From where I was located in the St. Gallen canton of Switzerland it was only a short drive away to reach the neighboring country of Austria. To be completely honest, I spent probably less than 4 total hours in Austria. After a full day at the Abbey of Saint Gall we were getting hungry on our car ride back to Buchs. At roughly the same time we were invited to join some of my friend’s companions for dinner. We devised a loose plan to grab some Asian cuisine in Austria that quickly got altered.
Making Diner Plans
We first met at their apartment to discuss where we would be going for dinner. I don’t speak Swiss-German and the conversation that ensued seemed to be moving at the pace of a mile a minute. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I did manage to extract a few things. I kept hearing the letters M-S-G. At first I wondered if they were talking about Madison Square Garden the home of my New York Rangers and Knicks and “the world’s most famous arena”, but what did that have to do with food. Silly me, I should know better. I wasn’t making the connection with Asian cuisine. There was debate over which restaurant to go to. One of the recommendations was a restaurant that uses too much monosodium glutamate (MSG). After some protest we decided to change our minds and chose to dine at the Lemongrass Restaurant in Hohenems, Austria.
Like I said, a tank division could have passed unnoticed!
Austrian Border Crossing
Since we didn’t have the Austrian highway sticker on our cars, we were forced to take a different highway and border crossing to gain access to the country. As far as it being a detour it was barely out of the way from what I could tell. It was Sunday evening roughly between 6 and 7 p.m. when we made it to the border cross checkpoint between Austria and Switzerland. I brought my passport and was all ready to get stamped, but the booths were all closed, and there wasn’t an agent in sight. I was actually sort of upset about it. You could have driven a whole army with tanks and intercontinental ballistic missiles across the border and no one would have even realized. The same was true after our dinner on our return trip back into Switzerland.
Considering Switzerland is not a part of the European Union (EU), I figured there would have been more formal border crossing procedures, but this was clearly not the case. Regulations allow vehicles with proper license plates and stickers that are EU members to freely cross borders between any fellow EU nations. This transparency has mixed reviews, as many see it
as a positive that has resulted in decreases in transportation costs and travel time, but are also plagued by virtually invisible borders that make the smuggling of drugs and other contraband much easier. I was told that there could have just as easily been agents working at the border. For whatever reason there weren’t, and we easily crossed the border without stepping off the gas.
Knock! Knock! Anybody home? Nope! Didn’t think so!
Traveler’s Tip – But Why Drive to Austria Just for Dinner?
The ride from Buchs, Switzerland to the border was just over a ten minute drive. Fifteen minutes after that we arrived at the Lemongrass Restaurant in Hohenems, Austria. During the drive, I pondered why were we driving to Austria to eat at an Asian restaurant. I raised the question at dinner and was given multiple reasons why we drove to Austria for dinner.
The first and most obvious reason is that since we all agreed on Asian cuisine, it was then a matter of deciding which restaurant to choose. They are not fans of any Asian restaurants in their community in Switzerland and have found better locations further away from Buchs. Two such locations are in Austria, but because of the MSG issue, we chose to eat at Lemongrass. That’s the obvious answer, but I’m sure it was just as easy to drive west and find an Asian restaurant in Switzerland.
That’s when I discovered the real reason we were eating in Austria. It’s actually a very savvy and economical travelers’ tip that I’ll share with all of my readers. Swiss nationals that live close to the borders of EU nations often leave Switzerland. They do so because dining in neighboring countries is commonly much less expensive. This is partially due to the exchange rates between the Swiss Franc and the Euro. Additionally, the standard of living in Switzerland compared to their neighboring countries often results in higher prices for just about everything in Switzerland. It all made much more sense. According to my friends, the cost of meals outside Switzerland are typically one third cheaper in price. They said that in a few places it’s closer to half the price. Despite the high price of gas throughout Europe that I feel must be factored into this decision making process, my friends were adamant about their ability to save money on meals outside of Switzerland. I ran the math using a few different scenarios, and they are correct.
Finally, some Swiss nationals use their close proximity to neighboring countries to take advantage of another money saving practice. I was told that good portions of people, particularly those who work outside Switzerland in the bordering EU member nations also do their grocery shopping there. I’m all for saving money and hopefully this border hopping tip helps you as it continually does for my friends and once for myself.
Lemongrass Restaurant (Photo Obtained from Lemongrass Facebook Page)
Eating Asian in Austria with Swiss Nationals
Lemongrass is a Thai restaurant located on Diepoldsauer Str 39, Hohenems 6845, Austria. The restaurant is divided into a number of large rooms all connected to each other. The decor that seemed typical for an Asian restaurant, but to me, it looked and felt much more Chinese than Thai. Despite that shortcoming, the area was spacious, clean and with well maintained furnishings. We were seated next to a fish tank that provided some entertainment while we were waiting to place our order and wait for our food. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos as I was with people I only met for a half an hour a few days prior. I didn’t want to interrupt the evening with my snap and shoot habits and constant note taking. Looking back, it would not have been an issue.
The meal was good, but not exceptional. Each course came out in a timely fashion. The tom tom soup was good, but the garlic shrimp entree was a bit too oily for my liking. The food was also not as authentic as it could have been. Perhaps I am just spoiled from eating real Thai cuisine throughout my travels. Maybe I was just looking for spicier less Westernized versions of the dishes. I too often find that there is a tendency to cut some of the what some consider “weirder”, (but more like less known) ingredients, decrease the amount of seasoning and make dishes less spicy in an effort to make it more appealing to those with less adventurous palettes. Give me the real stuff instead!
The service was very good. We had a young female hostess that couldn’t have been nicer. Although she didn’t speak English, communication was not an issue. On the menu below the German, the dishes were translated into English. Although I had my friends order for me, I just as easily could have pointed to the dish and had minimal communication issues. Throughout the meal, our waitress and her manager came by repeatedly to ask us how the meal was, and if we needed any assistance. Based on her service, I made sure that she received a New York sized tip. My friends looked at me like I was crazy, but it wouldn’t be the first time or the last.
Goodbye Austria and thanks for saving us some cash!
Conclusions
Going to another country to eat at a Thai restaurant is not something I have experienced back home in New York City or probably anywhere I’ve traveled before. So the fact that our best option was to drive to Austria was foreign to me, but that makes sense when traveling. (When I think about it, it’s not much different from going to New Jersey or Connecticut to eat at a restaurant, which we do without even thinking about borders. Even though when I was a kid, we used to sing a song every time we entered another state.) What I learned was that crossing the border to EU nations can save Swiss nationals money and is a useful moneysaving tip for travelers in the same areas. The meal was good, but the company made it better. Despite the fact that I was only in Austria for three hours, took barely any photos and was unable to get my passport stamped as I crossed the border I am fortunate to know that I will be back. If you consider how little I actually did there, I don’t even think I should be allowed to count it as a country I’ve visited. Finally, its close proximity to my friend in Switzerland makes future visits quite easy.