Tag Archives: markets

Uncategorized

Fancy in Annecy… Our first visit to the “big city”… part four

Friday morning, we woke up to a few clouds and a nice buffet breakfast.  Breakfast at Hotel Les Grillons runs from 8:00am until 10:00am.  Make a note of that time if you decide to book there.  Bill didn’t.  More on that later.  Friday morning, we were perfectly contented to sleep in a little.

Friday night’s dinner menu.

 

Friday morning’s buffet breakfast.  It was the same each day.

The buffet breakfast offers ham, cheese, a variety of breads for toast or just jam and butter.  There’s fresh fruit, fresh pancakes, and yogurt…  and there’s also an egg boiler.  I mention this, because I’ve only ever seen these things in France.  In the fall of 2014, right around the time Bill and I moved back to Germany, we visited Colmar, France.  We stayed in a nice, family run hotel in a suburb called Bischwihr.  That hotel also boasted a wonderful restaurant and an included breakfast.

Somehow during that October 2014 visit, I didn’t realize that the eggs sitting in front of the boiling water were for people to boil to their hearts’ content.  I took an egg and found it raw.

Hotel Les Grillons had a similar set up.  They had thoughtfully provided a timetable for cooking the eggs as well as actual egg timers.  Bill decided to cook a couple of eggs.  However, he failed to realize the water wasn’t boiling.  I think he thought the longer times suggested by the sign in front of the machine meant that the eggs were intended to cook at a lower temperature.  Leave it to my husband to think of sous vide cooking when he’s boiling eggs.  He brought the eggs to the table and, sure enough, they were almost raw.  Another guest, similarly burned by the non boiling water, thought to turn up the heat.  The next day, Bill managed to cook a perfect egg for me… and a less perfect one for him, since he doesn’t like them soft.

We headed into Annecy and parked by the port, where a bunch of boats were waiting for eager tourists to take on a lake tour.  I was really tempted to go on a tour.  I was especially tempted by the big Bateaux ship that does lunch and dinner cruises…  We did one in London and had a decent time.  On the other hand, I remembered that those ships kind of force you to be a captive audience and the food quality can be really good or very poor.  Also, there is a lot of nickel and diming, which I hate.  So I told Bill I’d rather walk around the city.

I managed to get some nice shots of Annecy in action…

I was excited to see a number of signs in English.

The water in Lake Annecy is said to be extremely clean, even if I did see some signs of obvious pollution.

If you want to tour the lake by boat, you have plenty of options… and not just in Annecy.

We visited Annecy on Friday and Sunday; both days they had a big market.

They also had paddle boats.  The guys running the boats were very enthusiastic, although the clouds made me less enthusiastic.  There’s also a beach area not far from the boats where one can swim, lie in the sun, or wade.

I loved the canopy of trees.

This is the big lunch/dinner cruise ship.  We thought about doing it for lunch yesterday, but they were fully booked.

This is the area where most tourists were congregating.

The Bastille…  which I learned means jail.  There’s a restaurant named La Bastille located nearby that gets horrible reviews.

If you like good food…

Stroll through here…  if you can.

It was very obnoxious yesterday.  I’m glad I got pictures on Friday, when it was less congested.

I wished I could buy some stuff.  

Huge meringues!

After we passed through the throng of people shopping for food, we wandered the city some more.  A couple of women approached us and tried to speak to us, but seemed scared off when we told them we don’t speak French.  We happened to notice the Jehovah’s Witnesses had set up a rather prominent display near the boats.  I wondered if they were with them.  The two women didn’t seem to be friends.  We often get stopped by people, though.  I guess we look friendly.

Canals in Annecy.

And flowers…

A pig, that people obviously tried to sit on at one time.

A sax player.

And a CBD oil/telecom store.  Guess they were branching out.

Obligatory church pictures.

At around this point, it was definitely time for lunch.

I was tempted by this ice cream stand…

Instead, we stopped at Milton Pub, which was like an oasis of peace.  They were playing really good music and offered some excellent beers.  I see they only get three stars on Trip Advisor.  What a shame.  We enjoyed our visit.

I had a very large Kwak.

Bill had charcuterie.

I had fish and chips.

And another beer…  at one point, they played music from Bizet’s Carmen and the waitresses laughed because I was dancing to it in my seat.  What can I say?  I am a frustrated musician at heart.

Nice terrace area, but not when the market is going.

One of Bill’s buddies asked for wine.  We went shopping.

No touchy!

I’m not sure what this was about. 

We stopped in for more bottles of wine to bring home.

Then we ran across this harpist, who was entertaining these kids.  

