Tag Archives: German food

entertainment

Dinner with friends and the Scottish Music Parade!

Bill and I have had a busy week so far.  Monday night, we drove to Schwetzingen, a nice town next to Heidelberg, to visit old friends.  One of Bill’s former co-workers came to Germany and Austria with his wife, to celebrate their wedding anniversary and visit the Christmas markets.  They used to live in Heidelberg when Army troops were still posted there.  Back in the mid 2000s, Bill was a branch chief at the Army National Guard Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.  That’s where he met the male half of the couple we met on Monday night.

We had dinner at the Brauhaus zum Ritter, a nice restaurant just across the street from the Schloss in Schwetzingen.  We visited the Schloss in 2008, when we spent a weekend in Heidelberg.  That was the first and last time we were in the area, though I had been trying to get back there when we were in Stuttgart.  Now that we’re in Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and its environs are even closer.  We could conceivably spend an afternoon there.

Because it was a visit with old friends, I kept the picture taking to a minimum.  I did get a few shots of the excellent beer and food, though.  Have a look.

We got to the restaurant before our friends did, so we had a round of beer in their bar area.

I had a very tasty and surprisingly flavorful Schwarz Bier…

And Bill had a Weiss Bier… again, surprisingly flavorful compared to other Weizens I’ve had.

I liked the decorations.
 

The Brauhaus zum Ritter offers a lot of the usual German fare.  I had a cordon bleu Schnitzel, stuffed with mountain cheese and ham and served with potato salad.  It was very good and not too huge.

I’m going to have to ask Bill what he had.  It appears to be a Rinderfilet with mushroom sauce and spaetzle.

Instructions on toilet use… Apparently, they had trouble with women building “nests” of toilet paper.

 

It was really great to see Tim and Melody, especially since it had been over ten years since we last saw them in person.  They have gone back to Munich and will be flying back to the States today.  We got home late Monday night, had a rather calm Tuesday, then went out again last night to see the Scottish Music Parade at the RheinMain Congress Center in Wiesbaden.

I found out about this event when we were visiting Wiesbaden for the first time, back in October.  There was a billboard advertising the show near our hotel.  Since I’ve been on a roll with concerts lately, I decided it might be fun to go see this event, which apparently happens regularly.  One thing I’ve learned during this Germany stint is that Germans seem to love the Scots and other Celtic folks.  On Halloween of this year, we went to the Stuttgart version of the Irish Folk Music Festival, another annual tour.  I thought maybe the Scottish Music Parade would be like the Irish Folk Music Festival, but it turned out to be decidedly different.  Still, we had a good time.  Below are some pictures.

We got to the surprisingly large concert hall a bit early.  I think Bill’s original plan was to find somewhere to have dinner, but we got caught in some traffic and I really needed to pee.  So instead of looking for a restaurant, we entered the concert hall early…  I noticed one guy wore a kilt.  I wish Bill had worn his, but then the weather was a little chilly…

We enjoyed a little wine at the wine bar after checking our jackets.  Light snacks and wraps were available.  We drank wine and ate pretzels.  We also bought three CDs from the dancers who were selling them, as well as programs and t-shirts.

A view of the stage before the show began.  My heart was done good as I heard Bruce Hornsby playing on the sound system.  I grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia, which is where Mr. Hornsby was born and raised. 

 

A kilted man who spoke German came out to introduce the performers.  There were pipes and drums, dancers, and the band Aceltica, whose music was on the CDs we bought.  There was also a male and female singer.  The female singer’s name was Jane Jackson.  She is from Glasgow, Scotland, but she now lives in Australia.  Most of the other performers are from Scotland and live there now.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures during the show because I’d rather watch it than record it for posterity.  However, I did get a few shots of the dancers during the second half of the program, which ran for about two hours with a twenty minute intermission.

The man in the kilt was pretty much the star of the show.  He normally pipes on Britannia, which was once Queen Elizabeth II’s ship.  The Royal Family sold the ship and it is now permanently docked in Edinburgh, Scotland where tourists can visit it.

He was quite the showman.

I really enjoyed the dancers, who were very graceful and athletic.  I found myself wishing I’d learned how to dance when I was a girl. 

Again with the head piper… I think his name was Stephen or Steven…  I should have bought a program.

The guitar player was also quite the badass.  

During the finale, the singers had everyone on their feet.  The male singer, who also played acoustic guitar and, I think, was named Mike, had a voice and a style that reminded me a little of Bono’s. 

The dancers came down the aisles to get everyone going.

Taking a bow…

And they piped in the foyer after the show.  I was very happy that they played Highland Cathedral, which has both German and Scottish ties.  It was the music I walked down the aisle to when Bill and I got married.  And yes, we did have a bagpiper who played with the organist.

 

I thought the Scottish Music Parade was a perfectly enjoyable event, although I think I liked the Irish Folk Music Festival better.  The Scottish Music Parade seemed to rely more on lights and electronic music and was… for lack of a better word… a little bit cheesy.  That being said, Bill and I had a lot of fun watching the performance and would attend again.  I really love listening to bagpipes… must be all that Celtic blood in my history.  The musicians were excellent, as I expected them to be, and I was surprisingly even more entertained by the dancers than I was the musicians.

The tour continues tonight in Koblenz and on into 2019.  If you’re living in Germany and don’t mind traveling to see this show, you can easily catch it.  There are still tickets left.  I’m glad we went.

Tonight, we’re going to a wine tasting and Christmas party.  It’s not often I go out so much during the week!

