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

One last fancy dinner, then time to go home!

After our walk around Vaduz, we stopped by the Park Hotel Sonnenhof’s pool and spa area. I noticed one person who reviewed this hotel was disappointed that the hotel doesn’t have a gym. The owners of the hotel reminded everyone that it’s a small hotel, and there are many wonderful walking trails and bike paths for fitness enthusiasts. And there’s also the pool, which we enjoyed, especially since we had it all to ourselves.

After a short swim and a shower, which was actually nicer than the one in our room, we went back to the room for a short rest before our 7pm dinner reservations. Maree has minimal dress standards, meaning that athletic wear is not allowed in the restaurant. Although this was a decidedly casual trip for us, I did bring a dress, and managed to look pretty nice– for me, anyway– for our dinner. Maree’s menu is pretty much Europe centric. They do have a set menu option for thrifty types. Bill and I decided to go a la carte. I had a US beef filet with roasted potatoes, white asparagus, and Hollandaise sauce. Bill had Gilthead filet with herbed pesto, and spinach risotto. The beef was tender enough that I could cut it with a fork. I was also pleased that the asparagus wasn’t too much. Before we began our culinary journey, we were visited by the Hubertus Real, owner of the hotel, who also bid us farewell when we left a couple of hours later. Below are a few more photos from the hotel grounds, as well as our Liechtenstein dinner.

The last supper.
The light is flattering.
Bread
Gifts from the kitchen…
Bill tried a Riesling soup with smoked salmon and crostini.
Filet of beef with asparagus and Hollandaise.
Potatoes…
Gilthead with pesto.
Spinach risotto.
Chocolate Dream– ice cream with semi-whipped cream.
Creme brulee
And macarons to soften the blow of the bill.

After our second restful night, we enjoyed another breakfast. The hotel’s breakfast is pretty plentiful, with something for everyone. There’s a buffet with breads, cheeses, cold cuts, and smoked fish. They also have a lovely lemon cake, a variety of juices, and sparkling wine for those who want it. Eggs and pancakes are also available, made to order.

It was during our second breakfast that I noticed some of the other guests at the hotel. They were among the top 1% of earners. That was reinforced as we were loading our Volvo. I looked around the parking lot and saw a bunch of very expensive cars. There was a Ferrari, a couple of Porsches, a couple of BMWs, an Audi, and even a Bentley! We later saw the Bentley, chauffeured, and occupied by three Asian businessmen who had been having breakfast at the same time we were.

What was especially funny, though, was that one of the Porsches in the lot was apparently a bit of a lemon. After he settled the bill, a fit looking guy called to Bill, asking for help pushing his classic Porsche back into the parking spot. Bill, being a super nice and helpful sort, helped the guy out. As they were pushing the heavy sportscar, the owner mentioned that he was due to race the “classic Porsche” in Monaco in a couple of weeks! And he was going to have to call Herr So and So in town to fix his wheels!

Awww… my man is such a sport.

We were still chuckling about the deadlined Porsche as we made our way out of Vaduz and headed back to Wiesbaden. Our drive back was mostly uneventful, save for a quick dog leg through Austria that required Bill to get a vignette. Fortunately, Austria sells vignettes for smaller blocks of time than Switzerland does. I think the sticker cost just a few euros, instead of over 30. Maybe he could have risked not getting a vignette, but we both know what happens when one tests Murphy’s Law.

For lunch, we stopped at a Burger King… talk about a fall back to Earth! But I did spot a Ukrainian truck at the rest stop.

Last views of the Alps…
WTF?
Roll on, Ukraine.

I think as happy as we were to take this trip and experience all we did, it was great to come home. We missed Arran and Noyzi, and the grass in the backyard was insanely high! It took me three days to get it to an acceptable length with the robot mower and trimmer. Plus, we had lots of laundry to do and mail to collect.

We really had a good time on our trip, especially as COVID-19 restrictions are easing. It seemed like we were gone longer than we actually were. I know that we found some places we want to explore a lot more, if the future allows. We’ll see…

Time to wrap up this series and walk the dogs. Tonight, we’re finally going to Mainz to see Keb’ Mo’ perform after about 18 months of waiting. The original show was November 16, 2020, but we know what was happening then… So I’m going to end here, so I can write about Keb’ Mo’ tomorrow. There will probably be a “ten things I learned” post, too. We did learn a lot!

