Tag Archives: beer

Baden-Württemberg, beer, Germany

Quick and dirty review of Fucking Hell beer…

Fucking Hell beer…  Pardon the cone of shame in the background…

 

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that Bill and I have been planning a trip to Austria next month.  One of the places I’m hoping to see is the tiny town of Fucking, Austria.  Yes, it’s immature for me to want to go there simply to take a photo of the sign.  I just can’t resist the urge, though, because I have no shame or children to worry about.

While I was researching a visit to Fucking, I was made aware of a German beer called Fucking Hell.  Obviously, this beer was so named because its creators are marketing “geniuses” who are hoping to cash in on all the foul mouthed English speakers who live in Germany.  I am a foul mouthed English speaker and I do plan to visit Fucking, where I expect to get harassed when I try to take a photo of one of the signs.

This beer was supposedly named after Fucking, though the town does not actually have a brewery.  So I knew I had to try it, especially when I read about the controversy caused when brand owners Florian Krause and Stefan Fellenberg first tried to register their product.

If you think about it, the name Fucking Hell is only potentially offensive to English speakers.  Fucking is not a German epithet and hell refers to a light German lager.  In German speaking countries, it should be perfectly fine…  although obviously, most German speakers probably know that the f word is a dirty swear.  Anyway, on with the review…

My order of Fucking Hell arrived yesterday via the very kind German mail carrier who serves my neighborhood.  I had also ordered a Fucking Hell hoodie, but I guess it’s backordered because it wasn’t in the box.  I put a few brews in the fridge to give them a chance to cool down.

I checked out reviews of Fucking Hell on the Untappd app before I tried it.  I also checked Rate Beer.  The ratings weren’t exactly preparing me for a mind blowing beer.  I think it barely rated three stars on a five star scale or came very close to three stars.  Still, this beer is made by the Hartmannsdorf Brauhaus in accordance with the German beer purity laws.  In fact, you can check out the label, written in English and German, and see where it expressly states what it in the beer and that it’s made the way the Germans think it ought to be made.  And that tells me the beer is going to be perfectly drinkable, but pretty boring.

After the beer had a chance to cool down a bit, I got myself a glass and poured the brew.   It had a somewhat foamy head composed of medium sized bubbles, lots of lacing, and the color was sort of a dark, almost amber looking hue.  I gave the beer a chance to settle somewhat, then tasted it.  It had a slightly skunky aroma, somewhat reminiscent of Heineken, though not quite as skunky as Heineken is.  To me, the flavor was slightly nutty, though not strongly so.  At 4.9% ABV, it’s not a really strong beer and it goes down fine on a hot summer day.  It’s not offensive, but it’s also not exciting or interesting.

Yes, it’s kind of hokey that this beer was named after an Austrian town that doesn’t actually have a brewery and is located nowhere near Berlin.  But there’s truth in advertising.  This beer is definitely a hell… and though it’s not exactly hell to drink it, it won’t blow your mind or burn your butt.  I doubt I will buy more of Fucking Hell, though it’s fun to drink it now and I’ll certainly be able to finish the case I purchased.

If you’re curious and don’t want to buy a whole case of this brew, you can get six or twelve packs.  The online store also offers a number of fun accessories including t-shirts and glassware.  I think it would be great if this company went to a place where there are no purity laws so they could really make this beer something interesting.  As it stands now, I think Fucking Hell is perfectly average and tastes like a lot of other mass produced beers… though it’s somewhat better than the watery likes of Budweiser or Michelob.

This is a video review of Fucking Hell.  The reviewer gets it wrong when he says it was brewed in Fucking, Austria.  It was not brewed there.  I don’t think it tastes awful, as the reviewer says, but it’s not a very interesting beer.  On the other hand, if it really tasted awful, maybe it would really live up to the name as it’s understood in English…    

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The beer and Fucking tour…

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Dauth at Wikipedia.com (public domain)

That’s what I’m calling our next planned trip.  And no, it’s not because we’re planning to do a lot of boots knocking during our travels.

Since we’ve been back in Germany, Bill and I have been determined to try to see more.  The last time we lived here, we didn’t travel very much during the first year of our stay.  We thought we were going to get the standard three years.  We ended up with just barely two years.  Since Bill is now a contractor, we have decided not to take living in Germany for granted.  It’s entirely possible that we’ll have to move again a year from now.

Bill has been wanting to visit Gruyeres, Switzerland since we lived here last time.  We meant to go in 2008, but circumstances did not line up for us to make it to the land of chocolate, cheese, and weird museums.  On Sunday afternoon, I was trying to come up with a plan for a weekend in Switzerland next month.  Once again, the cards of fate seemed stacked against me.  I had a hard time figuring out exactly where we should go.  Then my attention shifted to Austria.

There is a hotel in a small town about twenty miles from Salzburg that offers a beer spa.  I have been wanting to go to that hotel since our last long term stay in Europe.  During our five years living in the States after our first Germany tour, I thought about how we could get there so I could take another beer bath.  I wondered how I’d justify visiting Franking, Austria when we’d have to travel thousands of miles to get to Europe and there were so many other, bigger, more exciting cities we hadn’t yet seen.  Salzburg itself is a great town and Bill and I were only there for a day back in 2012.

