Post election lunch at Villa Im Tal…

Happy Sunday, folks. It’s been a truly crazy and shocking week, and like a lot of Americans, I am pretty horrified at what happened back home on Tuesday.

Anyway… we do still have a short while before the chaos starts. Yesterday, Bill asked me if I’d like to go out to lunch today. I said I would, and he told me that Villa Im Tal was offering a goose menu. Now is the time of year when Germans eat goose. I don’t often eat it myself. I got traumatized years ago when one of my aunts served it at Thanksgiving and it was very gamey. But here in Germany, goose is a lovely dish. We decided to make a 1:00 PM reservation and take advantage of it.

*The weather today is cold, dark, and dreary…*

It was chilly and foggy today, and I almost regretted making that appointment for lunch. But then I remembered I had a knit dress that I bought last year and hadn’t had a chance to wear yet. I also bought some new Dansko dress shoes that needed a maiden voyage on the town. I got dressed, put on some makeup, curled my hair, and we headed off to the beautiful restaurant that was once a “Forest House” on the outskirts of Wiesbaden. The whole way there, Bill and I were talking about the election.

As we approached Villa Am Tal’s familiar facade, the tension melted away. It’s a beautiful place in the forest that looks like a castle. When we walked through the door, the hostess smiled at us and welcomed us by name. We’ve been there enough times that they know us. And she apologized, because she hadn’t had a chance to translate the menu. We laughed and said it was okay, since we’ve been here a long time and can speak restaurant German.

As we were headed to our table, we chatted a little about life in Germany, and she made a remark about how maybe we prefer it here, under the circumstances. We nodded and said, “Yes… we definitely appreciate Germany.”

Silly selfies…

We sat down, and our excellent waiter poured hot water on the tiny rolled up towels for our hands, warning us not to eat them. LOL… we had long ago learned that lesson and laughed, as he said he’d had guests who had tried to eat the towels. He asked us if we’d like aperitifs. We went for the house cocktails– non-alcoholic for Bill, and fully loaded for me. It was made with white wine, Sekt, lime, and mint. Bill’s version had non-alcoholic wine. I think I liked his drink even better.

While we were looking at the menu and wine list, they brought out the usual bread. It had goose spread (rillette) and Spundekäs, a local cheese spread.

*I love the bread… I have to try not to eat too much of it because it takes up too much room!*

Ultimately, Bill decided to go for the goose menu, while I went for the Saibling menu (Arctic char fish). These are three course meals, but of course, one can also order a la carte. Villa Im Tal has vegetarian options as well as offerings for meat eaters.

The wine Bill selected wasn’t available, so the waiter brought him a sample of the house Primitivo. We liked that, so we ordered a bottle of it, along with our usual sparkling water.

My menu came with a pumpkin and muscat soup with a Parmesan cheese wafer. Bill’s goose dish had a field salad with wurst. Then we had our main courses. I was pleased with my fish with cous cous, pea and mint puree, and pumpkin. Bill’s goose had a potato knoedel, red cabbage, and roasted chestnuts. I tasted the goose and it was delicious! I also loved my fish, which was cooked perfectly and not dry at all. I finished the fish, but had to bring home the cous cous and peas. Bill brought home some of his goose. We’ll enjoy it later, as we prepare to go to Belgium tomorrow.

After we finished our main courses, we took a brief pause to talk and enjoy our wine. Then it was time for dessert… white chocolate mousse for Bill, and dark chocolate mousse for me. My dessert was paired with cherry sorbet and amarena cherries, crumble, fruit, and white chocolate. His came with mango sorbet, meringue, fruits, and white chocolate.

After we finished dessert, a very nice waitress came over to speak to us. She had recognized us by name back in March, when we last visited the restaurant. We had a brief chat about Villa Im Tal’s history and I quipped that it’s one of our favorite places to dine. We will keep coming for as long as we’re able… as long as we don’t get deported, anyway. 😉

There’s an event going on at Villa Im Tal right now, to raise money for sick children. Art was displayed in the dining room and down by the restrooms. This was an effort to make life a bit sweeter for unfortunate children suffering.

We stayed a bit after the kitchen closed, but no one rushed us. In fact, as we were leaving, the restaurant was still pretty full. The bill came to about 247 euros. It wasn’t cheap, but it did offer a pleasant afternoon for us… and a break from the doom and gloom of this week’s dreadful news. Sorry… I know some people are delighted, but I feel pretty sick to my stomach about the results.

