Mushroom Quest

No I am not back in Amsterdam, I am actually in Austria staying with a family I have never met before in my life (always a good time)! Like most families I stay with I get asked the question of what I would like to do in their country? My answer is always the same, I want to do what they do or enjoy about their country (a.k.a not tourist stuff). What normally happens from their is each family will show me some of the local tourist stuff and then we spend the rest of the time doing local things (you get to see the culture more that way).
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My first day in Austria I was taken all around the city of Graz to see all the various sites. It is a very nice town and relatively untouristed. Today we turned our attention to local things, which is where my Mushroom Quest begins!
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Turns out the Barth Family along with many Austrians love mushrooms. The best mushrooms are of course wild and you have to go find them high on up on hills or mountains in the forest. Normally it is best to go early in the morning or after it rains. No rain was to be had and they told me I did not have to get up too early, so we went mid-morning. We drove quite a ways to a remote area which is one of their favorite places to pick mushrooms.
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Those of you who know me (especially those who know what I like or do not like to eat) know their is a strong irony when it comes to me picking mushrooms, which will later end up on my plate! But I am here in Europe to try new things and enjoy local customs so I threw myself at the task full heartedly. Granted being new at looking for mushrooms I was not very good at it.

Searching for Mushrooms

Bad Mushrooms! As they say in Austria you can eat all mushrooms at least once! (it just might be the last thing you eat)

Good Mushrooms, one of the four types they like!

Then you have to clean them and make sure they are not full of worms.

Well even if you are not the best mushroom finder you can at least enjoy the view.

Finally after we could find no more mushrooms, we headed off to a local pub! It was very authentic up in the foothills in an old log home.

The day take, not great but not terrible.

Tomorrow I am off to do more hiking in the local area here near Graz Austria, and then Friday I will spend the day in Vienna before heading on to Ostrava in the Czech Republic!