The Adlerweg. Mike Wells

      Evening in a busy refuge – Karwendelhaus (Stages 10 and 11)

      Refuges generally offer a choice of hot and cold meals for lunch and dinner, the variety, range and prices depending upon the size, popularity and accessibility of the refuge. Most have vehicular or goods lift access, although some (most notably Anhalterhutte at end of Stage 18) need supplies to be carried at least part way. Food is normally of the hearty/filling variety rather than gourmet cuisine. An inclusive three course set dinner with accommodation and breakfast is available (often only to prebooked AV members) in some refuges. Many establishments offer their own specialities, but as these depend upon particular wardens, who may change from year to year, they are not listed in this guide. Up to date information can usually be obtained from each refuge’s web site or from the OeAV hutten guide. In the past specialities have included such things as free-range turkey (Hohlensteinhaus), game, Italian food, homemade cakes and even Nepalese cooking (Anhalterhutte).

      Pasture huts (almhutten) provide a more limited lunchtime fare. Usually operated by the local farmer as a side venture, they typically serve jausen (cold meats, ham, cheese with bread and pickles) accompanied by fresh milk, fresh apple juice and other beverages. Produce is often home grown or reared. Opening hours are more limited than in refuges, with some opening weekends only, except in high season.

      A restaurant usually indicates a slightly more formal environment with uniformed servers and starched table linen, whereas a gaststatte is generally a more relaxed local eatery. A speisesaal is a dining room usually within a hotel or guesthouse, while a stube is a dining room decorated in traditional style. An imbisstube is a snackbar.

      With the exception of a few upmarket establishments in Innsbruck, meal prices in local restaurants are comparable with prices in refuges (they do not have the added costs of transportation and live-in labour). A wide range of Tyrolean, Austrian and international food is available. Many restaurants, but not all, have menus available in English. When you want to settle up, you can ask either ‘zahlen bitte’ (‘can I pay please?’) or for die rechnung (the bill). Tipping is not expected in Austrian restaurants, but it is customary to leave your small change.

      Austrian/German food

      Although the Adlerweg is entirely in Austria, many refuges are operated by German AV sections and some can only be supplied from the north (Bavarian) side of the mountains. The food and beverages you will encounter will thus be a mix of Tyrolean and Bavarian cuisine.

      Refuges usually offer two choices of breakfast (fruhstuck): simple continental (bread, butter, jam and tea/coffee) or a larger version that includes these dishes plus cold meats and cheese. Boiled eggs may be available and sometimes fruit juice and breakfast cereals. In refuges, breakfast usually starts from 0700.

      Lunch (mittagessen) from 1200 is the main meal of an Austrian day, although walkers often choose a lighter lunch, with the main meal in the evening. A typical Austrian snack, which may be taken from mid-morning until mid-afternoon, is a jause, a thick slice of bread topped with cheese (kase) or ham (schinken). A more substantial version consisting of a selection of meats or cheeses and bread (rather like a Ploughman’s lunch) is served on a wooden platter and known as a brettjause. Plates of sausages and mustard (wurst mit senf) served with bread (brot) or bowls of goulash soup (beef stew flavoured with paprika) are widely available lunch snacks. Other soups include clear broths with strips of pancake, and cream soups such as knoblauch (garlic) or zweibel (onion).

      Jause lunchtime snack with hefeweizen wheat beer

      Cakes (kuchen), which are often homemade (hausgemacht), accompany coffee during the afternoon. Typical Austrian cakes include Sachertorte, a chocolate and apricot creation that originated in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, but can now be found almost anywhere. If you want to try the original recipe, Café Sacher has a branch in the entrance to the Hofburg in Innsbruck, which you pass on Stage 12a.

      For the evening meal (abendessen), the mainstays of Tyrolean cooking are hearty simple dishes of meat and various kinds of savoury knodel (dense, tennis ball size dumplings), kartoffel (potatoes) or spatzle (noodles). The most common meat is from the pig (pork, gammon, bacon, ham), but you will also find beef or veal, chicken, turkey and occasionally lamb. Austria’s most renowned dish, Wiener schnitzel (veal escalope fried in egg and breadcrumbs) is almost ubiquitous. Another Austrian speciality is tafelspitz (braised beef). Particularly Tyrolean is grostl, a hash made from leftover cooked pork, diced potatoes and onions fried in butter and topped with a fried egg. Hunting, which is widely practised in local forests, provides game such as venison (reh), chamois (gams) and boar (wildschwein), while anglers catch trout (forelle) from the rivers and pikeperch (zander) from the lakes. The most common vegetable is sauerkraut (pickled cabbage). Abendessen starts at 1800 in some refuges, but more typically from 1900.

      The most common dessert is strudel, usually apple but sometimes apricot (marillen), poppy seed (mohn) or curd cheese (topfen). Two typically Tyrolean, and very substantial desserts, are Germknodel, a sweet dumpling filled with poppy seeds and plum jam, served with custard (vanilla sauce); and Kaiserschmarrn, a pancake made with raisins, which is served chopped and dusted with sugar.

      Vegetarianism is still considered by many Austrians to be an exotic fad, and catering for vegetarians is rather hit or miss. In refuges, vegetarian fare is unlikely to be more than pasta with tomato sauce, knodel in cheese sauce or a veggie casserole.

      Drinks

      Tap water is usually safe to drink, and on the few occasions when it is not, you will always be told ‘nicht trinkwasser’. Water in refuges often comes straight from mountain springs. Many drinking fountains and water troughs, often drawing water from springs, can be found along the path, particularly at lower and middle levels. However as the underlying rock is mostly porous limestone, natural water sources at higher altitudes are often scarce and you should take water with you.

      All the usual soft drinks (colas, lemonade, juices) are widely available. Austrian specialities include Almdudler, a drink made from mountain herbs and tasting of elderflower, often used as a mixer with white wine. A very refreshing soft drink is a mix of apple juice and sparkling water (apfelgespritz or apfelschorle). The popular energy drink Red Bull originated in Japan, but was introduced into Europe by an Austrian entrepreneur who still has his head office near Salzburg. Pasture huts often sell milk straight from the dairy, although the milk in refuges is usually UHT.

      Grostl (Tyrollean pork and potato hash)

      Tyrol, like nearby Bavaria, is a beer consuming region and beer is available from a wide variety of local and national breweries. Many refuges, except those in the most remote locations, have both bottled and draught beer. The main types of beer are German style lagers and hefeweizen (wheat beer). Wheat beer popularity is increasing and can be found in both helles (pale) and dunkles (dark) varieties. Very refreshing and slightly sweet tasting, wheat beer is unfiltered and thus naturally cloudy in appearance. Beer is sold in a number of standard measures; Pfiff (200mm), Kleines or Seidel (300mm) and Grosses or Halbe (half litre). Hefeweizen is traditionally served in half litre, vase shaped glasses.

      Radler (shandy, a blend of beer and lemonade) is a popular and refreshing drink that is always available and, having only 50% of the alcohol content of beer is probably a better

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