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Big business in Poland, part four

The featured photo for this post was taken in November 2008, when Bill and I visited Wroclaw for a few hours.

I’ve now come to the part of my series in which it’s time to write about the hotel. This week, I’ve spent a lot of time at the Sofitel Wroclaw, mainly because this wasn’t a pleasure trip. Bill had a choice of several hotels that were within the per diem set by his company and would be offering transportation to his conference this week. He chose Sofitel because they were the one hotel that could offer him a double room at an acceptable rate. We have also stayed in at least one Sofitel before– it was in Luxembourg. I had a mostly good impression of that property. Now that I think about it, we also stayed at a super nice Sofitel hotel in Hamburg called the Alter Wall. That one is newer that either the one in Luxembourg and Wroclaw and it’s pretty posh.

First thing’s first. This is a “five star hotel”. But five star means something different in Europe than it does in the United States. In America, we tend to think of five star hotels as super fancy. Here in Europe, a five star hotel is not necessarily fancy; it simply offers a lot of amenities. This particular property is a bit dated and could use some upgrades, but overall, it was a decent place to spend five nights. It is not on any level on par with the Jumeirah Frankfurt, which is five star in every sense of the expression.

First off, the hotel’s location can’t be beat. It’s a mere block from Wroclaw’s impressive main square. There are several good restaurants very close to the hotel, as well as a restaurant in the hotel itself. The staff is friendly, helpful and accommodating. For instance, Bill managed to get us a late checkout, since our flight doesn’t leave until 7:00pm. I am typing this review as checkout time lingers, but am welcome to stay until 3:00pm, even though the hotel is pretty well booked for the weekend. Christmas markets start today.

As it is, I’ll probably write this review and leave the room, since it’ll be about lunchtime, anyway, and Bill is planning to pick me up at about 3:30pm. I’ll just go across the street and hit the awesome Doctor’s Bar again, drink some craft beer, and see how far I can get into one of their specials. Or maybe I’ll go to a different restaurant… I have plenty of choices, which is a nice thing. Breakfast, by the way, is pretty good. They have a large array of hot and cold items available, as well as an omelet stand. Service is friendly and professional, and they were good sports about hordes of Americans in Army uniforms descending on them at 6:30am every day this week. I was reminded of college!

This property has a spa, which I did check out, but never used. They have Balinese massage on offer, as well as a jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, and a very small gym. I actually meant to use the spa during our time here, but never got around to it.

There’s also a bar, with friendly bartenders, creatively prepared cocktails, local craft beers, and funky music. The prices in the bar are high; you can certainly drink for less money at any of the local restaurants. Nevertheless, we used the bar on several nights because it was handy and a good place to mingle with others who were at the conference.

The hotel itself is in kind of a mall… not really a proper mall, per se, but there are some offices and a couple of shops in it. Underneath the building is parking, which we didn’t use this time, although I think we did use it in 2008, when we first visited this city. I remember when we came here the first time, people were parked bumper to bumper wherever there was space. Now, they seem to have come up with other options and parking is no longer as chaotic. This time, I haven’t seen anyone double parked, like I did in 2008.

This photo was taken in November 2008. Notice how many cars there are! This time, we didn’t see this as much. There were no cars parked in the area where I took this picture.

The room we rented faced the street and when the drapes were open, we could see people working in their offices. Had we been on the other side of the hall, we would have had a view of the courtyard/mall. We had a good bed, even though I still had some back problems this week which cramped my style a bit. I noticed today and yesterday that the pain was lessened. I think the mattress on the bed in our room is better than the one we have at home.

WiFi worked well, and there is also a good television that offers a couple of channels in English. I didn’t bother with the TV. There’s also a minibar and coffee/tea set up. I didn’t use the minibar, as the prices were pretty exorbitant and there’s no telling how long the stuff has been sitting there. I noticed during working hours, I could hear people in the street or on the other side of the wall, although it wasn’t an issue at night.

One main complaint I did have about this room is that the shower pretty much sucked. It’s a shower/tub combo with a glass screen that doesn’t do the best at keeping the water off of the floor. Getting hot water often took a long time, and there wasn’t much pressure from the spray nozzle. However, they did provide good toiletries from Lanvin (Paris), and they were generous with them. The housekeeper did an outstanding job getting the room cleaned early so that I came back to a fresh room in the early afternoon. If there’s one thing I dislike, it’s coming back to an unmade room at 4:00pm.

Another complaint is that the air conditioning/fan system seemed to be on by default. I could turn the fan off, only to have it come back on at some point. The air was a bit chilly/drafty, and the duvet cover was almost not enough. Fortunately, the weather in Wroclaw was very mild temperature wise. I barely needed a sweater, even though there was some rain.

