Reunited with France… and it felt so good to be back! Part seven…

Saturday morning, after breakfast, we decided to visit a couple of other towns in Alsace. One of the places we visited is the quaint and picturesque hamlet of Obernai. I wanted to go there because many of the times we’ve stayed in Ribeauville, I’ve noticed that our WiFi signal pings from there. A woman I knew from Stuttgart also happened to visit Alsace back in January 2020, when we were also visiting. We met up with her at a winery and had a tasting, and I noticed that after we parted, she went to Obernai. I remembered thinking the photos she shared made Obernai look like a very inviting place.

So we went to Obernai, which was every bit as cute as I thought it would be. The town has a large parking lot, complete with a very nice looking public restroom facility, which was closed due to COVID-19. As I walked around Obernai, I was thinking that it reminded me a lot of Ribeauville, except it was a lot bigger and busier. I noticed there is a shit ton of new construction going on there. It looks like a lot of people are moving to Obernai, or businesses are relocating there. The old town area is very charming and adorable. We mostly just walked around there, but got bored before it was time for lunch. It looked like a good place for eating, tasting Alsatian wines, and shopping, and I did notice a lot of places of interest, complete with informative signs in French, German, and English. But I still got the urge to move on fairly soon after we arrived. We visited the free public restroom, where donations were being accepted for the people of Ukraine.

Bill and I ended up getting off course on our way back to the car, so we were a little “lost” for a short while. It suited me fine, since I got the chance to take more pictures. We did eventually find ourselves back on the right track to getting to the parking lot. Obernai is definitely a cute town, but I think I prefer Ribeauville, because it’s smaller, quieter, and less “peopley”. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be up for a return visit someday. Below are some photos from Obernai.

As lunchtime got closer, we decided to head to Saverne, a town Bill discovered and was curious about exploring. Saverne is about a 45 minute drive from Obernai, but it’s kind of in the right direction for getting back to Sessenheim. That was important, since we had reservations at seven o’clock for our second gourmet dinner at the Auberge au Boeuf restaurant.

We easily found another free public parking lot in Saverne, although there was a two hour time limit. The lot was right next to the Presbytère Protestant, which was inaugurated in 1897. It is a very beautiful church, but we didn’t take time to visit it, because we were on a mission to find lunch.

As soon as we walked into the little town, which is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains. It has a very different feel than Obernai does. The main drag is on kind of a steep hill that actually reminded me more of the Alpine town of Chamonix than Alsace.

I had never heard of Saverne before we visited there, but I was impressed by what I saw during our short trip. For one thing, Saverne is home to the Brewery La Licorne. Licorne is the French word for unicorn. We didn’t stop in for a visit there, but we did pick up a six pack of their brews to bring home with us. We also visited Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité, a beautiful old Catholic church that dates from 12th century. Bill was in a hurry, because he was worried about the time limit on our parking. Of course, no one was standing there with a stopwatch when we arrived, and I doubt people were chalking tires. He’s still big on following rules, though.

Saverne is also home to Rohan Castle, which is known as the “Little Versailles of Alsace”. It really does look like Versailles! And we almost had lunch at Taverne Katz, which is in a beautiful, historic building built in 1605 on the main drag through the town. We decided not to eat there when I noticed how many people were having lunch at that time. Instead, we dined at a place called Le Bistronome. Le Bistronome gets mixed reviews on Trip Advisor, but we had a good experience there. Curiously, the complaints on Trip Advisor seem to be about a “lazy, inappropriate, and grumpy boss/waitress”. We didn’t have that impression of the service at all.

During our visit, a very pleasant lady was handling all of the tables. She kindly suggested a table to us, and I noticed everyone in there appeared to be a local. I heard one woman even murmur “American” when she saw Bill and me. A large French family, complete with the obvious matriarch, sat kitty cornered to us. She gazed at us, looking either grumpy or curious. I couldn’t tell, but she did seem to be much beloved by the people she was with.

Below are some photos from Saverne and our lunch at Le Bistronome, where we enjoyed the musical stylings of Billy Paul and Barry White. I swear, it’s not a trip to France if I don’t hear the song “Me and Mrs. Jones” at least once! That restaurant is where I heard it on this trip to France. It also occurs to me that it looks like Bill and I only eat beef, fish, fries, and chocolate mousse. That’s not true at all, but that was how it worked out during our trip. Lunch ran us about 70 euros. The waitress was clearly very pleased when Bill tipped her generously.

By the time we were finished with lunch, it was mid afternoon. Bill was also worried about the parking lot time limit. So we headed back to Sessenheim, where I took a nice nap before our second big dinner. Bill went to the store and picked up some beer and wine. Stay tuned for the next post…

Alsace

Strasbourg’s annual wine extravaganza! Part two

Now that I’ve described the hotel, on with the rest of the trip. I was actually kind of dreading trying to find dinner on Friday night. I used to wait tables, so I know what dining out on Valentine’s Day can be like, both for wait staff and patrons. We were unable to make dinner reservations anywhere special, so I had a feeling dinner would be spectacularly un-special. And that’s what ultimately came to pass…

But before dinner, we were keen to visit the The Historic Wine Cellar at Strasbourg Hospices. My German friend, Susanne, told me about this historic wine cave, which was created in the year 1395. The cellar was used for storing wine, but it was also used for storing other perishables like grain. Today, visitors can visit the caves free of charge and pick up a bottle or two of wine. Very old wines are stored there now, including three historic barrels dating from 1472, 1519, and 1525. The barrel from 1472 even still has 350 liters of wine from 1472 in it– the oldest in the world aged in a barrel. It’s only been served three times in five centuries:

In 1576 to Zurich, when the Swiss proved that they could come quickly to help their friends in Strasbourg.
in 1718 for the reconstruction of the main building ravaged by a fire two years prior.
in November 1944 to General Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, liberator of the city of Strasbourg.

In 1994, the wine was tested by local oenologists who determined that even though the wine is over 500 years old, it’s still wine, and in fact, has “a very beautiful bright, very amber color, a powerful nose, very fine, of a very great complexity, aromas reminiscent of “Vanilla, honey, wax, camphor, fine spices, hazelnut and fruit liquor …” I wonder how much longer they’re going to age it and what made them decide to keep that particular wine for so long!

Bill and I took a taxi to visit the museum, because Bill thought maybe we’d be tasting some wine there. Alas, wine tastings are only done for special events. However, we did enjoy some beer after our visit to the cave. Here are some photos of the museum.

