Food and wine in Switzerland, Italy, and Liechtenstein… part six

Now comes the scenic part of our trip… moving from Emilia-Romagna to Florence by way of the west coast…

As we were preparing to leave La Locanda del Borgo at Torrechiara Castle, Bill asked me if I wanted to go to Florence by way of Bologna, or by way of the Italian coast. Bill knew that I had visited Viareggio in 1997, back when I was just 25 years old and had a second class one month Eurail pass. At that time, I was broke, and traveling with friends who are now married to each other, live in Northern Ireland, and have six kids! We stopped there by chance, mainly because it had a beach, and we wanted to swim.

I had been wanting to visit Viareggio again, mainly because I have such fond memories of the pension where we stayed. It was a one star place– very cheap! But you could get half board there, and the food was excellent. Plus, I remembered that they asked us what kind of wine we preferred. My friends preferred white wine, so that’s what we got. They brought out a big jug of it every time we ate, over our couple of nights there.

We didn’t have time to stay in Viareggio for more than just lunch, but I was excited to see it again. Going by way of the coast also meant that we could finally visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is only about a half an hour from Viareggio. I’ve been to Italy a bunch of times, but never managed to see that very well touristed monument before last week.

Another bonus to going by way of the coast was that it took us through some absolutely GORGEOUS terrain… much prettier than what we would have seen, and did see on the way back, going by way of Bologna. Below are some photos I managed to get on our way to the coast as we made our way to Florence. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to get a good shot of Torrechiara Castle from the drive out. The view of the castle was much better on that route, but there was never a convenient opportunity to catch a shot of it from the car, nor were there any good pull off points. Pity. But at least I got some very beautiful photos of the countryside.

Speaking of Lamborghinis… about a dozen of them passed us.

As soon as we stopped in Viareggio, I noticed a small “healthy fish restaurant” called e.Dai near where we parked the car. I knew that was where we’d have lunch, after we went to the sea, so I could touch the water. It was confirmed when I saw the toilet near the door (not every place obviously had one, and we both needed one). It was still too chilly for swimming, but lots of people were walking on the beach, and there were guys there hawking their wares. One tried to sell us a beach blanket, but we were only there to look at the water for a minute. I would like to go an Italian beach and stay for a few days. But it was nice to smell the air and look at the water… I even enjoyed seeing the seagulls. I grew up near the ocean, and I have missed beaches in the time we’ve been in Germany. Below are some scenes from Viareggio. It has kind of a carnival vibe.

After our quick visit to the water, we headed to e.Dai, where we were promised “healthy fish” dishes. I don’t know about that, but it was a nice change of pace to have fish instead of Parma ham or meat from other hooved animals. I miss seafood, too. The fish place did offer something new, but it wasn’t a cheap place at all. We both had sandwiches and wine, and the bill was about the euro equivalent of $50.

After lunch, we made our way south to Pisa, where we found a very convenient pay parking lot with a sparkling clean public toilet. A kind looking lady was collecting one euro from those who needed to use the toilet. I heard one American guy grumble about the price and say he wouldn’t pay it. I was happy to pay, because I had a feeling it cost the same at Pisa; the facilities wouldn’t be nearly as clean; and there would be a line. Sure enough, I was right. So, if you ever find yourself at that parking lot in Pisa and you need the facilities, I’m telling you it’s a good deal. Go ahead and pay the euro for a glorious piss. At least it’s clean, and you don’t have to wait. The lady who collects the euros keeps it immaculately clean!

We chose not to buy a ticket to see the Tower of Pisa, the cathedral, and the baptistery up close, mainly because we were pressed for time. These photos are just of the exterior, which one can visit free of charge. We also knew that climbing the tower meant lots of heavy breathing in confined spaces while wearing masks. I would like to visit again and do a proper visit. I’d also like to see the city itself, which I know is very vibrant and interesting in its own right. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity. April is a nice time to visit. It’s not too hot!