Another minor grumble about this hotel is that the elevators are a bit of a pain to use. You have to use your keycard to get it to work, and although there are three of them, they take awhile and get crowded. Also, there is no restroom in the lobby, which is kind of a pain when you’re in the bar and have to pee. You have to go to the first floor.

Overall, though, I enjoyed my stay at Sofitel Wroclaw, and would consider staying again. At the same time, I look forward to flying home this evening, taking a shower with plenty of hot water and pressure, and sleeping in my own bed for as long as I want with no worries that I’ll inconvenience the housekeeping staff. In fact, I really enjoyed Wroclaw… wish I could have seen and done more, but now we have an excuse to come back on our own terms and see more of Poland. It was nice to be with Bill this week instead of sitting at home alone, and I’m grateful that we were able to make it happen and were so well accommodated by the Sofitel staff!

Here are a few pictures of our room, as seen when we first arrived on Sunday, the 17th.

  • TV, minibar, desk
  • Small bathroom with sucky shower
  • Good bed. There’s also a small couch.

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Wiesbaden, take two… the dog friendly housing quest continues. Part two

I was a bit nervous about our stay at GL Suites.  Check online, and you’ll see this particular property gets some pretty shitty reviews.  I think it’s because people somehow get the idea that the apartments are in downtown Wiesbaden.  The apartment we stayed in was actually in Wiesbaden-Sonnenberg, which is in a residential area on the outskirts of town.  I can see why people hoping to see downtown Wiesbaden would be disappointed in where the apartments are located.  However, for our purposes, the apartment we chose worked out great.

There are two (possibly three if people park tightly and have small cars) free parking spots at the property and plenty of street parking, at least while we were there.  I counted four restaurants within easy walking distance, a bakery, an English speaking veterinarian, and it’s close to Sonneberg, where there’s a cool castle and a huge Edeka with a separate drink market.  Last time we stayed in Wiesbaden, we stayed in a very pet friendly hotel downtown.  Yes, it was nice to be downtown, but when you have dogs, a tiny hotel room is not ideal.  GL Suites wasn’t inexpensive, but it had all the comforts of home and was a lot more practical than the Wiesbaden Town Hotel was.  There’s also public transportation in the neighborhood.

Anyway… we booked apartment one, which came with a whirlpool and a rainfall shower.  We didn’t opt to use the whirlpool.  I was a little tempted last night, but I was also feeling a little under the weather and decided I didn’t want to mess with it.  The rainfall shower was luxurious enough.

Below are some pictures.

Awesome shower and whirlpool!

Living room.  There’s a huge HD TV in there with Sky TV, which gets a few channels in English.

Foyer.  You use an electronic code to access the building and the apartments themselves.

Fully equipped kitchen has an induction stove, oven, and dishwasher.  There’s a table and chairs, too.

Huge fridge and freezer, although I don’t think the water and ice maker work.  They don’t appear to be connected to a water source.

Bedroom.  I think the bed was queen sized.  It was very comfortable.  My only complaint was the street lights outside.  Rolladens or blackout drapes would have been nice, since the lamps shone into the room.  

Couch.

On the first floor, there’s an infrared sauna, a toilet, a couple of pieces of workout equipment (treadmill and elliptical), and a straw bed.  There’s also a barbecue area where you can grill out and eat al fresco.  Bill took the dogs up there because there’s also a trail where the dogs could easily relieve themselves.

I usually try not to book places that charge pet fees, mainly because I find places that don’t charge fees are less anal retentive about dogs.  I didn’t really have a choice this time, since the Town Hotel was fully booked.  We paid 15 euros per dog per night, so 90 euros… It’s a little steep, since I could have put them in the hunde pension for only a few euros more.  But I doubt I would have been able to book them with Max with such short notice.  It was nice having them, too.  I like having my dogs with me, even if they do hog the bed.

For three nights, we paid about $600 to stay at GL Suites.  I’d book there again, now that I know what to expect.  But I can understand people being irate if they were expecting downtown Wiesbaden.  It’s NOT in downtown Wiesbaden.

Below are a few more pictures of the amenities.

Sauna.  We didn’t use it.

Straw bed.

Exercise equipment.

Coffee and drinks…

Towels…

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Whirlwind trip to Wiesbaden– our quest to find new dog friendly digs… Part two

Out front…  It’s a little hotel, but very friendly and accommodating.  There are several good restaurants right next to it!  It’s in a great location.

I might as well start with a review of the hotel where we stayed.  As I mentioned in part one of this series, I booked the Town Hotel Wiesbaden because it’s dog friendly.  It was listed on BringFido.com and when I made my reservation, which I did not have to pre-pay, I noted that we were bringing beagles and was assured it was fine.  In fact, we were not charged extra for bringing our two dogs.  They were very warmly welcomed by the reception, and the only place they weren’t allowed was the breakfast room.