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Christmas in the air in Wiesbaden…

We went back to Hainerberg on Sunday to pick up a few American items at the commissary.  Before we went to the commissary, we decided to have lunch in downtown Wiesbaden.  The Christmas market was in full swing and we walked through it on our way to the Ratskeller, which is a German restaurant underneath the Rathaus in Wiesbaden.  Below are a few pictures of Wiesbaden’s market, followed by my thoughts on Ratskeller.

The Christmas market in Wiesbaden has a different vibe…  

I heard a lovely choir singing carols as I took this picture.

As we were leaving the area later, there was a children’s choir singing “Let It Snow”.  We got rain instead.

They had a puppet theater set up.

And a ferris wheel!  I kind of wish Bill and I had gotten on this, but Bill isn’t a fan of heights or rides.

They had names of all the local areas, like Mainz.

And Winter BBQ… which appeared to be burgers and hot dogs.

Ratskeller enjoys a very advantageous location in Wiesbaden’s Rathaus.  I was surprised by how large the restaurant is.  It’s heavy on beer and heavy German style food.  Oddly enough, that was exactly what Bill and I were in the mood for on Sunday.  Sometimes, we are uncannily in sync with our thoughts and desires.

Bill peruses the choices.  They had a number of Bavarian specialties.

The inside of the restaurant reminded me a little of the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.  There was no band, though.

I had a Doppelbock and Bill had a Dunkelweizen.  I really enjoyed the Doppelbock, which was flavorful, but not too cloying.  It clocked in at 7% ABV, while Bill’s dunkel was a bit lighter and less alcoholic.

I had a small portion of duck.  This was one quarter of the bird.  I could have had half a duck, but I wasn’t hungry enough for that.  I didn’t finish this, although I did enjoy the Rotkohl– red cabbage with apple.  It went very well with the duck and the potato dumplings.  I can never eat more than one dumpling, which may surprise those who get a load of my dumpy backside.

Bill had a pork Schnitzel breaded with pretzel and served with brown gravy.  It came with really good steak fries.  Seriously, those potatoes were excellent.  They had a fabulous flavor.  A lot of fries are kind of tasteless and filling, but these had a great rustic character to them.  The Schnitzel was also well prepared and just the right size.

 

Our waiter spoke perfect English and was reasonably friendly.  I liked the atmosphere in the Ratskeller, although I imagine it probably gets busy and noisy in there.  It’s not often I want German food, but this was just what we were in the mood for on Sunday.  I had a dark wheat beer for dessert, while Bill had coffee.

Dessert prompted us to need the bathroom…

If you aren’t a guest and you need to pee, you’re supposed to pay one euro.  No Nette Toilette here!

A couple more shots of what appears to be a rather historic building.

Wiesbaden is sure pretty…  

On the way back home, we stopped by the commissary and picked up some American items.  I didn’t take the time to really explore the commissary, but it did appear to be somewhat nicer than the one at Patch Barracks.  Of course, Stuttgart is supposed to be getting a brand new commissary soon.  I don’t know that we’ll visit the one in Wiesbaden more than once or twice a month, now that we’ve become so accustomed to German stores.  However, I did notice there’s a nice view from the commissary…

My camera didn’t really do this justice… there were sunbeams coming out of the clouds as if they were sent straight from Heaven.

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Lunch at Wichtel Hausbrauerei in Böblingen

Tonight is the last night we will spend at our soon to be former house in Unterjettingen.  Tomorrow, the packers will come and we’ll spend a night at the Hotel Adler in Nagold.  Tuesday, we’ll load up our stuff and be on our way to Wiesbaden.  It will be my last day in the house.  Our new house has no carpets (hallelujah) and is a bit larger than the house we’re leaving.  I love not having carpeting to worry about, but I do worry about the beautiful new floors that are in our new home.  We decided to visit the Turkish rug guys at Panzer and load up on some floor coverings.

Now… this was not my first time buying carpets at Panzer.  A couple of years ago, we bought a couple of rugs for our living room.  I have to admit, they kind of look like hell now, mainly because they’re stationed right by the doors to the outside.  I don’t expect the new rugs we bought today will hold up much better.  They are better, and more expensive, than the shitty rug sets often sold in the PX, and I like the way they look more than the German rugs I’ve seen.  For many reasons, IKEA really doesn’t do it for me.

But before we bought rugs, we went into AAFES to buy new toothbrushes and some face cream. We ran into Bill’s soon to be former boss and Bill chatted with him.  Then we happened to check out behind a guy who had a rather complicated order that took some time to process, so I took the opportunity to crack inappropriate jokes.  Bill later told me the guy is a high ranker on post.  I wasn’t surprised.  He definitely had the air of a general.

Then I was waiting for Bill to use the men’s room.  While I was waiting, a vendor offered me free chocolate.  I thought about taking it, but a pre-teenaged girl swooped in front of me and grabbed it before I could act.  I kind of laughed about it, and the vendor said he had more chocolate, but I plan to be pounding beer throughout the rest of the moving process… except when we’re driving to Wiesbaden.  I have to be totally sober for that.

Anyway, after we bought our AAFES stuff, we went to see the Turkish rug guys, who were only too happy to help us.  I walked out of there with three large rugs, a runner, and a smaller rug for my office.  They threw in the hall runner for free.  Nice of them, and I’m sure we’ll use it.  I’m also sure I’ll be visiting the rug guys in Wiesbaden, if they have them there.  I’m not sure why they wouldn’t, since I’ve seen those guys at every European base I’ve been to… perhaps with the exception of Lajes Field in the Azores.