We really enjoyed our visit to see the historic wines. If we had driven to the museum, we probably would have picked up a few bottles of their current wines, too. Maybe if we go back to Strasbourg, we’ll stop in again. Incidentally, the cave is closed on Sundays and public holidays. If you visit, you can either read the signs, as we did, or get a headset, which will provide more information and stories about the history of the wine cave and its relation to the historic hospital complex. It doesn’t take long to see this attraction. We were there maybe a half hour, and that was because we were reading everything, taking pictures, and going slowly. It’s still pretty cool to visit there, though.

After our visit to the museum/cave, we decided to find ourselves some beer in town. We didn’t have to walk far before we reached our first destination, a bar called La Taverne des Serruriers/ La Schloss Brasserie. More on that in the next post.

Alsace

Parker goes to France, part five…

Prior to Monday, I had never heard of Soultzmatt, another cute town in Alsace where wonderful locally produced wines are turned out every year. My friend, Ellen, said that she’d been buying wines from Klein René et Michel for years. As I mentioned in my previous post, I knew Ellen from Facebook. Before Monday, I had never met Ellen in person, though we have been interacting for a few years now. She and her friend, Louise, were about a half an hour behind us, so we had originally planned to visit Eguisheim. But the lure of wine was too strong to resist, and we soon found ourselves on the was to 5 Rue Ingold in Soultzmatt.

Bill was a little confused at first, once we found the winery. We weren’t sure where to park, or where to go. As luck would have it, another couple pulled up at about the same time we did, only they were French and spoke no English. Ellen had asked us to wait, but since the lady was already opening the tasting room for the French couple, we decided to go ahead… We knew we’d still be tasting wines when Ellen and Louise showed up. Sure enough, we were!

The lady who was running the tasting didn’t speak any English at all, so things were a little awkward at first. But then Bill told her he speaks a little German and, lo and behold, she spoke German, too! We’ve found that a lot of people in Alsace speak German, especially among the older folks. There’s a guy in Ribeauville who sells liqueurs and wines who speaks no English, but has happily carried on conversations with Bill, despite Bill’s limited German proficiency.

By the time Ellen and Louise showed up, the French couple had left with three boxes of wine– probably about 18 bottles worth. And Bill, Parker, and I had already tried about three… Ellen speaks French and German, so things got a lot easier after that! We left with twelve bottles of wine ourselves.

Ellen did manage to get a nice shot of us enjoying our wine…

It’s always a pleasure to meet online acquaintances offline. After all, that’s how Bill and I came together. We used to be strictly online friends. Ellen and Louise were delightful company. It turns out we have some things in common, too. Louise is a horse person, and I was a horse person for years before I grew up… and out. Louise lives in Mobile, Alabama, which was where my horse lived after his very first owner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana sold him with his mom. Louise is also the name of my former riding instructor. 😉 And Ellen was especially great company, especially since we lived in the same community and have husbands who do somewhat similar work. I was most impressed by her ability to speak French and German. Time for me to get back on the stick, I guess.

After we tasted and bought our wine, we headed back to Ribeauville. Parker stayed in while Bill and I went searching for dinner. We found only one open restaurant, though it was one we’d never tried before… Restaurant Le Ribeaupierre. I see it gets pretty low Trip Advisor ratings, although I can honestly say I have legitimately had worse dining experiences in Ribeauville. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but the waiter was still very pleasant and the food wasn’t bad.

We had never tried the Restaurant Le Ribeaupierre before…

Restaurant Le Ribeaupierre is quaintly decorated and seems like a somewhat popular lunch spot, despite its low ratings on Trip Advisor. It looks like they mostly serve pizzas. I had some trouble choosing what I was going to have, mainly because the presence of mushrooms pretty much spoil my meals (not that I can’t afford to have some spoiled). Lasagne is one of those items that is hit or miss. Sometimes people use mushrooms in them. Sometimes they don’t. Anyway, this meal was alright. The Irish Coffee made up for it, and Bill enjoyed his “colonel”– lemon sorbet with a shot of vodka. We noticed that the waiter locked up right after we left, at about 8:00pm. Like I said, Ribeauville is dead in January, but plenty of fun can still be had if you look hard enough.

Alsace

Parker goes to France, part two…

After taking Arran to the Hundepension, Bill, Parker, and I loaded up the Volvo and headed to France. It was cold and cloudy, as it usually is this time of year. However, it wasn’t so cold in Germany that I packed my down jacket. I eventually regretted that decision, because it did get pretty cold in France. I did at least bring a cape that I could layer over my wool sweater. Global warming is definitely a thing, though. When we were in Germany the first time, I would not have dreamed of going outside without down. The past couple of years have truly been unseasonably warm here. We haven’t even had any snow yet. Last time I saw a decent amount of white stuff was when we lived in Jettingen.

We got on the road at about lunchtime on Saturday, January 18th. In retrospect, we probably should have eaten before we left, but I was eager to get on the road. We made one pit stop before lunch, where I managed to take a few inappropriate pics. I always get a kick out of the signs and ads in the bathrooms, as well as the people who prefer to go au naturale rather than pay the 70 cents to pee in private…

We ended up stopping in Landau, a pleasant town in southern Rhineland-Palatinate, not that far from the French border. I had told Yannick we were shooting to be at his gite between 3:00 and 4:00, but hadn’t realized that lunch would take as long as it did.

As it was, we stopped very close to the “witching hour” of 2:00pm, which is when a lot of restaurants shut down for a pause. I managed to find us a Paulaner restaurant, the Paulanerstuben-Landau, which still had lunch going. That turned out to be a fortuitous stop. The food was delicious, even if came out at a rather leisurely pace.

I had the delicious half chicken, which was crispy and probably done “extra spicy”. I say that, because they used a lot of black pepper to season it. I also noticed that they offered less spicy and mild versions. I wish I had specified, because when it comes to spicy food, my tastes are very German… or British. Makes perfect sense, too. Bill had the Wiener Schnitzel and Parker had sausages. Both of them liked their choices as much as I liked mine.

The rest of our drive to France was uneventful, except for when we stopped at an unusually rustic rest stop. There was another couple ahead of me. The man used the pissoir, which was outside (on a related note, I sure did see my share of public urination on this trip). The woman was in one of the two little wooden sheds, but she’d neglected to lock the door. Consequently, I opened the door on her when she was mid piss. Sigh… sorry lady, but I didn’t know you were in there. The doors lock for a reason.