Although this hotel only has three of its own parking spots (10 euros per day), it does have an agreement with a local parking garage.  We were advised to stop in before we parked to pick up a ticket for the parking garage, which entitled us to special rates for twenty-four hours (12 euros per day) and in and out privileges.

Bill dropped me off with the luggage and the dogs and parked the car while I checked us in.  We were assigned room 22, a standard room.  Although I had requested a superior room, I did so after I made the booking.  I’m not sure if they didn’t have a superior room available or they just didn’t see the request.  The hotel has an elevator, but we didn’t need to use it.

I was expecting a tiny room, based on reviews I read on TripAdvisor.  Sure enough, the room was tiny, but it had a comfortable bed– probably queen sized– a wall mounted flatscreen TV, and a tiny desk.  Our room faced a courtyard, so it was pretty quiet.

The bathroom was small, but had a decent sized shower with good pressure.  There was a coffee setup, gummi bears on the pillows, and a locking cabinet above the closet.  WiFi is free, but I used a cellular service I subscribed to on my iPad.  Breakfast is priced at approximately nine euros per person, which I thought was very reasonable.  They had a pretty good spread of things ranging from cereal to smoked salmon, fresh breads, pastries, coffee drinks, and juices.

Zane made himself at home.  The bed was a little crowded with the dogs, but we brought their beds, too.  Fortunately, each night, one of them used a dog bed.  They’re getting more civilized in their advancing ages.  

TV was good, although we had to get them to replace the batteries in the remote.

Little bathroom with a surprisingly decent shower.

Breakfast room with an island full of goodies.

 

Town Hotel also has an “honor bar”, which consists of a fridge stocked with drinks– everything from water to wine– and several shelves of snacks.  You take what you want and, if the front desk isn’t staffed, just tell them what you took at checkout.  We bought a couple of bottles of wine from the honor bar, which was very convenient.  I noticed the wines all had screw tops.

We spent about 250 euros total for our two nights at this hotel, which was slightly more than what I would have paid for the apartment in Mainz.  However, the location was very convenient and the staff at the hotel was excellent.  I was impressed by how friendly and welcoming they were, especially to Zane and Arran.  I would stay again and may end up doing so; but next time, I will be sure to book a superior room.  For just Bill and me, the standard room would work fine.

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Paul Simon or bust… Our Dublin getaway! Part three

The first time we visited Dublin, Bill and I stayed at the Marker Hotel, which is a very nice business class accommodation located near Ireland’s Facebook offices.  The Marker Hotel was, at that time, Trip Advisor’s number one pick for hotels in Dublin.  I don’t think that’s why I booked it, though.  I think it’s because the Merrion Hotel was full during the time we wanted to visit.  When I travel without the dogs, I like to stay in nice hotels.

Super nice digs!

Bill and I liked the Marker Hotel fine, but the location wasn’t ideal for us.  It’s very close to the Liffey River, kind of away from all the pubs and sights.  The Merrion Hotel, by contrast, is right in the thick of things, off Merrion Square and close to St. Stephen’s Green.  It’s directly next to a street lined with restaurants and it’s also not far from the RDS Arena, which is where Paul Simon would be performing.  The Marker Hotel’s location is a bit more residential and not as convenient to non business related activities.

The Merrion Hotel is also just plain more to my liking.  It’s more of a traditional hotel, with more of a classic feel than the Marker Hotel’s ultra sleek modern vibe.  Both hotels are expensive.  Both hotels are very nice and offer excellent service and good food.  But my preference is for the Merrion, which our cab driver assured us is the best hotel in Dublin.  I believe him.  For readers who are wondering which one they’d like better– if you’re going to splurge, that is– I’d say choose the Marker Hotel if you like modern decor and want to be close to the river and/or Facebook.  Choose the Merrion Hotel if you like a more traditional decor with character and lavish service.  Either way, you really can’t go wrong.  They are both beautiful hotels.

If your preference is more for “interesting”, I’d recommend checking out the Charleville Lodge, which is run by a hilarious guy who is very active on Facebook.  I have not stayed at the Charleville Lodge myself, but I have a feeling I would enjoy it… if only I weren’t so posh.  The guy who runs the Charleville Lodge also runs the White Moose Cafe, which was all over the news a few months ago after the owner exposed a blogger.  Hmmm…  I guess that’s another reason I decided not to book there.  Seriously, if you like cheeky humor and don’t mind some ribbing, you might want to check it out.  Maybe we’ll stay there next time we go to Dublin, but only if I’ve given up writing by that time.

So, anyway, back to the Merrion Hotel.  I had prepaid for the room, but they took an imprint of Bill’s credit card for “incidentals”.  We knew there would be incidentals, too.  The Merrion Hotel has two restaurants, a pub, and a cocktail bar, as well as a beautifully equipped spa.  I never made it to a spa treatment, but I did try out the beautiful pool and took note of the well-maintained exercise room, which, of course, I didn’t use.