She was very kindly letting them look at her instrument.  I got Bill to buy one of her CDs.  It turns out her name is Jessica Browning and she’s from… Memphis.  😀  Bill’s dad lives near Memphis.  And she has a Web site, too.  I love to buy music from buskers.

I enjoyed a gelato and watched the water while Bill chatted with her.

And this guy, too.

Dramatic skies on the way back to the hotel.

This was the last of the clouds during our visit!

Standard
Baden-Württemberg, German lifestyle, Ludwigsburg

Lunch at Towers Irish Pub in Ludwigsburg…

This morning, Bill and I braved the rain to go to Ludwigsburg to pick up some wine we ordered from Le Clos du Breil.  We became familiar with this small, family owned vintner when we lived in Germany the first time.  We happened to run into them at the Tuebingen Saturday market.  At that time, no one in the family seemed to speak much English.  When Bill tried to speak German with them, one of them held up a French/German dictionary!

Anyway, we became fans of their wines and used to order them in bulk all the time when we lived here from 2007-09.  When we were back in the States, I used to get emails from them and wish I could pick up another case.  A few weeks ago, I got an email from them out of the blue, passed it on to Bill, and he ordered twelve bottles.  We had to search a bit to find them today, but once Bill did, the guy recognized him immediately, even though it had been seven years since our last order.

Gray skies in Ludwigsburg… as usual.

Bill pays for our vino.  I thought it was pretty cool that the wine guy remembered us.  Bill didn’t even have to pull out his order form or tell them who we were.  He addressed Bill by name.

The vintner told us that there’s a French doctor who lives in the area and brings cheese whenever Le Clos du Breil comes to town.  He brings an entourage with him and they have a tasting.  That was going on when Bill showed up to pick up our wine.

We picked up our wine with an extra two gratis, bought a couple of Italian reds from another vendor, and decided it was time for lunch.  Today, we tried a place we’ve never been to before, Towers Irish Pub.  Tucked into a corner in Ludwigsburg’s big market square, the pub has a pleasant outdoor area where people can sit if they want to.  Bill and I decided to go inside because it looked like it was going to start raining any second.  I’m glad we went inside because the pub is actually really nice.  It turns out all of the beautiful oak woodwork in the pub came from churches in England.

An accordion player was performing some impressive classical pieces nearby.

 

A pleasant woman was behind the bar.  She must have spoken English fluently, because I noticed a Help Wanted sign asking for fluent English speakers.  But she only spoke German to us until it was time to pay the bill.

Funny sign.

I took an opportunity to steal a few photos while no one was in the bar.  A few folks were sitting outside despite the clouds and stiff breeze.  

The pub is full of impressive woodwork and carving, as well as some cool art.

I catch Bill looking like he’s plotting trouble.

We had a round of Guinness.

 

The menu at Towers is pretty much straightforward bar food.  They have nachos, mozzarella sticks, spare ribs, burgers, wraps, chili, and fish and chips.  There are a number of Irish and German beers, cocktails, and some interesting shooters on the menu.  They also have plenty of non-alcoholic drinks.  Irish music is piped in to the dining room, but we could barely hear it.  Too bad.

I decided to try the fish and chips, which came with a big tub of tartar sauce.  The fish and chips were excellent.  The batter was not too heavy or greasy.

Bill had a cheeseburger.  It wasn’t bad, though I have definitely had better.  It came with a “hamburger sauce”, which was probably akin to Thousand Island dressing.  Bill liked his burger, but I’m glad I had the fish and chips.

A photo of the front.  Funny how such an unassuming looking facade can hide such a delightfully ornate inside.  I think this pub is worth a visit if only for the beautiful English carved wood.

 

With the tip, I think we paid about thirty euros for lunch.  A children’s menu is available. We will definitely go back again.   It’s always a pleasure to visit Ludwigsburg.

Our haul from France!

Standard
Uncategorized

Visiting the Naturparkmarkt in Nagold…

A couple of weeks ago, someone in the local Facebook group posted about the Naturparkmarkt, a market that has been going to different towns in the Black Forest region.  A couple of weeks ago, it was in a town about 20 kilometers from Jettingen.  I was tempted to go, but it was raining that day.  Then I noticed that on June 19th, the market would be coming to Nagold, a cute little town about four kilometers from Jettingen.  Bill and I made plans to go and just got home from the small but mighty market.  Despite some clouds, we spent some euros and brought home quite a haul of fresh food and cosmetics made from honey.

The lovely thing about Nagold on Sundays is that parking is free.

