In part three, I tried to tell you about visiting Haguenau. Unfortunately, the software for this blog is wonky, and messes up my photos. I have to wait until I’m finished writing before I can upload them, because they slow down my typing so much. And then, if I try to upload a big batch, the whole thing turns to shit. It really irritates me, since I actually pay for WordPress. Blogger, back in the day, was a lot easier to use, even with its issues. Anyway, I’ll see what I can do with this post. I hope I don’t have to write many little sections, because people get bored and don’t always finish the series. There’s no point in writing this stuff if people don’t want to read it. So… with that written, on with part four.
Hagenau has a lot of sites for those who want to take them in. We were just there for a few hours, mainly just to get a feel for the city and have some lunch. The weather was sunny and chilly, but after so many weeks of rain and clouds, it was great to see the sun. One thing we did do, though, was visit St. George’s Church, a gorgeous and very old Roman Catholic parish church that dates from 1143. Every time I visit one of these old churches, I’m amazed by what human beings were able to do hundreds of years ago, without the benefit of modern equipment. Wikipedia tells me that St. George’s Church recalls the architecture of Hirsau Abbey a Benedictine abbey in Calw, very near our old stomping grounds in Germany.
We didn’t spend much time in the church. We were in there just long enough for Bill to light a candle for his dad, and for me to take some photos. I am grateful, though, that churches in France are open for visitors. I always think about how welcoming European churches are… Tourists are allowed to come in and look around at the beautiful stained glass windows and architecture. The same is very rarely true in the United States. I mean, I don’t recall anyone coming to the church I was raised in and wandering around like we do in Europe… except, of course, on Sundays.
We also got a look at the ancient water mill downtown, as well as the facade of the tourism office and museum, which was originally the chancellery. It has a clock that reminded Bill and me of the famous astronomical clock in Prague. The clock for the tourism office is actually a copy of the one in Ulm, which was built in 1581 by a Swiss man named Isaac Habrecht. We have been to Ulm, but it was several years ago with our dogs in tow. I’m now thinking we should visit again, sans dogs.
We stopped in Le Comptoir de Mathilde, a gourmet/chocolate shop and did some shopping for Bill’s daughter, who is intrigued by our travels. We picked up some spices and chocolate, as well as some jam and caramels for ourselves. That Slovenian jam we bought in the fall is finally running out. We took the gifts back to the super cheap parking garage.
After we walked around the town, we searched for lunch and found it Restaurant Côté Sud. I had rejected another place nearby, because it looked to be too full of people. I don’t like crowded restaurants even when there aren’t viruses around. We were lucky to find this Moroccan place, especially since it satisfied Bill’s love of exotic food, AND we were able to find something I liked, too!
After we showed the waitress our COVPass, we were allowed to unmask and enjoy the wonderful flavors of Morocco, a place I hope to visit someday. My sister, Betsy, lived there for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer back in the 80s. She probably has more of an appreciation for cous cous than I ever will, but I will admit to loving tajines. I even managed to get a short video to show everyone how hot and delicious my chicken tajine was. It came with a side of cous cous, and included potatoes, carrots, prunes, and lots of peas. It was delicious and filling, and pretty much took care of my food needs for the rest of the day.
Bill had cous cous with beef sausages. It came with a stew made with carrots, chickpeas, potatoes, zucchini, and coriander. I think Bill impressed the very friendly and exotic looking waitress when he said “yes” to harissa. I tried a little of it and it was too spicy for me. Must be all that Scottish and English ancestry I have. 😉
I could tell the chef took a lot of pride in his work. He came out to wish us “Bon Appetit”… and I also noticed that the restaurant seems to have plenty of regulars. I can see why!
After lunch, we decided to go back to the hotel, stopping in Soufflenheim on the way, to pick up some pottery for Bill’s daughter and ourselves. We don’t really have a place to put the pottery, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been shopping deprived too long. 😉 We picked up a kugelhopf mold and backoeffa dish for her, in the requested shade of yellow. I got lots of blue stuff for me. 😉
Then, after we shopped, we were a bit tired. We decided to try out the sauna and jacuzzi in our room. My parents used to have a jacuzzi, so I sort of understood how that worked, although it was still a little confusing. The jacuzzi had lights, as well as well worn controls that were hard to read. The sauna’s directions were posted in French on the back of a closet door. We managed to figure them out eventually, and it was fun to try it out in lieu of going out to dinner. Luckily, there is an Aldi nearby, where Bill scored snacks and wine, and we watched French reality TV…
