As I wrote earlier today, we decided to go out to a restaurant for our Thanksgiving meal.  Although I know I could have found a place that offered really good and somewhat Thanksgiving appropriate food for our celebration, I ended up choosing to dine at Herrenberg’s Gasthaus Lamm Inh. Wolfgang Mezger.  I chose this place because on Trip Advisor, it is listed as Herrenberg’s number one restaurant.  I figured that since it was a gasthaus, it would have the hearty fare I was craving.  I had visions of Stuttgart traffic and decided we should stick closer to home.

Earlier today, I also had the idea that I would like to go to the SI Suites near Kelley and visit the Schwabenquellen spa, but when Bill found out it was textile free, he was having none of it.  We compromised and decided that later we’d visit the Mineraltherme Boeblingen.  I even gave some thought to visiting the textile free area by myself.

Before we went out to dinner, though, I had some household chores to do.  Since I don’t have a job that pays me big bucks, I like to earn my keep.  So on Thursdays, I vacuum the house and typically do laundry.  This morning, the weather was absolutely shitty.  Bill took the dogs for a walk and I did my vacuuming.

**Skip this part if you have a weak stomach.  I’ll let you know when to read again…**

About an hour after they returned from their walk, I heard the sound most dog owners dread.  Arran had vomited up something extremely foul all over my ugly hallway rug.  It was so nasty and vile smelling that I almost sympathy hurled.  Bill grabbed one end of the 5X8 rug and I grabbed another.  We took it outside, where the weather was misty and cold.  I brought Bill lots of hot water with vinegar and baking soda while he kindly cleaned the rank smelling rug for me.  It’s still sitting outside deputrifying.

Arran’s puking episode made me nervous, since when you look up “dog’s vomit that smells like poop” on Google, most sites tell you it’s a veterinary emergency because your dog has surely got a bowel obstruction.  However, Bill had seen Arran eat some kind of feces while they were walking in the field behind our house.  I know Arran well enough to know that he fancies himself a poop hunter while on walks…  but he doesn’t have the iron constitution of his predecessor, MacGregor, who was a true connoisseur of all things crappy.  Arran usually throws up when he eats shit; that’s why I tend to keep him on a short leash behind our house.  Since Bill was walking him today, he had a little more freedom to get into trouble.  Anyway, fortunately after his one extremely disgusting vomit fest, Arran was fine.

**Nasty part is done… weak stomached readers can read again…**

So off we went to the Mineraltherme.   I was drying clothes before we left and had the dryer running.  Bill was nervous about it, so we went back and turned the dryer off.

I was a little hungry when we got to the spa.  We first stopped in their restaurant and I had a glass of Riesling and a nice bowl of carrot and ginger soup.  It was served with a somewhat soggy piece of bread covered with melted mozzarella cheese.  Bill had a ham and cheese panini and a beer.  They served us a house shot of soup, which I didn’t eat because it was made with mushrooms.  I don’t ever eat mushrooms, but even if I had liked them a little, I was still a little grossed out by Arran.  The earthy mushroom aroma was doing nothing for my stomach or my nerves.

My carrot ginger soup.  It was okay, though probably could have used a little salt… or maybe more ginger.

Bill’s panini.  He declared it “substantial”.  He also enjoyed the wild mushroom soup shots.  

We spent the next couple of hours enjoying the pools at the Mineraltherme.  Although Bill is generally reluctant to go there, he’s always relaxed when we leave and never regrets going.  We did have a good time, despite getting a few peevish looks from a couple of older gentlemen.  I didn’t go down to the textile free area today because we didn’t have time.  One of these days, I will disrobe and enjoy the freedom of being naked in front of complete strangers.  I may need more Riesling to do it, though.

We got home at about 5:30 or so, took the dogs out for a wee, and I washed our swimsuits and such on a short cycle.  I put them in the dryer.  Then we left for our dinner at the Gasthaus Lamm.  On the way there, I started feeling nervous about the dryer.  I went as far as to look up on the web to see if we were taking a big risk by letting it run while we were out.  I had visions of coming home to an obliterated house and two dead dogs.  At the same time, the rational side of me told me I was being ridiculous.  I now know that leaving major appliances running when you aren’t home is probably not worth the risk or my neurotic worrying.