After we dropped 1200 euros on rugs, we decided to have lunch.  I think Bill was originally planning to visit Patch to return some electronic Swiffer products we bought without realizing they won’t work without massive transformers.  But after our large purchase, I think Bill was ready for a drink.  We decided to try the Brauhaus in Böblingen, but as usual on a Sunday afternoon, it was packed.  So we moved on to the Flugfeld, where I knew there were a couple of restaurants besides Check Inn Foodport we hadn’t tried.

Actually, that complex has at least three restaurants.  There’s Check Inn Food Port, which is very nice for a dinner date.  Tower 66 Steakhouse is open for lunch until 3:00pm on Sundays, then takes a pause until 5:30pm.  And then there’s Wichtel Hausbrauerei.  I noticed Wichtel got some pretty mediocre reviews on Google, but they didn’t have a pause.  Sold!

We walked around the restaurant’s generous terrace, which still had some tables out, though they weren’t set up for outdoor dining.  To enter the restaurant, you must walk into the Motor World building.  Then you go in and find a seat.  Unlike at the Schoenbuch Brauhaus, there were plenty of spots open at Wichtel Hausbrauerei.  We chose one near the taps.  I needed a slight boost to get up on the tall seat.  I actually like high chairs because I’m short, but I’m also getting old, which makes getting up and down on them harder than it used to be.

The outdoor area.  You have to walk around this to get inside the restaurant.

Welcome!  I really should have stopped to look at the specials for today.

An adorable young man stopped to ask for our drink orders.  Seriously, he was super cute.  I bet his mom is proud of him.  Not only was he good looking, he was also very charming and congenial.

I asked for a weizen and he rattled something off in German, which took me by surprise.  Actually, I know he was asking me which size I wanted.  At Wichtal, you can get a beer in three sizes– .33 liter, .5 liter, or a liter Krug.  Bill started answering in German, but then the guy switched to perfect English and offered me a menu in my native tongue.  I actually do pretty well reading German menus.  It’s just speaking German that kills me.  I can only sing in German.

Bill decides on lunch.  The choices are somewhat limited if you don’t want pizza.

So Wichtel has what appears to be a hybrid of regular pizza and Flammkuechen.  I asked the waiter what it was like and he said it was like both pizza and Flammkuechen.  He said the rest of it was “marketing”.  Our winsome waiter was not only friendly and adorable, he also had a sense of humor.  What a cutie pie!  Too bad I’m happily married, fat, and old enough to be his mother.  I noticed his name was Valentin.  He’s aptly named.  Hubba hubba!

I ascertained that the “pizza” would be too big for me to eat by myself and I am not trying to bring home more food as we’re trying to clear out of here.  I ended up ordering what was described as “roast beef”.  I had a choice of spaetzle, potato salad, or fries as a side.  I decided to be extra healthy and went for fries.  Bill ordered a schnitzel.

If I had paid more attention, I could have ordered today’s special, which was half a duck.  I believe they had another type of braten on special today.  Besides pizza, schnitzel, and “roast beef”, they also had salads, sausages, and other drunk food.  They also had a kids’ menu.

I liked their coasters.  They reminded me of myself.  Bill said they reminded him of Starbucks.

Someone was doing shots of some sort… You can see the barkeep pouring them.

So this was my lunch.  It turned out the “roast beef” was actually a strip steak.  Bill reminded me that sometimes what we think of roast beef is not really roast beef to Germans.  It’s steak.  This was German beef, which was okay.  It was smothered in a brown gravy and dried onions.  Not the way I usually eat steak, but it wasn’t bad.  I’m probably done eating for the day.

Bill’s Schnitzel was your standard Schnitzel.  It came in two pieces with a side of potato salad and gravy.  While I don’t know that we necessarily really wanted to eat German food today, it wasn’t a bad thing that we did.

 

Prices at Wichtel are very reasonable.  It’s a very family and kid friendly place.  And although Google reviewers gave it mediocre reviews, we thought the service was quite good.  I was smitten with Valentin.  I wonder if he’d be my Valentine…  LOL… I’m kidding.  I only have eyes for my Bill.  Anyway, our tab came to 41 euros, which gave Bill significantly fewer heart palpitations than our purchase of five rugs did.  But I figure I could spend that much on one really nice rug from the Middle East.  And as long as I have dogs, I won’t be doing that.

So ends today’s review… perhaps the last one I write of a restaurant in this area for the time being.  Or maybe we’ll go somewhere in Nagold tomorrow night, our last down here on the edge of the Black Forest.  I’m seriously going to miss it…  Especially the views from our house.  But as the Brady Bunch sing, when it’s time to change, it’s time to change.

One more picture for the road.  My view is about to change substantially.

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Hello again to the Holzkrug!

Back in August 2014, around the time Bill and I moved back to the Stuttgart area, we paid a visit to the Holzkrug in Vaihingen.  I had fondly remembered the tiny little eatery from our first tour in Stuttgart, from 2007-09.  For the first six weeks of our stay, we lived at the Vaihninger Hof, a run down hotel within walking distance of Patch Barracks.  Because it was a no frills German hotel, we only had a little dorm sized fridge in our room.  We had to eat out for most of our meals.  As a consequence, I got to know the restaurants circa 2007 in the Vaihingen area very well.