We arrived at Yannick’s gite in the heart of Ribeauville at about 5:30pm. It was dark outside, and we were still full from lunch, as well as a bit tired from the drive. Yannick came over to say hello, and we got to meet his adorable little son, Raphael, who is about 18 months old. During our last visit to Ribeauville, Yannick’s wife was in labor with little Raphael; he was born the night we departed during our last visit over Memorial Day weekend in 2018. He was very shy, but adorable. Yannick said he wasn’t used to hearing English, but after a couple of minutes, he went to work entertaining himself with the drawers full of wine corks. Yannick says his wife will be having another baby in May or June of this year; then their family will be complete. It was a real pleasure to finally meet Raphael. I have no doubt that he’ll be bilingual in no time.

We all went to the little Carrefour grocery store located about 100 yards from the gite and loaded up on wine, beer, chips, breakfast fixings, and chocolate. Parker took one of the upstairs bedrooms, and Bill and I took the usual back bedroom. Here are some photos from Riesling, which mostly looks the same as it did last time we stayed there, in November 2017. Yannick says he’s trying to upgrade, but he’s had trouble finding workmen who are available. All of his gites in the wine house are named after local wine specialties.

Generous sized kitchen with a bathroom with a shower off to the side.

We like to stay at Yannick’s place, mostly because he’s very nice and loves dogs. But his place is also very convenient to Ribeauville, has access to free lot parking, and has most everything you’d need. It’s also reasonably priced, and Yannick makes checking in and checking out a breeze. You just access the lockbox, for which he sends a code before you arrive. It’s super easy and convenient. In fact, about an hour after we left, he texted me to see how we enjoyed our time. It was, indeed, a great time! Now… on with what we did in Alsace this time! Stay tuned for part three.

Alsace

Ribeauville… AGAIN! Part 1… knotty gets snotty over a pile of pork

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Bill if he’d like to go somewhere for Memorial Day weekend. He said “sure”, so I went looking for places to stay. I tried to find a place we hadn’t been yet. In retrospect, there were a few places I forgot to consider, places in Germany I’ve been wanting to visit and haven’t yet. But, for whatever reason, they didn’t cross my mind. I started thinking of Alsace again and how much we always enjoy our visits to northeastern France. Plus, I just love France and Alsace is so convenient and so pretty…

I realized our old friend Yannick, who has rented us apartments in Ribeauville three times before, had space available. Granted, it was one of his “studio” apartments, Muscat, which I knew would be a lot less spacious than “Riesling”, the three bedroom apartment we have stayed in twice so far. The first time we rented that apartment in February 2017, it was because we were planning to bring Bill’s mother with us. She ended up not being able to visit us due to an injury and the sudden need for surgery, so we stayed there on our own. It was awesome. Then last November, we came back and stayed in Riesling again because it was available and inexpensive.

The other apartment we’ve stayed in is “Pinot Noir”, which is a “one bedroom” apartment. Actually, it’s more like a big studio with a curtain that divides a back area from the living area. That was the first apartment we rented from Yannick, back in January 2017. So, you see, we’ve been to Ribeauville before and we keep coming back, mainly because Yannick is so easy to deal with and Ribeauville is such a cute town.

Yesterday, we got on the road to wine country and had to stop at a German gas station to pick up some motor oil. Our 2006 Toyota RAV 4 needs an oil change, but Bill never got around to it. The engine was about a quart low. We stopped three times before Bill finally found the oil he needed. The car still needs an oil change. Oh well… it handled itself fine crossing the mountains. I snapped a few pictures of the stunning scenery. We usually come through this area in the winter, so it’s glorious to see it when the weather is nice. Before are a few blurry shots of the beguiling Black Forest as we passed through it.

Finally, at about 4:30 or so, we entered France. It seemed we went over a different bridge over the Rhein than we usually do. It confused Bill, who had some issues getting out of the very congested Strasbourg area.

Bonjour again.

Bill got confused at one point and ended up in a nightmare of a traffic jam heading toward the city. He started cussing and my bladder started screaming for a rest stop. We had to get off at an exit near a mall and were immediately accosted by a group of Syrian refugees panhandling on the side of the road. I actually felt sorry for them, since it was rather hot outside and the women were completely covered in black. Bill says it’s time for Ramadan, though, which is probably why they were out there. Fortunately, we found a gas station… and, how refreshing, not only did one of the guys there say “Bonjour” to me, but I didn’t have to pay 70 euro cents for the privilege of peeing.

Once we finally started heading south, we got caught in another Stau. We were behind one guy who was checking his phone as he was creeping along. Bill went into retired Army officer mode and barked, “Get off your phone, Sir!” That put me in a silly mood and I started asking him ridiculous questions about what he was like when he was still in the military. One thing about Bill… he almost never yells unless he’s in traffic. He was definitely bitching yesterday, but then I started asking him about how he dealt with guys in the company he commanded, trying to imagine him yelling at some guy in basic training. That’s always good for a laugh. Bill is probably one of the most mild mannered people I know.

We got to the parking lot near our French gite just before seven o’clock and lucked into a good parking spot. Thanks to the traffic, it took us an extra hour to get to Ribeauville. Then, once we got to the outside of the apartment, I had some trouble finding the code to open the lockbox. We tried calling Yannick, but got a recording. Later, he sent me a message telling me he was in the hospital with his wife. I’m not sure, but it sounds like she was having a baby. He says he’ll visit today, so I’m sure we’ll get the scoop. Below are pictures of Muscat.

A big, king sized bed that is pretty comfortable, although my back is used to a feather bed, so this was a little painful. I don’t expect feather beds in rental properties, though, so I don’t fault the bed for my back.

And the rest of the tiny apartment. There’s a small bathroom with a shower and a tiny little kitchenette area. Yannick left us a bottle of sparkling wine, which we put in the dorm sized fridge. There’s a stove and a microwave, coffee makers, and of course, a raclette grill. The apartment is kind of microscopic, but would be fine for one or two people. It would also work well for a group renting the Riesling apartment next door and needing a little extra space. Actually, I think this wine house would be awesome for a family reunion, if you managed to rent the whole thing.