Anyway, I was looking at the hotel in Franking and noticed on the map that close to Franking, there is another town called Fucking (pronounced Fooking).  Naturally, that tickled me, since I have a filthy sense of humor.  I looked it up and discovered that this tiny little town has become the subject of much mockery from English speakers.  Town officials have had to put up theft proof signs and closed circuit television in order to discourage tourists from stealing the signs and/or having intercourse in front of them.  The town has been so rattled by tourists disturbing them that they even tried to get the name changed.  It was not allowed.

Well, that piqued my interest.  I told Bill about it and he agreed, Fucking is a town we need to visit, if only so I can get a photo of the theft proof signs.  Maybe we’ll just drive through.  Maybe we’ll stop for lunch.  And it’s not far from Franking, where we can take beer baths and relax in a country atmosphere.

Then I started thinking about Austria’s famed Starkenberger beer pools.  They are located at the Starkenberger brewery in Tarrenz, Austria.  Looking around the Web site, I see that Tarrenz is a very picturesque area.  Though a dip in the beer pool will be very costly, it’s the kind of thing that is often on a beer lover’s bucket list.  Having already enjoyed a weekend at Chodovar’s beer wellness land in the Czech Republic, this is just the kind of activity for people like Bill and me.  And it definitely fits in with the beer baths we hope to enjoy in Franking.

I started looking for lodging in Tarrenz and found there were slim pickings there.  However, the area is well saturated with lodging in other towns.  I chose a hotel in Lermoos that looks pretty damn awesome.  Lermoos is about ten miles from Tarrenz.  Better yet, because it’s not ski season time, the hotels are reasonably priced.

We have been to the Tyrol area of Austria, but in the past, we’ve always stayed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the Edelweiss Lodge.  Garmisch-Partenkirchen, as we all know, is in Germany, and the Edelweiss Lodge is not exactly authentically European style accommodation.  The only reason we went down to Garmisch-Partenkirchen was because Bill had conferences at the Edelweiss Lodge.  I’d go with him and take day tours with other bored housewives.  Now that Bill doesn’t go down there for work, it’s time we visited the area as tourists and checked it out more thoroughly.  It will be nice to stay in Austria instead of Germany, too.

I have to admit, my first impressions of Austria back in 1997 were not all that positive.  I thought it was a very pretty country with little soul.  I was wrong about Austria.  Every time I’ve been back, I’ve found more to like about it.

As for Switzerland, we are still planning a trip.  I think maybe we’ll try to go to Gruyeres in October.  Or maybe we’ll finally get to Ireland, which is another place we’ve been wanting to visit.  These plans are, of course, not in line with our usual champagne bucket method of choosing places to go.  The champagne bucket method should really be used in times when you can’t decide where to travel.  This time, we know we want beer and Fucking, so there’s no need to involve fate.

Hopefully, this beer and Fucking tour will turn out beautifully.  I look forward to blogging about it.  Incidentally, I have also written about this on my main blog, but that post was composed before we made up our mind to actually visit this fabled part of Austria.

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Vienna, Austria Part 7… A boat to Bratislava

When we mentioned wanting to go to Bratislava, Slovakia, Herbert recommended that we try the hydrofoil boat, which takes people on the Danube to the capital of the Slovak Republic.  I had been to Bratislava once before, but it was by train on the way to Zilina, a city in the north near the Czech border.  I didn’t see much of the city itself and besides, that was back in 1997.  I did remember the train trip was relatively short.  Riding in the hydrofoil one way was 35 euros a person and could be paid for by credit card.  The trip takes about 75 minutes.  Bratislava, like much of Eastern Europe, is very economical.

Since we found the dock on Saturday, Bill and I decided to take the hydrofoil to Bratislava and perhaps the train back to Vienna.  We arrived at the pier bright and early and booked tickets on the 8:30 departure.  We took advantage of the snacks being offered onboard.  I had a chocolate muffin, orange juice and coffee.  Bill had a croissant and coffee.  The boat ride was pleasant enough.  We went on the sundeck, upon which some people ride all the way.  It was very windy up there and by the time we got back downstairs, another couple had taken our seats.  Since the boat wasn’t full, we took one of the “reserved” seats up front.  No one said anything to us.

The hydrofoil…

View from the back…

Snacks!  The WC was near here too.

A fishing hut.  Lots of these along the Danube.  Some were pretty fancy.

Bill enjoys the sundeck with all its wind!  For the first time in decades, his hair is long enough to blow in the wind.

We snuck into the reserved seating area.

Ruins on the way east.

Hainburg, Austria

On the way to Bratislava.

Yet another Armenian Genocide sign.

It’s definitely not Vienna!

I got the sense that there’s great art in Slovakia.  Wish I’d been there longer to see more of it.

 

In the old town.

A very “American” restaurant.  I think all these places were owned by the same entity.

We did stop here for beer and a potty break.  The music was great!

Bill poses by a statue.

Church.

Cops busting someone.

A pleasant park.

 

There was a line of trees obviously planted for certain European presidents.  I took a picture of the one for Armenia.

Elvis!

Church music played as we passed this old building.