We were assigned room 333, which was a standard room on the “garden” wings.  The garden wings are relatively newly built wings to the original hotel, which originally consisted of four Victorian era townhouses.  While the newer rooms lack the character of the original rooms, they are still extremely well appointed and comfortable and even come with free chocolate and water.  Below are some pictures.

They gave us free Fuji water, which we never got around to drinking, and three chocolate bars, which we brought home with us.  Chocolate is definitely a plus.

The bed.  Not sure what that stripe down the picture is.  Maybe my iPhone malfunctioned.

A tray of amenities.  If you need dry cleaning or laundry done, they have you covered.  

A huge marble bathroom with a nice shower and tub.  It also had a scale in it, which I carefully avoided.  The shower was nice, although I preferred the one at Wald Hotel in Stuttgart!

Water by Oscar Wilde!  He’s everywhere in Dublin!

 

Our room also had a French balcony, free Internet, a mini bar, and a TV with lots of channels on it.  Every night, a housekeeper brought us ice and kept us stocked with water.  We only got turn down service on the night of Paul Simon’s concert because the other nights, we were already in for the evening when it was time for turn down service.

We were pretty tired on our first night in Dublin, so we decided to eat at the hotel.  They have a pub in the basement called The Cellar Bar (which I had originally misunderstood as “Salad Bar”).  It’s a really cool place, with lots of brick rooms.  Thursday nights, they have live entertainment.  Although we didn’t see the musicians who played for a short while, we did hear them.  It was a nice treat and, unfortunately, the closest I got to live pub music during our visit.  Maybe next time we’ll have better luck and want to stay up later.

Bill peruses the menu.

He had an open faced steak sandwich with mild cheese.

I went with half a chicken smothered with barbecue sauce.  This was a real treat!  While we certainly get chicken in Germany, it’s not usually prepared in this style.  It came with a salad.

A Hop House Lager, made by Guinness.

 

Service at The Cellar Bar was cordial and professional and the food was very good.  I would have liked to have gone there a second time, but we didn’t get the chance.  However, we did have three breakfasts in The Garden Room, which is one of the hotel’s restaurants.  Breakfast is 24 euros if you just want the continental stuff and 29 euros if you opt for a cooked to order breakfast.  If you want steak and eggs, it’s another fourteen euros.  I was a little tempted by steak and eggs, but that seemed too extreme.

On our first morning, we had a nice view of the courtyard garden.

And here’s a view of the continental island, which has the usual fruits, cheeses, breads, juices, and pastries.

Bill had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

I went with Eggs Benedict.

The garden is very pretty.

It even has a fountain!

When the maid is cleaning your room, they hang these handy signs.

I liked the uniforms the staff in the Garden Room wore.  They had very nice tailored slacks and vests that appeared to be good quality.  Actually, everyone in the hotel wears very nice uniforms and they vary depending on what part of the hotel the person is working in.  We noticed at least one American working in the Garden Room. She was the chattiest of all the wait staff.  I think I overheard her saying that she was in studying in Dublin.  As a former English major, I couldn’t help but note that Ireland is kind of a paradise for former English majors…  or even well read geeks like my husband.

After breakfast, we learned more about Dublin’s rich musical and literary history.  More on that in my next post!
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Fancy in Annecy… Our first look at Hotel Les Grillons, a hotel where food is the star attraction! part three

A staffer at Hotel Les Grillons met us at the door as we approached with some of our luggage.  An adorably pregnant young woman sat behind the reception desk and greeted us in perfect British English.  Actually, at first, I thought she sounded more like an Aussie than a Brit.  However, I soon realized that her French was just as perfect as her English was.  I don’t know if she was a product of parents from two countries or just had unusually good language training.  In any case, I got the sense that this was her hotel.  She handed us the key to room 25, which was on the third floor and had a nice view of the mountains and the lake.

By the front door…

 

The lovely young woman, whom I am going to assume was Aurelie Blanchin, advised us that the pool was unheated but available, as was the heated outdoor jacuzzi.  We booked the “half-board” option, which meant dinner was included in our rate.  The chef, Sébastien, makes a four course meal each night.  If there’s something on it you don’t like or can’t eat, you can let them know before 5:00pm and they will make substitutions.  I was delighted with the three dinners we had at the hotel.  We opted to go a more casual route last night.  More on that in a future post.

This was our humongous bed.  I was glad I brought an extra pillow, as I usually do here in Europe.  Bill wished he’d brought his, too.  This bed had a light duvet, one regular sized pillow, and one throw pillow.  Naturally, there is no air conditioning, but the window can be opened for a nice lake breeze.  There are also bugs, but they didn’t bother us too much.  The mattress was a little firm for me, but I’m used to sleeping on a feather bed.  I got used to it the firmer mattress after the first night.