On our way out, I noticed the trees and a very decorated car…

I probably should spend more time walking in the woods. Maybe it will bring me some peace. The area around Villa Im Tal is a good place to do that. Maybe I could lose enough weight to ride horses again. But then, maybe not… if I keep eating at Villa Im Tal!

Today was time and money well spent. I’m glad we went. Tomorrow, we will head to Belgium for a few days. Bill will work, and I will wander around, take photos, and probably drink a lot of beer. Stay tuned!

Champagne Bucket trips, Iceland

Our first Icelandic adventure: Ivar ushers us into Iceland! (part four)

Good morning, folks. I was hoping I could have written this post yesterday, but I was feeling kind of poorly. This morning, I took a COVID test, and it came up positive within seconds. That will probably slow down my progress in putting up this series. Fortunately, I don’t feel too terrible right now. It just feels like I have a cold with a low grade fever and body aches. Still, I am rather fatigued and achy, and will probably want to go back to bed before too long.

I just broke the news to Bill, who is also feeling badly this morning. I’m sure he’s got COVID, too, but he’s on a business trip. I’m not sure what that will mean for him. I had to get him to cancel a vet appointment for Charlie today, because I don’t want to be spreading this. Just a reminder than COVID is still out there, so be advised!

Anyway… back to Iceland.

Saturday, August 31, Bill and I got up and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, at about 9:00 AM, we went down to the lobby to wait for our guide from Iceland Luxury Tours. Bill checked out of the hotel while I watched for someone looking official. All of a sudden, I noticed a very tall SUV with huge tires. Bill saw the Iceland Luxury Tours logo on what we found out was a very well-equipped Toyota Land Cruiser.

I took one look at that vehicle and said, “I’m going to need a mounting block!” It was very high off the ground for me.

Bill went out and spoke to the driver, who turned out to be Ivar (pronounced Ee-var), the man who would be guiding us around the hinterlands of Iceland for the next five days. I immediately noticed that Ivar is very fit and quite handsome, but he’s married, and likely at least ten years younger than I am. Besides, I don’t think there’s anyone for me but Bill, who is definitely my soulmate.

Ivar helped us put our bags in the Land Cruiser, then invited us to “mount up”. I was immediately reminded of my days as an avid equestrienne, trying to mount an especially tall horse. I really did need a mounting block to get into that vehicle! I’m not as strong or as lean as I once was… not that I was ever especially lean. It was cold and rainy, which made getting into the Land Cruiser even more of a challenge. Fortunately, I had spunk and determination, and on that day, I didn’t have COVID. I managed to scramble into the backseat, while Bill sat shotgun. We headed to our first destination, Thorsmork Nature Reserve, in the southern highlands. It is one of Iceland’s most popular hiking destinations.

Driving through the nature reserve gave me insight as to why we needed the Land Cruiser. The terrain was full of rivers that the vehicle was capable of driving through without flooding. I also realized why wearing a seatbelt in the backseat isn’t just the law, but a really good idea. The roads are very bumpy, and it would have been easy to hit my head on the ceiling of the SUV. Just before we went into the reserve, we stopped by a convenience store/restaurant for a bathroom break. I had a real time getting back into the SUV! I also got soaked!

Ivar stopped to let out some of the air in the tires to make the ride more comfortable. I can’t imagine what it would have been like with fully inflated tires! Not that I minded, of course. Even with the steady rainfall, the nature preserve was beautiful and remarkable. I didn’t get a whole lot of photos during that segment of the tour because the weather was bad, and there was a lot of rain. Still, I did manage to get a few pictures…

On our way through the reserve, we ran into other brave souls in massive trucks passing through the wild, other worldly Icelandic terrain. We got to one spot where it looked like someone was stuck on the side of the river. We watched some guides with Russian clients go across, but Ivar wasn’t keen to try it himself. That was fine with us. We’re definitely not thrill seekers.

The three photos in the second row above were taken at a very inhospitable spot that was incredibly beautiful. Bill got out and took those pictures for me, while Ivar spoke to other guides who were there. One guy, a Russian with lots of money, had brought a professional photographer along with him to capture the moments in this brutal landscape!