I remember liking the Holzkrug because of its local style charm and the fact that they sometimes serve roasted chicken there that is to die for.  I see by my last Holzkrug post, Bill and I both had chicken the last time we were there.  Today, we stopped in for lunch because we stopped by Patch to gas up my car.  They weren’t serving any chicken today, but we still had a nice lunch.

The door was open and the German pop was playing…

 

Holzkrug offers hot food from 10:30am until 2:00pm on Saturdays.  They also offer lunch with specials from 10:30am until 2:00pm and then dinner from 4:30pm until 8:00pm all during the work week.  On Sundays, they are only open from 10:00am until 2:00pm.  Dinner is not offered on weekend nights.

The Holzkrug is the only restaurant in this area that I’ve been to that sometimes offers roasted chicken.  The only other time I’ve seen it has been at fests or from “chicken men” with food trucks.  If there are other local restaurants that have chicken, I haven’t run into them yet.

Bill checks out today’s limited menu.

 

Today’s offerings.  Bill originally settled on “Forelle” (trout), but they were out of it.  They did, however, have fried fish of some sort.  That’s what he ordered.  I ordered “Cordon Bleu und Krokettes”, basically a fried schntizel stuffed with ham and mild melted cheese.

 

The Holzkrug has a very local vibe, even though it’s close to Patch Barracks.  Although I did see a plaque with an American flag on it, I don’t know that they get a lot of Americans in there.  We had to share a table with a guy who was clearly a regular and kindly made room for us at the “Stammtisch” (a table set aside for regulars).  I think it’s mostly a bar, though we’ve always gone there to eat and have enjoyed every experience.

“Stammtisch”– if you see one of these signs in a German or Austrian restaurant, it means it’s reserved for regulars.  However, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen too many regulars taking advantage of one.  Maybe it’s because I make a habit of trying so many different places that I haven’t really become a “regular” at many restaurants here.  The Stammtisch is different than a table that’s “reserved”.  

 

The view of the bar from where I was sitting.  This is a small place, but it’s very quaint and kind of charming.  I’m pretty sure they have English menus if you ask for them.  Sometimes the servers speak English, though today’s didn’t really.  I like the interior of the Holzkrug.  It’s the kind of place I wish we had in our own little town… you could go there and soak up the atmosphere over a couple of beers.

 

Here’s a picture of our deep fried goodness…  Bill had the fried fish special, which came with potato salad.  He washed it down with a Hefeweizen.  I had the Cordon Bleu and fried potato croquettes.  It was a lot and we brought home leftovers from my dish!

 

The guy sitting next to us was humming off key.  It was driving me nuts.  I happen to be a very musical person with “perfect pitch”, which means that when things are off key, it’s like nails on a chalkboard.  I felt badly about being annoyed, though, because he was nice enough to share his table with us.  The guy sitting behind Bill, also clearly a local and a regular, kept shooting glances at us.  But the wait staff was very kind and attentive.

This is a decidedly dog friendly place.  A large Doberman was enjoying a visit while we were there.  It’s also kid friendly.  I noticed the bartender gave a little boy a little bag of popcorn while he was waiting for his Oma to finish up.  There are also a couple of kid-sized choices on the menu.

After we ate, I noticed the sign on the wall.  It basically translates to “If you’re the type to forget to pay when you drink, pay beforehand.”

 

A Pilsner…

After lunch, I had a Pils.  I don’t usually drink Pils, but every time we visit the Holzkrug, I am reminded of our first time here.  Bill ordered a Pils at this restaurant and thought they had forgotten about his beer when I got served my Hefeweizen first.  He asked the barkeep where his beer was.  The bartender chastised him and told him that a proper Pils can take up to seven minutes to pour.  A quick Googling tells me that she was telling the truth about that, but truth be told, I have yet to ever visit a bar in Germany where it’s taken that long…

At about 2:20pm, it was time for our server to clock out, so she asked us to settle our bill.  It came to about thirty euros before the tip.  I finished my beer and visited the ladies room.  Here’s a handy tip for anyone who happens to be in Vaihingen and needs to pee.  The Holzkrug will allow non-guests to use their restroom if you pay 50 cents.  Yeah, I know paying to pee is the norm here, but at least you know there’s a place to go if the need strikes.

Anyway, we like the Holzkrug.  I like them even better when they have roasted chicken, which they also sell to go.  This is a nice local hole in the wall with typical German food, friendly service, and very reasonable prices.

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Bavaria, short breaks

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Part five– Sadistic punishments and one last dinner!

We were finished with lunch at the Louvre Japanese Restaurant just around the time the Criminal Museum opened for the afternoon.  During the low season, it’s only open for a few hours in the afternoon.  However, if you have any interest in crime and punishment, especially during the medieval era, I would highly recommend visiting the Criminal Museum.  It’s very large and extensive.  We spent over an hour in there and we didn’t read everything.  If you take your time and read all there is, you can easily spend a couple of hours looking at exhibits and learning about the ways people of a bygone era dealt with those who committed offenses.

Below are some pictures I took of some of the more interesting exhibits.  Suffice to say, you had to stay on a straight and narrow path to avoid being publicly humiliated, tortured, or executed.

The outside of the museum.  It’s connected to a church and we heard the organ playing as we passed it before the museum opened.

Pillories, where many people were forced to endure public shaming.
“Paddy wagons” with bars on them.
This is a spiked chair– obviously a torture device for people who needed correction.

Throughout the museum, there were cool little exhibits that reminded me of dollhouses.  They showed how people were punished.  Another showed how kids in school were disciplined.

