Tag Archives: inexpensive

Czechia, Eastern Europe, Slovak Republic

Our Eastern European October… part five

Onward to Stary Smokovec, Vyoske Tatry…

On the morning of October 4th, we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and I heard a friendly British guy warning the waitress that some of his buddies would soon be descending on the hotel to play golf. That told me it was a good thing we were vacating the premises. Not that we have anything against Brits or golfers. It’s just that large groups in small venues tend to take over in an obnoxious way.

Chateau Cilheny does appear to be quite popular with Germans. Many of the people staying there were from Germany. In fact, a German couple saw us drive up in our car, with its plates from Wiesbaden, and proclaimed that we’re neighbors, as they were there from nearby Mainz.

I managed to finish reading my most recent book while we stayed at Chateau Cilheny, so I decided to write a review in the hour before we departed for Stary Smokovec, in Slovakia. Then, after we loaded the Volvo and checked out, we made our way east.

Early in our Sunday morning drive…

In retrospect, it was a good thing we decided to move eastward on Sunday. The Czech Republic has a lot of roads under construction, and on weekdays, they back up a lot due to more people on the roads and workers actually working. As it was, it took us over seven hours to reach our destination. I don’t actually have a lot to write about the drive, although I did see some magnificent scenery and vibrant autumn colors.

We got on a major highway toward Prague, and then drove onward to Brno. Bill had been in Brno the week prior for a business trip, and he had lamented about the terrible traffic and roadworks being done there. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad on that Sunday.

We stopped for lunch at a very crowded and chaotic rest area that had a KFC and a McDonald’s. We opted for KFC, but Bill got himself a wrap that he said wasn’t very good. I was smart and stuck with original recipe, although KFC doesn’t taste like it did in the 70s and 80s. Especially not in Europe, where they don’t even give you biscuits!

I did get some nice pictures, though, as we drove through some very pretty country in Czechia and Slovakia.

Below are a few last images of Czechia…

And then we entered Slovakia…

The border took us through Trenčín, a city in the western part of Slovakia that I remembered from my 1997 visit. There is a large castle there, and you can see it from the road. I remembered seeing it as we passed it on the railway, too. I managed to get a few shots of the castle as we passed. If you happen to be in the area, you can visit the castle.

After awhile of driving on a pretty decent Slovakian freeway, the GPS directed us to a two lane road that was undergoing some construction. Bill got confused about a turn he was supposed to make, and continued going north. It was about twenty minutes before he realized his mistake, and the GPS put extra time on our estimated arrival.

I am not a big fan of using GPS, myself, so I got out my iPad and looked up a map of the area. I told Bill to take a different road going east, which I hope would get us back on track. Fortunately, my hunch turned out to be right. We drove through a few picturesque towns, as the sun began to set. I was astonished by how gorgeous the scenery was. The weather was beautiful, and the colors were absolutely brilliant.

The pretty views made it somewhat easier to take when we were stuck in a long queue of cars on a two lane road. It took about ten minutes to get through the jam, before we were able to make a left turn onto the road that we were originally supposed to be on, before our little detour. It was good that we hadn’t gone that way, because it was even more backed up, and from what I could tell, not nearly as beautiful as our unexpected detour had been. I kept thinking to myself that sometimes the deviations turn out to be welcome surprises for the senses.

We finally stopped for a pee break and some gas. Bill called our next host to let him know we’d be at panoraMic Mountain Residence within the hour. I chose this self catering accommodation because it got stellar reviews. I had considered booking at a hotel, and even thought maybe we’d like the nearby Kempinski, which overlooks a pristine lake. But the panoraMic Mountain Residence was a lot less expensive, and seemed to be right up our alley. It turned out to be a good choice, although we did have trouble finding it, once we got to Stary Smokovec. It was very dark on the roads, and we had no moon to help us with lighting.

Once we parked the car, feeling a bit punchy from the long drive, the host came out to show us our lodging. It was a very cozy apartment themed after the novella, “The Little Prince”, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I have never read that story, but if I’d wanted to on our trip, I could have. Our host had copies in many different languages.

Below are some photos from our lodging. It was the least expensive place we stayed on this trip. For three nights, I paid $545.

The host had this awesome masonry heater lit up for us on our arrival. We didn’t need it, though, because the temperatures were very pleasant.

