Tag Archives: Baden-Württemberg

Germany, Stuttgart, Sundays

Ten Stuttgart area places we’re glad we visited…

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting in my living room talking to Bill about how glad I am we made an effort to see more of Baden-Württemberg during our second Stuttgart stint.  As our time in the Stuttgart area grows ever shorter, I thought I’d make a list of the places we managed to see this time that we didn’t know about the first time we lived here.  These are places we’re really glad we visited and would recommend to newcomers.  Maybe they won’t be “must see” places for everyone, but they made our time here better.  As usual, this list isn’t ranked in any particular order.

10.  Allerheiligen Wasserfällen (All Saints Waterfalls)

Hope you’re in shape!

 

We discovered the All Saints Waterfalls this past summer when I happened to read someone’s blog post about visiting there.  These falls are in the Black Forest, about an hour from where I live and probably about 90 minutes from Stuttgart.  I had never heard of them before 2018, but I’m so glad we visited.  We spent several hours enjoying the beautiful scenery and getting lots of exercise!  I liked them even more than the Triberg Falls, which everyone visits.  If you have a free Saturday or Sunday and don’t mind a drive through the Black Forest, I’d highly recommend a trip to these falls.  Admission is free!

9.  Rottweil

Super cute town with several things to do!

 

I don’t know how we missed Rottweil when we lived here the first time, but I really wish we’d discovered it sooner than we did.  This beautiful town not only has some gorgeous architecture, but it also has the distinction of being the place where Rottweiler dogs were first bred.  The area is scenic and you can get a great view of it when you visit the Thyssenkrupp Testturm, an elevator testing facility that currently has the highest observation deck in Germany.

8.  Blautopf

It’s true… I had never heard of this place when I lived here from 07-09.

 

Blautopf isn’t close to where I live.  It’s kind of on the way to Ulm.  However, though it only takes a few minutes to see this natural wonder, I think a trip to Blaubeuren to see this marvelous blue pond is well worth the effort.  Blaubeuren has a few other activities available to make your trip worthwhile, as well as some good restaurants.

7. Tiefenhöhle

One thing you can do before or after a visit to Blautopf is visit Germany’s deepest show cave!

 

Although we visited Tiefenhöhle and Blautopf separately, I would recommend combining these two activities.  Tiefenhöhle is Germany’s deepest show cave and visiting it will wear you out… but then, once you’ve journeyed deep beneath the Earth’s surface, you can come back to the surface and see where this cave system ends… at beautiful blue Blautopf!

6.  Wildpark Pforzheim

I love to visit animals… and the Wildpark Pforzheim is probably my favorite of all of the animal activities in the Stuttgart area.

Stuttgart and its environs is richly blessed with a lot of places where one can indulge their inner animal lover.  My favorite of all of the places I’ve visited animals is Wildpark Pforzheim.  There’s no admission fee to visit it, although parking isn’t free.  We spent several hours wandering around this park, feeding animals and watching them interact with each other.

5.  Nebelhöhle

Nebelhöhle is my favorite local cave…

 

Last summer, Bill and I visited several local caves.  My favorite one is Nebelhöhle, which is not only beautiful, but is much less taxing to visit than Tiefenhöhle is.  You can combine a visit there with a visit to Lichtenstein Castle or nearby Bärenhöhle, which is a much smaller and more kid friendly cave.

4.  Lichtenstein Castle

I don’t know how we missed this the first time we were here!

 

Although we did make it to Hohenzollern Castle the first time we lived near Stuttgart, we somehow missed out on Lichtenstein Castle.  I’ve now seen a lot of German castles and I think so far, Lichtenstein might be my favorite of all of them… and yes, that includes Neuschwanstein!

3.  Burgbach Wasserfall

The Burgbach Waterfall was yet another lucky find!

 

The same blogger who alerted me to the presence of the All Saints Waterfalls also clued me in on finding lovely Burgbach Waterfall.  It costs nothing to visit this pretty waterfall in the Black Forest, which also happens to be conveniently located near the Bear and Wolf Alternative Park.  It’s a great thing to do on a sunny spring or fall day!