After we drove through the nature preserve, we headed back the way we came. The rain continued to fall steadily, while the wind blew. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall called Seljalandsfoss, which Ivar said we could walk under if we wanted to. Unfortunately, the weather was so terrible that we weren’t tempted by the waterfall’s charms. I did get some pictures of it, though, and availed myself of the handy WC. Meanwhile, Ivar used the Land Cruiser’s internal air compressor to reinflate the tires.

Below is a short video that shows the conditions we were working under when we got to this waterfall. I’d love to go back there on a better day. The whole area was surrounded by waterfalls, and even in the rain and wind, it was very beautiful. But I did see a few folks trying and failing to use umbrellas!

It was a challenge to get to the waterfall, as you can see! We got soaked again!

Below are some photos from our visit. I managed to get one of a guy trying to use his umbrella. It was a fail! I wish the weather had been nicer, but Iceland is one of those places in which you just never know what you’ll get from the Norse gods…

After we visited the waterfall, we went to a restaurant for lunch. All the while, Ivar was telling us about growing up in Iceland, and his very adventurous grandfather. He seemed to know the roadside eatery where we stopped. As we got out of the Land Cruiser, I looked at the skies and wondered if we were in for that weather the whole time…

*As you can see, Iceland isn’t a place where you should care about your hairdo.*

As we were about to leave the restaurant, I asked Ivar if the weather was typical in Iceland for this time of year. He said it wasn’t, but then very quickly realized that we weren’t really prepared for the elements. He offered to stop by Icewear, a large outdoors retailer in Iceland, where folks can load up on outdoor clothing essentials. I ended up getting a raincoat and new hiking boots. I wish I’d gotten rain trousers, too, but the place was packed with people who were as unprepared as we were, buying up better gear so they could enjoy their trips more.

After we dropped about $500 on clothes, we made one last stop at a beach before stopping at our first hotel on the road, we stopped at a beach… and to be honest, I can’t remember what it was called, mainly because I was focused on the weather. But I did get some photos. I got a lot of photos like this over our time in Iceland… I also got a video of the rough seas, but I got so many of those during our tour that I think I’ll just add it to a longer video that I’ll do when I’m closer to the end of this series (when I’m hopefully feeling better).

Once we visited the rocky beach, we headed to our first hotel of the night, Skalakot Manor. I will start the next part with our experience at that hotel, since it included a stable visit. For now, I need to go lie down for awhile. 😉

Damned COVID!

beaches

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.

Uncategorized

My Belgian Birthday! Part five

Since we were sort of in the area, Bill and I decided to visit Ghent (or Gent) on Monday. Ghent is a bit further away from Alveringem than Bruges is, but I had heard it’s a beautiful city. Another frequently recommended Belgian city is Antwerp, but that wasn’t convenient to us on this trip.

Bill went to town again for more croissants. The lady who sold him the croissants asked, “English?” Bill said yes. So she laughed and said, “Ta ta!” We both had a laugh over that– since it’s kind of an antiquated Britishism. I guess it would be hard to tell where an English speaker is from if it’s not your native tongue. Like, I would have trouble telling Schwabish from Bavarian. It was pretty funny just the same.

We said good morning to our animal companions before we left. The bunny came back, as did the cows and chickens.

Marianne told us that they were doing some extensive roadwork in Ghent. That turned out to be true. Bill was a bit white knuckled as he searched for a parking garage. Ignoring my gasp and warning of “Look out!”, he managed to drive over a couple of… well, I don’t know what they were, but he wasn’t supposed to drive over them. He was focused on the construction, while I was focused on the things on the road that he was supposed to drive around as opposed to over.

Once again, we were pleased by the parking garage, which was very clean and offered a relatively pleasant unisex bathroom. This one was free and came with its own mood music. In our case, it was a new song by Phil Collins.

The parking garage in Ghent even had its own Breathalyzer! First time I’ve ever seen one of these. I think it’s very progressive.

Our first stop was in a cathedral in Ghent, which turned out to be even more beautiful than the one in Bruges. We walked through the crypt and checked out the artifacts as well as the ornate interior. Once again, Bill was moved to tears. Bill frequently gets overcome by beautiful art or places. With me, it’s music. Had a choir been singing, I probably would have been bawling like I was in Haarlem two years ago.