I love going to markets.  They’re always very festive and the food is so fresh and colorful.  Today’s market was pretty small and there weren’t very many people there, which kind of made it better.  Many of the vendors were allowing people to taste their products before purchasing.  Bill and I ended up with mustards, jams, bread, sausages, wine, strawberries, cherries, and cheeses.  Feast your eyes!

Our first stop was at a little stand where a dirndl clad lady was selling cheeses, sausages, and many interesting mustards.  We ended up buying five exotic flavored mustards featuring everything from dill to whiskey.  Here’s an obligatory shot of Bill helping himself.

It wasn’t very crowded…

Another stand featured some delicious jams, jellies, and marmalades.

A tour is going on at 3:00pm.

 

We ended up going to the river, where a band from a music school was playing.  It sounded like they were playing “Superstar” from Jesus Christ Superstar.  Just as we approached, they broke for lunch.  Too bad.

Nagold is such a cute town.  There are flowers everywhere, as well as many entertaining water fowl.

The band.

Cute little kiosks selling lunch.

 

After we strolled back across the bridge to the market, we stopped at a stand where a very friendly guy was selling products made from honey.  He didn’t realize we were English speakers and was rattling off all sorts of information about the lotions, salves, and creams he was selling.  When Bill explained that we only speak a little German, he called his wife over.  But then she and another guy at the next stand said we didn’t need translation!  They were really interested in knowing what we were doing in Nagold.   I still don’t speak a lot of German, but I am finding that I understand a lot more than I used to.  Bill is fairly conversant.

The honey guy.

I got a kick out of the Queen Elizabeth and Albert Einstein waving dolls.  They reminded of me of my Margaret Thatcher nutcracker.  😉

This stand selling sausages was extremely popular.  I didn’t have to pressure Bill too hard to pick up some deer and wild pork sausages.

 

One very kind lady was selling wines.  We stopped to talk to her and tried three of the several wines she offered.  She told us if we liked her wines, we could just send her an email and she’d bring us orders when she visits her mother in Nagold.  I love that about living here.  You can strike up a conversation with local farmers or vendors and they can hook you up with some great locally made products.

Just last week I got an email from a small vintner in France.  Last time we lived in Germany, we happened to purchase some wine from them at a market in Tuebingen.  We got on their mailing list and used to buy wine from them at the Ludwigsburg market.  For the next five years, while we were back in the States, I’d get emails from them telling us where they were selling their wines.  I’d sigh wistfully and miss being in Germany.  The emails eventually ceased until I got one out of the blue last week.  We’re picking up an order in Ludwigsburg during the first weekend in July.

It’s a pleasure to live near so many cute towns.  If you like farm fresh products, I recommend looking out for the Naturparkmarkt.  The one in Nagold ends at 5:00 today, but there will be other markets in towns around the Black Forest all summer.

Standard
Baden-Württemberg

Food extravaganza in Nagold!

As I woke up this morning, I said to Bill, “You know, I think we should go to the market in Nagold this morning.”

“Do you think they’re still going now?” he asked.

“Yeah.  Why not?”  I responded.

Bill was game, so we went this morning and were rewarded with a large haul of delicious fresh food. Have a look!

The tower at 9:00am…

We were immediately attracted to the first fruit and vegetable stand we encountered.  Bill got us some strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  He didn’t see the blackberries until he’d already paid.  Bill loves blackberries.  I could take ’em or leave ’em.

Pretty flowers.  I amused myself by watching the fountain.  For once, no kids were playing in it.

Plums!  I love how beautiful everything looks.

Bill checks out the beans.  I think he got some of those, along with peppers.

I had to ask what the green stuff is.  I think it’s a mix of broccoli and cauliflower.

Who could resist?  Not us.

Another shot of the fountain.

We tore ourselves away from the fruits and vegetables and made our way down the street.  I couldn’t help but notice the heavenly scent of salami.  A very well stocked metzgerei was doing a brisk business nearby.  Bill and I determined we needed to pick up some wurst, but only after we checked out the rest of the market.  
I spotted a stand where a young man was selling deer salami and sausages.  Bill loves venison products.  I don’t like deer meat, but I like to encourage Bill to treat himself.  I think the young guy was getting a kick out of us, especially when I said “You know you want to.” to Bill.  The same guy was also apparently a beekeeper, so we bought some honey as well.  The French honey we bought last year is almost done.

Next stop was the fish market… we picked up a couple of whole trouts and a salmon filet.

Bill went to town at a cheese stand, even as a rather impatient older lady kept pushing in front of him.    The lady doing the selling was laughing as Bill shuffled awkwardly to the left and ordered more cheese.  Wish we’d picked up some butter, too, not that I need to be eating it.