These were our first views from our window.  They got better the next day, when the sun came out.

The bathroom, with nice herbal scented, wall-mounted toiletries.  I’m not a fan of those divider thingies, because they never keep the water off the floor.  Such was the case here, too, although the shower got great pressure.

Separate WC.

Large wardrobe with a safe.

 

Hotel Les Grillons has rooms that face the back of the hotel, as well as a few rooms on the second floor that have small balconies.  I happened to get the last room available for Saturday night– I think a large British tour group came through– otherwise, the other nights, the hotel was reasonably full, but not packed.

Every morning, the menu is placed in a framed easel in the lobby.  The above was what we were offered on our first night.  Drinks are not included in the half board rate, but they will give you a pitcher of tap water.  Not that we stuck with tap water, mind you.

Actually, we had a couple of big, French beers…

Bill soaks in the atmosphere as I watched the fish in the big aquarium next to where I was sitting.  My husband has come to love France.  Dinner service begins at 7:30pm and guests are invited to sit where they’d like between 7:30 and 8:30.

Bill chose a nice local red to go with dinner.  The wines were very reasonably priced.  In fact, I think they were a better deal than the beers.

First course… A carrot mousse, with fresh salad greens.  Every dinner also included a basket of fresh bread.

I made sure to get this wine on film so I can look for it locally.  It was a very pleasant, dry red that tasted of currants.

Next came perfectly cooked duck breast with cabbage, pears, and polenta…

Bill had a cheese course, which included a couple of local cheeses.  One was from a fromagerie just down the road from the hotel.  We passed it on our unplanned alternate route to the lake.

I had dessert, which Bill skipped.  It was a very light vanilla mousse with pineapple, whipped cream, and a fresh strawberry.

Once dinner was over, we were more than ready to call it a day.  And both of us were raving about how good the food and the service were.  It seemed odd not to tip anyone, but there’s really no way we could have.

Incidentally, during our first two nights, there was a family with two young children sitting near us.  The kids were well accommodated.  They even had a menu for them.

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Last minute getaway to Ulm: Part three

As most regular readers know, I am a sucker when it comes to beer and wine.  I enjoy a good fest.  It was just turning 11:00am as we were deciding what we wanted to do next.  As we were at the right place at the right time, I told Bill we needed to stop and have some wine.  Fortunately, Bill loves wine as much as I do.

This is pretty cool, isn’t it?  I saw a couple of these at the small wine fest near the cathedral.

Look at all those empty tables!  It looked like several restaurants/wineries were catering this event.  There were several different areas and the menus were different.  I saw Spanish tapas, pizzas, bruschettas, and flammkuchen being offered.

Bill takes a look at one of the menus and all of the available wines.

We finally sat down at a place that had Spanish and Italian wines and foods.

We were among their first customers of the day.  Bill ordered us two different whites.  The one I had was called Larrua.  

 

The pretty waitress who looked after us was utterly charmed by Zane and Arran.  She came over and loved all over them.  They ate up the attention and only indulged in a couple of outbursts during our time at the fest.  I told Bill that even though we weren’t really hungry after our lumberjack truck stop breakfast, it might be a good time to eat.  The fest was not very busy while we were there, so I figured we’d have an easier time eating then.

At one point, Zane jumped up on the bench with me.  Poor guy never learned his manners!

Bill and I split this Hawaiian pizza.  It was pretty good and the ham was useful for bribing the dogs.

The wine made our dogs’ occasional barking sessions more tolerable.  At one point, some folks were laughing at us!  It was pretty funny.

 

In all, Bill and I shared five glasses of wine.  I had a Riesling and a Montepulciano and Bill enjoyed a Temperanillo from a cask with the pizza.  When we settled up with the waitress, Bill apologized for the dogs’ occasional outbursts.  She laughed and asked us in German what kinds of dogs they are.  We explained that they are hunting dogs who chase small game.  I tried to say “squirrel” in German, but failed.  I have heard it said that Germans have a hard time saying squirrel.  The waitress figured out what I meant when I mimicked one.  We left the fest feeling decidedly mellow.

Funny video about Germans and the word “squirrel”…  Frankly, I think Americans would have a much harder time with EICHHÖRNCHEN…

Russian Orthodox church near the cathedral…

Handy facilities after time spent at a wine fest.

This fountain in front of the church was also useful for watering the dogs.

I sent Bill into the Ochsen Shop for some beer.  I thought he’d get some of the other gourmet goodies in there, but he disappointed me.  Maybe next time, I’ll do the shopping.

