Received a wonderful package from Austria yesterday (my giftee was also Austrian, actually!); my husband sent me a picture of the package while I was at work and I spent about half my day in suspense. When I finally got home I excitedly emptied the package and was surprised at how much my gifter fit in the box (I couldn't figure out how to fit it all back in)! Additionally, they included little notes on almost every item, giving a short description and some interesting info and/or their opinion of the snack; I loved the personal touch. :)

Many of these items I had seen or heard of before (I love emmymadeinjapan), but the only thing I have ever had before is the Ritter sport.

Because I have very limited self-control, my husband and I tried a little bit of everything after our son went to bed. Here's what was in the package and what we thought of it.

*Soletti - According to my gifter, these are irresistible to most Austrians and I can see why! We have pretzel sticks in the US, too, but I've never had them with this texture. They're lighter, more airy than any pretzel stick I've had. Absolutely addicting and I will be seeking these out!

*Sportgummi - Evidently the name comes from people collecting empty bags at sporting events to turn in for free candy, rather than the actual gummies having any purported benefits to athletes. These are some of the best gummy snacks I have ever had. Sweet and tart, pleasantly chewy, with delicious flavors. Despite being a serious chocoholic, these are honestly probably my favorite out of the package!

*Manner-schnitten - Delicious little wafer cookies. The wafers are super delicate and the flavor is light. My husband's not a fan of hazelnut flavor but he really enjoyed these. These are close to, if not tied to, the Sportgummi in terms of my favorite treats from the package.

*Knabber Nossi - A meat snack stick, although I'm not sure what kinds of meats, but I guess pork and beef? Regardless, we like them; they're less spiced than we're used to, but tasty!

*Pumpkin seeds (can't remember the Austrian name) - I enjoy pumpkin seeds, but have never seen them black before - most pumpkin seed snacks here are white! I thought they were going to be heavily flavored because of the color, but they don't even seem to be salted! These are going to be a good work snack, I think, and I'll be trying them pan-roasted as suggested. :)

*Schoko-bananen - A favorite of my gifter, but unfortunately not to our taste. Very glad I got to try them, though, and I think our 2-year-old may go crazy for them. Even if he doesn't, I can share these with my coworkers ('cause I'm not sharing anything else!).

*Milka - Possibly my husband's favorite item from the package! Delicious, sweet, and silky smooth; I'll be surprised if there's any left when I get home from work today. ;)

*Mozartkulgen - I'm going to try, really try, to save some of these to share with my family at Easter, but I make no guarantees. The sweetness of these candies makes portion-control a little easier, though, so I have hope!

*Schokoschirmchen - So cute! I would have loved to get one or two of these in my Easter basket as a kid. :) Solid chocolate, smoother than common chocolate here but not as rich as the Milka.

*Schogetten - One of two items without a note, but pretty self-explanatory through the package. Little squares of milk chocolate with hazelnut pieces. Yummy (and currently here at work with me)!

*Em-eukal - In hindsight, the flavor should have been obvious from the name and the picture. But, in my excitement, I thought these were mints! Thankfully, this made me put them off until the end of our tasting, anyway, so no flavors were affected by the overpowering MENTHOL AND EUCALYPTUS flavors! They're cough drops! No note, so I'm not sure of the particular reason these were included. Are they popular as candy (and if so...why?!)? Significantly Austrian? Historically important? A surprising end to a delightful little taste of Austria. (And possibly also serendipitous as coworkers and students are getting sick all around me!)

Thank you SO much, SimMac! I had so much fun trying all these treats and am very much looking to the next few weeks as we finish them off (or the next few days, at least...). Good luck in school and I hope your gifter sent you an equally awesome package!