2.  Der Schönbuchturm

Herrenberg’s tower!

 

In June 2018, the city of Herrenburg got its very own tower, overlooking the lovely countryside.  This tower costs nothing to visit and offers unobstructed views of the area.  There is another tower much like this one in Stuttgart at the Killesberg Park.

1.  Bad Wildbad

The “tree walk” is just one thing you can do when you visit Bad Wildbad.

 

A lot of newcomers to Stuttgart visit the spa town of Bad Wildbad to climb the famed “tree walk”, otherwise known as the Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald.  But there’s more to this town than just cool “tree walks”.  By the way, there are other tree walks in Germany and the Czech Republic.  Bad Wildbad also has the distinction of being the first place Bill and I ever experienced a nude spa.

I’m really going to miss living near the Black Forest, but I’m excited about the prospect of getting to live in another part of Germany for awhile.  I also plan to visit Stuttgart at least once next year, since we’re coming down to see Elton John in concert.  I have no doubt that we could also end up moving back here someday.  If we do, maybe we’ll live on the other side of Stuttgart for a change…  or maybe not.  We do like being near the Black Forest!

We visited Wiesbaden for the first time last weekend and I can now say for certain that this blog is not going to be neglected.  Wiesbaden and Mainz are extremely beautiful cities and there’s still so much to see and do.  But a piece of my heart will always stay here in Baden-Württemberg, where we’ve been so lucky to spend a total of six great years.

If you’re new here, I highly recommend getting out and seeing everything you can before you have to leave.  Time in Germany tends to fly by and not everyone will get the opportunity to return.  These last four years have really shown us what we missed when we were here the first time.  I feel so lucky that we got to come back and see more of what this area has.  And now, we have learned just how very much BW offers to its residents!  I hope today’s post will inspire a few intrepid souls to get out and enjoy this beautiful part of Germany!

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Cannstatter Volksfest 2018…

Over the past few years, Bill and I have taken to going to the Cannstatter Volksfest on Sunday afternoons.  It seems like the crowds are less obnoxious on Sundays, although there were definitely plenty of people festing yesterday afternoon.  This year, I talked Bill into wearing his kilt, since I wore my dirndl.  He was a good sport, although he was afraid he might get in trouble for wearing it.  He heard some Scotsmen wore their kilts to the Oktoberfest in Munich and were stopped at the gate because they were mooning people.  I don’t know how true that story is, especially since Munich, in particular, seems to be pretty relaxed about public nudity.  Nevertheless, he was concerned about it.  I’m happy to report that the kilt was not only acceptable, it was a big hit!

Anyway, below are some photos from yesterday’s drunkfest…  Yes, I did drink way more than I should have and some of the photos might reflect that reality.

Bill in his kilt.  He got several comments about it!

A shot of the countryside near Herrenberg.  Too bad I didn’t roll down the window.

 

We made the 12:46 train to Bad Cannstatt, which takes about 45 minutes to get to from Herrenberg.  I don’t really enjoy riding the train, but I will admit that the train makes it much easier to have fun at the Fests.  We ended up sitting with a nice family from the States.  The dad is a teacher on Patch Barracks.  I was glad to get to talk to them, since it made the travel time pass.

 

I managed to get a nice shot of us.  For some reason, I seem to look best in a photo if Bill is with me.

 

We arrived at the Wasen along with many others.  I managed to snap a few photos.  I wish Bill liked riding the rides.

This guy was collecting bottles.  I liked his hat.

I’ve seen it more crowded.

 
 

Let the drinking begin.

We sat in the Furstenberg tent, which I think is the same one we went to last year.  It was quite festive and there were a lot of people there, although they didn’t seem too wound up at first.  I think I got more funny pictures and videos last year.

The band was alright.

The chicken was just okay… it was a little dry.  Last week’s was better.

These guys were having fun!

I call this my Bill Cosby look.

More merrymakers!

