The last day of the excursion dawned far too quickly. On the way to Vienna, we stopped off in San Daniele del Friuli - a picturesque little town not far from Udine. Situated on a hill on the southern foothills of the Alps, the town is characterized by historic buildings and churches. From the beautifully landscaped castle park, you can see the Adriatic beach of Lignano on a clear day.

San Daniele is known worldwide for its air-dried prosciutto, which develops special flavors in the uniquely mild microclimate during the curing process. We visited the prosciutto manufacturer La Casa Prosciutto Alberti 1906, a small business that processes around 3,000 pork legs a year from selected farms in the region. The freshly delivered legs are first placed in the press, where any remaining blood is pressed out and salted. They then spend a few weeks in cold stores. Finally, the raw hams are left to mature in the air for 18 to 24 months, where they acquire the unmistakable San Daniele taste.

After visiting the ham production facility, we were offered samples of the delicious prosciutto and stocked up on plenty of souvenirs to take home.

Group photo in front of the Casa del Prosciutto

Group photo in front of the Casa del Prosciutto

Afterwards, we continued towards home, where we played Bauernschnapsen to shorten the journey time before arriving in Vienna at around 22:00.

Photo of the winning team at the Bauernschnapsen

Photo of the winning team at the Bauernschnapsen

Report: T. Wojcik