View from our window. It’s a bit noisier in this apartment, because it’s right by a busy thoroughfare. There’s a group of very pleasant German ladies staying in the Riesling apartment we’ve rented twice before. They were pretty cool with Zane and Arran.

After we settled in, we went searching for food. Since we’ve been to Ribeauville a few times now, we’ve been to a lot of the restaurants on the main drag. I wanted to try a different place. When we were here in November, I noticed Hotel du Mouton’s restaurant. They had “cock” on the menu and that always excites me. But first, we stopped at a restaurant right next to it. We moved on when I noticed some guy giving me the side eye when I spoke English.

We approached Hotel du Mouton’s restaurant, where there were three tables open on the terrace. A couple of waiters were standing there, looking casual. They seemed inviting, so I started to a table, which they said was reserved. Then, they pointed to another table at the end of the terrace. We headed for that one and they said that one was also reserved. We finally ended up at the first table, where we were finally invited to sit down. I must admit, this did not leave me with the best first impression, especially since it seemed like all eyes were on us. But we sat down… and proceeded to wait for about ten minutes before anyone bothered to speak to us.

I used to wait tables myself, so I tend to be pretty forgiving and patient when it comes to service issues while dining out. Still, I was hungry, tired, and in need of a drink. I was also annoyed by the seating rigamarole and watching as the waiters casually walked past us, filling wine glasses and not even inviting us to go screw ourselves. It was off-putting, and I gave some thought to leaving. Then I started humming inappropriate songs I learned from Red Peters’ song snatch program. But then, a man wearing a leather apron finally stopped and asked if we were ready to order.

Bill looks at the menu. It would be a long time before he got to give his orders. Hmm… wonder if it was like that for him in the Army, too.

Bill ordered the first selection. I was very tempted by the cock, but asked for an entrecôte… I got the Choucroute Garnie.

The restaurant had a number of asparagus dishes offered on special. I might have ordered one, but I couldn’t read the sign, since it was mounted on the wall. Some guy was sitting in front of it and blocking the view of anyone who might be interested. I decided on an entrecôte, which is a rib eye steak. It was supposed to come with either pepper sauce or morel sauce. Bill decided on marinated salmon with potato pancakes, a dish I had been eyeing myself.

The waiter came over and Bill started trying to speak horrible French. Then he switched to German. The waiter finally indicated that he spoke English, so Bill switched to that. He ordered us a bottle of wine, some sparkling water, and the salmon pancakes. Then I ordered the entrecôte, but was surprised when the waiter simply said “Okay,” collected the menus, and quickly left without asking me the temperature or which sauce I preferred. After he served the wine and the water, we didn’t see him again for some time.

While we were waiting for our food, I noticed the restaurant was offering a special Wagyu beef entrecôte from the United States. I wondered if maybe that was what I was going to get, since it made no mention of sauces. It was 42 euros and I figured they’d just bring it out super rare, since a lot of French people seem to like really bloody meat (though I don’t).

I also noticed that they were holding our wine hostage, a practice I really hate. Everyone’s bottles were kept on a table and the waiters were pouring the wines as they had the opportunity. In some restaurants, this practice is considered good service, and it is, if the wait staff is attentive. When they are weeded, it becomes a real nuisance.

After some time passed, a different waiter showed up with Bill’s dish and one that was unrecognizable to me. It was basically a pile of pork with sauerkraut.

“I didn’t order that.” I said when the waiter tried to give it to me.

He looked confused, went to his colleague, and clearly upset the man. Our original waiter came back and said, “Yes, you did order the choucroute.” he said, checking his notes. “Because if you had ordered the entrecôte, I would have asked you the temperature and which sauce you wanted.” It was as if because he wrote down the wrong thing, in his mind, the matter was settled. Obviously, he couldn’t have mistaken choucroute for entrecôte, right? And yet he did! And he was trying to blame me for his error. Bullshit!

At that point, I was becoming extremely annoyed and was quickly getting over the whole experience. I snapped, “I ordered the entrecôte. And you’re right that you didn’t ask me the temperature or which sauce I wanted. In fact, I wondered why.”

I can’t say for sure, but it’s very likely that I had one of my trademark venomous expressions on my face. I usually do when I get pissed off. I do know that my voice became quite sharp and I could tell the guy was worried that I was about to lose my shit right there at the table. I was a bit hangry and really tired of the bumbling service. I just wanted to eat and get out of there.

The guy scurried away with the food, then came back and offered me the pile of pork again. He said, “If you don’t take this, you’ll have to wait for the entrecôte to be cooked.”

I was thinking to myself, Duh… of course I would have to wait for a steak to be cooked to order. This isn’t a McDonald’s. I probably would have preferred McDonald’s at that point.

Then Bill, sweet gentleman that he is, said “I’ll take the choucroute. You can have the salmon and potato pancakes.” That was alright with me, since I’d been thinking about ordering the pancakes anyway.

The waiter looked relieved as he served me the pork. He actually smiled as Bill and I switched plates. It probably appeared that the awkward bullshit was about to end.

I was sitting there wondering why in the hell that man was arguing with me over what I ordered. Why would I lie about that? I don’t go out to restaurants, order stuff, and then change my mind after I’ve ordered. That doesn’t make any sense. I understand that people make mistakes. I made a lot of them when I waited tables. But I felt the waiter was very rude to argue with me about what I ordered. The correct response is not an argument. The correct response is, “I apologize. What can I do to fix the problem?”

So these were the potato pancakes. They were served with pieces of marinated salmon, which are not too visible in the photo because they are under the pancakes. One of the endive leaves was filled with a horseradish dip.

And this was the erroneous pile of pork farts the waiter tried to serve me. Bill says the sauerkraut wasn’t all that good. There was a lot of it, so it’s good that I didn’t actually eat this. It would have been very windy in our little apartment if I had. I don’t think Bill was able to eat the wiener. That was too much protein.

The good news is that after the waiter got a load of my bitchface, he released our wine from custody and put it on the table. The wine was probably my favorite part of the meal. It was full of the essence of dark berries and, when I tasted it after eating a couple of peanuts, it tasted a little like a PBJ sandwich. Better yet, I could keep my glass filled.

Alas, one of the potato pancakes arrived a bit scorched. Fortunately, the other two were unscathed and I was plenty full.

Instead of having dessert, we decided to have after dinner drinks. Bill enjoyed a very lovely Japanese whiskey. Props to the second waiter, who did a very professional presentation, complete with showing us the bottles from which he was pouring.