After our brief visit, we got back on the road to Florence, where we would spend the next three nights, and meet our wine tour group. More on that in the next post.

churches, Rhein, Sundays

Heavenly windows by Marc Chagall and heavenly eating at Heiliggeist…

Last month, when Bill and I went to Zürich, we visited the Fraumünster church. That church is famous for having beautiful stained glass windows created by the Jewish French-Russian artist, Marc Chagall. I wasn’t familiar with Marc Chagall before we saw his windows in Switzerland last month. After I posted some photos on social media, a German friend told me that I could also see Chagall’s work in Mainz, at The Collegiate Church of St. Stephan. We live close to Mainz, but before yesterday, we hadn’t been there in a long time. Not only did COVID-19 keep us away, but there was also some construction being done on the bridge over the Rhein River which made crossing over there problematic. The bridge connects our home state of Hesse with Rheinland-Pfalz. I had actually forgotten that going to Mainz means leaving the state!

I think the last time Bill and I went to Mainz, it was to see my old friend, C.W., who is an American learning about German wines. I worked with C.W. in Colonial Williamsburg, back in the late 1990s. C.W. moved to Washington, DC and worked in a succession of fancy restaurants. He later decided he wanted to work in the wine industry, so he’s been getting educated. In the fall of 2019, he came to Germany to work at a winery as part of his education. He came back in the spring of 2020, just before COVID shut everything down. We weren’t able to see him on that visit, and we didn’t visit Mainz again last year or this year. That means that yesterday’s visit occurred almost two years after our last one! We had a good time yesterday. We’ll have to visit Mainz more often, now that we’re vaccinated. It really is a neat town with much to discover.

After looking at the location of St. Stephan’s Church, Bill decided he’d like to go out to eat. He found Heiliggeist Restaurant (Holy Spirit) on Open Table and decided that its status as the oldest citizen hospital in Germany fit nicely with our church theme. He made reservations for 3:30pm because, apparently, there weren’t any earlier ones available. I’m not sure why that is, since there were plenty of tables available when we were there yesterday. But anyway, the church was open for visitation from 12pm until 4pm, so the late lunch/early dinner time slot worked out fine. We took my neglected Mini Cooper, since the weather was fine and I could put the top down. I had forgotten how different the atmosphere is in Mainz, compared to Wiesbaden. It’s a refreshing change of pace.

After parking at the theater garage, we trudged uphill to the church. It was about a ten minute walk from where we parked. I hadn’t realized the church wasn’t in the old part of the city and was kind of unimpressed with the neighborhood that surrounded it. From the outside, St. Stephan looks like so many of the other churches in Germany. That’s not to say it isn’t a beautiful or impressive structure. It is a very lovely church, especially compared to many American churches. I’m just saying that compared to a lot of churches in Europe, from the outside, it didn’t look any more or less spectacular.

On the way out of Mainz-Kastel, there are many impressive murals on buildings. This is one.

But then we went inside, and my mind immediately changed about the beauty of St. Stephan… I was overcome by the cool, soothing, incredibly beautiful, and peaceful mood cast by the extraordinary blue windows… The entire inside of the church is bathed in a blue glow made by Chagall’s windows, the first of which was installed in 1978. Chagall was 91 years old in 1978, and he lived until 1985, which only goes to show you that when it comes to great accomplishments, age really is just a number.

As I took in the azure splendor of the great artist’s work, I realized that I much preferred Chagall’s windows in Mainz to Chagall’s windows in Switzerland. A bonus is, it costs nothing to visit this church. In Zürich, we had to pay five Swiss Francs each admission to see a few of Chagall’s windows.

Of course, I might have loved these windows more because my favorite color is blue. I also just loved the way they all worked in concert to give the church an overall mood. I donated some change to the church while Bill lit a candle for his father, then he purchased a CD of the organ and some postcards at the gift shop. He says he’s going to try his hand at picture framing. Since my dad made his post Air Force living framing pictures, it’s a shame he’s no longer around to show Bill the ropes. The CD is, of course, for me. I am more moved by music than visual artistic endeavors. My mom was a church organist for over 50 years, so I probably have more of an appreciation for organ music than a lot of people do. However, as I listen to the music now as I compose this post, it occurs to me that if I could have been listening to it while touring the church, I probably would have been overwhelmed. I definitely am glad we took the time to visit St. Stephan and see these gorgeous windows! The church itself has an incredibly long history, having been established in 990. It is the only church in Germany that has windows by Marc Chagall, and I must say, the windows dazzled me! What an inspiration!

It took about ten or fifteen minutes to walk from the church to the old town. I needed a restroom, but we had about an hour before our reservation at Heiliggeist, so Bill and I decided to stop at a cafe. I took some more photos on the way down. Mainz really is a nice town, and there’s still a lot we haven’t seen or done there.

