Things I've learned, things I've eaten...

Things I've eaten:
Lardo!!! An Italian specialty, it is a hunk of fat from an animal, salted beyond belief to preserve it. Thats it! Its just a huge chunk of salted animal fat and it is so delicious... I want to bring some home but it wouldn't be as good as freshly cleaved from the bone in an Italian deli (or as Sarah described it, "fresh off the fat stick").
Gelato! Italian Ice Cream, made fresh daily by each individual Gelateria. Flavors range from Grapefruit to Pistachio to Florentine Creme to Panna Cotta.
Calamari the size of my face! So this isn't Italy-specific, but it was tasty and quite impressive. I don't know what gigantic Adriatic squid died for my diner, but he didn't go to waste!
Pizza! Different than in America. Super thin-crust, strong cheese and some sort of preserved meat on it... delicious!
Italian Cappuccinos! About three a day.

Things I've learned so far:
Italians and Germans always sound like they're yelling at you... because they are. I should explain. Italians are just REALLY emphatic about everything. There was a little boy on our train named Vincenzo. If you asked him any question, the response was administered with equal enthusiasm. Like, Vincenzo, where are you going? "Toute Milano!!!!" Vincenzo, what are we passing? "La Montanyas!!!". Vincenzo, what are you eating? "Un Ballon (a ball)!!! Sa Delicioso!!!!". While Germans are also yelling at you, it's just how their language is set up. When a command is given, it is always followed by and exclamation point. For instance, on a bag of chips it says "Open Here!", or when the ticket collector on a train asks for your tickets, it comes out as "Make Ready Your Tickets NOW!!!".

While Italian food is good, German food is better. I know, no one is more shocked than I. I had prepared myself to be blown away by the food in Italy but in actuality, Italian food is just as good as in America. Gnocchi tastes the same, pasta is the same, tomato sauce is hard to screw up, and if Americans could stomach the idea of Lardo, it would be plentiful in the States. But German food? Wow! There is NO good German food in America, that's why it is all the more amazing here. The saurekraut is tangier, the schitzel is crispier, the beer is darker and mealier, the bread has no preservaties and is baked fresh at home every day. I LOVE German food! I am going to do my best to bring Banana-Wisen (Banana Beer) to the American public.

Austria, now THAT'S Germany! I didn't really have a preconceived notion of what Germany would look like. I figured it was all straight out of the Sound of Music, or Heidi, or insert scenic countryside with snow-capped mountains here. Nope. Not at all. Germany is almost perfectly flat. It is very green, has lots of rivers, dense forests and not a mountain within its boarders. On our trip to Italy we passed through Austria... THERE where the mountains with snow and quaint villages! HERE is the Germany I was picturing... it's Austria. I will post some pictures of the Austrian mountains... they were taken from a moving train and doesn't do the country justice but you will just have to take my word for it: Austria is the Germany of your dreams.