Gluten-Free Adventure in Northern Europe!!

prague... sigh. photo credit: national geographic

Vienna, Prague, Berlin & Copenhagen. We have booked an incredible adventure - and I'm really looking forward to reporting on the gluten-free finds and overall experience in this part of the world. As a starting point, I thought I'd share what the planning stage has involved. 

where to stay: we are staying with friends in Vienna - but for the other three cities we have rented apartments (see airbnb.com if you dare - you will certainly feel like traveling!). The apartments we chose are private (vs rooms in a house) that come with fully equipped kitchens. 

what to eat: Now many people wouldn't like the idea of cooking on vacation - but I am thrilled to know that we will have access to simply made meals from fresh local ingredients. This will mean safe food that's easier on the wallet. I'm not sure how much schnitzel I could tolerate anyway!

where to eat out: I've visited the celiac association websites for each of the countries. Austria's emailed me a current list of restaurants in Vienna, others have shopping recommendations on their sites. Naturally BLOGS have also been a great online resource. I will be printing out restaurant & ingredient cards found at celiactravel.com (a very handy site!).

sarah dining al fresco in our tiny Parisian apartment

When my friend Sarah and I stayed in Paris a few years ago we rented an apartment. Our regime was breakfast at home, then  sightseeing all morning. Back for a late lunch, reading or a nap, evening sightseeing and a fancy dinner out. You can really wear yourself out on this type of vacation, but we found this little rhythm of ours was just perfect. Now I just have to figure out a few basics in the Germanic languages... and find some decent walking shoes!