In a world of lederhosen, wear a kilt!  One lady selling cigars came by and told Bill he looked great.

Doing the Macarena!

Head and shoulders above the rest!

Around 4:30 or so, we decided to go to the Wine tent.  To be honest, I think it was really more my speed.  It was much less crowded and there was an older crowd in there.  Instead of a full band, there were two guys playing a keyboard and guitar.

But this guy wasn’t among them.

They had fish, too!

More my speed.

We ended up sitting with a really nice German family from Calw.  It turned out the parents are from the Wiesbaden area.  They didn’t speak English, but their daughter and her husband filled them in.  I think it was the kilt that got them talking to us.  We learned that wearing Trachten to the Volksfest is actually kind of a new thing.  According to our new friends, fifteen years ago, no one dressed up for them.  Now, Germans love to put on their best Lederhosen and Dirndls!

They did a lot of dancing divinely!  I sat and drank too much wine.

Nice bar area, too.  I think I might stick with the wine tent from now on.  But then, we may not be back to the Cannstatter fest next year.

That wraps up yet another fest season for us.  We’re not the kind of people who go to it repeatedly because it’s just too much excitement.  It’s a one and done deal for us.  I don’t even remember much of the ride back to Herrenberg…  It’s probably just as well!  I think I’ll spend today recovering.

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An afternoon at the “historic” Cannstatter Fest in Stuttgart!

It’s the last day of September, which means the Cannstatter Volksfest is in full swing.  That means that everyone and their brother or sister is donning dirndls or lederhosen and heading off to ride rides, drink beer, and listen to music while watching other people get drunk.  2018 is a special year, though.  200 years ago, the original Cannstatter Fest was held.  It started one day after King Wilhem I’s birthday, back when Stuttgart was nothing but a beautiful meadow on the banks of the Neckar River.  The Cannstatter Fest is still held in the same place it was held 200 years ago, but back then, it was basically an agricultural festival designed to stimulate the economy after the Napoleonic wars.

Because this festival has been going on for 200 years, the people of Stuttgart decided to do something special this year.  In downtown Stuttgart, at the Schlossplatz, a historic Volksfest started on September 28th and will run until October 3rd.  My German friend, Susanne, alerted me to this special celebration.  Today, Bill and I decided to check it out, with plans to visit the much bigger “Wasen” next weekend.

Below are some photos from today’s visit.  I also got some videos of the excellent brass band playing in the tent.  There was no heavy metal and very little drunkenness.  We had a wonderful time watching Germans drink beer, dance, eat delicious food ordered from menus in Schwabish, and sing along to classic folk songs.  Plenty of people were dressed in traditional garb.  I didn’t bother with my dirndl today, but I would have been right at home if I had put it on.

We were greeted by a large crowd.  Plenty of people came downtown to check out the traditional Volksfest.

There were plenty of old fashioned rides and stalls.

There was even a flea circus.

They had agricultural exhibits, that were a bit crowded.

Around this point, I smelled horses and wondered where they were.  I didn’t see them, but the aroma was unmistakable and intoxicating to this former horse crazy freak…

I was starting to get annoyed by the crowds and almost suggested to Bill that we bag it and find a nice quiet restaurant.  It might have been one thing if Bill would ride the rides with me, but he doesn’t like rides.  So if it means we’re walking around in crowds, I’d rather GTFO.

But then Bill spotted the large tent and we figured that was where the beer was…

We waited in a brief line behind these people.  My big bag got checked out and tagged…

And we walked into an old style tent, where we proceeded to spend the next several hours eating, drinking, listening to live band music, and watching lots of dancing.

As you can see, lots of people were enjoying themselves.

The menu was a trip.  It was entirely in Schwabisch.

That prompted Bill to make a face.

But we still managed to get delicious chicken and fresh bread.  I swear, this chicken is such a treat.  It’s moist, juicy, and perfectly seasoned.

Everyone was getting into the music.

This band was great!  I loved the bandleader, who promised there would be no heavy metal.

The kids were loving it.

And there was a songbook in Schwabisch, too.  People were gamely using it to join in…

Get down, son!