Ah… Vom Fass!  Another cool German chain for all those who love their spirits.  Bill went in there and got a bottle of Bordeaux and some rum from Belize.

 

The weather started to turn right around the time Bill was coming out of the Ochsen shop.  We thought about hitting the trails with the dogs, but decided we’d rather not get caught in the rain.  So we headed back to the garage where our car was parked.

As we passed this bakery, I had to get a couple of photos of wedding cakes.

We got back to the hotel at about 2:30 or 3:00 after stopping at Kaufland for some snacks and wine.  I think we only meant to stop at the hotel for a brief time, but I suddenly felt really tired.  I didn’t sleep well at all the first night.  I laid down on the bed.  The dogs jumped up and joined me.  Then, I fell fast asleep for the next three hours… awakened again only by the damn church bells going off at 6:00!

We decided to stay in and watch TV.  Recognize this man on the TV?  It’s Bob Ross, the PBS painting guy.  He’s been dead since 1995, but they still show his painting series.  This was in English and kind of fun to watch.

 

We spent last night drinking wine, eating snacks, and eventually watching Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman dubbed in German.  Watching that movie, which was released when I was in college, made me feel all kinds of ancient.  Still, it was kind of nice to watch TV for a change.  I found that I understood a lot of the movie.  I had seen it before, but it had been years.

I slept somewhat better this morning, but it still wasn’t the greatest sleep I’ve ever had.  Bill and I decided to skip the hotel breakfast and head home, where we knew we had great coffee waiting for us.  The bonus to getting on the road at about 7:00am was that the autobahn was fairly empty and we had a stress free drive.  Bill cooked breakfast and we enjoyed some delicious, fresh Kenyan coffee.

If we do ever go back to the Ulm area, I will choose a different hotel, although the Lobinger Weisses Ross was a pretty good value.  We spent 232 euros.  Thirty-two euros went for the bottle of wine Bill bought.  The rest was for the room and the very reasonable pet fee.  I think if it had just been Bill and me, we would have liked the hotel fine.  With our dogs, it just wasn’t all that suitable.  The room and the bed were just a little too small.  Also, the WiFi situation was a bummer.  On the other hand, I would recommend that hotel for people who have young kids or folks on a budget.

I do hope we can go back to Ulm and the surrounding area for another look.  There’s a lot there we didn’t get to see and Ulm alone is a very charming city.  It’s definitely a good bet for those who are looking for great shopping and restaurants.

Hopefully our next short break will be in France, now that Bill has his passport.  It figures that they had it ready on Friday and we could have gone to France after all.  Oh well!

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Last minute getaway to Ulm: Part one

A few days ago, I was feeling really stir crazy in our little village.  I really wanted a change of scenery.  Bill is going on a business trip next weekend, so I knew that if I wanted to go somewhere, we probably needed to do it this weekend.  Bill was game when I mentioned the idea of taking another quick trip with our dogs, Zane and Arran.

Originally, I was planning a weekend in Strasbourg, France.  Bill and I have been there before, but it was several years ago and only for a quick walk around the downtown and lunch.  Now that we live so close to Strasbourg again, I thought it was time we went and spent a night or two.  But then Bill told me that he didn’t have his passport because he was getting a visa for his trip next week.  So I turned my attention to Germany and started looking for places we could visit that wouldn’t require a lot of time on the road.  I finally settled on Ulm.

A friend of mine who just left Stuttgart was in Ulm a few weeks ago.  She posted some photos on Facebook that made it look like a beautiful place.  Ulm is also not very far from Stuttgart, yet it offers a different vibe.  It’s one of those cities Bill and I have passed many times but never managed to stop in for a visit.

I wanted to find us a hotel that was pet friendly and offered parking.  It didn’t have to be free parking;  I just wanted a place where we would be close to our lodging.  I booked us at the Lobinger Weisses Ross, a hotel in a suburb of Ulm called Langenau.  It offered free parking, free breakfast, free Internet, and was very pet friendly.  It got good reviews on Trip Advisor, too.  Friday evening, after Bill got home from work, we set off for Langenau and our getaway near Ulm.

Traffic on A8 headed toward Ulm was light.  Headed toward Stuttgart, things were a lot busier!

 

We got to Langenau at about 7:30pm.  Parked in front of the hotel was a large tourbus.  I also saw many SUVs.  This Weisses Ross hotel is popular because it’s not far from Legoland.  Indeed, there were a lot of people booked at the hotel and many folks had their kids.  I happened to catch a glimpse of the playroom the hotel has for little ones.  It was very impressive.

Bill checked us in to the hotel and we headed up to our room, 350.  The hotel is pretty huge and initially, I went the wrong way.  The guy who checked us in had to redirect us.  He did not speak English, but it was no big deal since Bill can speak some German.