The two above pictures were taken in the very extensive exhibit about the original Martin Luther and the many witch hunts that took place in medieval times.

An executioner’s cloak.

A drunk tank.  Men who drank too much were forced to wear this barrel, sometimes weighted down for extra punishment.

One of many masks worn by people who needed to be shamed.  This one was an especially nasty one.

The above photos depict an exhibit showing how children in school were punished.

 

An iron maiden.

As a musician, I got a kick out of this device, meant to shame bad musicians.

Admission to the museum is 7,50 euros per adult.  I thought it was well worth the price because it’s so extensive and everything is translated into several languages.  It looked like a number of young kids were also enjoying the exhibits.  We ran into one couple who were telling their sons about the double “violins” people wore that basically yoked two people together who couldn’t get along.  They were forced to wear the device until they stopped fighting.

Another exhibit explained how couples who fought could be shamed.  If a man let his wife beat him, the roof of his house could be torn off.  He and his wife would be publicly punished and they were forced to give their neighbors a tankard of wine.  Premarital sex was also a no no and violators were publicly shamed.  They weren’t allowed to marry in a church.  Instead, they had to marry in an inn.  Later, the husband would go to jail while the wife spent some time in a pillory.

After the Criminal Museum, we went back to Anno 1499 and enjoyed a little CNN and a brief rest.  Bill got some love from our dogs, who were enjoying getting to vacation with us.

Zane isn’t much of a kisser, but when he does kiss you, he does it on the nose.

We decided to have dinner in town, even though I was kind of full from lunch.  Originally, we were going to try an Italian place we saw on Saturday.  I kind of wish we’d done that, since it was rated #1 on Trip Advisor.  Instead, we went to a German restaurant at Hotel Reichskuechenmeister, a place about a block from the Marktplatz.  On the way there, I took more pictures…

More Schneeballen and other baked goodies.

This time of year is nice, if only because it’s dead on a Sunday night and I can get some good night pictures.

Stop right here!  Your dream job (at a bank) awaits!

We decided to eat at the Hotel Reichskuechenmeister because it smelled good.  When we walked inside, I could see the place was pretty full, which is always a good sign.  A waiter opened a small dining room on the side for us.  Although I was tempted by a pasta dish with scallops and shrimps, I decided to have fried carp.  Bill went with goulash made with venison.

Substantial salad I shared with Bill.  It came with my fish.

Bill listens intently as I flap my gums at him.  He’s a good sport.  I had to use the ladies room, which involved taking the elevator to where the guest rooms are.  I guess their public restrooms are being renovated or something because they had what looked like a tiny single hotel room set up as a WC.  They placed a Schrank so that you couldn’t access the room, but I could see it was very small and had a traditional Bavarian twin sized bed in it.

I enjoyed the presentation of my fried carp.  It was position to look like it was jumping out of water.  It tasted good, too… very fresh.  However, there were a lot of bones.

Bill liked his hearty goulash, which included cranberry sauce and spatzle, as well as the dreaded mushrooms I hate.  He had a dark beer with his dinner while I had a glass of locally produced Sylvaner, a crisp white Riesling.

Outside by the front door…  I think we spent about fifty euros on dinner.  It was a pleasant experience.  Next time, we will have to visit the Italian place where we were originally headed.

And a few more window displays…

My last post in this series will be my traditional “what I learned” post…  Stay tuned!

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Two Americans at a Schlachtfest…

About a year ago, I found out from our local weekly paper that our town was having a Schlactfest.  It was being held by a local evangelical church.  I asked my German friend Susanne about it.  She told me it’s an annual thing.  It’s strictly to raise money.  There would be no religious pressure, which was a concern Bill had.

Well, we went to the Schlachtfest, but by the time we got there, it was really crowded and we were overwhelmed by the process.  We ended up walking around looking at what was going on, but we didn’t actually eat.  This year, when I found out the Schlachtfest was going on again, I told Bill we should go early and actually try the food.  So that’s what we did.

The Schlachtfest started at 11:30am and we got there at about noon.  We spent a couple of minutes looking bewildered as we tried to figure out what to do.  Finally, Bill told me to go save us a couple of seats and he went and bought tickets, which was the right thing to do.  There were three options today.  A Schlachtplatte was the biggest and most expensive option.  It consisted of two sausages, a very large piece of bacon, and sauerkraut.  There was Schnitzel, which came with green salad and potato salad.  There was also Bratwurst, which came with a green salad, potato salad, and bread.  I was intrigued by the Schlachtplatte, but then I got a look at it and decided to stick with the Schnitzel.

So, Bill bought the tickets and we took seats across from a young guy who was enjoying a Schnitzel. I think he was getting a big kick out of us, because we’re clearly not really locals.  Food runners came up to us and asked what to bring us.  Bill handed him our tickets and they brought us our food.  Then a guy came through with a cart laden with beer, wine, water, and soda.  We gave her our tickets for two beers (they also had alcohol free radlers), and received two room temperature beers.

As I explained last year, a Schlachtfest is a festival dedicated to meat.  It typically involves the ceremonial slaughter of a pig, which is then used to make sausages and schnitzels.  Our fest here in Jettingen also involves the sale of cakes made by the a local women’s club.  I would have liked to have tried them, but they were going to be brought out until 1:30pm and we were both too full to think of eating cake after all we got.  Seriously… this has been a weekend of cheap eats.  My schnitzel and Bill’s bratwurst and two beers cost just sixteen euros.  But it was a lot of food.

