How about some yummy gemischter, leberkas, bratwurst, schweinshax, schnitzel, pretzel or strudel served up in a restaurant fashioned from a chalet originally built in Austria in 1587?
That's what Sparkling Hill Resort near Vernon is offering with its newly opened Gerni's Farmhouse, a traditional Austrian-style restaurant.
"The inspiration behind bringing the farmhouse to the resort was that the owner, Mr. Gernot 'Gerni' Langes-Swarovski wanted to give North America a traditional taste of European cuisine and to provide an authentic experience within Canada," says Sparkling Hill marketing specialist Chelsea Pihach.
It was no easy feat.
The intricate, wooden, peak-roofed and balconied chalet was originally built in 1587 in Weerberg, Austria.
Langes-Swarovski bought the rustic beauty and had it carefully disassembled and shipped in six, 40-foot containers to Canada in the spring of 2020.
The timber-frame farmhouse was put together again at Sparkling Hill Resort by Austrian firm Halzbau Maier, an expert in timber home construction.
Gerni's Farmhouse opened this month as a 54-seat Austrian-style restaurant, located just behind the main Sparkling Hill Resort building with expansive views of Okanagan Lake.
It's open to both resort guests and the public, for lunch, 11 am to 3 pm, daily.
No reservations are accepted, so it's first come, first served.
Diners should go to the resort's front desk first and ask for directions to Gerni's Farmhouse.
By the way, some of those aforementioned Austrian delicates are a mixed salad (gemischter), warm meatloaf with sweet mustard (leberkas), sausage (bratwurst), crispy, roasted pork knuckle (schweinshax), breaded veal patty (schnitzel) and layered pastry stuffed with apple (strudel).
Many of the Okanagan wines on the menu are varietals that originated in Austria and Germany -- Gruener Veltliner from Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna, Riesling from 50th Parallel Winery in Lake Country, Zweigelt from Arrowleaf Winery in Lake Country and Balufraenkisch from Mount Boucherie Winery in West Kelowna.
The beers on the menu are Stiegl and Erdinger, from Austria and Germany, respectively.
Sparkling Hill Resort has been an innovator ever since it was built in 2010 on the mountaintop between Oyama and Vernon overlooking both Okanagan and Kalamalka lakes.
Backed by Gernot Langes-Swarovski of Austria-based Swarovski Crystals fame, the 149-room resort has 3.5 million crystals of all shapes and sizes incorporated into its design, including a massive four-storey-high entrance that resembles an upturned crystal.
The resort is positioned as a luxury, wellness retreat with sumptuous rooms with soaker tubs by the expansive windows in the bedrooms, a 40,000-square foot KurSpa with European treatments, seven different steam rooms and saunas and indoor-outdoor pool.
The other two restaurants at Sparkling Hill are the fine dining room PeakFine and Barrique & Java, which is a coffee shop by day and wine bar by night.
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