I still have yet to visit the inside of the Dom.

At last, it was time to head to the restaurant. Thanks to COVID, everybody was sitting outside. I was a little disappointed, because I wanted to see the interior. I did get a few shots of the inside of the restaurant, but I would have preferred to eat indoors. Actually, I prefer eating indoors most of the time, as the seating is usually more comfortable; there’s no smoking; and we don’t have to contend with insects or other creatures. But the weather was good yesterday and it wasn’t too hot outside, so aside from uncomfortable chairs, I can’t complain too much.

Heiliggeist serves “fusion” food– Asian inspired and “new German”. They have a full bar, and a summer “carte”, as well as menu staples. Bill had the “Lachs Bowl”, which was very “Asian inspired.” I had the cold roast beef, which was more of a European thing. We both really enjoyed the food and the service. Prices are reasonable. Both my dish and Bill’s were priced below twenty euros each.

The outside of the restaurant. It used to be a hospital. As we approached, a grandfather was chasing his little toddler granddaughter back and forth. It was a charming scene.

After about two hours at Heiliggeist, we headed back to the parking garage, which was about fifteen minutes away by foot. I took a few more images. All told, we walked about 2.5 miles. At least, that’s what my iPhone tells me.

We got back to the house at about 6:00pm. Arran and Noyzi were very happy to see us and gave us joyful greetings. We went to bed feeling pleasantly tired by the day’s activities. I think we need to spend more time in Mainz. It really is a nice town, and it’s so different than Wiesbaden is on so many levels. I feel fortunate that we have this chance to live in another part of Germany besides Stuttgart, and experience how different the regions are. I continue to be grateful that we can live here and see so much.

And here’s what St. Stephan’s organ sounds like… Heavenly! Wish I could have heard this majestic organ as we were gazing at the beautiful windows.

Rhein

A quick dash to St. Goar…

We had beautiful weather again today, with lots of sunshine and perfect temperatures. October is usually chilly in Germany and last week, we did have cold, rainy weather. But this long Columbus Day weekend has been splendid so far, making me sad that we didn’t take a trip somewhere. Instead of going to a new place, we decided to visit a couple of the holiday spots that are near us. Yesterday, it was Worms. Today, we went to St. Goar, which is a darling little town right on the Rhein River. It’s famous for being the site of Loreley, which is a legendary steep, slate rock on the right bank of the river that lured many a sailor to his death.

I first visited Saint Goar in 1997, when I finished my Peace Corps assignment and flew from Yerevan, Armenia to Frankfurt, Germany, and took a month long train trip on a Eurailpass. My first stop on that trip was to Bacharach, which is a 650 year old cute little town on the Rhein that was recommended by travel guru Rick Steves. Steves mentioned St. Goar, and since it was pretty close to Bacharach, I took a short train ride there and wandered around a bit.

In 2014, Bill and I took a farewell to the Army trip to Germany and France. Our last stop, before we went to Ramstein Air Force Base and flew back to Texas, was in Bacharach. I had told him about the town so many times during the early years of our marriage, so we finally went there so he could see it for himself. I remember that visit turned out to be special for a couple of reasons. First of all, we ran into some Germans who were celebrating Father’s Day with their sons. They were mostly drunk, but very convivial, and one of them told Bill about how the U.S. Army helped his family escape East Germany before it became an Eastern Bloc state. And secondly, I remember telling Bill as I sipped a one liter krug of housemade beer, that I felt sure that we would be moving back to Germany. Sure enough, weeks after we returned to the States, Bill had a job offer in Stuttgart and we were on our way back to Deutschland, where we’ve been ever since.

And then, a few months ago, we went back to Bacharach. I’d been wanting to visit again for awhile, especially since we now live within an hour’s drive from it. Because of the dogs, we never end up spending enough time when we take these little trips. Now that we just have Arran, it’s a little bit easier. Hell, we should probably just take him with us. I had originally given some thought to going to Heidelberg, but the weather was so perfect and, because it’s a Sunday, going to Heidelberg where one can do some shopping, would be kind of a waste. Maybe we’ll go there tomorrow.

Since we’ve been to Bacharach a couple of times, we went to St. Goar. It took a bit longer to get there today because of road work on the Autobahn that held us up. Then, once we got on the two lane road that runs alongside the river, we were behind a BMW convertible out for a Sunday drive. I couldn’t blame the Beamer’s driver, though. We were in my Mini with the top down, soaking up what may be the last rays before perma-gloom sets in for the winter.