I did get a few videos of the band playing.  After I sober up, I might turn them into a video and put them on YouTube.  Or maybe not.  Depends on how cantankerous my computer is tomorrow.

I loved all the dancers!  Wish Bill would dance with me!

These two kind of stole the show.

Weeee!

I sing much better than I dance, but I didn’t try the Schwabisch…

I had to get one more shot of the band as we were leaving.  They were great!  I would much rather listen to a brass band than heavy metal, anyway.

 

At one point, I went to the restroom and was utterly charmed by two young people– a young man and a young woman probably all of about 20 years old.  She had beautiful long blonde hair and was dressed in a dirndl.  He had an earring, a goatee, and was wearing traditional dress.  As we waited our turns to pee, they started waltzing beautifully as the brass band played.  I wish I had gotten a picture or video of them.  They were dancing divinely and really adorable together.  I moved out of their way and watched for a minute before it was my turn to whiz.  I doubt I would have seen two Americans their age doing anything similar… although I will admit I haven’t been home in awhile.  They were so adorable, though.  Wonder if they’re dating… or are they just good friends?  They made me smile.

We left to big crowds, including at the bumper cars.

It was a beautiful day for traditional festing!

Maybe I should have ridden the rides.

 

I’m really glad we didn’t give up and go home.  I had a great time at the historic Volksfest today.  It was a memorable way to spend my Sunday, listening to great music, eating roasted chicken, drinking beer, and watching Germans enjoy the last of the great weather before it turns to shit in a few weeks.  I couldn’t help but feel a little choked up as I realize that pretty soon, I’ll be leaving beautiful BW for Hesse and the Rhein.  I know I’ll love it up there, too, but I must admit that the Stuttgart area has left an indelible mark on my heart.  It’s become the closest thing I’ve had to a real home in a very long time.  I’ll miss it terribly… but I look forward to visiting and maybe even moving back someday.

This festival is something special, so if you want to experience the historic Volksfest, I highly recommend visiting before it closes on October 3rd.  To be honest, if they did this every year, I’d choose it over the regular fest… but then, I’m kind of an old bat.  I might even eschew the regular fest over this one this year, but I need to get my money’s worth and wear my dirndl at least once a season.  Maybe I can talk Bill into wearing his kilt to the fest, too.

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Wine with a new friend at the Breitenholzer Weinfest…

Yesterday, Bill and I met up with one of Bill’s co-workers and the three of us went to the annual Breitenholzer Weinfest.  We would not have known about the wine festival had Bill’s co-worker, Travis, not stumbled across it last year with his wife.  Travis told Bill about how a winemaking family in Breitenholz was serving and selling their wine during their yearly Weinfest, which happens the last weekend of every August.

Breitenholz is located in Ammerbuch, a county just south of Herrenberg.  Bill and I lived in Ammerbuch the first time we lived in this area, from 2007 until 2009.  It holds a special place in our hearts, since that was where we first experienced life in Baden-Württemberg together.  Bill lived in Bavaria in the late 1980s, well before he knew me, and I had visited the Rhein and Bavaria before we met.  But BW was a new place for both of us during our first tour here.  We lived about two villages south of Breitenholz when we were here the first time, in a town called Pfäffingen.

Ammerbuch is so beautiful!  It’s always nice to visit our old stomping grounds.

Travis had asked Bill if we’d like to accompany him to the wine tasting, since his wife is out of town this weekend.  Bill said yes, although there was a period yesterday during which we wondered if the weather was going to hold for us.  If you live in the Stuttgart area, you may have noticed that the weather suddenly got rainy and chilly yesterday.  I also wasn’t feeling very well.  Fortunately, wine was a good cure for what ailed me and the weather didn’t turn out to be so bad.  We stayed several hours at the fest, enjoying conversation, locally produced wines, light food, and fellowship with wine loving Germans.

Below are some pictures from yesterday’s fun, which continues today, starting at 10:00am.

First thing’s first.  At an event like a Weinfest, proper facilities are a must.

