Best ice cream in Europe
Please share with me your experience; where you've had your best ice cream, describe its taste, texture, color, flavor, and send a photo with the name of the place and its location (e.g. Lastovka in Maribor, Slovenia).
"Best Ice Cream in Europe" map (contributed through: http://www.aardvarktravel.net/)
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Submit your photo and share your experience
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Best ice cream in Europe? Wow, first we need to agree on what great ice cream is all about. Is that smooth creamy texture, great taste, color, deep complex flavors, or perhaps something else? Shall we initially agree that it's a bit of everything?
I am a regular contributor in the Aardvark Travel Forum and 3 months ago I posted an interesting question: Where in Europe can you find best ice cream (excluding brand names)? So far I've got 24 locations with "Europe's best ice cream". Initially I just wanted to see what people think but then it struck me that this could potentially grow into world's first "best ice cream" map. I've started with Europe but my plan is to expand it worldwide.
My personal experience
I'll give you my personal experience for a taster of what the best ice cream is in my opinion.
Yep, it's not difficult to guess that it must be in Maribor. Perhaps some will think I am exaggerating or something assigning so many bests to this little Central European city. Whatever the case I stand behind this and it will be difficult to match the ice cream I am presenting here. Usually ice cream is associated with hot summer days. Well, not always. Lastovka outlets in Maribor will regularly see people queuing even during long rainy days and cold weather. The reason for that is the best ice cream in the city and beyond. I have tried ice creams in different countries around Europe but so far I haven't found any better. Strictly speaking not even close to this one!
Why is the Lastovka ice cream in Maribor so special?
Kids are often a really good indicator of the quality - they'd go for the best of course. My daughter always chooses chocolate and vanilla flavor full stop, but at Lastovka she doesn't really care. I'd never imagined she would go for lemon or strawberry. But hey, she does! She is crazy about pieces of real strawberries in a perfectly smooth and creamy texture which looks and tastes fantastic. I usually go for vanilla and chocolate flavors and really like the visible specks of chocolate and vanilla.
My husband on the other hand is on the wild side. He is trying everything and that is "hard work". It means trying a new flavor every day for almost three weeks! Hey yeah, he is enjoying but how about each scoop the size of a tennis ball? You see what I mean! But there is more, sometimes we order ice cream the old fashioned way, from a machine. It reminds me of my childhood when we visited our local ice cream shop every Sunday. I am always fascinated about the amount of ice cream we get for $1.5 or €1.
Lastovka ice cream outlet on Partizanska Street in Maribor.
What to choose? Always the same problem...
Twenty different flavours to choose from is more than enough for every ice cream lover.
We are regular customers at one of the Lastovka outlets (every summer)!
Believe it or not, this is one scoop of strawberry ice cream and not two as it appears!
Ice cream the traditional way. This is beyond any words!
So ice cream lovers of the world, can you match Lastovka's ice cream wonders? Yes? Go on then submit your
best ice cream experience and photos.