Naturally, St. Goar was packed with people. Parking was scarce, so Bill ended up driving up the side of the mountain that flanks the Rhein on the left bank. We pulled into the Rheinfels Romantic Hotel, which doubles as a cheesy tourist trap. We had to, really, because Bill had to pee like a racehorse. It was also getting late in the afternoon and we needed lunch. You can stay at the hotel, tour the castle, and eat lunch on a terrace that overlooks the river. They have a bistro there that doesn’t shut down, but serves very simple food, drinks, and desserts.

I would have liked to have checked out the castle, but we were a bit pressed for time. So here are some photos from our trip today…

As I mentioned in the photos, the people who were at the table next to us left an empty beer glass. There was a sudden, swift gust of wind, and the glass was blown off the table. It landed near my feet and shattered into many pieces. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the awning at our previous house, which was also blown over by a sudden gust of wind. In both incidences, the wind struck too suddenly for anyone to react and prevent breakage. No one was upset about the broken beer glass, but our ex landlady immediately called me “negligent” when her old awning broke due to a sudden wind. That just goes to show that wind is a capricious thing. Too bad I never learned to predict or control the wind.

Lunch was about 38 euros. To be honest, I wasn’t all that happy with the pasta. It was okay, but I can think of other things I’d rather eat. There wasn’t a lot of sauce on it, and what was on it wasn’t all that satisfying. But it kept me from getting hangry, and it was very nice to hang out on the terrace for awhile. St. Goar is a nice little town, and I like being able to visit the Rhein Gorge so easily. It makes me feel like I’m on vacation.

We decided to head back to Wiesbaden after we ate, since we knew Arran was wanting his dinner. The drive back was a bit more pleasant, although we hit another bottleneck in the area where the Autobahn is being repaired. I swear, there’s always a road project going on somewhere near where you live… but the good thing is that the roads are in very good shape here. I’m just happy we had a chance to visit– taking advantage of the marvelous temperatures and beautiful views. Germany is a very lovely place to live and we feel fortunate that we have the ability to visit so many interesting and pretty locations so close to where we live. And this area is different than Stuttgart is, which makes me feel even more fortunate… not everyone gets an opportunity to experience living in other countries, especially in two different parts of a foreign country. Living abroad seems to be my destiny.

Uncategorized

From Wiesbaden to wine, women, and Worms…

We had nice weather today. It was the first nice, warm, sunny day in about a week. Or, at least the day started out nice, anyway. We have clouds right now. At about 11:30am, I asked Bill if he’d like to go do something. He said he would. I’d been wanting to visit Worms, a well touristed city in Rheinland-Palatinate, maybe an hour’s drive from Wiesbaden. So we beagle proofed the house, got in the trusty Volvo, and headed to the city of slimy critters.

Crossing the Rhein River into Worms… this is the Nibelungenturm, built by architect Karl Hoffman’s, whose handiwork can be spotted all over the city. It’s pretty cool!

By the time we got to Worms, I was hungry. It was about 12:45pm when we parked, and then because Bill parked in an outdoor parking spot at Das Wormser, he only got an hour. It was long enough for me to take this photo of yet another one of Germany’s provocative ads. Well, it would be provocative in the United States, for sure…

Netto is a discount market… I guess the wardrobe budget was cut for this ad. 😉

So we made a quick trip to the Wormser Dom, the big Catholic church where Martin Luther was condemned as a heretic. More went on there, of course, but since I am neither a Catholic nor a student of history, I can’t write authoritatively on the cathedral, except to mention that it had a lofty history before it was reduced in status to a parish church. When you come to Worms, you’ll see it easily on the horizon, and it begs a visit. I got a few photos, which I noticed made Bill tear up.

You can see a “dragon” in this photo. My German friend says Worms has a bunch of dragons around the city. They’re very cute.

And a few shots of the other side, which is where the main entrance is.

After we took a walk around the cathedral, Bill moved the car into the inside of the garage at Das Wormser, and we headed back into the city in search of lunch. By that time, I was pretty hungry and getting a bit grouchy. But I still managed to take a few more pictures, which because of Apple’s latest update, Catalina, are a bit of a pain in the ass to upload.