When you walk in, you buy your tickets.  I see the Schlachtplatte is one euro more expensive this year.

Then you search for a place to sit.  We were there early enough to easily find a spot.  When the food runner comes up to you, hand them your ticket and they will bring you your food and silverware.

Big table where the food was coming out.  It was all very well organized.

A little beer…

Salad.

Sorry, I had to laugh at the bratwurst.  It was a little obscene looking!  But Bill said it was delicious.  After trying it myself, I have to agree.  It was very good sausage and obviously fresh.  The young guy across from us was laughing, probably because he could tell what I was thinking.  I have a dirty mind.

My schnitzel, of which I only finished half.

 

We weren’t the only ones who were confused about the process.  A German lady approached Bill and asked him what to do.  I was very proud to hear him tell her in German what the process was.  As I looked around, I noticed that everyone seemed to be in a really good mood.  Neighbors were enjoying each other’s company.  In fact, we saw one of our neighbors, as well as the mayor of Jettingen.  It’s a very well attended event.

We were smart to get there early, though.

The above two pics were what I could get of the Schlachtplatte, which is no doubt very popular with the locals.  I don’t like sauerkraut, though, and I tend to be leery of certain types of sausage.  I will eat haggis though, so go figure that one.

Another shot of the crowd.  If it’s like last year, there will probably be a concert later.

They even had games for the kids out in the lobby.

Chances are good that if you’re living in Germany, there’s a Schlachtfest near you, too.  You can go with the family, enjoy some cheap food and local camaraderie, and maybe even take in a concert if you hang around long enough.  I’m kind of tempted to send Bill back there for cakes to go.  They also had a waffle station and a book table, which Bill originally thought was a “butcher table”.  I had to remind him of the German words for book and butcher.

If we’re still here next year, we’ll have to go again with more of an appetite.

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Sausages at the Sindelfinger Paulaner Bar…

Today, Bill and I decided to take an exciting trip to Panzer to pick up a few things.  I bought some new makeup, a couple of dog toys, a couple of picture frames to replace two that broke, and a new Bose SoundTouch 20.  I am now fruitlessly trying to entertain myself getting the new SoundTouch working and wishing things were as simple as they were when I was a kid.  Back then, we pleased ourselves with cassettes and CDs.

After we did our shopping, we decided to go into Sindelgfingen and try the Paulaner Bar.  It’s right across the street from the big Stern Center and close to the Turkish supermarket on the main drag into town.  I had spotted the Paulaner Bar on an earlier visit to Sindelfingen and thought it looked interesting.  The restaurant doesn’t have much of a Web site, but we did notice that it’s open from 11:00am until midnight every day.  It also has some dedicated parking spots in a garage around the corner.  The spots also appear to be free of charge, although you must use your Parkschein.

There’s a pleasant looking outdoor area that I suspect will be history as the weather gets colder.

So, anyway, we showed up at about 1:00pm.  We opened the door and noticed a few tables were occupied.  A cheerful looking young woman sporting a dirndl greeted us as we took a seat.  We were invited to choose whichever table we wanted.  I noticed there was a cozy looking bar, but since the place wasn’t very busy, we took one of the smaller tables.  It appeared to seat about six people.

The vantage point of the bar from our table.

 

The inside of the Paulaner bar is kind of dimly lit and, if I’m honest, a little depressing.  It could be because it was so quiet today.  A lot of people are probably enjoying the last day of the of Canstatter Volksfest and, let’s face it, there are plenty of places where one can enjoy a German repast in these parts.  Nevertheless, although the ambiance was a little depressing today, the inside of the restaurant is kind of quaint, if not a bit grungy.

Bill and I enjoyed a couple of weizens while we decided on what to eat…

Naturally, this restaurant has the kind of food you’d expect at a German beer bar.  There are sausages, salads, schnitzels, schweinsaxen, sauerbraten, soups…  yeah, it’s pretty much a plethora of German specialties beginning with the letter S.  Bill was thinking about having a Hawaii Toast when I told him I wasn’t feeling like having a big lunch.  But then the waitress told him they couldn’t make Hawaii Toast today.  We both settled for sausages.

Bill had brats with brot. pictured below.  He said the brats were actually pretty nice.  They were well seasoned and fresh and there was plenty to satisfy him.  

I went with the Weiss Wurst.  These two little white sausages were served in broth with a pretzel (pictured below).  The only thing missing was mustard.  Likewise, this was plenty, and cheap, to boot.  I think my selection was under five euros.

I noticed the Paulaner Bar participates in the Nette Toilette program.  Basically, what that means is that they don’t mind if you come into the restaurant to pee if you’re walking around town.  Some towns in Germany have adopted this program.  Restaurants get paid by the city to let people use their toilets.  That way, the taxpayers don’t have to pay to build and maintain public toilets, restaurants get more people coming in and possibly ordering something, and fewer people pee outside.  I think it’s a great program.  The only other local area I’ve seen the Nette Toilette signs is Calw, though I know this is something that is done around Germany.

This sign is from Calw, but the ones in other areas look the same.

After our round of beer and sausages, we decided to head home.  On the way out of Sindelfingen, we ran into a large crowd of motorcycle riders.  Below are a couple of pictures I snapped of the action.  Unfortunately, I missed getting one of the guys dressed in pink bunny suits.  You just never know what you’re going to see when you drive in this area.

