Last week, Bill told me he wanted to get away for Veteran’s Day weekend.  However, because he started his job with a new company back in late July, he’s still pretty short on vacation time.  I didn’t want to go away for just two nights, so Bill arranged to take off work two hours early on Thursday.  I knew that meant we’d need to stay close to Stuttgart.

I went to Booking.com and realized that our favorite apartments in Ribeauvillé were wide open this weekend.  At 365 euros for a three bedroom pet friendly apartment right in the thick of town, the price was right.  It takes three hours or less to get to this part of Alsace from our home in Unterjettingen.  So, although we’ve now been to Alsace three times in 2017, I decided to book Ribeauvillé again.  This place is beginning to feel like a second home to us!

Bill got home from work at about 3:45.  It was dark and cloudy and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it was downright dismal outside.  The drive to wine country is usually very beautiful, but not at this time of year.  Nevertheless, we arrived less than three hours later.  Yannick, the guy who owns the apartments we use, has a system where he gives you a code and you can get the keys to your place yourself.  His place is also next to a large, free parking lot.  It couldn’t be more convenient.

We unloaded our stuff in the apartment… the same one we used when we were here back in February.  We have also stayed in one of Yannick’s smaller apartments.

Cozy little place in town… tiny dining room, but charming food.

Once we settled in, Bill and I ventured out to dinner at D’baecka Ofa Stub, a small restaurant on the main drag through town.  There were only a few people eating when we walked in.  French pop music played in the dining room, including a very odd dance cover of the Chris Isaak’s hit, “Wicked Game”.  I decided to have duck with honey sauce and frites.  Bill had a type of local ravioli made with celery, carrots, and onions.  My dinner was delicious and I ended up taking half of it back to the apartment.  I will probably finish it tonight, since we’re a little ready to wind down.

Storks are a thing here.

Bill checks out the menu while we snack on pretzels…

This duck was delicious.  It came with a huge bowl of frites.  I liked that they put the sauce on the side.  The white stuff is cauliflower, which I can take or leave.  That duck was so good.  I noticed several locals seem to love this place and it’s very friendly and charming waiter, who spoke German to us the whole time.

Bill enjoyed his dish, too.  Don’t ask me to name it…  It was basically ravioli done French style, with carrots, celery, and onions.  We shared a bottle of locally produced Riesling, too.  Riesling is widely produced in this part of France.  I used to think I hated Rieslings, but that’s only because I drank California’s version, which is too sweet for my tastes.

 

Back in the 90s, I waited tables in a nice restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia.  I wasn’t a wine drinker then and didn’t know much about it.  I used to hate it when people would ask me for suggestions because I was so ignorant.  I remember one time, a couple asked me for a recommendation of a Riesling.  I said I didn’t like Rieslings  because I thought they were too sweet.  They proceeded to rip me a new one for saying that Rieslings are sweet.  Naturally, they knew more about wine than I did at the time.  Anyway, allow me to say that I’m now a fan, especially of the Rieslings that come from Germany and France.  I used to hate German wine, too, but that has changed.

This cake was calling me like a beacon.  I made room for it.  Good thing Bill and I shared it.

After dinner, we shared a local style Black Forest cake that was slightly different from what we’ve found in Germany.  The bottom didn’t have the cookie crust or Kirschwasser.  It was all chocolate, very light, and delicious.  Our waiter was very entertaining.  I’d probably go back for him alone, although the duck was also fantastic.

Ribeauvillé is the kind of place where the sidewalks roll up early, especially during the off season.  After dinner, we made our way back to the apartment and went to bed nice and early.  It was great to be back!