probably our favorite dinner the whole trip - in Italy

What filled our tummies

We had heard that finding food wit kids could be one of our biggest challenges. It was true, until we came to terms with feeding the ice cream for meals - then life was easy! Jill has always said I need to start a smugmug gallery just of the girls eating ice cream and after this trip I think she is so right. Here are just a few of the many ice cream - gelato cones they ate

in Innsbruck Austria and later that day...

In Brixen Italy. (this was far the best gelato, I got lemon ice)
In Obberamergau, Germany

a few hours later with another ice cream that came in the cutest Donald Duck Head

the girls dinner in France, Caroline ended up switching her chocolate for my apricot gelato and has actually brought it up twice since we have been home how she want to go back and get the orange ice cream.
ice cream in Salzburg, Austria

This was a cheese I found at two commissaries but never found it at the grocery stores. It was amazing. They came with Shrek playing cards that the kids loved.

Every single day we were there I wanted Diet Coke - they call it Coke Light there. I kicked my habit on May 5th but still crave it everyday and know if I drink just one I will be back to my scary amount that I consume. I feel we spent more money on drinks than anything else. They don't serve ice with drinks or tap water. Just think how great it would be to be a waiter there not having to refill drinks your whole shift.
I can't believe I forgot to bring some of these home. They were only $1.00 at the commissary and they were amazing chocolate sticks filled with lime creme. Oh they were so good.
While I am working on my Diet Coke addiction my Ritter addiction worsens. They had so many flavors of candy bars that they don't sell here in the U.S. this was one or our family favorites and we brought home 6 bars. It is white chocolate with grapefruit center, sounds gross but it is so good. My other two favorites were the peppermint one and the chocolate with corn flakes in it. We only have one of these bars left and I am saving it to share with my family next week. I hope it does not get eaten before then.Our evening in Italy really seemed like something out of a dream. I can't wait to document the flea market we went to. It was the last nights of the summer festival. We seemed to have such luck with events going on in the cities we went to. So all of the restaurants had mini kitchen's set up outside and serving a few of their best items off the menu that you could eat outside. This was like a dream for us as waiting for menus and the bills seemed to take FOREVER in Europe. Dining seems like an event there and there is no rushing. this would have been great if Jeff and I only had each other's eyes to stare at - but we had 6 others to keep track of.
There was one restaurant that we chose to stop at because they were making these amazing pastries. We watched them make them and fry them up and got to eat them warm.

I have no idea what they were called but had a marmalade inside. Annie Kate at a whole one herself and then went and ordered another one for herself. The lady who took her order didn't speak any English and Annie Kate did not know any Italian, but the lady got her money and Annie Kate got her pastry it was fun to see her be so brave and communicate the best she could. This event alone could have made it worth it to take my kids. We also had the pasta above and some ravioli. I think the whole meal was less than 20 Euros - but we probably spent another 8 euros just on water.

we tried to always have some of this water with us. The water bottles over there are HUGE! We got a great tip from some of our military friends who told us to go to the commissary when we flew in to get a bunch of these for our drive. We got 12 of these huge bottles for $4.00. I tried to bring an empty one home but it would not fit in my suit case. Not because I am cool like Annalisa who helps the environment but i just wanted to have a cool European water bottle. But I am sure I will find out they have these at my grocery store next time I go.

This was my lunch in Innsbruck Austria. I got my awesome wienerschnitzel, spicy mustard and sauerkraut, that was on my expectation list. It was great. This was the first time since we had arrived we had eaten at a restaurant and had forgot if we were supposed to tip or not. I remembered I had asked Jill but forgot what she had said. So I looked at the darling couple to our right, who was actually eating at another restaurant, but we were sitting on the street and it was just tables after tables under a street tent. I asked her if she spoke English, she did a little. I asked her if we were to tip our waitress and how much. I must admit I was a little nervous to do so, but glad I did because she said yes and to do 10-15%.
Also on my list was to go to a grocery store and just look around. I seem to have an obsession with advertising, logos and packaging. I didn't know if I could walk around and take photos (I have been asked in grocery stores here to put my camera away) so I really didn't. But you should have seen how they had the mayonnaise in Switzerland it was in metal tubes like how toothpaste used to come and then it hung upside down but from the top, I wish now I would have taken a photo.
this above jar was this awesome peanut butter and chocolate spread that we never spread on anything but ate straight. I have hopes to find this in the European section at the commissary here.

I also loved buying a huge box of currents at the store. My grandmother had a bush in her garden that we loved to raid when we would visit. Eating them reminded me of being a kid in her backyard again.Annie Kate in Wengen, Switzerland

we took our friends advice and bought fruit on the side of the street anytime we saw it. It was so good. this helped make up for all the chocolate we ate.
The milk was an issue for us as it was served warm. The girls didn't really like it and this was where our two visits to McDonald's paid off.

We seemed to always be able to find French Fries and pizza where ever we went which helped with the kids too.

We also ate lots of pretzels! They were amazing. This was a store in Obberamergau and they had the sliced with butter inside. They were yummy.

Annie Kate in France along with the blue slushie.
This was a cute pretzel stand that was set up in Salzburg.

We got a salt one and a chocolate pistachio one.
This pretzel was one also at the stand. I didn't do a good job taking the photo because it was HUGE - bigger than me and Annie's head put together. It was 7 euros. (which is $9.50) The exchange rate was $.77 cents to the dollar. I looked it up today and it is $.73 cents.

Even though I never saw any kids eating at restaurants they always seemed to have a kid menu. these were the kids glasses for the kids meal one night in Garmish. (my kids are used to plastic cups with a top and straw so it was a miracle they didn't break them) I loved the porcupine/hedgehog character on them.
We also ate A LOT of chocolate. We had got a hot tip that the only chocolate to eat in Switzerland was Cailler which is made by Nestle but not sold in the states. It was really amazing.

We brought lots of it home

Switzerland was by far where we ate the best. Mainly because the hotel we were staying at was where we ate breakfast in the mornings and one night we at the buffet dinner for their Independence day.
When we drove into Switzerland we were too tired to get anything to eat so we just picked up fruit, the above cheese, and a croissant at the gas station. These were some of our best meals. This cheese was thinly sliced, hard and rolled up with little sprinkles of another kind of cheese on it. Just typing about it makes me crave it. I wonder if i could find this here.
our lunch at the top of Munlinchen hiking to the base of the Eiger
I was amazed as I went back through my photos how many photos I had taken of the food we ate, but wish I had taken more. I had never thought before leaving how I would document our trip so I am thrilled with how many photos I took of the details I don't want to forget.

on a current note I am exhausted. I have spent the past two afternoons sleeping about 4 hours and can't seem to catch up to regular speed. I don't know how people who travel internationally continue to go to work the next day.
one of my favorite photos of the trip of Jeff and the girls in Switzerland

I am also worried I have taken on too much trying to document the list I have from our trip but can't seem to drop it either. I am so glad I wrote down my list of goals or I am sure I would have given up by now. OK So this was number 3 only 11 more to go... oh my. I sure bloggers must be getting tired of my 2 week trip which now on it's third week of posting... So thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read these ever so long posts and even taken the time to comment. Unlike Jeff who gets to go to work and talk about his trip all day, all I want to do it talk about it but can't find many listening ears except for here. And that shall do.

and jill thanks for reminding me i need to print and frame some of these photos the above one of Jeff and the girls will be the first one I do.