We arrived just before things got into full swing.  You can either go up to the counter and self serve, or wait for one of the young women to wait on you.  Most of the people working yesterday spoke excellent English, but were very willing to let Bill and Travis practice their German.

A small “wine trail”, where one can see the process of making these local wines.

The price list.  There were four wines offered yesterday, all of which I managed to try.  They also had snacks and sandwiches.

Smoking is also allowed.

An inviting road into the orchards.

Travis talked Bill into trying “Schmalzbrot”, which is basically bread smeared with bacon grease and topped with dried onions.  I tasted it myself and enjoyed it, although it’s not the kind of thing my stomach can take too often.  

The men chat while I busied myself with vino and people watching.  A family with two adorable little kids was sitting next to me.  I was amazed by their boy, maybe aged three, who was climbing up and down the tentpole like a little monkey.  He had very impressive upper body strength!

This is a fest for friends.  We saw lots of people gathering, enjoying the food, wine, and fellowship with their neighbors.  It was really kind of cool to be a part of it.

As we were leaving, Bill and Travis decided to buy some wines.

Lots of people were enjoying the fest yesterday, despite the showers and clouds in the sky.  There are more tables behind the tents, too.

And there’s something for the kids to do while the adults enjoy the wines or non alcoholic beverages, like coffee and Apfelschorle.

Grapevines.

We were blessed with beautiful skies as the sun was starting to set.

The guys and their haul.

There’s plenty of free parking.  You just have to walk up a slight hill to find the festival.

Germany is so pretty.

 

As I mentioned before, the fest continues today, starting at 10:00am.  If you are in the area and inclined to try some rustic German wines, I highly recommend visiting.

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Baiersbronn… a sleepy town with many stars… (Michelin, that is)

 

Just like Hollywood?  Not hardly… but there’s good eating in them there hills…

 

Although Bill and I usually enjoy taking day trips on Saturdays and Sundays, we decided not to go out yesterday because it looked like it was going to rain.  Sure enough, it did rain… and then I got hooked on Call the Midwife on Netflix.  I seem to be among the last of my friends to discover this wonderful British series set in the 1950s and based on memoirs by midwife Jennifer Worth.  I started binge watching the show and, sure enough, wasted the day.  On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t too wasted, since Bill watched with me.

 

When it was time for dinner, Bill went to our local chicken man and picked up a couple of doner kebabs.  I don’t like a lot of the yogurt sauce on my doners, so Bill asked for “klein Sauce”.  The Turkish guy who runs the place knows Bill isn’t German and speaks English, but is good enough to do business in German with Bill.  His buddy took it a step further and gave him the right word for “little sauce”.  I’m sure we’ll never forget to say “weniger Sauce” from now on.

Today, we were determined to get out and see a place we haven’t yet been.  We decided to visit Baiersbronn, mainly because I had heard it was a noted place for haute cuisine.  Baiersbronn is just about 45 minutes from where we live in Unterjettingen.  It’s kind of a sleepy little town very close to Freudenstadt that has a lot of hotels and makes a lot of its money from tourism.  I was expecting it to be bigger than what I saw today, especially since I know there are eight Michelin stars in Baiersbronn.  Two restaurants have three stars and one has two stars.  Here’s a link to a 2013 New York Times article about Baiersbronn, posted when there were only seven stars there.  If you like gourmet food, it’s definitely a town you need to know about.

Baiersbronn was formed in the 1960s and 70s when five municipalities were formed.  It’s a well known spa town and there’s even a “natural pool” nearby, perfect for youngsters, called Naturbad Mitteltal.  It was a little cold for swimming today, but this does look like it could be a hit with kids who like to swim.  Bear in mind that if you’re not a member of the pool, the hours for you will be different than they are for card carrying members.  Check out their Facebook for more information.