Our next stop was a bank. One snag we hit on this trip was USAA erroneously thinking Bill’s debit card was compromised by fraud. He managed to make a purchase at Johnny Rocket’s at Ramstein. Then the card quit working. He had to call USAA to straighten it out. While we were Ghent, he needed to replenish his cash. For some reason, we had a hard time finding a bank. But while we were searching, I was able to get some nice photos.

Ghent is actually a very beautiful town, though perhaps not as quaint as Bruges is. It was also pretty crowded, but not as obnoxiously so as Bruges was.

I think this was once the post office, but it now appears to be a mall.

I didn’t take a lot of photos in the Ghent cathedral, but I had to get one of the choir loft. On the other side, there was identical seating. That must be quite a choir!

American themed clothing store.

Bill and I thought it was funny that the Marriott was offering “High Wine”… especially since it’s historically tied to a high profile Mormon family.

We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant called de Grill. There was a lot of outdoor seating under umbrellas and they were offering an attractive special involving steaks. Bill and I went for seafood, though.

And beer… I had a tripel and Bill had an amber by Gentse. Again, it was good enough that we bought some to bring back to Germany with us.

We watched people in boats passing… many of them had rainbow colored parasols. Actually, both Bruges and Ghent appeared to be very LBGT friendly.

I had a fish brouchette, which included salmon, shrimp, and whitefish. It was excellent! I was especially pleased by the salmon, which was perfectly cooked. And of course, there was a trough of fries and Bearnaise sauce.

Bill had croquettes made with shrimp and cheese. He said it was good that I didn’t order the croquettes because the cheese was pretty strong. He loves his strong cheeses.

I had a Gentse Gruut Inferno for dessert. I think it annoyed the waiter, who was clearly in a hurry to shut down.

He closed the unused tables at 1:45pm and was happy to bring out the check for us. Bill says lunch was just under fifty euros.

I could have spent a little more time in Ghent. I’d like to go back sometime without the dogs and walk around for awhile.

Ubiquitous Coca-Cola!

We stopped at the store again on Monday to stock up for our drive back to Germany. We stocked up on beer, cheese, and hair products. After another low key evening at our rural hideaway, we were well-rested for the very long drive back to Stuttgart.

Baden-Württemberg

A summer dinner at Pizzeria da Piero in Jettingen…

Last night for dinner, Bill and I decided to walk to Pizzeria da Piero in Jettingen. We had only eaten at this restaurant one time prior to last night, but because it’s so close to where we live, we have gotten take out from there many times. In retrospect, we might have been more comfortable getting take out last night, but I really felt like going out. We took the twenty minute walk uphill in the heat and arrived in the thick of dinner service.

Though the restaurant has a nice biergarten with a shade, we ate inside by the bar. Oddly enough, right next to the bar is an area for kids to play in with toys and everything. A couple of girls were taking advantage of the chance to play while their parents sat in the dining room on the other side of the restaurant.

A lucky obligatory shot of Bill…

Because it was really hot last night, despite a brief afternoon rainstorm, I told Bill we should have some white wine. He ordered a pinot grigio and, after ten minutes or so, a waitress came by with an electric wine opener, a bottle of pinot grigio, and the handy wine chiller pictured below. I was impressed enough by the electric wine opener. That would have come in handy when I was a server and struggled with opening bottles at the table. Of course, I am a pro at wine opening now.

No, the white part is not ice. It’s made of plastic and can be chilled. It’s a lot less messy than a wine bucket.

Since we were having white wine and I wasn’t in the mood for pasta, I decided to order shrimp. I considered a zander filet or salmon, but ultimately I made the right choice…

Five big shrimps!

And a salad with a light vinaigrette.

Bill had the zander filet. Though it was really good, the vegetables that came with it were loaded with mushrooms, which as you may know, are of the devil as far as I’m concerned…

The bread tasted homemade and was delicious.

The hardworking servers at Pizzeria da Piero were very busy last night, so our meal was a bit leisurely. We had good conversation. Then, an older couple tried to sit in the booth behind us and opted to move, potentially because I might have said the f word too loud… or maybe I’m just paranoid. Anyway, it was no skin off our backs…

Empty bottle…

I considered ordering dessert, but decided I’d rather have a beer. It was just sultry and nasty last night…

This went down easy as we paid our 59 euro check…

Nice biergarten. We really should have sat out there last night. I’ll be so glad when the summer temperatures mellow out a bit.