Anyway, our lunch today was pretty low key.  The food was fine and the service was cheerful and pleasant.  The mood in the Paulaner Bar was pretty downcast, but that could have to do with extenuating circumstances.  It’s probably a lot livelier on a Friday or Saturday night.  I’d say it’s not a bad place to go for cheap eats in Sindelfingen, although Funzel probably has more selection and better quality food.  If I were taking someone to a German place in Sindelfingen, I’d probably pick Funzel over the Paulaner bar in Sindelfingen; the Paulaner Bar in downtown Stuttgart is a bit better.

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Lunch at Gasthaus Lamm in Herrenberg…

The day kind of got away from us today.  We got up rather late, had a late breakfast, and then Bill went to the store to pick up some things for the week.  Consequently, it wasn’t until about 1:00 that we finally decided what to do with our afternoon.  We entertained thoughts of going to a fest, but ended up going to Herrenberg, where we stopped by the Gasthaus Lamm for lunch.

Gasthaus Lamm’s sign.

The last time we visited the Gasthaus Lamm was for Thanksgiving in 2015.  We didn’t have a Thanksgiving dinner there; rather, we enjoyed a large German meal that was kind of fall inspired.  I’d been wanting to go back for some time, but this is a restaurant that is almost always packed, even during the daytime.  We noticed today that they had a sign outside signifying that after next weekend, they would only be open in the evenings.

Things will change next week!

We arrived at the restaurant at about 2:30 or so, about a half an hour before the restaurant has its afternoon pause.  There were a few tables open, so we chose one in a corner near the bar area.  One thing I like about Gasthaus Lamm is that it’s a very cozy place in an old building.  It’s very typically German, as is the food.  During the warmer months, there is outside seating available.  In winter, it’s best to make reservations because the restaurant is very popular and it’s tiny.

Bill’s typically charming expression after I tell him dirty jokes.

A pleasant young man who spoke perfect English took care of us.  We both had weizens and salads.  I had one with grilled chicken strips and Bill had one with tuna.

My salad, which was described as chicken strips with bread.  This was actually not what I was expecting, but it tasted good and was good for me.  This was priced at 10,50 and had a nice light vinaigrette and a sprinkling of seeds.

Bill’s tuna salad came with soft, mild cheese, but was basically the same set up as mine.  

 

Our bill came to 25,50, which we thought was a fair price.  I wasn’t able to finish my whole salad.

Gasthaus Lamm happens to be located right next to the Alte Brennerei, which happens to be one of our favorite bottle shops.  Although we probably should have steered clear, we went inside and ended up enjoying an impromptu rum and wine tasting.  The people in Alte Brennerei speak perfect English and are always willing to let their customers taste things.  Of course, when we taste things, we often end up buying, and that’s what happened today.  We came home with plenty of wine and rum for the rapidly cooling evenings in Germany.

I was actually thinking of going to Sindelfingen today.  Perhaps if we had gotten an earlier start, we would have gone there and tried a new restaurant.  Maybe we’ll try that tomorrow, if we don’t hit a fest.  Quite a few are going on this weekend.

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Dinner at the Hotel Hasen in Herrenberg…

Try saying that three times fast…  “Hotel Hasen in Herrenberg“.  Meh, it’s probably not that hard to do.  I like alliteration, though.

When Bill and I lived in Germany the first time, we settled in a town a bit south of the pleasant city of Herrenberg.  Consequently, we’d often drive down the main drag in Herrenberg and notice the large four star hotel on the hill.  I kept thinking I’d like to stop in for dinner sometime, but we never managed to do it during our first Germany tour together.

Fast forward five years after we PCS’d.  It was October 2014.  We had just visited Colmar, France, and had some time to kill before it was time to pick up our dogs from the dog pension.  We stopped at the Hotel Hasen for lunch.  I remember being impressed by the food and service.  We now live in a town a bit west of Herrenberg, probably about the same distance away as we did during out first tour.  We still spend a lot of time in Herrenberg.  Last night, I asked Bill if he’d like to go back to the restaurant at Hotel Hasen and have dinner.  He agreed.

The front of the hotel.  There is limited parking out front and more in the back.  There is also a city parking area next to the hotel’s parking.

 

During the warmer months, Hotel Hasen has a biergarten.  We decided to eat out there last night.  They were doing a brisk business, with most of the tables occupied and a few people enjoying drinks on the outdoor patio furniture near the inside bar.  An elegant older lady in plain clothes invited us to sit at a table near the wait station, where I could easily observe beer and wine being poured and dishes coming from the kitchen.  They were pumping them out at an impressive pace last night.

Bill checks out the menu.  His was in French.  Mine was in German.  Apparently, they also had English menus.

We settled on hefeweizens.

 

The food at the Hasen Hotel is very German and a bit heavy.  They have salads and vegetarian dishes,  but a lot of the food is big on meat, spaetzle, potatoes, and rice.  I happen to like that well enough, though I wasn’t wanting anything super filling last night, since it was a warm outside.  Many of the dishes on the menu are available in a smaller size and a slightly lower price.

I settled on zander filet, which was fried (but could have also been baked).  It came with a light white wine cream sauce and an interested vegetable garnish.  There was a thin slice of rutabaga topped with a layer of mashed potatoes, with cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and carrots arranged somewhat artfully around the rutabaga and potatoes.  My dish also came with a large bowl of “dry rice”.  

Bill had deer goulash, which he pronounced very good.  It came with baked apples and spaetzle.  He couldn’t finish the whole thing.

