Hotel*** Gasthof Blaue Quelle

Very nice room, good bed, tasty breakfast and a very warm welcome by the dame owners who speaks English perfectly and is really friendly and helpful.

How can one explain the stunning beauty of a natural blue spring, bursting from the bottom of a small ravine, where one can sit overlooking the slow, swimming trout? My first glimpse of the quelle spring was many years ago, when my husband took me...to this charming coaching inn for dinner. The heat of the day was completely gone when I stepped into the shade surrounding the spring, but the sunlight dapples the leaves and the waters of this amazing place. Behind me, a trio of cows softly tinkled their bells across the fields. I almost felt as though I were intruding on their own, private paradise. Alas, they stayed behind their electrified fence and I continued to relax before heading down the little lane to the main building of the Blau Quelle. After all these years, I never fail to think of the many holidays, Christmas, my birthday, anniversary, and assorted family and friendly gatherings which we have had in the charming rooms of this inn 's restaurant. The old heating ovens and charming Tirolian decor never fails to attract me whenever I visit this area. I also reside part of the year in the small village across the Inn River, Oberaudorf, Germany. The charming family, the Struths, have welcomed us with open arms every time we dine there. Gaby, usually our hostess, is one of the most beautiful Austrian women I have ever met! Her husband mans the kitchen with bravado and elan! There is always one word I never know on their daily menu, which intrigues me in itself! The food is unbelievably appetizing, from the selected trouts, all differently prepared, to the schultzkrapfen my husband craves. Oh, and the soups: I dream of them! Be sure to always have soup there! ALWAYS! Naturally, for me, there is always the palatschinken for dessert, flambeed with their home made schnapps/brandy. Some of the finest schnapps in Austria is brewed on this mountainside, home of the Festspielhaus in Erl, both new all 38 million Euros of it and Alte old , which is about to have their Passionspiele Play this year. The Blau Quelle is walking distance from these playhouses and a gathering of theater folk usually populates the restaurant when the theaters are in session. Now, that spring in my step, ...... Awaiting dinner, I dream of the theater nearby, and I can hear the singers warming up in the small salon of the Quelle. Tante Bergie, the Struths theater loving aunt, might stop by to give me the lowdown of the artists, productions everywhere in Austria, and gently guide me to the new decorations in the remodeled hotel of the Blau Quelle. on that later. Feel honored if you get to meet her, as she adds more charm and effervescence to any visit! I truly love her! After my trout, usually steamed until it is slightly blue in color, and dipped in drawn butter and FRESH horseradish, I rapture again on the palatschinken soon coming alive with flames at my table! Ooops! That WAS a dream! I am back in Florida, planning my next visit to the Struths, BLAU QUELLE. Now, should I stay overnight? The two 2 kilometer drive home to Germany might be too much for me, and those newly decorated rooms look gorgeous! Another dream....

This place has many family feelings for me I know three generations of owners and we have come with my oma probably longer than I remember. This assessment cannot therefore be unbiased and I would like to explain an interest) however. I thought I would like to congratulate Gaby and her team on what they have achieved. to take over family businesses and to make it yourself, it has difficulties, especially when mama and papa have done everything well. but without change they could be left behind during the place in its beauty almost untouched and classics left on the menu so that my nan in and still recognize the place, order their beloved Wiener schnitzel, which I 9/10) and let happy now a vegetarian person would not be hungry, the weelist is up to the top hotel standards, which have become a fokus on Austrian cheeky and white cousins. gaby s service is perfect and charming and trinated far over her 90 year old tante still “check on her” but see that this is the charm I go back happy when I am close and while biased would still recommend everyone who modern classics well made in a beautiful and refined environment

As a returning guest to the Blau Quelle, in many different seasons, I welcome the unique food styles served here, in a little bit of paradise near a cow pasture and a 48 million Euro theater! The food never fails to amaze me, as Chef...Struth tickles my taste buds many different ways. Eating there every week while in Bavaria, we take the short drive (2 KM. across the border from our home. Lunch, dinner, even late night treats are served at this quaint restaurant with the gorgeous up-dated hotel attached. Goose on Christmas, with the most tantalizing dumpling was a special treat. As we have come here for many, many years, I still gravitate to their specialty: trout! Caught from the stunning fresh water pond adjoining the property, every trout is brought to the table after being pulled from their holding tank that very minute. Love it! I never fail to have a palatschinken for dessert, filled with hot aprricots, flambeed with their own schnapps! Yes, I am in heaven! You will be, too, as you are greeted warmly by Gaby Struth, the chef's gorgeous wife. A very, very special surprise is when Tante Bergie stops by your table to fill you in on all the wonderful operas and concerts not only in the Festspielhaus Erl but in Vienna, Munich, Innsbruck, etc. How I love her! Yes, I shall return EVERY time I am in that part of the world. Why wouldn't I?

Settling in for a relaxed meal at the Blau Quelle is like slipping into your favorite slippers, pulling up a comfortable seat, and taking in the splendor of the Alps, while awaiting the best trout meal anywhere! Visiting the Quelle is a lot like coming...home. Our singing divas, both young and old, slipped into a companionable frame of mind while enjoying some of the Tyrol 's finest food! Naturally, the forelle blau was perfectly cooked for all of us, and our famous guests were right at home in one of their special places:Austria. Slipping easily into the dialect, they ordered the specialties of the house, poached trout, with a bit of palatschinken as dessert, flambeed with their home made schnapps, apricot filling, etc. The beer and Gruner Veltlener, luscious white wine from the Wachau Valley and with the Quelle 's own label now, made for an exciting meal, though super relaxed. Watching the actors coming in for a bite before one of the performances in the Opera Haus, our sopranos and mezzos reminisced about their love for Austria, its people, and especialling its music. From Bayreuth to Vienna, there was no finer place for them to dine than the Blau Quelle that day. Memories are made of this stuff. PS: Dear Struth Family, we shall return in December for your winter goodies! Can 't wit to see you and dine with everyone, especially Tante Bergie. She always has that special welcome awaiting the Quelle 's guests, and she can give you the best reviews of what to do in this glorious area.