I like this restaurant well enough, especially when it’s not really hot outside. I noticed they had ceiling fans in there, but for some reason, they weren’t using them last night. I wasn’t as hot and uncomfortable as I have been in other restaurants during the summer here. The wine helped. Pizzeria da Piero does a very brisk take out service and lots of people were picking up food last night.

Somehow, in the course of the evening, I also lost an earring that I bought in Greece. Guess that’s a good reason to plan a trip back there. For now, I’m looking at Switzerland. Bill has a hankering to see a certain weird museum in Gruyeres.

anecdotes, Sundays

Stuttgart festing on Sunday…

We started today off with a walk. We encountered this on the way. I wonder what the story is behind this bottle of Jack Daniels…

No, we didn’t drink any. For all we know, someone peed in the bottle.

Bill and I didn’t go anywhere yesterday, mainly because we wanted to keep an eye on Arran. Since he seemed to be fine today, we decided to head into Stuttgart and check out the Afrikafestival and the Hamburger Fisch Markt. It was easy to access both of these events via public transport. We parked the car at the Herrenberg train station and took the S-Bahn to Vaihingen. From there, we took U1, first to Erwin-Schöttle Platz, where the Afrika festival was going on, and then to Charlottenplatz, for the fish market, which was actually being held at Karlsplatz, across the street from the metro station.

The Africa festival was interesting, though we weren’t there in time to hear any live music. There were vendors from all over the place selling food and drink items, clothes, art, jewelry, musical instruments, pottery and dishes. We wandered around a bit and Bill picked up some African coffees. I made use of the nice, clean, uncrowded WC. The Afrikafestival ends today, so I’m glad we were able to get there and check it out. Here are some photos of what we saw at the Afrikafestival. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t find anyone selling music. Some of the stuff that was playing sounded good to me. There was some interesting food being offered by vendors, but I wanted to eat fish at the fish market.

Pretty church.

Man, I wish I had bought that plate in the foreground.

After about 45 minutes of walking around the Afrikafestival, we got back on the metro and rode a few stops to Charlottenplatz. I was excited about the fish market, since when we went to Hamburg last January, I slept too late to catch the real market in action. We will have to go back to Hamburg and get up early on a Sunday so we can catch it live. The weather today was absolutely beautiful. Temperatures were comfortable and there was a nice breeze. I’m so glad we did this today and not last week, when it was sweltering hot.

I love interesting graffiti.

Here we go…

Smoked salmon… Just across from this, a vendor was selling enormous pickles.

Our first mission was to find something to eat. The fish market is loaded with good fish dishes. You can find everything from salmon and shrimp to fried delicacies. I saw people eating sandwiches, crab cakes, and fried fish. There were also plenty of sweets available, though we didn’t partake.

We ended up in a tent…

Jever was apparently a big corporate sponsor. It was everywhere. Jever is pretty hoppy!

Those plastic tablecloths stick to your legs if you wear shorts.

Bill had shrimp with garlic sauce.

I had salmon with an enormous baked potato and salad. I could have done without all the sour cream, though I managed to enjoy about half of the potato anyway. The salmon was absolutely delicious. Not too much, not too dry, and perfectly seasoned.

A rubber seagull…

Though Bill and I spoke crappy German to the waitress, she said goodbye to us in perfect English. I’m not sure why we bother trying to learn German, though I do find that it makes understanding menus easier.

I got a big kick out of the guy selling sausage. He had a microphone on a headset and was doing a great job talking up his meat products…

I thought we might bring home fresh fish, but we actually ended up with a big bag of sausage… 10 euros for all this! The vendor next to the sausage guy was selling ten euro bags of fruit. I wish we had more than two of us in our household because the fruit looked really good. But it would go to waste at our house.

Spices galore.

I kind of wanted to buy some of this, but we were afraid the long journey back to Jettingen wouldn’t be good… I think Bill is going to get some dorade this week.

This guy was surprisingly entertaining…

See? Actually, I think Bill was laughing at me.

After awhile, we became thirsty again…

So we stopped for prosecco with strawberries… The strawberries were delicious! Sweet, luscious, and very nice with the sparkling wine.

Mmmm…

I might have liked to try some chocolate dipped fruit…

After awhile milling around the market, listening to music, and overhearing many American conversations, we decided to make a pit stop…

And I am glad to report the toilets were clean and functional. The line wasn’t too long.