Bill parked the car and we headed for the adorable Gasthaus Lamm.  Although the restaurant is clearly popular with locals and we used to visit Herrenberg all the time when we lived here the first time, we had not been there before.  When we entered the building, we were immediately charmed by how cozy and quaint it is.  Make no mistake, the Gasthaus Lamm in Herrenberg is a very small venue.  You may wish to make reservations before going for dinner.

Herrenberg at Christmastime… sehr cute.

We were warned that we would be sharing a table.  Sure enough, we joined a German couple at a rather private little four top tucked away in a corner.  We had a good view of the bar, where the young, attractive waitresses were slinging beers.  The place was pretty much packed and it was all Germans, having a good time on a Thursday night.

Outside of the restaurant.

 

It was a little like being home at Granny’s house in the restaurant, since we were sitting at a table with a couple of people we didn’t know and the place was wall to wall people.  Those who went to Longwood with me in the 90s may remember Macado’s restaurant during that era.  The ambiance was much more authentically charming at Gasthaus Lamm, but the space constraints were very similar…  Those who don’t know what I’m writing about can just imagine themselves in a really cute but tiny, cozy restaurant.

We started with Schimpf Christmas beers…  These were nice, though somewhat pedestrian.  They did chase away my thirst, though.

Bill ordered the special wild boar being offered tonight with spatzle and red cabbage slaw.  It came with a little pot of gravy to go with that already on the meat.

I had a cordon blue schnitzel with fries…  I awarded points when the waitress asked if I wanted ketchup or mayo to go with my fries.  That rarely happens!

This was what our plates looked like when we finally quit eating.  The food was very good.  Bill’s boar was especially good.  But it’s for people who have huge stomachs!  

For dessert, we both had hefeweizens.  This was very good.  Reminded me a bit of Franziskaner.  I had never before had either of the beers offered at Gasthaus Lamm, but I liked them both.  I especially enjoyed the Berg Ulrich Bier.

Obligatory Bill shot, after our German stranger dinner companions departed.  It was a little odd sitting with them, because it seemed like both couples were trying to pretend the other couple wasn’t there.  The table was rather intimate, rather than the long table I was expecting.  Also, I know people think I look dumb when I photograph food for this blog.  I did like the little alcove, though.  It was nice and private, otherwise.  The other couple was nice enough, too.  Anyway, breaking bread with strangers and family is what Thanksgiving is all about, right?

A shot of the bar from where I was sitting.  Other people were sitting on the other sides.

 

As I was sitting on the cute little bench, I noticed my buns were warm.  It reminded me of our old house, which had a masonry heater.  When we used it, the bench would heat up and I’d have a nice warm butt…  warmer than sitting on the dryer or getting a good spanking.  But actually, last night I was just sitting over a heating vent.  What a thrill it was having my buns toasted in a restaurant!

A shot of the other side of the table from where I was sitting, again after the other couple left.

Wall art.  They had a lot of cool stuff on the walls.  We also tried that beer…

A message on the bottom of my glass… Is it German or Schwabish?  Who knows?  It’s backwards as well as in a language other than my mother tongue.

Anyone want to translate?

 

Our total bill came to 44,60.  That was for two very substantial and tasty meals and four beers between us.  Service was pleasant, friendly, and competent.  Our servers seemed to take pride in speaking English to us, even though when it comes to restaurants, we can sort of get by in German.  The lady who took our reservation also spoke English.  The food was very good, though the portions were huge.  It seemed like more of a bar atmosphere than a restaurant, but clearly the locals love it.  We will definitely be back…  In fact, we need to get back into the habit of visiting Herrenberg.  I had forgotten how cute it is, especially at this time of year!

We came home and happily found our house still intact, despite my decision to run the dryer while we were out.  The dogs were glad to see us and are now blissfully sleeping on my new sheets.  I am about to join them.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Stay tuned, because we will make up for last week’s lack of restaurant outings this weekend!