While I had a snifter of Armagnac from 1973… just a year younger than I am. The Armagnac was dangerously smooth and at 16 euros, not exactly cheap. However, it did leave me with a smile on my face. We noticed the rest of the service was done by a different waiter wearing a leather apron. He had piercings in his chest and was a lot more professional than the other guy was.

The bill came to 92 euros. It’s probably the only bill we will ever be presented by Hotel du Mouton because I don’t think we’ll be going back there. That was probably one of the least comfortable dining experiences I’ve had in a good long while. It’s a shame, too, because the hotel is in a cute area and gets fairly good reviews on Trip Advisor and Google. I saw the owners there last night with their adorable little girl. I would be very surprised if this is the impression they’d want to leave with their guests… and any potential guests who happen to read this review.

Hotel du Mouton… looks inviting enough, but looks can be deceiving. Oh well. We’ll find a better place today.

Alsace

Ribeauvillé trois… Pt. 3

We awoke to more rain on Saturday. I was kind of bummed out about that, since there are a couple of other little villages in the area I want to visit. I had designs on seeing Kaysersberg and Bergheim, both of which are reputed to be very charming places. Despite having visited Alsace several times since 2014, we still haven’t visited all of the cute towns. Of course, that just gives us a good reason to return to the area. On the other hand, time in Europe is precious and there are so many other places to see. We probably should have just manned up and gone.

Another activity I had considered was visiting the spa in Ribeauvillé. On the outskirts of town, there is a large resort hotel that has a spa and a casino. I read up on the Balneo before our visit, but like most French pools, the guys have to wear Speedos. Although Bill has been able to bring himself to go naked in German spas, he is still unwilling to don a maillot. So we didn’t go to the spa… I’ll keep working on him, though.

One thing we did do this time that we haven’t really done much of on previous visits is go shopping. Yep, we stayed in Ribeauvillé and spread around some euros. The town has a lot of cute little shops where it’s easy to part with money. We started by visiting what was advertised as an “art exhibition”. It was free of charge and set up in what appeared to be a very old church no longer in use. They had maybe a dozen or so abstract paintings set up, as well as lots of what looked like handmade crafts for sale. There were Christmas tree ornaments, purses, knitted ponchos and gloves, and lots of other items. We did end up buying a new ornament for one of our Christmas trees.

It wasn’t a big exhibition, but the inside of the little church was well worth looking at.

After we took in the “exhibition”, we walked further down the street and noticed a guy standing in a doorway offering cheese samples. I don’t actually like cheese that much, unless it’s melted and in something. Bill loves cheese, though, so we went into this place that had nothing but some sausages and huge cheese wheels. Bill only wanted about 100 grams, but he walked out with about $100 worth of cheesy comestibles. The two young people selling the cheese had trouble cutting small pieces and cut two big slabs of the stuff. Fortunately, Bill is easy going and had plenty of cash on hand. My guess is that his cheese loving buddies at work will get a treat this week because there is no way we can eat as much as he bought.

Bill says the cheese is very good… kind of like Gruyere, which I do happen to like in small quantities. Guess we’ll be making potatoes au gratin or something…

Beaucoup Fromage!

Once we were done with the cheese shop, it was getting close to lunchtime. A lot of businesses close for two hours starting at noon, which gives people the perfect opportunity to have a leisurely lunch. I have also noticed that every time we visit this town, at least a couple of restaurants are closed for a holiday. It’s almost like they take shifts. I noticed two places we visited last time were closed this time. And places that were closed last time were open this time.

I took another enchanting shot of Ribeauvillé… Next time, we will have to broaden our horizons.

Every time we’ve come to Ribeauvillé, we have passed a restaurant called La Flammerie. Our host told us it’s a very popular place, especially at night. Indeed, it’s always packed at lunch and dinner and we were lucky to score a table at lunchtime on Saturday. When we sat down, there were tables available, but they filled up very quickly.

Bill checks out the offerings and we both decide to try a local beer called Meteor, which they had on tap.

La Flammerie seems to specialize in “ham knuckles”, known in these parts as schweinshaxe. I was tempted to get one, since they seem to be prepared differently in France and they had a number of them listed on the menu. But then I realized that I can never finish pork knuckles. They usually end up being two or three meals for me. Then I considered having a “faux filet”, which is basically just a steak. But I can get steak anywhere… So I finally opted for more duck, since duck isn’t always easy to find. It was prepared with a pinot noir and honey sauce.

My duck tasted good, though if I’m honest, the pinot noir and honey sauce wasn’t very appetizing looking. My dish also came with sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. I’m not exactly sure what the little ramekin was full of. It looked like it could have been anything from fruit to kidneys. I didn’t want to risk it, since the restaurant was crowded. If it was something that made me feel nauseated, it would be hard to get to the bathroom! I have a feeling that ramekin was probably offal of some sort… How awful!

I must edit to add that my German friend, Susanne, checked out the menu for me and she says the contents of the ramekin were “Quetsche” (a type of local plum). I like plums, so I probably would have enjoyed them. Unfortunately, an unfortunate incident from our last trip to France is still fresh in my mind. While we were in Burgundy, Bill ordered what he thought was a type of sausage. It turned out he ordered pigs’ intestines, complete with the colon. Since I have a weaker stomach than he does, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry!

Bill had “roesti”, which is another local favorite. It’s basically Alsatian comfort food– roasted potatoes with cheese. His dish came with a salad and some bread.

Instead of dessert, we decided to have local digestives. I had Mirabelle, which is a spirit made with local plums. Bill had another local liqueur called Marc. It’s kind of like grappa.

The menu posted outside.

After a quick potty break at the apartment for us and the dogs, we continued our shopping spree. I decided to buy the blue suede cap, pictured below… It’s actually a German made product, but it came in handy because of all the rain.

Is it me? Damn, I am really blonde now… No bottles involved; just getting old. I like the cap, though I rarely wear head gear.

The picture speaks for itself.

We stopped inside this charming little shop where a guy was selling homemade liqueurs and wines. He didn’t speak English, but he and Bill were able to converse a bit in German. We bought some raspberry liqueur, creme de cassis, and a bottle of Cremant.

Our next stop was at a bottle shop… they were advertising a huge wine tasting. We didn’t end up going because the weather sucked and we didn’t want to be hungover for our drive back to Germany. However, we did buy a couple of nice reds.