 

A pile of pickles.  As we were headed into the old town, a guy was pushing a cart full of restaurant supplies.  He rounded a corner and lost a jar of pickles.  Bill and another American helped him clean up the mess and the pickles were all that were left.

A cool dial showing how far away many of the world’s cities are from Bratislava.

When it came time for lunch, we headed back toward the old town.  I wanted to avoid the obvious tourist traps and fortunately succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.  We found a traditional Slovak restaurant in an old keller.  The music was awesome Hungarian and the food was delightful.  So was the service.

 

This place is awesome!

 

We sat in a little alcove under a stained glass window.

 

A little Bernard beer from the Czech Republic…

I started with smoked trout with apples and horseradish.  Bill had the Armenian salad, which was carrots with mayonnaise and lots of garlic.  Both were excellent!

Great starters!

Pork chop in potato dough and topped with cheese.  The salad had a delicious dressing that tasted a bit like t’zatsiki.  Bill had a pork and beef dish with very pungent peppers.

 

A lovely Slovak white wine.  It reminded me of Riesling.

 

And we split Hungarian cake.  It was topped with chocolate sauce and reminded me a little of Boston Creme Pie.

Only girls on staff!

This was an ad for plastic surgery, I think.  I photographed it because it looked like they were offering gender reassignment.

Time for church to let out.

After lunch, we happened upon a small art museum that was advertising free entry.  We availed ourselves of the opportunity and checked out more art!

A beery Sunday…

By the time we were done walking around Bratislava, we decided not to bother with the train.  We went back to the dock.  On the way there, we ran into a couple of Mormon missionaries.  I immediately spotted them and they caught me looking.  One of them spoke in flawless Slovak, which makes me think he must be a local.  They wanted to talk to us, but we were quick to decline!  Sorry guys.  Bill has already done the Mormon thing and it just doesn’t suit us.

It turned out all the seats on the main deck of the hydrofoil were sold, but there was still room in the Captain’s Lounge.  For ten euros extra (80 euros for two), you can ride in the small lounge behind the bridge.  I figured at least no one would be stealing our seats if we sat up there.  It turned out three Slovak couples were up there, too.  One male half turned out to be quite the comedian.  He asked the captain where the champagne was.  The captain was not amused and directed him to the snack bar.  He came back with a small bottle of prosecco.  I noticed the Slovak language sounded a bit like Russian and understood snippets of it, even though I never studied Russian.  In Armenia, Russian was used a lot and I picked up a little.

We waited in a small bar at the dock.  Beer was cheap and service was cheery…

We tried their schnapps/digestives, too… 

In the Captain’s Lounge on the hydrofoil.  One of the guys running the boat looked like he wasn’t a day over 19.  It was kind of cute.

Obligatory shot of Bill in the hokey Scottish pub.

Back at the dock.

I couldn’t help but wonder how many people tried to escape to Austria via the Danube.

Back in Vienna.

 

We enjoyed our very brief trip to Bratislava.  I want to go back and see more of the city and perhaps escape to the country.  It was a nice change from the opulence of Vienna… very economical and definitely different.  Bratislava is well worth a visit and next time we’ll stay longer.

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Vienna, Austria Part 6… Art and Aussies!

After we walked around Vienna, Bill and I went back to the Albertina Museum.  I like art well enough, but Bill really likes it and is fascinated by graphic depictions of history.  I find art museums kind of tiring, but I always learn something when I visit them.  The Albertina had a Picasso exhibit that I thought would be interesting.  The Albertina was very busy on Saturday and we spent a couple of hours strolling through its many halls of art.  I snuck a few photos.

These three are paintings by Picasso…

Here’s one by Claude Monet.  There was also an interesting Degas exhibit.  I don’t know much about art, but I do remember seeing some of Degas’ paintings in Glasgow, Scotland when we visited a couple of years ago.  


I had to get a shot of this…

I mainly go to art museums for Bill’s sake.  I do like looking at art, but I find museums kind of overwhelming.  I prefer natural history museums to paintings.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that my dad built a second career framing artwork.

After the Albertina, it was time for lunch again.  We wandered back to the area near St. Stephan’s cathedral and almost got hit by a horse and buggy.  Actually, we weren’t in any real danger, but a guy yelled us in German to be careful anyway.  At this point, we somehow ended up in a passageway.  I never ignore alcoves or passageways when I visit cities because I find that’s where a lot of the coolest stuff is.  At the end of the passageway, we found our restaurant for lunch.  We promptly ordered a bottle of wine and I got some interesting shots of Bill…

A very nice Austrian red…

 

Our waiter was a very friendly and charming guy from Serbia who took good care of us…  I enjoyed salmon with potatoes and asparagus, which is in season right now.  Bill had chicken and asparagus.  TripAdvisor says this restaurant sucks, but we enjoyed ourselves.  The wait staff was very pleasant and the food was decent.

I took a photo of this lingerie shop, which was easy to see where we were sitting.  I couldn’t get over the tag line, “Lingerie to kill for…”

Before we left, we tried the Sacher torte, which is famous in Vienna.  It’s chocolate cake with apricot filling.  There was a time when Bill wouldn’t eat apricots because it’s bad luck for tankers.  Since he was a tanker in the Army, he respected the superstition.  He doesn’t avoid them now.  The torte was delicious!  The prosecco was good too.  I saw a lot of prosecco rather than champagne in Vienna.