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Hessen

On a mission in Wiesbaden…

Bill invited me to lunch today in Wiesbaden. Our original plan was to stop by the ADAC store and get a vignette for Switzerland. Then we’d go have lunch somewhere. As we were headed into town, Bill said if the ADAC store had a line, he’d just get the toll sticker at the border. But when we got there, the ADAC store was closed. So, I guess we’ll just get the sticker at the border. Our mission a failure, we decided to walk around a bit more… It’s always a pleasure to walk around in Wiesbaden. It’s such a quaint, lovely city.

Interesting anti-mask sticker that seems to reference The Matrix– red pill or blue.
The church was looking lovely today… and someone was playing “Musetta’s Waltz”, a Puccini aria I know well and used to sing.
The neighborhood near the ADAC office. Wiesbaden is a beautiful city with lots of money.
“Musetta’s Waltz”… sounds like it was being played by someone…

The market was still going on, so I got a few photos, and we stopped by a music shop so Bill could ask about getting our guitars set up properly. We’ve only been playing them for a year, right? Well, we have five of them, and none have been set up. So we’re going to try to do that at some point soon. It’s on the list. We need to take Arran in for a checkup, too, and a doggy dental. There’s always something that needs to be done.

More photos from our lunchtime stroll…

The market was in full swing.
Pretty flowers…
The city was alive.
Lots of lovely produce. Wish we’d brought a shopping bag.
Buying music?
Or flowers…
I didn’t go in, because I figured I’d get GAS. 😉
This is a pretty damned cool ukulele, though…
The train was running, too. It was packed. Everyone wore a mask.

Today we stopped by La Cantinetta for lunch. We haven’t been there in awhile, but it is a favorite Italian place for me. I like the food, even if it’s kind of in Wiesbaden’s “restaurant row”. We encountered our usual buskers– same guys we ran into two weeks ago at Scotch N’ Soda, which is right next to La Cantinetta. Maybe we should have found a new place today, but it was kind of crowded and I didn’t feel like hunting. Besides, I do like this restaurant. The waiters are charming and professional, and the food is always beautifully presented.

I had Tagliata Manzio– sliced roast beef with roasted rosemary potatoes, rucola, and Parmesan cheese. Bill had a Parma pizza, half of which he brought home. It had buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, Parma ham, and rucola. I was kind of tempted by the pizza, too, but I can never finish pizzas here. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of Barolo, a nice red wine from Italy, and listened to more live music from the buskers.

The people sitting at the next table had to deal with cars going in and out of the parking garage situated near us. I chose the table where we sat because I didn’t want to sit in the sun. I went light on the sunscreen today. But the downside was being close to the garage, where well-heeled people driving Audis, BMWs, and even a Jaguar were going in and out. I think I would hate to live in that building, always dodging diners when I want to drive out of the garage. I have to admit the location is nice, otherwise. It’s a lovely neighborhood on Restaurant Row. Based on the cars, it’s probably a pretty fancy place to call home. The guy in the Jaguar actually brushed up against a bench at Scotch N’ Soda, though. We also saw a fairly new looking Porsche. Germans sure do love their expensive rides!

I got a kick out of the description for Saltimbocca– sage in whine wine sauce!
Love these buskers… The sax player is very charismatic.
They’re all pros, but I especially like watching the bass player. He relies entirely by muscle memory. I wish I could do that with my guitar.
Nice looking pizza.
You won’t find it at Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
Tagliata Manzo. I won’t need anything else tonight!
Interesting that there’s a picture of a church on this cigarette machine. I guess that’s where you end up if you smoke… but then, don’t we all?

As you can see, the recent floods that have affected Germany and Belgium aren’t a problem in Wiesbaden. We are a couple of hours’ drive away from that area. I know the local emergency crews are helping in the Eifel Region, where the flooding was especially bad. A year ago, we visited the Eifel for a long weekend. It doesn’t look like Meerfeld got flooding, but several places nearby did. The news is just terrible– many people have died, been injured, or lost everything. Some animals have also died, including a couple of horses that got caught in the flooding. It’s strange, because although we did get rain last week, it wasn’t especially unusual or heavy where we live.

We have had beautiful weather today and yesterday. In fact, it was actually a bit chilly last night. This year’s July has been pretty mild. Hope it holds next month… or even just next week, when we finally visit Zurich and Kusnacht for the first time. I look forward to writing about travel again!

Gosh, he’s cute. I think I’ll keep him.

Total damage for today’s lunch was about 75 euros. We should have had a bottle of wine, since we ended up having four glasses between us. I think it would have saved us some money and time, since the wait staff was a bit weeded today. But we had a great time, nonetheless. Wiesbaden is so beautiful, and it’s so nice to be able to go downtown again.

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