This was a pretty cool little shop. It’s not very big, but there’s a little bit of everything offered there, from spirits to wine related gifts. The proprietor spoke very charmingly accented English, too. I was intrigued by a staircase that obviously once led to an upstairs but is now simply used for displaying stuff, since the top of the steps met with the ceiling.. I guess there must be another staircase in the building.

This bottle of dessert wine was priced at 345 euros! No wonder it was behind bars.

A good bet for wine lovers…

Last time we were in Ribeauvillé, we stopped at a winery for a tasting and walked out with six bottles to take home with us. This time, we went to Louis Sipp, which is a well-known winery in town. For five euros, you can try three wines. Or, if you make a purchase, they don’t charge for for the tasting. We tried six wines and left with six bottles. If we’d wanted to, we could have spent the day tasting wines. There are a number of places on the Alsatian Wine Route, but it would be just as easy to just walk around any of the little towns.

I can’t believe he was a teetotaler when we first met.

A group of French youths joined us while we tasted wines.

Finally, we stopped by a pottery store. I have my share of Polish pottery, which we bought when we lived in Germany back in 2007-09, as well as stuff we’ve found at AAFES. Alsace also has nice pottery. We stopped in one store that had many pieces crafted in Soufflenheim, a well-known pottery town just over the French border with Germany.

I bought a few pieces… as many as I could get away with before Bill objected. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of space in our current house for cookware. Otherwise, I think I might have picked up one of those casserole dishes.

We were pretty full from lunch, so we spent Saturday evening watching TV. Bill took the dogs out for an early evening stroll and I guess the dogs started baying again, because a guy staying in a building next to ours stuck his head out of his window and started berating Bill in French. Bill is a very mild mannered and non confrontational person. It’s probably a lucky thing that I wasn’t walking the dogs because I probably would have started yelling back at him in English, and I would have included some choice universal swear words that wouldn’t have needed any translation.

I get that it’s annoying when dogs bark, but ours don’t bark constantly. In fact, they usually only make noise for a minute or so. Moreover, we weren’t the only ones with dogs in the area. We heard lots of barking from other canines. If that guy actually lives in that place, he probably hears a lot of barking all the time, which might account for his unpleasant disposition. Yannick, the guy who owns the apartments where we stay, is very dog friendly and he told us that there have been times when all four of his apartments in the wine house (he has seven total, but the others are in a different building) have had dogs in attendance.

Anyway, yelling at people whose dogs occasionally bark is really not productive. We do the best we can not to let our dogs disturb others, but sometimes shit happens. They’re animals, and sometimes they are unpredictable. Fortunately, we didn’t have to take the boys out in the middle of the night on our last night in town. However, during yesterday’s morning stroll, someone driving a Porsche SUV that had been parked in the same lot where our car was, went screaming past Bill. And my sweet, easygoing husband screamed, “You fucking ASSHOLE!” at the guy, who was either the one who yelled at him or someone trying very hard to convince everyone else how big his penis is, and failing miserably.

Too bad we had to end our trip on that note… We did bring home some nice stuff, though, and hope that during our next visit, we will see and do more. Really, though, Ribeauvillé feels like another home by now. It’s great to go there on a long weekend and just have some different food and a change of scenery. Not only is a beautiful area with a different vibe, but it’s so easy to get there and doesn’t take all day to reach. We are able to make it in under three hours and a round trip uses about half a tank of gas.

Yannick, once again, reminded me to text or email next time we visit so he can be spared paying a commission to Booking.com and we’ll get a special rate. I don’t know when we’ll go back to Alsace, but I do know it makes for a convenient first stop into France. It could be sooner rather than later.

We drove home yesterday in the driving rain and I couldn’t help but notice that the rivers that flow through the Black Forest were very high and even flooding in some areas. I got a few shots during our drive.

Look carefully and you can see the brown water. If we were living in that area, I might be a little scared.

Anyway… I wish we could have done more exciting things on this trip, but it was great to get away for a few days. Next trip with the dogs, we’ll be sure to stay in a more rural locale. Luckily, there are plenty of places like that in Europe.

Alsace

Ribeauvillé trois… Pt. 2

Friday morning, after a delightful breakfast of fresh croissants, an egg, coffee, and juice, we decided to visit the little hamlet of Hunawihr. I read that Hunawihr is considered one of France’s most beautiful villages, much like Riquewihr is. We’ve been to Riquewihr several times, so we didn’t visit there during our latest visit.

A couple of shots of the view near where we were staying in Ribeauville.

Hunawihr is not even two miles from Ribeauville. On a nice day, you could easily walk there and then onward to Riquewihr. As it turns out, the village is small and residential, but well worth strolling though. There are some lovely views of vineyards and several places sell wines and offer tastings. I also noticed a couple of restaurants. During the warmer months, you can visit the butterfly gardens. There is also an animal park and aquarium located there. We just missed the end of the 2017 season, which concluded on November 4th.

Below are some pictures of Hunawihr. We weren’t able to stay long because it was starting to rain.

Bill checks out the people from Hunawihr who died at war.

Grape vines in the fall!

It would be hard to get lost in Hunawihr, but here’s a map anyway.

After our short visit to Hunawihr, we walked around Ribeauvillé in search of lunch. I took some more photos of the town, which remains picturesque every time we visit. Unfortunately, every time we go to Ribeauvillé, the weather is kind of crappy. I guess it would help if we went during the spring or summer instead of November, January, and February. Still, even when it’s cloudy, it’s a very cute town. I prefer it to touristy Riquewihr, which always seems to be teeming with visitors even when the weather is poor.

Fresh game perhaps?

At the very least, you can always count on the availability of good food…

The pastries are worth stopping for.

We were determined to try different restaurants during this visit and we succeeded. For Friday’s lunch, we visited S’Garwer Stub. This restaurant on the main drag through Ribeauvillé is usually packed. Having visited there, I can see why. The food is good and the dining room is positively tiny.

We were squeezed into a back corner.

A lovely bottle of red…

Bill had some kind of meat pie. It was a pastry stuffed with ham. Actually, if I’m honest, it reminded me a little of Spam. When I was in kindergarten, I went to a British school and they served something similar for lunch. As you can see, it came with plenty of salad.

I went with Quiche Lorraine. It was pretty good– better than the last quiche I had back in February, but not quite as good as the Quiche Lorraine I had at nearby Chez Martine in January.