After lunch, we strolled around another part of Vienna and ended up at the Danube.  It was lucky we went there, since we planned a day trip to Bratislava for Sunday and we wanted to take the hydrofoil boats there instead of the train.

Greek church

 

I love little nooks like these…

Traditional wear!

A “beachy” area on the banks of the river.

By the time we were done walking around the river, I really needed to pee.  We started heading back toward the city center.  We found a public restroom, but only the men’s restroom was open.  I really needed to go, so we ended up going to Billabong, which is an Australian restaurant with lots of Aussie beers and cuisine.  We spent an enjoyable few hours there, drinking beer, listening to music, and glancing at the soccer games on the TVs.

A wall of brews…

Bill decides what’s next…

There’s a sign on the bar that says “Drinking with tipping is like sex without orgasm.”

Bill tried the kangaroo…

I had spare ribs.  Bill ate kangaroo, which tasted a little like filet mignon to me.

Bikers passing as we enjoyed our suds and sustenance.  

We headed back to the hotel somewhat earlier.  Bill had some work he needed to get done.  Unfortunately, the beer caught up with us and we went to sleep somewhat early.

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Our visit to Brauhaus Schoenbuch Boeblingen….

Apparently, the Brauhaus Schoenbuch Boeblingen is a local landmark.  My husband, Bill, had been there more than once for an office party or a hail and farewell.  Somehow, I missed visiting there last time we lived in the Stuttgart area.

Some ladies in a local Facebook group said they wanted us all to visit there for a lunch.  I had never been there and am extremely neurotic about driving, especially in Germany.  I have no reason to be neurotic.  To date, I have gotten exactly one speeding ticket in my lifetime.  I just don’t like driving, even though I’m pretty good at it.  I hesitated agreeing to go and, in fact, told Bill that we needed to visit there this weekend so I’d at least have an idea of where the place is.

So we went to Panzer today so I could pick a new ugly rug for our living room, we could drop off some empty bottles at the Shoppette/Military Clothing Sales, and I could see this mythical brauhaus for myself.

We arrived at the place at almost three o’clock…

As you can see, the parking lot was packed…

We sat at the one empty table, which was cleaned up after we took our seats.

The place was busy… but I had to get a shot of the brewery equipment…

The menu is in German and English and has plenty of choices.  The beer in the photo is the current “strong beer” being offered.  It’s very good, and I say this as a committed beer lover.  

 

I was pretty hungry when we went into the place.  Brunch was still in full swing… at about 25 euros a person, that was a bit steep for Bill and me, especially since we never eat that much food.  I was kind of wanting wurst, but ended up ordering a Schweinhaxe.  Bill had the lentils and sausage plate.  The waiter took pains to tell me that my dish would be huge.  I asked if we could take it with us.  He said yes, so I told him to bring it to me…

Bill’s dish came with lentils, “German wieners”, and spatzle.  

Our waiter was not lying when he said the pork knee was “huge”…  It really was!  You will need the sharp knife, too.  Those “cracklin’s” are tough!

But seriously, this was less than 11 euros…  I ordered the Farmer’s bread to go with it.  For maybe a euro more, you could get a dumpling…  The potato salad is excellent!

 

The food was very hearty.  Our waiter was right to tell me it was a lot of food.  I managed less than a third of that pork knee, even with Bill’s help.  So I asked him to bring me something so I could take it to go.  I could tell he was annoyed by the request, though he should have anticipated it.  He brought me foil and a plastic bag…

So I made a swan!  I have to admit, that made the waiter smile.  Glad to know I haven’t lost my touch since the days when I used to wait tables…  I think my leftovers will last at least two meals.  

 

We stayed a bit longer for a round of the very delightful and very fresh “strong beer” they have going right now.  Bill enjoyed a Naturtrüb and I had a hefeweizen.  For our two lunches and the five beers we enjoyed between us, we paid just under 40 euros.  An added bonus, the place is within walking distance of Panzer; but it also has plenty of parking for those of us not in the neighborhood and neurotic about driving in Germany.  There are also plenty of reasonably clean toilets!  That may mean nothing to people who aren’t beer drinkers, but it means everything to me.

One last shot… after the lunch crowd left, the bar was in full, glorious view…

So Bill and I had a great time.  I hope to be back at the Schoenbuch Brauhaus soon… maybe even tomorrow if I don’t chicken out.

I almost wish I’d had room for dessert.  It looked like they had some good choices.  I saw a lot of coffee drinkers at the very least, a cute little Jack Russell Terrier, and one couple who walked out on their check.  🙁

Prost!

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A lovely pre-spring day in Tübingen…

I really needed an outing today.  So, after a walk in the woods and a laundry session, Bill and I decided to go to Tübingen.  It had been awhile since our last visit.  I meant to take my niece there when she was in town, but the opportunity never presented itself.

When we go to Tübingen on a Saturday, we usually end up rushing somewhat because we want to hit Vinum before everything closes at 4:00.  Though we love visiting our favorite wine and booze store, today it wasn’t a priority.  We came home boozeless.