There were lots of people in the city today…

Finally, we ran across a restaurant that was still open, even though it was about 2:00pm. Die Pfälzer stays open for lunch until 2:30pm and they were able to help us out with some tasty, high quality food. I was definitely feeling better after a healthy lunch of salmon, spinach, and boiled potatoes washed down with wheat beer, although this restaurant is known for its wines. Bill had grilled wurst with sauerkraut and fried potatoes. There was a table full of Americans in there and I was reminded of how loud my countrymen can be. But overall, it was a nice, economical experience…

After lunch, we headed back toward the Marktplatz and stopped into the Evangelische Kirche– that’s the protestant church in town. It was impressive on the outside, but looked a bit refurbished on the inside, circa 1960 something.

Nice, but not so soul stirring as the Dom…

We walked out of the church to discover a wine bar set up outside. Naturally, I couldn’t resist a glass for the road. I drank most of Bill’s too, since he was driving. I love this about this part of Germany. You can go to any town and find neighbors socializing over wine. I don’t remember seeing this in the Stuttgart area. Down there, it’s more beer and less hanging out… but I like Stuttgart too, for many other reasons.

Lots of convivial people enjoying wine on a Saturday…

Last night, we went to our neighborhood wine stand. I got a few photos of that, too. We ended up chatting with our neighbor, Uli, who speaks English fluently and has a horse and a cool dog named Levi that she adopted from an American soldier who went to Iraq. I love Levi… and Uli says if we’re ready for another dog, she can help us get one. Something tells me we might not be a three member family for the rest of our time here.

Photos from last night’s fun… one of our neighbors who had seen us at earlier wine stands came over, welcomed us in German, and said it was wonderful we were hanging out with them. Americans could learn a few things from Hessians.

No, it’s not a urine sample. A neighbor makes apple wine. This five liter bottle, which included the bottle, was six euros.

I really hope I get the hang of Catalina soon… or they do something to fix the many glitches in the new system. Otherwise, future posts might be lighter on photos. But so far, our holiday weekend has been good. It’s hard to believe a year ago, we came to Wiesbaden for the first time to look for a place to live. Time flies when you’re still having fun!

entertainment

Dinner with friends and the Scottish Music Parade!

Bill and I have had a busy week so far. Monday night, we drove to Schwetzingen, a nice town next to Heidelberg, to visit old friends. One of Bill’s former co-workers came to Germany and Austria with his wife, to celebrate their wedding anniversary and visit the Christmas markets. They used to live in Heidelberg when Army troops were still posted there. Back in the mid 2000s, Bill was a branch chief at the Army National Guard Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. That’s where he met the male half of the couple we met on Monday night.

We had dinner at the Brauhaus zum Ritter, a nice restaurant just across the street from the Schloss in Schwetzingen. We visited the Schloss in 2008, when we spent a weekend in Heidelberg. That was the first and last time we were in the area, though I had been trying to get back there when we were in Stuttgart. Now that we’re in Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and its environs are even closer. We could conceivably spend an afternoon there.

Because it was a visit with old friends, I kept the picture taking to a minimum. I did get a few shots of the excellent beer and food, though. Have a look.

We got to the restaurant before our friends did, so we had a round of beer in their bar area.

I had a very tasty and surprisingly flavorful Schwarz Bier…

And Bill had a Weiss Bier… again, surprisingly flavorful compared to other Weizens I’ve had.

I liked the decorations.

The Brauhaus zum Ritter offers a lot of the usual German fare. I had a cordon bleu Schnitzel, stuffed with mountain cheese and ham and served with potato salad. It was very good and not too huge.

I’m going to have to ask Bill what he had. It appears to be a Rinderfilet with mushroom sauce and spaetzle.

Instructions on toilet use… Apparently, they had trouble with women building “nests” of toilet paper.

It was really great to see Tim and Melody, especially since it had been over ten years since we last saw them in person. They have gone back to Munich and will be flying back to the States today. We got home late Monday night, had a rather calm Tuesday, then went out again last night to see the Scottish Music Parade at the RheinMain Congress Center in Wiesbaden.