Waiting at the Vaihingen train station…

I had to take a picture of this ad… I’m not sure German beef is a selling point.

More photos…

We had a good time today. I kind of wish I’d had some fried fish, since it’s not good for me. But the Hamburger Fischmarkt is a lot of fun. It runs until next Sunday. Monday-Saturday, it opens at 10:00am and stays open until 11:00pm. Sunday hours are from 11:00am until 11:00pm. Who knows? Maybe we’ll go back for more!

ETA: We just tried the sausage and it’s really delicious.

Baden-Württemberg

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.

Uncategorized

France and Germany… a send off from the Army– Part 8

After a good breakfast at the Star Hotel, Bill and I set out to see Nice. Although it had been almost 17 years since my last visit, I basically remembered where to go to get to the beach. The aroma of salty air always excites me, but I had completely forgotten just how insanely blue the Mediterranean Sea is near Nice.

A sign in our hotel room…

Nice is much bigger than I remembered it. I think the last time I went there, I didn’t get out and see much. I was with two friends who are now a married couple and I think I felt a bit like a third wheel. This time, I was with my beloved Bill. We made our way downtown, passing a park where a Middle Eastern man appeared to be giving a very animated lecture to another man. I have no idea what they were discussing, but it was obviously important business, given how the man was carrying on.

The park…

We crossed the park and I spotted some steps that seemed to lead down to some close knit alleys. We went down and started walking… I’m glad we went that way, since it took us through some charming plazas and past a beautiful cathedral that was being extensively restored. We went inside, enjoyed the ornate decor and listened to the peaceful music that was piped in. It was easy to ignore all the scaffolding in the middle of the cathedral. The rest of the church was so pretty.

Charming Nice…

After we left the cathedral, I smelled rotisserie chicken roasting on a spit and heard some more modern sounds, probably Michael Jackson’s “Love Never Felt So Good”, which I heard a few times during this trip. We meandered through the maze of neighborhoods until we were spit out near a farmer’s market that was right next to Nice’s “boardwalk”.

Farmer’s market…

Near the beach!

I went down on the public beach, which has pebbles and rocks rather than sand. A lot of people were sunbathing and there were a few bums that appeared to be sleeping on the rocks. A couple of brave souls were swimming, though it wasn’t very hot outside and the water, while not freezing, was kind of cold. I would have liked to have gone swimming, but I doubt Bill would have been up for it.

We decided to take a VERY long walk instead. We walked along the beach, then up a hill that curled around to a World War II memorial. We kept walking down to the harbor area, where luxurious and simple watercraft shared space. We passed people walking their dogs and people repairing their boats… we saw a cruise ship or two and the air, once again, was perfumed by brilliant flowers. This time, they were bright purple. I was kind of wistful as we passed the dock and I saw one of the Windstar ships there. We’re due for another cruise at some point.

World War II memorial

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was lunchtime and we figured we walked about nine miles. I got a lot of great pictures of the dramatic scenery near the shore. We watched people fish and snorkel and listened to people talk… In all, we figured we walked about nine miles.

We enjoyed a late lunch at a fish place I happened to find a couple of blocks away from our hotel. They were serving paella and tuna as specials. I ordered us a carafe of sauvignon blanc and some water and we enjoyed a thoroughly delicious meal. Afterwards, we went to a nearby mall for some ice cream because I had a terrible craving for it. After lunch, we went back to the hotel, where I fell asleep. I did a lot of napping on this trip! Bill did school work while I snoozed and recovered from our nine mile hike, which totally wore me out.

Lunch and dessert…

Instead of going out to dinner, we stayed in the hotel room and ate cold cuts, bread, chocolate and guacamole from the local supermarket. Of course, we washed it down with water and a nice red wine. I would have liked to have spent another day in Nice. We probably could have done it, but we were running out of cash for train tickets and needed to think about getting back to Germany so we could get a flight home. I briefly considered trying to get something out of Aviano, which is a base in Italy not far from Venice. It would have been closer to get there by train and we love Italy. But Aviano’s schedules weren’t very predictable and we managed to find an inexpensive flight to Frankfurt, courtesy of Air Berlin’s subsidiary, the Austrian airline Niki. More on that in the next post.