Pretty flowers.

We made our way back to the metzgerei with the heavenly cold cuts.  Bill bought a nice selection of three sliced meats.  Lunch should be good today.

Good stuff!

We finished with a stop at the bakery, where we got some brotchen and a few Berliners– German jelly doughnuts!  Yum!

My first Berliner.  Believe it or not, I never had one here in Germany before this morning.  I usually talk myself out of them.  It was worth the wait!

God, I love living in Germany.  We need to hit the market more often.

Standard
BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 3

All week, we’ve been enjoying breakfast in the hotel.  They have a really nice spread here; 15 euros a person for an all you can eat buffet.  That’s less than a lot of places charge, which is a good thing.  You can have scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, cold cuts, fruit, bread, cereal, yogurt, juices, smoked salmon, and roast beef.  The roast beef is a particular hit as far as I’m concerned.  I have yet to have really good roast beef in Germany, so it’s been a treat to be able to get it here.

After breakfast, Bill went to work and I went back to the room where I started blogging.  I was interrupted by the housekeeper, who wanted to service the room.  I decided to take the opportunity to walk to the Centrum, which is where all the Apeldoorn action is, right?  It’s actually kind of a long walk from the hotel and it’s a bit chilly this week.  Nevertheless, I put on my shoes and started walking, amazed by how pretty and quiet the town is.  I was almost to the Centrum when I heard someone wolf whistle softly.  It was a Dutch guy on a bike.  He actually gave me an appreciative smile as he passed.

I am turning 43 on Saturday, so being noticed was kind of flattering.  On the other hand, it’s possible that he lacked a bell and just wanted to let me know he was behind me.  I have to admit, being whistled at actually made me feel a little paranoid.  I wondered if my pants had split or something.  I did a quick check and found that they hadn’t.

There is a dog park near the hotel and a special area along the street where dogs can be walked.  I dodged a few landmines…  It’s fun to watch the dogs play in the park.

 

Awesome church on the way into town…

 

Walking around the Centrum was interesting.  A lot of stores and restaurants appeared to be closed.  I wandered into a Dutch mall, mainly because I wanted to use the restroom.  I found one and didn’t realize until I had gone that I was supposed to pay 35 cents for the privilege.  There was a plate on a table near the door.  I hope no one thinks poorly of me when I admit that I just said “fuck it” and kept going.  I don’t mind paying to use the bathroom as long as it’s attended.  No one was attending that bathroom, so what was I paying for?  The water?  The toilet paper?  Like I said… “fuck it”.

Open on Sunday!  What’s the world coming to?

 

Market shots… everything smelled good here.

 

I walked around some more, noticing a number of touristy looking bars and a few that appeared to be rather prurient in nature.  I wandered around an outdoor market that smelled of fried fish, spices, and cheese.  I saw a number of Muslim vendors selling garb to wandering women wearing headscarves.  I got bored with the scene and headed back toward the hotel.  Noticing that De Heerlijekheyt, the restaurant next door, was open for lunch, I decided to stop in and try a couple of dishes that had attracted me on Sunday night.  This time, my server was a young lady.

Delicious tomato and chorizo soup…

 

Shrimp stuffed ravioli and scallops with lobster foam.  Two glasses of white wine accompanied this meal.  I paid 30 euros plus tip.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel and changed into my swimsuit… it was a little like stuffing ten pounds into a five pound bag.  The hotel has a really nice pool and fitness area that include a sauna, steam bath, and a “solarium”, which is actually a tanning bed of some sort.  The sauna and pool are free, but you have to get tokens from the front desk for the steam room and tanning bed.  They cost four euros.  I have used the pool, which is unheated and uniformly about 4.5 feet deep.  I am guessing at the depth.  I am about 5’2″ and the water comes up to my shoulders.  I like it…

Awesome pool!

Fitness center…

This is the way to the sauna, steam room, and tanning bed…

You won’t catch me in one of these things.

I spent awhile at the pool, then got dressed and went to the bar area to wait for Bill.  I enjoyed a glass of wine and some beer.  Some of Bill’s fellow conference attendees came over to talk to me, including a general who lives in Italy.  Bill didn’t see me in the bar area as he came in.  I ended up having to send him a Facebook message to tell him where I was.

He got changed and decided he wanted to walk to the Centrum.  I wasn’t all that keen on the idea, having already done it earlier in the day.  But we set off… and went in a different direction, which led us on a very long detour that exhausted me and put me in a mean world.  That experience deserves its own post.

Standard