I found out about this event when we were visiting Wiesbaden for the first time, back in October. There was a billboard advertising the show near our hotel. Since I’ve been on a roll with concerts lately, I decided it might be fun to go see this event, which apparently happens regularly. One thing I’ve learned during this Germany stint is that Germans seem to love the Scots and other Celtic folks. On Halloween of this year, we went to the Stuttgart version of the Irish Folk Music Festival, another annual tour. I thought maybe the Scottish Music Parade would be like the Irish Folk Music Festival, but it turned out to be decidedly different. Still, we had a good time. Below are some pictures.

We got to the surprisingly large concert hall a bit early. I think Bill’s original plan was to find somewhere to have dinner, but we got caught in some traffic and I really needed to pee. So instead of looking for a restaurant, we entered the concert hall early… I noticed one guy wore a kilt. I wish Bill had worn his, but then the weather was a little chilly…

We enjoyed a little wine at the wine bar after checking our jackets. Light snacks and wraps were available. We drank wine and ate pretzels. We also bought three CDs from the dancers who were selling them, as well as programs and t-shirts.

A view of the stage before the show began. My heart was done good as I heard Bruce Hornsby playing on the sound system. I grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia, which is where Mr. Hornsby was born and raised.

A kilted man who spoke German came out to introduce the performers. There were pipes and drums, dancers, and the band Aceltica, whose music was on the CDs we bought. There was also a male and female singer. The female singer’s name was Jane Jackson. She is from Glasgow, Scotland, but she now lives in Australia. Most of the other performers are from Scotland and live there now. I didn’t take a lot of pictures during the show because I’d rather watch it than record it for posterity. However, I did get a few shots of the dancers during the second half of the program, which ran for about two hours with a twenty minute intermission.

The man in the kilt was pretty much the star of the show. He normally pipes on Britannia, which was once Queen Elizabeth II’s ship. The Royal Family sold the ship and it is now permanently docked in Edinburgh, Scotland where tourists can visit it.

He was quite the showman.

I really enjoyed the dancers, who were very graceful and athletic. I found myself wishing I’d learned how to dance when I was a girl.

Again with the head piper… I think his name was Stephen or Steven… I should have bought a program.

The guitar player was also quite the badass.

During the finale, the singers had everyone on their feet. The male singer, who also played acoustic guitar and, I think, was named Mike, had a voice and a style that reminded me a little of Bono’s.

The dancers came down the aisles to get everyone going.

Taking a bow…

And they piped in the foyer after the show. I was very happy that they played Highland Cathedral, which has both German and Scottish ties. It was the music I walked down the aisle to when Bill and I got married. And yes, we did have a bagpiper who played with the organist.

I thought the Scottish Music Parade was a perfectly enjoyable event, although I think I liked the Irish Folk Music Festival better. The Scottish Music Parade seemed to rely more on lights and electronic music and was… for lack of a better word… a little bit cheesy. That being said, Bill and I had a lot of fun watching the performance and would attend again. I really love listening to bagpipes… must be all that Celtic blood in my history. The musicians were excellent, as I expected them to be, and I was surprisingly even more entertained by the dancers than I was the musicians.

The tour continues tonight in Koblenz and on into 2019. If you’re living in Germany and don’t mind traveling to see this show, you can easily catch it. There are still tickets left. I’m glad we went.

Tonight, we’re going to a wine tasting and Christmas party. It’s not often I go out so much during the week!

Sundays

Bluer than blue at Blautopf…

Breathtakingly blue…

Sometime a couple of months ago, a person in our local Facebook group asked where to find a certain “blue lake” near Stuttgart. A German member of the group supplied the answer to her query. She was looking for Blautopf (Blue Pot), a beautiful spring in the town of Blaubeuren that feeds into the River Blau and eventually the Danube. I was curious about Blautopf; I had never heard of it until it was mentioned on Facebook. Once I saw pictures, I decided Bill and I needed to visit.

Going to Blautopf from Unterjettingen was a bit of a hard sell, though. The town of Blaubeuren is a somewhat stout drive from where we live. It’s somewhat close to Ulm. Since we didn’t plan to bring our dogs, Zane and Arran, with us, it would mean they’d spend several hours home alone. We had such pretty weather this weekend, though, that I finally wore down Bill’s resolve and off we went. The drive took about 80 minutes on B28. Alternatively, we could have gotten there by way of A8. We also could have brought our dogs with us. Blautopf is very dog friendly.