We did not dine in any Michelin starred restaurants today, but now that we know how close the town of Baiersbronn is to where we live, we will definitely make some plans to visit one or all of them soon.  Instead, we drove through Freudenstadt (still going through major construction right now) and took a short stroll around the main drag before we finally stopped for lunch at Cafe am Eck (Corner Cafe), a cute little Konditorei heading into town.  They serve a breakfast buffet on Sundays, but we arrived too late for it.  However, they did serve a variety of snacks– Wurst salads, Flammkuechens, Toasts, and even Quiche Lorraine, which is what I had.  I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Quiche Lorraine in Germany, although we’re close enough to France in these parts to have it.

Here are some pictures from today’s jaunt.

 
 
 
 
 

I never get tired of the beautiful flower arrangements in the smallest German towns.

 

The Murg River passes through…

 

It reminded me a little of the little town where I went to college, Farmville, Virginia.  The Appomattox River passes through Farmville, though, and I don’t remember pretty flower arrangements there.

 
 

A couple of cool old buildings.

 

An incentive to visit on a weekday or a Saturday.  I spotted at least one gourmet shop and a beer shop.  I also saw lots of construction hats like the one above.

 

There’s even a red telephone booth with an actual phone in it!

 

We probably missed the main part of the town today, although according to the New York Times piece I linked, Baiersbronn isn’t known for being especially beautiful compared to some other Black Forest towns.  It seemed like we were in the wrong part of town for tourism… although we did hear lots of English spoken by Americans, including at Cafe am Eck, a cute little establishment with decor that reminded me a little of an old style Howard Johnson’s restaurant of my youth.  You younger folks have probably never had the pleasure of dining in a HoJo’s, which were known for ice cream and family friendly dishes.  Cafe am Eck is definitely not a full scale restaurant, although during the work week, they do have a lunch dish of the day.  The waitresses all wear Dirndls and the one who took care of us was very nice, if not slightly scatterbrained.

 

Another construction hat, this time hanging from the grapevines over the terrace.  I have to admit, the terrace was pretty much what attracted me.

 

This was an okay Quiche Lorraine, priced very economically at about 3 euros.  However, I could tell it had been chilled and microwaved, since parts of it were hot and parts were ice cold.  I didn’t care… it tasted good.  Also, instead of bacon, I could see they used shredded wurst.  

 

Bill had Black Forest ham toast.  It was made with wheat bread, slices of ham, tomato slices, and cheese.  The toast wasn’t very toasty, but the top part was good…

 

I have a feeling most people come to this cafe for dessert anyway.  They have ice cream, candy, liqueurs, cakes, and pies.  Bill had a really lovely slice of cheesecake that was smooth and creamy and a little sweeter than usual.

 

And I had my usual Schwarzwaldtorte (Black Forest Cake).  It was very good, although I’ve had better.  I liked that it wasn’t too sweet or heavy.

 
 

A shot of the exterior of Cafe am Eck.

 

We really should have toured around a bit more, but it looked like it was going to rain and I felt like going home and drinking wine.  So that’s what I’m doing now… drinking wine, listening to a live recording of Carole King, and writing this blog post.  However, we will make plans to try some of Baiersbronn’s highly esteemed restaurants.  It’s also a town with some very nice looking hotels, making it a good option for a staycation.  Right now, just like in Freudenstadt, there is a major road project going on.  Maybe that’s what all the construction hats were about.

Below are a few more pretty photos from our drive home.  We feel so fortunate to live in an area right next to the Black Forest.  It’s really awesome to be able to escape there on the weekends and enjoy so much of what Baden-Württemberg has to offer.

 

Near where we parked.  There was a nice looking Freibad there, too.

 
 
 
 

Lucky stop here, as the train was passing.

 
 
 
 

Lots of sunflowers… there are a few fields of them on the way to Baiersbronn.

Now that we know the way, we will have to go back to Baiersbronn and its environs.  The area is very pretty and it’s so close to Freudenstadt, which is also a nice place to visit, although it’s nicer when the main drag isn’t torn up due to construction.

Edited to add: as of January 2020, one of Baiersbronn’s three Michelin starred restaurants has burned down…  The Traube Tonbach went up in flames on Saturday, January 4th.  There are plans to rebuild.