In fact, when we got to town, I was hungry.  It was about 2:20 pm, which can be tricky in Germany.  Some kitchens finish lunch at 2:00pm.  Fortunately, Bill and I remembered a restaurant our very first German landlord took us to in 2007.  We have been very lucky with our German landlords.  Both times we’ve lived here, we’ve had very hospitable folks hosting us who have been proud to show us the best sides of Germany.

We passed the Stadt Museum, which is featuring an interesting exhibit.

The Wurstkuche, which is very near the Bucherei…

 

Bill and I looked around for a bit near the small mall in Tübingen until we finally found the “Sausage Kitchen”.  Bill and I first went there on Thanksgiving in 2007, when our first German landlord took us there for dinner.  We went one other time when we lived in Germany the first time.  While we liked the food and ambiance, we didn’t go back repeatedly.  That was a mistake.  The food there is delicious!

I had two “Natural” beers in a stone mug…

Bill contemplates what he wants to eat.

Charming interior.

 

It took us some time to decide what we wanted.  I ended up trying the housemade bratwursts with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.  Bill had a delicious pork roast with potato salad and spatzle.

This was my dish.  My sausages were good and the potatoes were especially good.  But if I’m honest, I liked Bill’s selection even better.

 

Bill’s lunch… God, this was GOOD.  The pork was fabulous.

 

Bill’s pork slices were so succulent and tasty.  I had to help him finish. Next time we visit, I will order pork.  The sausages are good, but they really have a way with pork.  Service was friendly, efficient, and competent.  Our final bill was under 40 euros.  We don’t have kids, but I noticed that the restaurant is very kid friendly.  I think I even saw crayons at the table, though I can’t swear to it.  Suffice to say there were several young ones there and they all appeared to be very happy.

The cuisine is very Schwabish– lots of meats, potatoes, kraut, and spatzle.  Portion sizes are very ample.  There are plenty of interesting local beers and wines, and even they even have a grappa made in town.  The restaurant is very cute and authentic and the food is excellent if you like hearty Schwabish fare.  The menu has an English translation.  The wait staff switched to speaking English as soon as they saw Bill and me.  Maybe it’s Bill’s haircut that tips them off…  😉

I took a photo of the wall near where we were sitting because there was a picture of the sausage kitchen in Regensburg.  We were just there a few weeks ago!

 

By the time we left the restaurant, it was about 3:50pm and stores were starting to close.  We didn’t go to Vinum like we usually do.  In fact, we didn’t do any shopping.  Instead, we just enjoyed strolling around the city while I broke in one of two new pairs of German clogs.

Fun graffiti near the restaurant.  Not sure what’s up with the anti police sentiment in German cities, but I do find it interesting to note.  

We stopped by this Italian restaurant near the Neckar River just to see what was on the menu and check out opening times.  Last time we lived here, we visited a few times.  The food was always great.  We will have to visit again sometime soon when we need an evening out.

Now this is MY idea of a Riverwalk.

Scenes from Tübingen.  After lunch, it was about 4:00pm, which is when a lot of German stores close on Saturdays.  We headed for the Neckarmuller to see if the biergarten had opened.  It hadn’t, though quite a few folks were hanging out there with beer mugs.  In a couple of weeks, I suspect the tables will be out and the crowds will be around to enjoy the sights, sounds, and beauty of Tübingen.  I can hardly wait.

These two mallards turned out to be very entertaining.

 

This mallard appeared to be king of the river.

 

He was very concerned with protecting his territory, which appeared to be the area around the biergarten.  I bet he can’t wait until the place opens up again in the spring.

Bill reacts after I say something nasty.

Bill and I enjoy an afternoon brew at Neckarmuller.  The guys next to us were deep in conversation.  The one wearing shades spoke German with a thick American accent.

A couple of swans drift by.

Piercing anyone?

A shot of the biergarten without tables.

Love how pretty Tübingen is.

An ad for a place to live.  

Naturally, after all the beer drinking, I needed to pee.  So we stopped by Agais (aka The Mad Scientist’s place) for a potty break and a small dinner.

Bill waits for his gyros…

We had a nice leisurely dinner, long enough to process some of the afternoon’s excesses.  It’s always a pleasure to see our friend and his wife.  We were last at Agais a couple of weeks ago when my niece visited us.  I never get tired of visiting.

As we were driving around today, Bill and I were marveling about how it seems like the past six years feel a bit like a dream.  It’s almost like we never left Germany after our first time here.  It really feels like home and we are so happy to be back here.  Hope we can stay longer this time.

We got home by 7:30pm.  The dogs were delighted to see us.  There were no unpleasant surprises.  I am over my cabin fever.  Mission accomplished.

Info on Wurstkuche…

Location and Contact Information

Address: Am Lustnauer Tor 8, 72074 Tubingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Phone Number: 07071 9275

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President’s Day Weekend in Regensburg… Part 6

Sunday morning, we decided we were going to have breakfast somewhere other than the hotel.  We got up, got dressed, and ventured out in the the chilly weather in search of a good breakfast.  It seemed really dead in the city, but then Sundays in Germany are often pretty “chill”.  We went back to that restaurant where the really awesome buffet was on Saturday, but they weren’t open until 10:00am and Bill was hungry on account of losing his dinner the night before.  So we wandered around some more before we ended up at a really cute restaurant called Cafe Lila.