We got to our room, which was right next to the elevator.  It was tiny with a bed that I think was probably just a full.  I eyed it warily, knowing that it was going to be a tight squeeze.  The bathroom, by comparison, was kind of big.  It had a small shower that got good water pressure.  We had a rather unimpressive view of the church next door and the rooftops of adjoining buildings.  There was a small refrigerator that was so well hidden that I would have missed it if Bill hadn’t pointed it out.  There was also a pretty good flatscreen TV.

Little bed.

Little shower, but it got good pressure.

 

Our view.

 

Bill and I were hungry, so we decided to search for some dinner.  On the way out of the hotel, the dogs caught sight of a huge Irish Wolfhound who was parked under a table in the hotel’s restaurant.  They both went nuts.  I endured the shame of their superloud barking as they pulled me out of the lobby to the outside.  We walked the dogs around town to give them a chance to burn off a little steam and calm down enough so we could have some dinner.

Finally, we sat down at the Italia Restaurant, which was located right next to the hotel.  At first, things were okay.  The dogs sat down and relaxed.  We ordered some wine and water.  I decided on grilled salmon and potatoes for dinner, while Bill ordered a veal dish.

High hopes for a peaceful dinner!

The dogs tried to relax…

I think the tables and chairs were in what serves as the restaurant’s parking lot during the colder months.

Bill tries the house red, while I enjoy a white…

 

For some reason, service was pretty slow at the restaurant.  It took a very long time for us to get our food.  Although we tried to relax and enjoy the pleasant summer evening, we were constantly on edge, worried about Zane and Arran making a scene.  They were doing pretty well until a scraggly looking stranger with extreme body odor and lots of Jack Wolfskin camping gear sat down at a table next to us.

My dog, Zane, is everybody’s friend and paid the hairy man no mind.  Arran, on the other hand, took an immediate disliking to the stranger and started barking furiously at the guy.  I have to admit, I kind of couldn’t blame Arran.  The guy seemed kind of shifty.  He spoke Italian to the wait staff, although he appeared to be German.  He kept trying to pet Zane and was making faces at the kids sitting behind Bill.

My grilled salmon was pretty good, even though it took awhile to get to me.

Bill was a lot less satisfied with his veal, which he said was full of gristle.  Veal is one of those foods I don’t eat, so I didn’t try it myself.

 

Once we were finished with dinner, we had to wait a long time for the check.  I was getting agitated because of our aromatic neighbor, who kept trying to disturb the dogs rather than just petting them once and leaving them alone.  He was giving both Bill and me the creeps; he seemed like the kind of guy who might be up to no good.  The wicker chairs had also left painful imprints on the backs of my thighs.  I should have worn pants!

Although we’d had a fairly short and uneventful drive to Langenau, I really just wanted to pay the bill, take a shower, and go to sleep.  Finally, once we were presented with the check, Bill paid and we walked back to the hotel.  Things were still in full swing there, with lots of people eating dinner outside.  In fact, the hotel was pretty packed with what looked like a fairly geriatric crowd.  Maybe we should have tried to eat dinner at the hotel, although the dogs might have made things interesting.  We did manage to get them back to the room without them making a huge ruckus.

Bill picked up a nice Spanish red at the hotel.  Priced at 32 euros, this was probably not a bargain.  However, Bill did say that the hotel had a pretty good wine list.

 

The room was a little stuffy, so Bill used the small fan that was in the schrank.  Had it been hot outside, we could have rented a portable air conditioner from the hotel.  I thought that was pretty novel.  I’ve never seen a hotel that rented air conditioners.

Sadly, I never did get the WiFi to work.  I ended up having to use my cell phone the whole time we were in Langenau.  Bill said the WiFi did come on sporadically.  They gave us a code to use, but it turned out it wasn’t required for getting the signal unrestricted.  Bill managed to use it in the wee hours of the morning, but I had no luck at all.

We all finally crowded into the full sized bed.  I slept fairly poorly because I had to contort my body around Zane and Arran.  Then, bright and early at 6:00am, the church bells started ringing and sent a surge of adrenaline through my body.

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Staycationing at the Waldhotel in Stuttgart…

Since Bill and I have lived in the Stuttgart area twice, I never thought I’d get the chance to try a hotel in Stuttgart proper.  Then we got the chance to see Van Morrison in concert.  Having attended a couple of concerts in Stuttgart, I realized that if we tried to drive to and from Stuttgart, it could make for a long day.  Since we’re not as broke as we used to be and I had sprung for “business class” seats at last night’s concert, I convinced Bill that we needed a short “staycation”.  Since I like to do things as first class as possible, I booked us a superior room at Stuttgart’s Waldhotel.