On the way to Blautopf, we passed through Pfäffingen, the town where Bill and I lived the first time we were in the Stuttgart area. As we drove through, I noticed a very large man standing on the side of the road with his thumb up. He was looking at us hopefully. Alas, even if we were in the habit of picking up hitchhikers, we were in my Mini Cooper, which really accommodates only two adults, despite the presence of a backseat. I was thinking to myself, “Dude, we’re in a Mini. Even if we wanted to give you a lift, where would you sit?”

My first view of the town of Blaubeuren, which is very tourist friendly. There’s lots of parking, although even in late March the town was full of people visiting the spring. I imagine it gets packed there in the summer.

We stopped by the public WC, where I spotted this cute little poem…

Then we followed the crowd and the blue arrows pointing to the point of interest…

The spring feeds into a mill, which fuels a hammermill. There is a museum where visitors can see horseshoes being made, among other things. We stopped in after we gazed at the beautiful water.

The water gets to be about 69 feet deep in the middle.

Here they show how deep the water is at any given time.

The inside of the hammersmith. We basically just observed all that was going on in there because it was pretty loud and the whole thing was in German anyway. But we were able to see how the water fueled the machinery and it was well worth the visit. It was also a cheap attraction. An adult ticket is 2,50 euros.

It costs nothing to visit Blautopf, probably because it only takes a few minutes to see it. Those who are feeling energetic can hike up the mountain to get some great views of the charming town. There are also several museums and a monastery. If we hadn’t been worried about leaving the dogs for too long, we might have stayed a little bit longer and taken in more of the sights. Instead, we decided to stop by Gasthof Blautopf- La Locanda for lunch. That was a good choice. The food was outstanding.

Bill enjoys the sunshine as we wait for beer.

I love a good Franziskaner.

This particular restaurant has an advantage of being located very close to the spring. I also noticed that there was a lovely aroma coming from the terrace. When we sat down, I noticed a guy sitting near us who had ordered pasta. The tomato sauce smelled so good that I decided I had to have that for lunch.

Bill ordered Spaghetti Principessa, which was spaghetti with olive oil, algae (which sounds weirder than it is), cherry tomatoes, capers, rucola, pine nuts, and very fresh shrimp. It was delicious! I wished I’d ordered it. But I went with the more pedestrian Spaghetti Mediterana.

This was also an excellent dish. The sauce was made of very fresh tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. It was topped with Parmesan cheese.

Service was friendly and the prices were very fair. Our lunch was under 30 euros before the tip.

The monastery.

A map of the town.

Here are a few more shots I took with my new camera…

A pair of mallards were enjoying the pristine water.

I would definitely recommend Blautopf for a fun day trip from the Stuttgart area. Although we didn’t do anything more than see the spring and the hammersmith museum, we could have taken the whole day to see other places along the way. Our route took us past Bad Urach, where there are waterfalls and ruins, Reutlingen, and Tuebingen… all places where one can have lunch and fill up the day with activities. If you visit during the summer months, you can also stop in nearby Laichingen and see the Tiefenhoehle, which is part of the cave system that forms Blautopf.

Rhein

Rheinfall: a quick and easy day trip from the Stuttgart area!

I don’t know how, but somehow we missed Rheinfall (Rhine Falls) the first time we lived in Germany. In fact, I’m sorry to say that I never heard of it until we moved here the second time, two years ago. I’m glad we finally found out about this magnificent waterfall in Switzerland. It would have been a real shame not to have seen it at least once. It has the distinction of being Europe’s largest plain waterfall.

After last weekend’s successful outing to Riquewihr, France with our dogs, Zane and Arran, I decided this weekend, I wanted to go to Switzerland. I gave some thought to enjoying an overnight in Schaffhausen, which is a decent sized town near the waterfall. I looked at places to stay, but finally gave up on the idea when I realized that Rheinfall is really not that far from Unterjettingen, which is where we’re living. On a good day with normal traffic flow, it takes less than two hours to drive there. We woke up to pleasant temperatures and sunshine today, so it seemed like the perfect day to visit.

We loaded up the dogs, packed some water and a bowl for them, and set off for Switzerland down A81. I was enjoying the beautiful scenery as we headed further south, at least until we hit the first of several Staus (traffic jams).

If you are driving and don’t already have one, you’ll need to stop and buy a vignette, unless you plan to stay on secondary roads. They cost 40 Swiss francs, though you can also pay for them in euros. The sticker for 2016 is good until January 31, 2017. Otherwise, you can also easily reach Rheinfall by train. There is a station literally right by the falls.