Cafe Lila!  A good bet for breakfast!

A pretty young woman behind the bar wished us a good morning as we took one of the few unreserved tables.  We paged through the menu and noticed they offered incarnations of breakfasts from around Europe.  They had a French breakfast, a German one, a Scandinavian one, and a Greek one, among others.  Bill chose the German breakfast, while I had the English breakfast.  I had to laugh at the American breakfast, which was about 9 euros and seemed to have everything in it but the kitchen sink!

Bill has coffee.  I have a perfect cappuccino and a small glass of what tasted like fresh squeezed orange juice.

Bill’s German breakfast had the usual cold cuts, cheese, and fruit, along with some very nice breads.  My English breakfast had fried eggs, bacon, baked beans, tomatoes, and toast.  It was very nice!

 

I wasn’t quite ready to leave after we ate, so I had an African cappuccino.  I think it was basically like a mocha.  It was delicious!  Bill had more coffee.

 

It was interesting to sit in Cafe Lila for awhile.  It’s obviously a popular place that offers a lot of vegetarian friendly food as well as stuff for us omnivores.  There were two guys sitting behind us who were deep in conversation over wheat beers.  Later, they switched to rum long drinks.  I like how no one cares if you drink during the morning in Bavaria.  We just took our time and soaked up the atmosphere for awhile, enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning.  We had a few snow flurries, but then the sun came out and it warmed up a bit.  We were able to take another walk around the city.

More graphic graffiti.

When it came time for lunch, we headed for another brewery.  This time, we visited the Fürstlichen Brauhaus, which is located in the former coach house of the Fürst von Thurn und Taxis palace.  Though by the time we got there it was about 1:00pm, we were still fortified from breakfast.  Bill wisely ordered a couple of wursts.  I opened for Wiener Schnitzel, which turned out to be humongous…

It was our waiter’s birthday, so he wore a sign on his back.  Curiously, it was in English.

 

Actually, this wasn’t quite as huge as it appeared.  The schnitzel was rather thinly cut and covered in pretzel crumbs.  I shared a lot with Bill.  The fries were outstanding!

Bill’s white sausages came in a pot of hot water scented with chives.  He also had a very fresh pretzel. 

 

And naturally, we washed it all down with beer.

 

I saw a lot of families having lunch at this brewpub.  One couple appeared to be out with their granddaughter, who smiled really big when their waiter brought her a very ornate ice cream sundae!  I was very charmed by that scene.

A few shots around the courtyard.  I saw the food runner leaving the restaurant with what appeared to be a leash.  I also heard a dog bark.  Perhaps there is a resident Hund at the place?

Sunday afternoon turned out to be very pleasant.  The weather was warmer and the sun was out.  We walked back down to the river, where we encountered the famous sausage kitchen that has been operating in Regensburg since the 12th century.  I instantly wished we hadn’t eaten at the brewpub because I had heard that sausage kitchen was awesome.  Unfortunately, we were just too full to try it.

The wurst kitchen…  there was a long line for sausages and beer!

Guys showing off their jumping skills…

Crossing the river.

The sun was more cooperative from the other direction.

I can only assume these locks are put on the bridge by couples in love…

A beer store.

More German graffiti…

I was almost tempted to try this Mexican place, but we haven’t had much success finding good Mexican food in Germany.  Besides, we were still really full from lunch.

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President’s Day weekend in Regensburg, BY, Germany… Part 1

After our trip to Hamburg in January, Bill and I went back to the champagne bucket for another draw.   Rothenburg ob der tauber ended up “winning”, but after asking around about that famously well preserved medieval town, we decided we’d rather go somewhere a little less touristy.  Don’t get me wrong.  I still intend to visit Rothenburg.  I just want to do it at a time other than February.

Someone on a local travel Facebook page mentioned Regensburg, which is a lovely city in Bavaria.  Bill and I had both visited Regensburg before on separate occasions.  Bill went during his first German assignment back in the late 80s/early 90s, long before we knew each other.  I went on my month long train trip after my stint in the Peace Corps.  I think Bill decided to visit because he was posted in Ansbach, which isn’t too far from Nuremberg or Regensburg.  I went because I was on a train with a Eurail pass and wanted to get off.  I knew nothing about Regensburg when I got there and, frankly, didn’t spend much time looking the place over.  If I recall correctly, I only spent a night there and then got on the train south to Passau.  I did, however, remember that it was a very beautiful city.

I asked Bill if maybe he’d like to visit Regensburg again.  He said that would be alright.  I booked us a room at the ACHAT Plaza Herzog am Dom Regensburg via Expedia.com.  Bill got us first class fare saver train tickets on Deutsche Bahn.  Away we went for our long weekend in Bavaria!

We were originally going to park our car at the Herrenberg train station, but it occurred to me that it might be more convenient to drive closer to Stuttgart.  A ride on the S1 to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof takes about 40 minutes and tends to be crowded and obnoxious.  We ended up parking at Osterfeld, which has a generous parking garage and is just a few stops from the main train station, which can be reached via S1, S2, or S3.