For dessert, Bill had the Tart de la Maison– it was kind of like cherry cheesecake…

I went with creme brûlée.

We were pretty full after lunch, so we walked around a little bit more and then went back to the apartment. Bill turned on the TV and we watched some pretty horrible French reality shows.

Hard to believe one can watch this just a couple of hours away from Stuttgart.

We weren’t all that hungry when it was dinner time, but I was determined to keep trying restaurants. So we ventured to another tiny Winstub…

I had been curious about this place, which appears to be very quaint from the outside. Step indoors and, sure enough, you will be greeted by a tiny but adorable interior.

Once again, we ended up sharing a table because we didn’t have reservations. Three French guys with big appetites sat with us. I kind of got the sense they were kind of making fun of us until I reacted to the size of some of their dishes…

I had a zander filet. It came with loads of sauerkraut, butter sauce, sweet potatoes and other root vegetables, and contemptible mushrooms. Fortunately, Bill was kind enough to remove them for me. It’s good that I didn’t order the steak, because one of the guys at our table did and it was loaded with mushrooms. Blecch! The fish was okay, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.

Bill had pork cheeks, which came with a sausage. I probably should have had what he had. It was really good. The pork cheeks were flavorful and tender and there was no fungus on the plate.

Then we had dessert. Bill had what amounted to French toast served with gingerbread liqueur and gingerbread ice cream.

I had chocolate mousse. The way this was served reminded me a little of liver pate. Fortunately, it tasted good.

To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed with the food at Winstub Pfifferhus. The interior is very cute, though, and it was kind of fun to watch the French guys dig in to their three course meals. I think Bill and I have gotten to the age at which it doesn’t take much to satisfy us and keep us fat. We went to bed early, only to be awakened at about 3:00am by our dog, Zane, who needed a potty break.

One bad thing about the apartment we rented is that it’s in a built up area and not that close to a place where a dog can pee in peace. For some reason, our dogs reacted a lot to the smells in Ribeauvillé and started baying. Now… we hate it as much as anyone does when the dogs get excited and make a lot of noise, especially in the middle of the night. However, it’s not always easy to predict when this will happen and, when it does, it’s pretty hard to shut them up. It can seem like the longest minutes of the day when the dogs go off, especially in the wee hours of the morning…

Anyway, Bill brought them back inside and all was well until later on Saturday. Tune in next time for that story.

Alsace

Running away to Ribeauville, France… part two (good eats 1)

Ribeauville is pretty quiet right now. Many of the locals have left town for vacation. Consequently, a lot of the restaurants and a few stores were closed. The weather was pretty gloomy during our visit, so we mainly hung around the apartment and ventured out for lunch a couple of times. Even though the town is fairly dead right now, it’s still very beautiful and quaint. There’s still plenty of wine for tasting and buying. And if you’re sick and tired of schnitzel and pork knuckles, you can have something decidedly French in Ribeauville. I know I did.

Ribeauville is tres cute.

The first restaurant we went to was Chez Martine, an adorable little bistro on the main drag through Ribeauville. It seems to be a place most popular for lunch. When we arrived at about 1:00pm on Saturday, the tiny dining room only had a few open tables. A very friendly waitress invited us to sit where we wanted. She didn’t speak much English, which I found very refreshing. And she was smiling and helpful. I was very charmed by her as she very carefully explained that they were about to close for their vacation, so they were out of some items on the menu.

I decided to have Quiche Lorraine, which is basically made with bacon or ham and cheese. It came with a salad and bread. Bill chose a salmon tart, but they didn’t have it. So he went with lightly breaded fish– I think it was flounder. It, too, came with a very nice salad. We shared a bottle of Alsatian wine and no one gave us the fish eye for drinking during the daytime.

No, I wasn’t drinking when I took this. The expression of Bill’s face just reminded me of Squidward’s.

A little better.

A very nice locally produced Riesling, which went great with our lunches.

My delicious Quiche Lorraine. This was so good. Just what I needed on a cold, gloomy January day in France. And such a nice change from the fare one usually finds in these parts. The salad had carrots, green beans, radishes, and fresh greens. It came with a light mustard vinaigrette as well as super fresh bread.

Bill was equally happy with his flounder. It came with the same salad my dish had.

Our waitress talked us into dessert. I had a cherry tart, which was delicious and just the right size.

Bill enjoyed a pear and chocolate tart. Again, it was the right size and very fresh. I was marveling that we only live a couple of hours away, but the food is so refreshingly different. We will have to come back for that alone.

A shot of the front. In warmer months, there are tables available for outside.

Our bill came to just over fifty euros. Bill made the waitress smile by giving her a generous tip. A friend of mine who lives in France says that tipping isn’t really a thing in France. More than a couple of euros isn’t necessarily expected. I could tell that our waitress appreciated it, though. And that meal was enough that we didn’t really need anything else for the rest of the day. We went back to the apartment and enjoyed some wine from the local grocery store while we watched the flurries come down. Ribeauville definitely did not get the snow that Stuttgart got.

Burgundy

Ten things I learned on my trip to Semur En Auxois, France…

Whenever Bill and I take trips, I like to think of ten things I learned. I have found that travel is one of the best ways to learn new things, meet new people, and expand horizons. Although Semur En Auxois was not on my top ten list of places I wanted to see, we really enjoyed our weekend there. And so, in the interest of promoting this underrated town, I give you the top ten things we learned on our trip to Semur En Auxois, France.

10. There are still places in western Europe where not everyone speaks English. I know some people will say that the French purposely choose not to speak English and maybe that’s true sometimes. I didn’t find it to be true in Semur En Auxois. Everyone we ran into was pleasant, though not necessarily fluent in English. Frankly, I found it very refreshing, even though it made communicating more difficult.

9. In France, you can go to the grocery store on Sunday! It’s true that things do shut down for the “day of rest”, but people have to have their croissants. So, if you also need to load up on wine or cheese for the ride back to Germany, you may very well be able to stop in. I’m not sure if this is true in every part of France, but it was in Semur En Auxois, which I would not consider to be a tourist mecca.

8. It can be very rewarding to wander among small towns and just soak in the local flavor. It’s true that this particular trip was not of the Clark W. Grizwold variety. We didn’t make a point of seeing all of the things we could have seen. But we did get to see some very charming French villages and enjoy some wonderful scenery. Sometimes, it’s good to just soak up the atmosphere.