Bill told our host that we were hoping to get something to eat, since we hadn’t had a chance to stop for dinner. He very kindly called up the folks at Stary Smakovic— a local restaurant– and they advised that we could come there, but we’d have to leave immediately. It was about 7:30 PM, and they closed at 9:00. The host was even kind enough to lead us to the parking area, which we’d already found as we were looking for his apartment.

Stary Smakovic offered a lot of meat dishes. They had steak, burgers, ribs, goulash, and chicken, as well as local delicacies. I suspect this restaurant is especially popular with men, given how the waitress was dressed. It did the trick for us. Bill decided to have a traditional Slovak dish made with sheep’s cheese. I went with a surprisingly tasty cheeseburger, although my chair reminded me that maybe I should have had a salad.

On our way back to the apartment, we encountered a magnificent buck with a full set of antlers. He was very close to our apartment. I hoped we’d see him again, so that I might get a photo of him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. He sure was majestic, though, and seeing him set the tone of the magical beauty in this part of Slovakia.

And now, I’ll close this post, so I can start the next one fresh, with plenty of photos of the rugged Slovakian Tatra Mountains…

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Hessen, Sundays

We finally tried Hans im Glück in Wiesbaden…

Ever since we arrived in Wiesbaden, back in late November 2018, I have been curious about a burger joint downtown. The place is called Hans im Glück, and it’s a chain restaurant. I’ve been wanting to go there for a long time, but every time I summoned the nerve to walk into the place, it’s been unappealingly busy. I was also a bit afraid that I wouldn’t like the food. I often find German style burgers lacking. People here seem to like the molded style of patty, which is perfectly round and tightly packed together, making it less juicy.

Nevertheless, it had been awhile since my last excursion, and I wanted to try a place we have never visited. I suggested to Bill that we go out for lunch, and after some thought, decided I’d finally try the burger joint that had made me curious for so long. Bill made an online reservation for 1:00 PM, and we showed up there right on the dot. We were crammed into the waiting area right next to the dining room. A party of four was just ahead of us.

As usual, the restaurant was busy, and most of the tables were occupied. We ended up at a small, somewhat cramped table right next to a window and the kitchen. Originally, I was going to sit with my back to the window, as the seats were basically backless hard benches that, in some cases, were shared with nearby parties. I shared a wide bench with another person. Our backs were toward each other. If I had been sitting where Bill sat, I would have had a bench to myself. But I decided I would rather sit with access to the aisle. I could hear music piped into the restaurant, but there was a lot of noise from talking, babies crying, and children shrieking.

A young woman asked us if we knew what we wanted to drink. Hans im Glück has a full bar and offers all sorts of drinks– everything from soft drinks to cocktails. I ended up ordering a hefeweizen beer, while Bill had a lemon thyme drink, which is house made.

Bill and I both decided to have beef burgers, which is the restaurant’s speciality. They also offer chicken burgers, salads, loaded fries, bowls, and desserts. Vegan and vegetarian sandwiches are available as well. In January, the restaurant is offering deals on vegan dishes as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

I ended up getting a bacon cheeseburger, while Bill had the Elsaesser burger, which was a burger with camembert cheese and cranberry sauce. We both got a side of fries. The waiter suggested we get the “menu” deal, which would be cheaper and give us a coffee drink at the end. We agreed to that. Then we waited. The restaurant was pretty busy. We weren’t in a hurry, so it was no big deal. As I watched other people’s burgers coming out of the kitchen, I realized that this is a place that offers those “molded burgers”. I figured I probably wouldn’t be very impressed…

Meanwhile, I took a few new selfies… I wanted a new photo that didn’t look so much like my dark haired older sister, but with blonde hair and fuller cheeks. I swear, the older I get, the more I resemble my sister, Becky, if she weren’t a really petite person.

After awhile, our burgers came out. I had ordered mine with a brioche bun. Bill got a sourdough bun. His was messy, while mine wasn’t. Both had the restaurant’s own burger sauce on it, which I couldn’t really taste. I was dismayed to see the cheese wasn’t melted on my sandwich, but the burger was hot enough that it melted enough by the time I ate it.

My bacon cheeseburger.
Bill’s Elsasser Burger.
The dining room… there was some crack available.

