The latter half of last week was fall break here in Cattolica, so a couple friends and I headed to Eastern Europe to take advantage of the long weekend. Admittedly, I had low expectations for Eastern Europe, and blindly imagined it to be more of a third world area than to be “real Europe.” I was completely wrong.

Prague was our first stop. It took us a while to get acclimated to the freezing temperatures, but we instantly grew fond of the great cuisine. It was hearty––the modest stuff that clogs your arteries and makes you feel fat as a marshmallow for the rest of the day. In addition to goulash and dumplings, we got to indulge in a Czech trdelník and hot wine, which is a savory combo I’m determined to get an Austin food truck to invest in. The trdelník consists of dough spun onto a spoke and smoked over coals. When it’s done cooking, it’s coated in a cinnamon, sugar, and nut mix. I could eat one after every meal for as long as I live.

The next leg of our tour of Eastern Europe was a stop in Vienna. Vienna was surprisingly commercialized and, though the sights were great, our group was more interested in getting our hands on Wiener Schnitzel, a Viennese dish. We eagerly ordered it at and expected a hot dog for some reason (admit it, you’ve gone your entire life thinking Wiener Schnitzel involved hot dogs too … ) and we were surprised to see something that resembled fried chicken when the waitress brought our plates out (it turned out that Wiener Schnitzel is actually deep-fried veal). Whatever it was, it was delicious.

For dessert in Vienna, we went to a coffee shop. The Viennese take their coffee very seriously, with chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and waiters all dressed in tuxes. I ordered the best Austrian apple strudel I have ever eaten and complimented it with the richest hot chocolate I’ve ever had.

Hungary was our final stop. There, we paid the Hungarian equivalent of four euro for an entire breakfast spread consisting of croissants, Hungarian eggs, toast, juice, tea, and coffee. We were floored to indulge in so much food for breakfast, especially because breakfast in Milan usually consists of a teeny pastry and coffee. Dinner was just as savory and because it was so cold outside, we went to a restaurant and ordered our most inexpensive dinner yet. I ate fish soup seasoned with paprika, the spice of Hungary.

So there you have it. I may be too poor at this point in my life to afford to take tours of every museum I have my eye on, but everyone can afford to indulge a bit when it comes to food. The old-world traditional cuisine was so fun to partake in, and I can’t wait to Google recipes when I get back to the States to take me back to one of my fondest weekends.