Rheinfall is literally just a few miles into Switzerland. We already had a vignette because we visited Switzerland in December 2015. We figured we might as well get our money’s worth. Once you reach the Rheinfall area, you have to decide if you want to visit the north shore or the south. We chose the north shore because of the dogs; it’s basically a public area. The south shore has a castle on its grounds which offer attractions. We parked at the first lot we encountered. Today was a very busy day. I watched the lot quickly filling up as Bill went to pay for three hours of parking. As the lot was filling up, Zane and Arran were whining and annoying a couple of women trying to have a conversation near us. That was the worst of their behavior today. Again, euros or francs are accepted for parking, though people seemed to be very confused by the machine where the tickets were dispensed. Bill paid five euros for three hours (2 CHF per hour).

Once we paid for parking and I made use of the free bathroom facilities, we started the fifteen minute walk to the waterfall. Those who don’t want to walk can take a little train/tram thing. It costs money to ride the train, but it takes you all the way to the bottom of the waterfall. Those who have mobility problems may want to consider taking the train. There are lots of steps and hills to climb.

Bill checks out the city map in Neuhausen, which is the community where the north shore of the river is located.

Along with many, many other people, we made our way down the steep hill to the river. The place was teeming with people and quite a few had brought their dogs with them. Zane and Arran made fast friends with a friendly beagle. I was pleased to discover there was no entrance fee to see the waterfall. You just have to pay for parking.

My first few dramatic views of the falls… They were beautiful, loud, powerful, and putting off a refreshing spray.

It was about 12:45 when we arrived and I was feeling pretty hungry. Luckily, there was a very expensive snack bar handy. I sat down with the dogs and Bill went to fetch us some lunch.

For some reason, lots of people were posing with this fake cow. I decided not to because I figured it would be asking for trouble.

Bill brought me a nice locally produced Swiss beer. This is a Falken lager, made in Schaffhausen. It was kind of a nice change of pace. Didn’t taste like a German beer. It had more of a malty flavor.

We also had very fresh butter pretzels and brats. Bill bought a bottle of water for the dogs. All of this cost about 33 francs, which is roughly $33. Switzerland is expensive! Budget conscious folks may prefer to bring a picnic lunch. On the plus side, this simple lunch was restorative. I felt a lot better after we ate. Zane made friends with an adorable little Indian girl of about two who bravely came over to pet him. She was a lot more courageous than the little Dutch kids they met last weekend.

More dramatic shots of the falls. Notice the rock in the middle. You can take a boat out to the rock and climb up. We didn’t do it because we had the dogs and because the rock was *teeming* with people. It was very obnoxiously crowded!

Obligatory shot of bearded Bill posing in front of the falls.

And one last shot right in the center.

This is a train that takes people to and from the falls.

I got a kick out of this sign in several different languages warning people of death.

We walked around a bit, but soon got tired of the extreme crowds and heat. We walked up a gently sloping road instead of the extremely crowded steps we walked down to get to the bottom of the falls. I think the road is probably the better way to access the waterfront at the bottom of the falls. It’s a lot less crowded, not as steep, and you don’t have to contend with people paying closer attention to their phones than where they’re going.

But before we walked back up, I stopped in the bathroom and got a kick out of another sign. This one was explaining how to use the toilet properly. It was entirely in English. I noticed that the people before me didn’t follow directions very well.

FYI: An elevator is available. You can take an elevator from the train station to the access road we walked up on, and then this elevator from the road to the bottom of the falls. This is another option for those who don’t want to bother with the steep hill or crowds.

Soon, we were back on the way to Germany! We got home at about 4:00pm.

It was great to finally see Rheinfall. If we’d wanted to, we could have found plenty to do all day there. The area is very dog friendly, although I’m not sure how dog friendly the castle on the south shore is. I did read on TripAdvisor that dogs are welcome all over the area. Had it been less crowded, maybe we would have tested out that theory a bit more. Today, it was just overrun with people! But we did have a good time and it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Maybe we’ll visit again in the fall. I bet it’s beautiful there when the leaves are changing colors.

Pro-tip: If you plan to use your cell phone in Switzerland, remember that it’s not part of the EU and roaming charges will add up quickly. I went through about 54 Euros in less than a couple of hours.

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The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Category Archives: day trips