will be an opportunity to walk through the numerous narrow streets of the city, by the way, it is convenient that most of the attractions are within walking distance from each other. Being impressed with the architectural masterpieces of the city, you should not refuse to visit the Prague Zoo, which by many ratings is among the 10 best zoos in the world!

You can expect to spend the night in Prague from 750 rubles, and in hostels located in the historical center of the city.

And in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, you can spend the night even a little cheaper, the price for a bed in the hostel starts from 500 rubles with pennies. Hungary is one of those countries that has a grand past and a modest present.

Speaking of the capital, it is worth noting that the communist period and World War II caused significant damage to architectural and historical monuments, but the surviving attractions will be enough to make a lasting impression. Budapest city raisin and expressive, one of its features is that the city has a huge number of thermal springs and thanks to this it has the status of a resort. The national pride of Hungarians is the famous Szechenyi Swimming – a complex of 11 swimming pools and 3 saunas, functioning all year round. It is most profitable to buy a season ticket for the whole day, its cost varies from 12 to 17 dollars, depending on the day of the week. By the way, if there is no need to save money, you can stay in a hotel with your own thermal spring.

Hungarian cuisine is traditionally famous for its goulash, which has nothing to do with the meat gravy, by which we understand goulash. Hungarian goulash is an independent dish, something intermediate between thick meat soup and stew. Just such dishes, combining the first and second, are classics of national cuisine. In general, Hungarian cuisine is heavy, hearty, meaty, in a word - men's. And the unconditional favorite of local cooks was paprika, it sets the tone for almost all second courses, and even cheese is brewed here with the addition of paprika. The cost of lunch in an inexpensive place will be equal to 280 rubles, a cup of coffee is only 90 rubles.

With you from Hungary as a souvenir, you can take away a bottle of the famous white Tokai wine and (or) healing balm "Unicum", prepared according to a secret recipe of almost forty medicinal herbs! It is a thick black liqueur, poured into traditional spherical bottles, the cost of which is 10-20 euros.

As for the brilliant and aristocratic Vienna, it is not possible to find a budget accommodation in the city center. In Vienna, neither the building, the witness of the eras and the city itself as a huge open-air museum. Vienna has been recognized as the music capital of Europe for centuries.

In the city center you are unlikely to stumble upon a budget hostel, as there are expensive hotels and a more affordable option - boarding houses, which are home mini hotels, but here you should not count on a room cheaper than 4000 rubles. However, you should not postpone your visit to Vienna until better times. Hostels should look a little further from the center, you can spend the night there from 1000 rubles. It makes sense to settle in the area of the Viennese Forest to be able to slowly explore it, especially the air there is simply magical.

Viennese cuisine can tell eloquently the fact that this is the only cuisine named in honor of the city, and not the country, as is usually customary. Even those who have never visited Vienna are familiar with heavy coffee, Viennese sausages, Viennese waffles and Viennese cafes, a culinary tradition that has become a cultural phenomenon far beyond Austria. Perhaps, traditional cuisine without special delights, but hearty and tasty. Its absolute hit recognized the Vienna schnitzel, this is a large piece of broken veal in the clay, its cost in restaurants from 15 euros. As for a comprehensive lunch in an inexpensive place, you will have to pay 740 rubles for it, and you can treat yourself to a cup of cappuccino for 225 rubles. According to the variety of sweet pastries, Viennese cuisine will probably take first place in Europe, it was here that the famous French croissant and coffee melange were born. We, however, aiming to comprehend the beauty of national dishes, will not be able to remain indifferent to the classics of Viennese cuisine apple strudel.

Pictured: Christmas market in Vienna

A trip to any of the capitals will give a kaleidoscope of vivid emotions and a hundred photos. Every city has been hoarding secrets and secrets for centuries. How different they seem at first glance, so united by the common theme of the special life of the lost Empire. And perhaps the existing opinion that it is impossible to grasp the essence of Budapest without seeing Vienna and Prague is true. And we can only shower them with admiration with compliments, because a beautiful city is not at all sorry for epithets.

Text by Diana Yusupova

Photo: w-dog.ru, edemposvetu.ru, zhelvetro.blogspot.ru, adelanta-tour.ru, my.avialine.com