Are you hungry?  We have fast food but what you probably need is a home cooked meal.  I know of this family run Gasthaus that makes the most amazing Jager Schnitzel.   What is that?  It’s a pork tenderloin with mushroom gravy.  The type of food you call on for comfort; it fills not only your stomach but can also nurture your soul.   You will be here for a short while and we want you to consider this place home.  Come on inside.

 
Don’t forget we want pommes frites on the side, your tour guide calls after the waitress.  What?  Oh, French fries.  She tells you they will be fantastic covered with the mushroom gravy.  There is nothing like the little rush of serotonin to make you feel content and happy.  Although you can have mayo on the side if you prefer, she says.  Mayo?!  What?! 

Your tour guide will often recommend odd things to eat, food that seems strange to you.    Try experiencing a different place through your palate.  Either your taste buds will reveal a new appreciation of the area or if you refuse new flavors, you will be missing an important part of another culture.  One of the most amazing things to find in a new place is the food, foreign yet fantastic.   It's true also you will notice that not everything is rushed in other countries.  Some of life’s best moments are had sitting at a table with friends with a bottle of house wine and laughter while you sample a new dish.   

We race through life most of the time, only pausing to treasure holidays when truly every day is an occasion to cherish your relationships.   Candles are lit here; no one cares if they are in fancy candle holders.  The ones in this Gasthaus are in old beer mugs and the reflective light shines through the hollows of the outer glass beautifully.    The table linens are a little thread bare in spots but the cloth napkins are folded in the shapes of tiny ships so you barely even notice because you are enthralled with the talent it must take to learn how to fold like that.   The smiling face across the table is your tour guide and she is merrily telling tales of this village’s history, the little snippets of information to make this much more than any old trip where you don’t know another soul. 

“So bitte…“ Trails off the voice of your server as platters are laid across the table family style, each with a spoon in it.  Go on, help yourself.    You are amazed at the magnificent spread of food.  You rarely see so many smiling faces around your holiday table.  Yes the décor would probably be considered substandard to those you associate with, those who would never set a table with such items but on this day you come to understand it isn’t the plates and linens that are important;  it is the company you keep.  The celebration of a simple meal shared with a friend in a place where you feel accepted and loved.  This is how every day, every meal should be savored.    Why is it you have to travel so far from home to understand what is truly one of the most important things in life?