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There’s something fishy near Pforzheim…

Thanks to our local Facebook group, last week I became aware of a great place to get fresh fish.  Fischzucht Zordel is a delightful trout farm in Neuenbürg/Eyachtal, a scenic little hamlet not too far from Pforzheim.  Someone posted about this place on Facebook and, being a lover of fresh fish, I knew I had to try it.  My husband, Bill, is going away on business next week and has to leave tomorrow morning, so I told him I wanted to go there today.

We hopped in the Mini and drove north on a beautiful stretch of highway on the edge of the Black Forest.  It took about an hour as we made our way through cute little towns, over hills, and along a swiftly rushing river.  I was reminded of the drive to Colmar, France we took last fall.  We actually missed the turnoff for Fischzucht Zordel because we were enjoying the scenery and my collection of cheesy 80s rock so much.  But we managed to turn around and correct ourselves.  We drove along a lane with the hills in the background and a picturesque river rushing on the left before we came to a generous parking lot.

A welcoming sign… open every day from 8:00am until 8:00pm.

 

Bill and I noticed a number of couples walking around as we easily found our way to the fish grill.  Here, you can order trout soup, potato salad, a grilled trout stuffed with onions, and bread.  Beer, wine, soft drinks, and water are also available.  The menu is very simple and inexpensive.

A side look at the case where the trout is available for sale to take home.  They have fresh trout and smoked, as well as roe, filets, and condiments.  

Bill anticipates a good lunch.

If I weren’t going to be alone all week, we would have bought some fish to go.

 

We decided to order one trout, a cup of the trout soup, a side of potato salad, and two beers.  I’m really glad we shared everything.  That was plenty of food and cost just over 18 euros.

 

I loved the piping hot soup.  It’s a bit salty and made with smoked trout, peppers, and a hearty broth.  

The rest…

We had a bit of a wind today, which made holding on to all the plasticware tricky.

That fish was very fresh and delicious.  The potato salad was also very good.  This was a simple but very satisfying lunch!

The view from where we were sitting…  Can’t you just hear the water rushing?  An indoor seating area is also available for when the weather is bad.

As we were enjoying lunch, an older gentleman came by with what looked like a big empty bucket on wheels.  A few minutes later, he passed us again, this time with a bucket full of fish destined to be processed.  I ended up making a very inappropriate joke that I probably shouldn’t repeat here…  I actually felt a little sorry for the fish, even though they are definitely delicious.

Obligatory shot of Bill looking disinterested.

Once we were finished eating, we walked around the grounds and I took lots of pictures. As you can see, the surrounding area is beautiful. 

Fish in the ponds waiting to be harvested.

This picture reminds me so much of Goshen, Virginia… It was like being home.

A friendly looking horse was enjoying a snack of carrots and bread.

This house is beautiful, right down to the trout carvings on the balconies.  I envy the people who live here and run this business, though I’m not sure I’d really want to deal with fish processing.

As the weather gets better, these tables will fill up…

 

For fifty cents, you can feed the fish.  A few kids were enjoying feeding the fish in the first pond, so I went to the one being ignored a ways down.  It was a lot of fun feeding the fish because they are eager to eat and will jump to get the food.  A word of warning, though.  The fish food smells a bit like a mixture of dead fish and ass.  You will definitely want to wash your hands after you feed the fish.  Fortunately, there is a generous three stall restroom available perfectly suitable for washing up.

I’m not sure what kind of fish these were… they were huge.

Poor fishies… so close to freedom.

A couple of resident mallards…

I was dying to pet this horse.  Another one was in a nearby paddock.

These fish were jumping for the ass smelling fish food.  I had fun delivering, until I noticed what my hands smelled like afterwards.  I would advise using one of the plastic cups offered to catch the food as it comes out of the machine.

We really had a great time at Fischzucht Zordel today.  I bet we’ll be back, especially as the weather improves.  It’s a lovely place to have a simple lunch and enjoy nature.  I highly recommend it!  Kids seem to love it, too.

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