Mumbai, India
I went on a recent 10 day trip to Austria and Germany as a delegate from India for the Austrian Wine Summit 2015. To be honest I did not know what to expect when it came to vegetarian food, I certainly knew that it shouldn’t be a problem however what exactly; was a question that loomed.
Starting with breakfast in Vienna, Austria or Stuttgart Germany morning bakeries stole the show, cakes, pastries; breads were the staple along with various cheeses, fruits, breakfast cereals and yogurt aplenty. I couldn’t find anything hot being served, for those who eat eggs, scrambled eggs and omelettes were the only options available. I ain’t complaining, as a tourist I loved the different kinds of breads and hogged on Cheese and some creamy honey. Do pack your theplas, pickle or alternatives for those cannot do away with their spice cravings!
Now moving on to lunches and dinners considering the cosmopolitan nature of the cities, one can find anything from Italian to Indian. Coming to the meals we had in local Viennese restaurants, cold salads, risottos, spinach pies and again a variety of cheeses and bread comprised the spread. Also we had a fair share of white asparagus in the European Summer. Well to be honest the vegetarian food showed a strong influence of what we know as Italian food. Coming to Stuttgart two things were a staple and I enjoyed them thoroughly sometimes with a drizzle of Sriracha for the Indian I am, the first Spatzle,thick noodles made of egg and flour and tossed in Cheese, onions and vegetables and second the classic German potato salad or kartoffel salat. Wine flowed all along, starting with breakfast and ending with a night cap. We must have tasted over 500 wines in 10 days.
The highlight of my trip were the products that came out of their bakeries and patisseries, in most of my encounters each of the breads and pastries were of the highest quality. Two legendary items I can boast of experiencing at source were the Original Sacher Torte at Hotel Sacher in Vienna and the Black Forest gateaux in the Black Forest of Baden, a wine region in south Germany. The former was a light chocolate sponge layered with a luscious apricot jam with chocolate icing to finish and the latter was very much like the one we get in India albeit with better quality cherries, cherry liqueur and delicious dairy cream.
Last words, If you plan to be here then plan your culinary trip around coffee houses, cake shops and their bakeries.
Prost!
Indian Gourmand 
My favourite thing about visiting Europe is the bread! I always eat in the bakeries…they’re so much better than England!
Having lived in London for 2 years I cannot agree more.. London had its bakeries but these two cities I woke up to bread …