I had thoughts that maybe Bill and I should venture to Stuttgart for some fun today, but then I decided to do laundry.  As anyone who lives in these parts knows, laundry can be an all day affair, even if you use the short cycles.  I wasn’t finished washing the bed linens until about 1:30pm, which seemed kind of late to be heading out to Stuttgart, especially since we wanted to have lunch.  We decided to go to Herrenberg instead.

As we headed into town, I noticed the ads for the Whisky Messe that is going on right now.  Tickets were being sold at the Alte Brennerei, an excellent place to buy all manner of exotic spirits and wines.  I told Bill I wanted to stop in there today, since we’re out of whisky.  But first, I wanted to have lunch.  I remembered from last year, when we took our dogs, Zane and Arran, on a walk through nature trails on the Schönbuch ridge overlooking the outskirts of Herrenberg.  Right across the street from the nature park, there is a restaurant/biergarten that looked inviting.  We didn’t try it last year, but decided to stop in today, sans dogs.

Lots of trails and a nice little self-service restaurant for your hunger, big or small.

The biergarten at the was full of people when we arrived at the Naturfreundehaus am Schönbuch.  They were serving a few specials along with the usual schnitzels and such.  It’s a self-service place that appears to be quite popular among locals.  In fact, when we walked inside, there was a group of people in a closed off room having a group singalong of some sort.  I was grateful that they were on key, because they sang the same song several times.  I had it stuck in my head the whole time we were dining.

My first impression… it seemed a bit “church fellowship hall” like.

Bill and I both decided to have small schnitzels with fries, washed down with hefeweizens.  I sat down while Bill ordered.

The lady took his order and gave him a ticket with a number on it.  He sat with me to wait.

You can’t go wrong with a local weizen.

Bill laughs as I snark on the singers in the next room.  They were actually entertaining.  I wouldn’t have minded joining in on the singalong.

Finally, our number was called.  We were 122.  Bill picked up our lunches and we commenced eating.

They had large and small schnitzels.  We both got the small size, which was plenty.  I didn’t finish the fries.  I noticed they had a number of nice looking cakes.  I wouldn’t have minded trying out the Black Forest Cake they had, but I refrained for the sake of my behind.

Nice napkins that tell you where you are.

Once you’re finished eating, you take your dirty dishes to the window.  Put bottles and glasses on the counter where you give your order.

 

This was a pretty typical schnitzel and pommes lunch, but I noticed some of the other options looked pretty good.  Prices are also very reasonable.  It’s a nice, no frills place to stop in after your hike in the woods.  I probably would have enjoyed sitting outside in the sun, but I’m glad we caught the German singing group.

They have handy maps for people who want to walk.

A view of the Biergarten.

Across this highway are more trails.

 

After lunch, we went back to Herrenberg, parked the car, and walked to the Alte Brennerei.  I have written about this awesome wine and liquor store more than a couple of times.  Today was our first visit back since Christmas.  Let me warn you… they are experts at upselling!

Interesting sight by the parking garage.

 

We were originally attracted to their Springbank whiskys, but the one I really had my eye on was priced at about 200 euros.  So we turned our attention to Kilchoman, which was one of the distilleries we visited last year during our Scottish whisky cruise.  I picked up a bottle that was intriguing.  Bill picked out another bottle he liked.  We put them up on the counter.  The saleslady, who spoke some English, invited us to try a couple of whiskys.  We were happy to do it.  Of course, we loved the other two she brought out for us and ended up buying four bottles of scotch.  It may be time for me to start a Facebook whisky lovers group…

Good stuff.  I hope it holds us for awhile.

Bill assesses the damage.  But they softened the blow with a gift of Italian tartufos.

 

I think tomorrow, we will try to go to Stuttgart for a bit… and do some harmless sightseeing rather than shopping!  At least lunch was cheap.  It was a mere 23 euros, plus parking was free of charge.  Edited to add, the Nature House is apparently affiliated with the Friends of Nature, which is an international group dedicated to making nature more accessible.  This particular restaurant is open from 11am-6pm.