By the time we got the train station, it was early afternoon and I was getting very hungry and cranky. The main train station offers plenty of dining options.  We had a choice of everything from McDonald’s and Burger King to Thai food and seafood.  We ended up eating at a place called Sylt, which had really nice seafood dishes and plenty of beer and wine.  After almost getting run over by a janitor who wasn’t watching where he was going (and who got a death glare from yours truly), I was definitely ready for something to fuel me for the four hours we’d be traveling.

Beer makes everything better.

Zander filet at Sylt.  This was very good!

Bill had sort of a mixed grill pasta dish.  Nice to find good eats at the train station!

For some reason, there was no ICE train from Stuttgart to Regensburg.  We took an IC train– which is older and less plush– from Stuttgart to Nuremberg.  From Nuremberg, we enjoyed a 55 minute ICE train ride to Regensburg.  I think, from now on, I’m going to make a point of using ICE trains whenever possible.  They’re faster and somewhat more comfortable than the older IC trains are.

Bill settles in for the journey from Nuremberg to Regensburg.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Beer makes everything better… especially on the ICE train after a long ride on a less well-equipped IC train…

We probably pissed off at least one German dude on the IC train.  He and his daughter were in our compartment and was sitting in one of the seats I reserved.  He got up and it looked like he was moving, so I claimed it.  When he came back to the car, he tried to take it back… but then Bill showed him our seat reservation.  So he and his daughter split.  Sorry guy.  If we hadn’t reserved the seat, I wouldn’t have sat there.  Later, another guy joined us and rode with us to Nuremberg.  The guy who shared our compartment on the IC train came prepared with a can of beer and some chips.  Next time, I’m doing what he did.

The journey was pretty uneventful, though the weather in Regensburg was the kind of damp cold that seeps to your bones.  I had considered wearing my big down coat but ended up deciding against it.  That was a bad decision.  It was COLD in Bavaria.  Because it was so cold, we ended up doing a lot of beer drinking.  The good news is, if you’re going to drink beer, Bavaria is not a bad place to do it.

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Hamburger saga part two!

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed sleeping in with no dogs to disturb us in our cushy Sofitel hotel room.  After living in and visiting Germany so often over the past few years, I have decided that I really like the split duvet set up.  No one hogs the covers that way; not that I have any problems with Bill doing that.  I just like having my own covers.  I seem to sleep better that way.  Though, it could also be because we don’t have dogs squirming around us, either.

Good place for breakfast if you stay at the Sofitel…

We decided not to partake of the very expensive Sofitel breakfast.  The least we would have paid for the most basic of repasts was 14 euros per person.  Since we weren’t in a hurry, we decided to look around for something less expensive.  We ended up finding Cafe Melange, another Italian place located a couple of blocks from the hotel.  It was an interesting experience if only due to the music that was being played in the restaurant.  I heard a very odd country version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”.  Later, I found out it was done by Solal and Melonie Cannon…

Bill watches seagulls.

Nice breakfast!

Bill had scrambled eggs, bacon, brotchen, and a very fancy cup of coffee.  I had a “Parisian breakfast”, which was a brotchen, a croissant, fruit salad, and raspberry jam.  I washed it down with hot chocolate with whipped cream.

After breakfast, for which we spent about half of what we would have spent at the hotel, we walked around some more.  As we passed through a shopping arcade full of cute shops and little cafes, I spied a huge pile of excrement.  It was located very close to some tables that were set up near an adorable konditorei.  Bill commented that we should have breakfast there.  I said, “Only if they clean up that big pile of shit.”  I said it loudly enough that some German guy who was passing by turned and looked at me in surprise.  It was rather funny.

Hamburg by day… lots of bridges!

Sometimes I try to get too artsy for my own good…

Though the sun was out, it was bitterly cold and kind of windy in Hamburg on Saturday morning.  The wind was blowing and I neglected to bring a hat or gloves.  Bill also forgot, though he’s a macho man, so he was willing to do without the extra cold weather clothes.  After strolling around for awhile in the cold, we decided we needed to look for some gear to keep me warm.  We went in a department store first, but everything they had there looked like it was more for style than functionality.  After we warmed up a bit, we headed to the North Face store in one of the shopping areas.  I bought a pair of expensive name brand gloves that allow me to wear them while using my iPhone.  I also got a new hat.  It’s good that I got these items because they made a huge difference in how we were able to deal with the frigid weather.

We had lunch at a little place called The Funky Fish.  They served English style fish and chips as well as pizzas and fried candy bars.  What drew us to the Funky Fish was the promise of craft beer.  They had some interesting looking soft drinks, too.  I would have liked to have tried the fried Snickers and/or fried Mars Bars, but the fried fish was more than enough for me.  I thought the fish and chips were pretty good; so were the mushy peas, which tasted like they’d been gussied up a bit with some kind of funky spices.  I even enjoyed the tartar sauce, which I usually don’t bother with.

The Funky Ale was pretty good! Made for the restaurant and only 4.9% ABV.

 

What a bargain!

 

Yummy fish and chips and mushy peas!

After lunch, we ended up at a brewpub called Joh. Albrecht, which is a chain that had a location near our hotel.  We tried all of their beers.  There were only a few available.  I also learned what an alsterwasser is.  Basically, it’s the same thing as a shandy or a radler… lemonade or lemon/lime soda mixed with beer.