What can I say? The burgers were okay. They weren’t mind-blowing, but they weren’t terrible, either. I thought the service was a bit slow, even after the place cleared out, as we were finishing up. We had to wait a bit for our espressos and the check. This is even taking into account that service generally is slower in Europe than it is in the US. However, the wait staff spoke English (though they didn’t have to) and they were pleasant. The prices weren’t too exorbitant, and I liked the non-alcoholic drinks they offered.

Would I go back there? Probably not. I don’t know that I would make a special trip to go there, anyway. But I wouldn’t refuse to go back, either. It was okay. I did find the seating kind of uncomfortable, and both Bill and I bumped our heads on the low hanging light fixture over the table. The bathroom could have used some attention, too, mainly because there was no toilet paper in the stall I used. Fortunately, I had tissues in my purse.

The total bill was 41 euros, which isn’t too bad. I would probably opt for Five Guys over Hans im Glück, though. I felt like Hans im Glück could use a good cleaning. It looked a little grungy to me. Still, I can see why it’s a popular place. It’s very kid friendly, while offering libations for adults.

Anyway… now my curiosity is satisfied. It was nice to get out of the house for awhile. Next weekend, we’ll be in Switzerland, dreading Trump’s inauguration. Stay tuned for that, because we have lunch plans at one of the top fifty restaurants in the world.

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Hessen

Our first visit to L’Osteria in Wiesbaden…

Happy Presidents Day. It marks the end of our current long weekend. The sun came out briefly, prompting Bill to invite me out to lunch at L’Osteria, a pizza restaurant chain here in Germany. I’ve seen several of these outlets in our recent travels, and I guess Bill was curious about them, too. We had never been to one before today, although they seem to be everywhere we’ve been lately.

The local L’Osteria opens at 11:30 AM for lunch. The door was wide open as we approached and the outside was set up for those who preferred to eat outside. It’s February, but unusually warm– about 54 degrees or so– so eating outdoors isn’t out of the question. Especially for Germans, who are big believers in bundling up for the weather.

As I approached the door, I caught a whiff of a local sewer, which wasn’t the greatest first impression… but they can’t help it if they’re near a sewer, I guess. We walked in and were welcomed to sit anywhere we wanted. I chose a spot near the impressive bar. There were menus on the table, so I started looking. It was very quickly apparent that this chain is all about pizza, although they do offer salads, appetizers, and pasta dishes.

I like pizza, but not so much the kind one finds in Germany. For one thing, sometimes it doesn’t taste like they use mozzarella cheese. For another, they seem to make them for one person, even though they’re always way too big for one person to eat. I opted for tortellini with ham, while Bill had a pizza with prosciutto. We shared a half carafe of Montepulciano and a big bottle of San Pellegrino. More people started to come in for lunch while we waited…

Did I lie about the pizza? It’s very thin crusted, though.
The tortellini was good, and there wasn’t too much of it. I did kind of struggle to finish, but Bill ate two of them for me.

We enjoyed the wine and conversation over the food. I noticed another couple sat near us and shared one pizza, which, frankly, I’ve never seen before in a German pizza place. The barman/waiter had cut it in half and put it on separate plates. I think if I had to do it again, I would have liked to have shared a pizza with Bill. He brought half of his pizza home with him.

The food at L’Osteria was good. The restaurant’s ambiance was not too fancy, and very family friendly, with pop music playing. I noticed the Uber Eats guy came in several times while we were eating. He was doing a brisk lunch business.

I was feeling pretty good about our visit, but then I visited the ladies room… and just as I was about to relieve myself of some processed wine and water, I realized there was no toilet paper in the stall. I went to the other stall, where there was an almost empty roll. There was just enough for me and maybe one more person, if all they needed to do was pee. So, after Bill used the restroom, he asked if I was ready to go, as he’d already paid our tab. I told him we needed to let the barman know that they ladies room needed a restock of toilet paper. The guy had disappeared into the kitchen, so Bill popped his head in and informed him that the restroom needed attention.

Other than that, I enjoyed our visit to L’Osteria. I would go back, although I probably would prefer a restaurant that isn’t part of a chain. Still, it did the job of filling us up and was convenient and reasonably priced. Most everything on the menu was priced between 12 and 16 euros. And now my curiosity is satisfied. Next time, maybe I’ll brave ordering a pizza.

The restaurant, by the way, also appears dog friendly. I noticed a doggie bowl in the foyer as we were exiting.

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