Dry rice… yes, it was cooked, but there was nothing else to it.  

 

I had another beer after dinner and Bill had a double espresso.  There were some excellent looking desserts passing us that I probably would have enjoyed.  However, our waitress, though very professional, seemed a bit over it and I decided I didn’t need the calories.  The bill came to about 53 euros.

 

The word “Hasen” means rabbit in German.  The Hotel Hasen does indeed have a couple of rabbit ambassadors living on the grounds.  We ventured over to see them after we finished dinner.  They live in a little hutch next to what looks like a play area for little kids.  The play area appeared to need some cleaning up; the equipment looked like it was covered in dirt caused by rain.  It was otherwise in good repair.

Hotel Hasen’s bunnies!

Don’t feed the rabbits!

Overall, we enjoyed a pleasant evening at Hotel Hasen’s biergarten.  It was a nice night to go out to dinner.  I think we could go back when the weather is a little cooler.  On the other hand, there are other restaurants in Herrenberg I haven’t tried yet.  So who knows?

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Eating like a linebacker at Funzel in Sindelfingen…

Sindelfingen is an area near the Stuttgart military community.  It’s also home to Mercedes Benz, Breuningerland, and Erospark.  In 2007, Bill and I stayed one night at the Sindelfingen Marriott Hotel.  Other than that, we haven’t spent a lot of time in Sindelfingen.  Today, we needed to go to Patch Barracks to run some errands.  Bill said he wanted to go out for lunch.  He also wanted to try someplace new.

I had heard a lot of good things about Funzel, which is a German restaurant in the old part of Sindelfingen.  Since we never go to Sindelfingen, we decided to venture there today and check out things.  It was no problem finding Funzel, which is right in the middle of Sindelfingen’s surprisingly cute old town.  It did take us time to find a parking spot.  We finally settled for parking at the enormous Stern Center, which is just a short walk from the old town.

Pretty soon, those tables outside will be packed with people enjoying spring weather.

 

When we arrived at Funzel at about 12:45pm, the place was pretty much packed.  I sensed that most of the clientele were Germans, but I also noticed some Americans there.  I liked the way the inside of the restaurant looked, with its cozy tables, rustic decor, and wooded walls.  A guy in lederhosen invited us to sit at a pub table near the bar.  He and a lady in a dirndl appeared to be the only ones taking care of the entire restaurant.  Consequently, it took awhile to get served.  Fortunately, we were in no hurry.

The food at Funzel appears to be very typically German.  Here’s where you can get your schweinebraten, schnitzel, and schweinshaxe.  I noticed they had several kinds of schnitzel and was actually tempted to order that.  But then I remembered that the last time I had schnitzel, it lasted three meals.  I never did finish it, either.  I was also tempted by the schweinshaxe, but again– way too much food!  And when I saw them coming out of the kitchen, I realized I made a good choice when I decided to have zander filet.  Bill went with the “spicy goulash”.

Bill checks out the menu.  I quipped that it looked like someone had taken a bath while reading them.  The pages were a bit water warped.  But I was pleased to see reasonably priced food and a broad variety of local favorites.

I had a lovely hefeweizen.  Bill had a dunkel.  Both beers were excellent, of course.  It’s hard to have a bad beer in this country.

Bill’s goulash came with a nice salad.  This came out well before our main dishes did.  Bill inhaled it and said it was very good.  Then we waited quite a bit longer for the rest of the food.

My zander filet was very tasty.  I enjoyed the light breading on the mild fish, the riesling sauce, and the fact that it wasn’t humongous.  The potatoes were plain, boiled, and parsley covered.  I also got plenty of greens.  I didn’t eat too many greens because I don’t have a problem with constipation.  

We thought it was funny that the goulash was supposed to be “spicy”.  It was as mild as morning milk.  But it tasted good and went well with the spaetzle.  If you’re looking for truly spicy goulash, though, you might be disappointed.

I got a kick out of this sign, which was hanging in the bathroom.  Hand washing is very important for so many reasons.  But, if anything, consider that you have to hand your money to people who are serving food.  In the interest of not spreading germs, you should wash your hands.  In the interest of not being gross, you should remember where your hands tend to be when you use the restroom.  Brought to you by a lady who has an unused master’s degree in public health and still got norovirus last year at this time.  😉

 

Lunch at Funzel was very low key, despite the number of people enjoying lunch there today.  I didn’t see anyone particularly rushed or stressed, which as a former waitress, I found rather refreshing.  I enjoyed the 70s and 80s music playing and the fact that a well-behaved dog was charming a little boy on his way back from the bathroom.

Because the restaurant was so busy today, service was a bit on the slow side.  But the food tasted good and was reasonably priced.  Today’s lunch was 36 euros before the tip.  I thought that was fair.  It also appeared to be a very kid/family friendly place.  The kitchen stays open all day, with no pause.  That’s a definite plus when you’re coming to Sindelfingen from places south.  Another bonus is that parking at the Stern Center on a Sunday is dirt cheap.  We paid fifty cents to park for two hours.

Looking around old town Sindelfingen, I see we’re going to have to come back and do some more exploring there.  If anything, I need to add to my Good Eats restaurant guide.

After lunch, we visited the commissary and stopped by the Shoppette, where we managed to load up on some nice craft beers we’ve been missing lately.  In the States, I have a spare refrigerator I bought because we rented a house that didn’t have a fridge in it.  I now use it as a beer fridge and call it the “fridge of sin”.  We’re missing the fridge of sin here in Germany…  

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