We really should have relaxed with the beer drinking, because between it and the fish and chips, our appetites for dinner were pretty much ruined.  More on that in the next post…  We did at least take a long walk and I got lots of pictures!

I found lots of graffiti.

Interesting buildings…

Weird stickers…

Political ads…

An Irish pub, which we didn’t try…

Very old Apple computers!

People fishing in the Elbe.

And you can rent a bike, too…

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Ludwigsburg… beer run and Christmas market!

Yesterday, Bill and I decided to drive to Ludwigsburg to unload the many bottles we collected after finishing the beer we purchased on our last trip there.  For those not in the know, Ludwigsburg has an awesome drink market called Heinrich’s Getranke Markt.  This super sized drink market has beverages of all sorts, but really specializes in beer.  If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know Bill and I are beer lovers.

Aside from drinks, Heinrich’s also has some basic grocery items.  I didn’t buy any “Corny” bars, but I did manage to get some laundry soap and fabric softener.

We visited Heinrich’s and picked up some new suds.  I was actually hoping to find some alcoholic ginger beer like I did last time.  Heinrich’s has a pretty good international section.  I only found one beer that sort of fit the bill– it has an essence of ginger.  I saw another that was non-alcoholic, which would be okay I guess… but it wasn’t really what I wanted.  But I did find some interesting brews from the Republic of Georgia and Estonia.  We also managed to pick up a rack of Ettal double bock beer.  The Ettal Monastery is in Bavaria, not far from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  I took a tour there a few years ago and became acquainted with the beers made by local monks.

A picture of the Ettal basilica.  I took this last time we lived here when I took a tour of the Ettal Monastery through the Edelweiss Lodge.  That was a surprisingly fun excursion!

I don’t have high hopes for the Georgian beers, since I lived in its southern neighbor, Armenia, and Armenia’s beers weren’t very good.  I would have liked to have found some Georgian wines because wine is what both Georgia and Armenia do best…  along with brandy.  I think the Estonian beer will probably be good.  I have had beer from Estonia before and liked it.  I always enjoy visiting Heinrich’s, because you never know what they’ll have… especially in the international section.  I was impressed by all the African and South American beers being offered, as well as a few from places like Lithuania, Finland, and even Hong Kong.

This might make a good gift for the beer lover in your life…

After we visited Heinrich’s, we went into town.  Parking was a bit of a bear in Ludwigsburg because their Christmas market is still going on.  Both Bill and I needed a WC, though, and we hadn’t been to any markets this season.  I must say, Ludwigsburg’s Christmas market was very good.  They had a carousel, lots of little stands with handmade gifts, and gluhwein aplenty!  We were a bit hungry, so we stopped at a stand that was selling homemade soups.  I had potato soup with wurst and Bill had the soup of the day, which was some kind of heavenly cheese concoction.  We washed it down with three gluhweins.  Bill had ordered two– a merlot based one and an apple one– but the lady must have misheard drei instead of zwei.   So we each had an apple gluhwein and split the merlot one.

Germans love their Christmas markets!

Lots of kids were out shilling for euros, playing whatever instrument they are learning.  One little girl was blowing a mean “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” on a recorder.

That soup was delicious!  And it was cold and windy yesterday, so it was perfect for the occasion!  They had several other soups as well.

Loading up on gluhwein!

The guy on the stage was doing a great job entertaining some kids… I wish I could have seen more, but I’m vertically challenged, especially in this country, where tall people abound!

On the way out of Ludwigsburg, we stopped in the mall for one last pit stop.  The mall was packed with people and the restrooms were very busy.  As I was standing in line, a young German lass said something to me.  My brain froze, even though I’ve been trying to pick up some more German.  I said very apologetically that I don’t speak German.  She laughed and said in perfect English, “You are waiting?”  It really puts us to shame that we Americans aren’t so proficient in languages.  But then, in America, there’s less of a need…  unless you count Spanish.  I studied Spanish for years and understand it, but when I speak it, it comes out Eastern Armenian.  Armenia is the only place I’ve lived where speaking the local language was essential.

Our next stop was Breuningerland in Sindelfingen.  I dreaded going there because that place is a madhouse on Saturdays and especially the Saturday right before Christmas.  But Bill wanted to rejoin ADAC, which is basically the auto club in Europe.  Last time we were here, the membership paid for itself when we came back to our car after a week in Scandinavia to find it with a completely dead battery.  An ADAC guy came out, diagnosed the problem, and replaced our battery on the spot.  We opted for the ADACPlus whole Europe family plan, which I think was 109 euros for the year.  Well worth it.  We also stopped by WMF to pick up a new salt and pepper grinder since our salt grinder bit the dust last week.

Our landlady said Americans love Breuningerland, but from what I saw yesterday, that mall is equally loved by Germans and Turks.  The parking lots were jam packed and we saw lots of creative parking done by desperate shoppers.  I’m proud to report that we managed to get out of Sindelfingen unscathed.  Today, we’ll probably end up doing what we usually do on Sundays… shopping on base and drinking beer at the Irish pub.  But maybe we’ll go Greek today.  Who knows?

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