The Waldhotel is very well regarded on TripAdvisor and is located in Degerloch, a rather leafy part of the city near the TV tower and a large sports complex.  I also noticed that Waldhotel was very convenient to the U-Bahn, had parking, air conditioning, and located near several restaurants.  It ticked all of the boxes, except for maybe the fact that it lacks a pool and a hot tub.

We arrived at the hotel at about 6:30pm.  I was a little stressed because I’d been worrying all day about my dog, Zane, who just had a lump aspirated.  I knew we would be getting the results of the needle biopsy on Tuesday.  Fortunately, the lump turned out to be a harmless lipoma.  Aside from being really happy that Zane doesn’t have a cancerous lump (that I know of, anyway), we also battled traffic while hangry and Bill was stressing needlessly about our dinner reservations at Ampulle.  So maybe we were a little edgy when we got to the hotel.  Fortunately, the kind, professional, English speaking receptionist had our room all ready for us.

First impressions.

 

I’m not usually one to spend a lot of money on hotel rooms.  I mean, I’ll spend more if I think the upgrade is worthwhile.  A lot of times, the higher priced room just means more square footage or a better view.  I decided to splurge at the Waldhotel because the superior rooms have either balconies or terraces and are facing the woods.  I don’t remember there being a huge price difference.  And, it could be that the less expensive rooms were booked, but since I booked in June, I don’t remember.

Our room was outfitted with a very comfortable bed complete with little Ritter Sports at the foot.  The linens and duvet were excellent was just right.  I slept a lot during our staycation.  The bathroom was enclosed with frosted glass, which I didn’t like so much because when Bill got up to shower, the light woke me up.  But the bathroom did have a fabulous rainfall shower head and excellent toiletries.

The TV welcomed us.  Our room had a complimentary “minibar”, which really just consisted of water and apple juice.  Bill drank the apple juice and said it was delicious.  The TV offered several news channels in English, at least one French channel, and of course, the usual German programming.  I watched a German show about Polizei yesterday.  It was surprisingly entertaining despite my tenuous grasp on the German language.

 

Breakfast was not included in the rate I booked, but we went ahead and had breakfast both mornings. It was 21 euros a person, which is admittedly expensive.  However, I can’t deny that the buffet offered plenty– there were scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, beans, and mushrooms (yecch).  There were cereals, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, yogurts, and plenty of drinks.  The wait staff was attentive, friendly, and professional.  Yes, it was pricey, but what the hell…  The hotel also has a bar that is open from 5:00pm until 1:00am.  The restaurant, which requires reservations, is very fancy.  We didn’t try it, but maybe we will on a future visit.  I am convinced that booking a hotel for concert nights in Stuttgart is a good idea.

The view from our terrace.  It was outfitted with a table and chairs, as well as an ashtray.  

Waldhotel has bikes for rent, as well as a fitness room and sauna (which I didn’t investigate).

The front of the hotel.  

 

Waldhotel has a couple of outdoor parking areas.  It also has a garage.  It costs 12 euros a day to park in the garage, but we lucked into an outdoor spot.  Bill took the train to work yesterday, which was super easy from the Waldau-GAZi Station.

Normally, when I accompany Bill on trips where he’s working, I’m hard pressed to find things to do.  I didn’t have that problem at the Waldhotel.  Yesterday, I took a walk and ended up at Stuttgart’s TV tower, which is located just down the street from the hotel.  For seven euros, I rode an elevator for 36 seconds to some of the best views in Stuttgart.  It was cloudy yesterday and actually pretty damn cold at the top of the tower.  There was also rain up there that wasn’t on the ground.  I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and got a bit chilly, but I did manage to get some good photos.  The TV tower offers discounts for kids as well as seasonal tickets.  It’s well worth a look if you’re in the neighborhood.

The TV tower has a little cafe in it that serves drinks and snacks during the day and offers cocktails at night.  There’s also a bathroom up there.  I thought about having some coffee, but it was close to lunchtime, so I decided not to.  As for lunch, I ended up at Luftbad Restaurant Der Grieche im Grünen.  I ate dorade with vegetables and potatoes, drank a glass of wine, and had a hefeweizen for dessert.  I did take pictures of my lunch, but accidentally deleted them.  Oops.  I’ll just say that the food and service were fine.  Other dining options in the area include an Italian restaurant, a Swabian restaurant that was having a ruhetag yesterday, but was putting off lovely aromas on Tuesday night, an Imbiss near the TV tower, and the TV tower’s own restaurant, Leonhardts.  I thought about trying Leonhardts, but was scared away by the reviews.

I went back to the hotel after lunch and ended up taking a really long, wonderful nap– probably about two solid hours.   Had I wanted to, I could have enjoyed a hike through the many walking trails around the Waldhotel.  I’m glad I got a chance to catch up on my sleep, though.  I was well prepared for Lizz Wright and Van Morrison.  I will be writing about their performances in my next post.  Stay tuned for that.

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