7. Cheese that smells like feet apparently tastes fantastic. This is according to my husband, Bill, who likes that sort of thing. If you like unusual and stinky cheeses, France is your place! As for me, pass the Monterrey Jack and make sure it’s melted.

6. Europeans aren’t into spaying and neutering their pets the way Americans are. Although people have given us strange looks in Germany for having two dogs sans testicles, it wasn’t until we went to France that we learned why. At least in Germany, there is a law that prohibits removing organs from animals for non medical reasons, although it doesn’t seem to be heavily enforced and exceptions can be made. Europeans seem to be opposed to the practice of spaying and neutering in general. I just found a five year old article that explains that neutering your dog is actually illegal in Norway. Interesting! This revelation ranks right up there with learning that many German men sit down to pee when they’re at home.

5. Free parking and free WCs! Although I know free potties and parking are not necessarily the norm in France, we did find them both to be a lot more plentiful there than in Germany. On the other hand, prepare to pay tolls on the motorways!

4. Even if you don’t speak French, you can have rewarding conversations… See my reference to spaying and neutering above, which came about as we were chatting with an elderly French lady who wondered where our dogs’ balls were. Of course, we could have misinterpreted. Incidentally, we also saw a local guy walking by wearing a t-shirt that read “This is my Halloween costume.” We count that as another bizarre occurrence during our travels (and we always have at least one on every trip we take).

3. My French isn’t as bad as I thought it was. Which isn’t to say that it’s good at all. I just understood more than I would have expected. I definitely need to study it, though. But I also need to study German. Why couldn’t I have spent two years in a country where I would have learned French instead of Eastern Armenian? Just my luck, I guess.

2. Even obscure towns are worth seeing. My guess is that most Americans have never heard of Semur En Auxois. Most Americans would prefer to visit Paris, Lyon, Nice, or Normandy. We had a very good time in rural France. It was an authentic experience that I would highly recommend to other Americans if they have the means and the opportunity. Just pick a small town and go. You may surprise yourself by what you’ll end up learning and seeing.

1. France is wonderful. I will admit, my very first impressions of France in 1995 were quite unfavorable. I spent a whole, miserable, jet lagged day stuck at Charles de Gaulle airport where I was treated rudely. However, every time I have gone back to France, and there have been many times since 1995, I have fallen more in love with the country. There’s a lot to love about France and I hope we can go back again soon. I kind of feel the same way about New York City. I hated my first visit, but loved it more with each subsequent trip. By the time we move back to the States, I will probably be madly in love with France.

France is beautiful, even when the sun isn’t shining!

Alsace

A “two dog night” in Riquewihr, France… part four

We took another stroll around the village last night, after we enjoyed drinks at the hotel. I got more photos of the picturesque environs and the dogs enjoyed another long stroll. I think Zane got a little more than he bargained for with this trip. He seemed a little sore this morning when we got up.

After we took our walk, we had dinner at a very touristy but pet friendly restaurant with an extensive outdoor seating area. Restaurant Au Relais de Riquewihr is a large place that seems to cater to tourists. We opted to eat there because of the dogs. Our friends the super blond Dutch kids were also there with their parents, as well as a couple of American women who had a little boy with them. The Americans were obviously familiar with the staff.

Bill posing for a photo again.

The waiter, a man with a wonderfully engaging personality, was chatting with the Americans as if they were friends. We later discovered the Americans had come from Ramstein. One of them was in charge of outdoor recreation at Ramstein and really looked the part. She was super fit. She came over to talk to us and let her little boy pet Zane, who was begging for pieces of my chicken and Bill’s white pizza.

The dogs were doing great at dinner until a lady with a dog came over to a nearby crepe stand. Arran saw the dog’s feet and it was all over, even though he’d been around other dogs all day. He let loose with a loud bark. Zane joined in and for a couple of long minutes, the two of them proceeded to draw a lot of attention to us. It was kind of embarrassing.

The food at Restaurant Au Relais Riquewihr was decent and, I think, very suitable to people with kids and, of course, obnoxious dogs. However, when I used their bathroom, I couldn’t help but notice the strong smell of stale urine. In a restaurant, that’s definitely a turn off.

The funny thing is, that smell took me back to 1980, when my parents moved us to Gloucester, Virginia, a then very rural county in southeastern Virginia. I was then eight years old. I made friends with a couple of girls who lived on the same dirt lane I did. They were from Oregon and their mom was divorced from their dad. They lived in a trailer that always reeked of stale human piss. They moved maybe a year later and I never saw them again. I had pretty much forgotten about them, but that smell of pee just brought it all back. It’s crazy how smells can spark vivid memories.

Anyway, our dinner came to about 52 euros including a carafe of wine and sparkling water. Bill tipped the friendly waiter handsomely for tolerating our loud dogs, even though he originally brought me the wrong order (beef and fries). It looked really good, though. Also, it may be worth mentioning that this restaurant has a mister for those steamy summer days. They turned it on to amuse the little American boy who was visiting. Later, we watched his mom kiss the waiter on both cheeks and say she’d see him in September. Oooh la la!

White pizza for Bill…with mushrooms, blecch! They also had flammkuchen. We shared a 50ml carafe of a local pinot noir. It was a decent wine, though maybe a bit overpriced.

Chicken skewers for me. These were a daily special prepared with lots of lemon… maybe a hair too much for my taste. But the frites were fabulous. They reminded me of frites from Belgium. This dish also came with a salad and bread, neither of which I had room to eat.

This fountain had lots of goldfish in it.

I was curious about this little stand. I think they were selling homemade apple juice.

We went to bed early last night and left lovely Riquewihr right after breakfast. It was stormy and rainy this morning and our dogs were a bit tired. Zane, in particular, seemed kind of sore from the walking. Our drive back to Stuttgart was totally uneventful and took a little over two hours. It’s hard to believe that a place with such a different vibe is so close.

We’d call this trip a success and I’m already starting to think about making these one night trips more of a regular thing. I need to get out more; the dogs could use the practice in being out in public; and who knows if and when we’ll live in Europe again? We made the mistake of not seeing enough when we lived here the first time and I don’t want to do that again.

In any case, I highly recommend Riquewihr and I hope we can go back, stay a little longer, and see more of the area. It really is beautiful there, very tourist and pet friendly, and so close to Stuttgart. I’m so happy we ran off to France this past weekend and I hope we can do it again very soon!

These photos were taken as we were departing…