Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part five

We had big plans for Saturday. As I mentioned before, Bill has an interest in the work of Carl G. Jung. His home and museum is located in Küsnacht, which is on Lake Zürich. Jung died in 1961, but his home is still in the hands of his descendants, who live there. Because of that, Carl Jung’s museum is not open every day. In fact, it’s only open on Thursdays and two Saturdays per month during the summer season. We were very fortunate that we happened to be visiting at a time when Jung’s house would be open. Bill purchased our tickets online prior to our visit, thus guaranteeing us a spot on the tour. You can buy tickets on the day of your tour, but only if space allows. The first floor of the exhibit is self-guided, but the library and Jung’s office can only be visited as part of the tour, which is about fifteen minutes long and conducted in German or English or both.

Also on the agenda was a stop at the Fraumünster church in Zürich, home of stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall, a French-Russian artist of Belarusian origin. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do like visiting European churches and admiring the architecture, windows, and pipe organs. Our friend Meg had suggested seeing Chagall’s windows, as well as a few other places that, sadly, will have to wait until the next visit!

After breakfast, we headed downtown, which was very close to the hotel, but was made more complicated by the construction zone I mentioned in part one of this series. Then, once we got to the city, we had to find parking. Unfortunately, Bill chose to park at a garage owned by an upscale department store, not realizing how very expensive it would be. A whole day’s parking at Jelmoli’s garage cost about 49 Francs! Bill was impressed when the machine spit out a paper to help him remember which level he parked on… well, there’s a price for that kind of service, isn’t there? 😉

Anyway, we were blissfully ignorant of that when we parked and set off toward the church. It was five Swiss Francs to enter the church, but it was fine to take pictures and visit the crypt museum. I liked Chagall’s windows fine, but I actually preferred the other windows, which were made by Augusto Giacometti. The crypt museum was just opened in 2016, having previously been sealed from the public. The pipe organ, which consists of 6959 pipes, is the largest in the entire canton of Zürich. The church itself dates from July 21, 853! Below are some photos from our visit to Fraumünster.

*Chagall’s famous windows… We will have to see the ones he did for St. Stephan’s Church in Mainz.*

After we left the Fraumünster, we went to the Grossmünster, which is very close by. On the way there, we ran into a wedding party… actually, there were a bunch of them on Saturday. I saw at least three brides in dresses having pictures taken and quaffing champagne. Augusto Giacometti also made windows for the Grossmünster. Below are some photos from that period between churches.

Once we were finished looking at the windows, it was just after noon. I wanted to eat lunch (and pee), mainly because I have a tendency to get “hangry” when I get hungry, and our tickets were at 2pm, which I figured would put me over the line of hostility. I suggested lunch after our church visits, but Bill looked at his watch and said he was concerned about the time. I reminded him of what I’m like when I’m hungry. Again, he said he was worried about missing our appointment at 2:00.

At that point, he wasn’t sure if we were driving or taking a boat to the museum. I told him to make up his mind. He told me it was my choice. I got pissed off and said, “You’re always trying to lead until it’s time to make a decision. Either lead, or don’t lead. This museum visit is important to YOU, and you’ve done the research, not me.”

So then we headed toward the dock… and I said, “So, hot dogs for lunch, then?”

Bill tried to deny that was what was coming… but when we got to the dock, sure enough, that was what was available. So I made him pose for a photo. The short lake cruise takes about 90 minutes to go round trip, or you can do one way trips or get off at stops. And, for the curious, yes– there are concessions on the boat, and bathrooms. I think Bill paid about 6 Francs per adult for our tickets. It’s a pretty good deal, especially for Switzerland. Below are some photos from our pathetic hot dog lunch and our cruise to Küsnacht.

I almost forgot to mention, while we were waiting for the boat to arrive, we wound up standing near a group of obnoxious young Americans. One was a guy, who looked to be about twenty or so, and there were also three or four young women, who looked to be the same age.

The guy was very obnoxiously smoking a pipe, trying to look cool and failing miserably. I wanted to grab the pipe from him, because it was bad enough we were all standing in line, waiting to board the boat in masks. He had to pollute the air with a pipe, too… and he looked really stupid in the process. And making matters worse was that they were loud, talking about their adventures in Geneva and other areas of Europe. I did agree with one of the young ladies, who said the weather was agreeable. I’m sure that wherever they came from in America, the temperatures were a hell of a lot higher. The pipe smoking guy, though… he was making my temperature rise with temper. What a clueless jackass! I was glad they didn’t follow us to Jung’s house and we didn’t bump into them again.

In part six, I’ll write about our visit to the museum. Stay tuned!

Alsace, France, wine

Strasbourg’s annual wine extravaganza! Part two

Now that I’ve described the hotel, on with the rest of the trip. I was actually kind of dreading trying to find dinner on Friday night. I used to wait tables, so I know what dining out on Valentine’s Day can be like, both for wait staff and patrons. We were unable to make dinner reservations anywhere special, so I had a feeling dinner would be spectacularly un-special. And that’s what ultimately came to pass…

But before dinner, we were keen to visit the The Historic Wine Cellar at Strasbourg Hospices. My German friend, Susanne, told me about this historic wine cave, which was created in the year 1395. The cellar was used for storing wine, but it was also used for storing other perishables like grain. Today, visitors can visit the caves free of charge and pick up a bottle or two of wine. Very old wines are stored there now, including three historic barrels dating from 1472, 1519, and 1525. The barrel from 1472 even still has 350 liters of wine from 1472 in it– the oldest in the world aged in a barrel. It’s only been served three times in five centuries:

In 1576 to Zurich, when the Swiss proved that they could come quickly to help their friends in Strasbourg.
in 1718 for the reconstruction of the main building ravaged by a fire two years prior.
in November 1944 to General Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, liberator of the city of Strasbourg.

In 1994, the wine was tested by local oenologists who determined that even though the wine is over 500 years old, it’s still wine, and in fact, has “a very beautiful bright, very amber color, a powerful nose, very fine, of a very great complexity, aromas reminiscent of “Vanilla, honey, wax, camphor, fine spices, hazelnut and fruit liquor …” I wonder how much longer they’re going to age it and what made them decide to keep that particular wine for so long!

Bill and I took a taxi to visit the museum, because Bill thought maybe we’d be tasting some wine there. Alas, wine tastings are only done for special events. However, we did enjoy some beer after our visit to the cave. Here are some photos of the museum.

We really enjoyed our visit to see the historic wines. If we had driven to the museum, we probably would have picked up a few bottles of their current wines, too. Maybe if we go back to Strasbourg, we’ll stop in again. Incidentally, the cave is closed on Sundays and public holidays. If you visit, you can either read the signs, as we did, or get a headset, which will provide more information and stories about the history of the wine cave and its relation to the historic hospital complex. It doesn’t take long to see this attraction. We were there maybe a half hour, and that was because we were reading everything, taking pictures, and going slowly. It’s still pretty cool to visit there, though.

After our visit to the museum/cave, we decided to find ourselves some beer in town. We didn’t have to walk far before we reached our first destination, a bar called La Taverne des Serruriers/ La Schloss Brasserie. More on that in the next post.

Uncategorized

Volvo, Mark Knopfler, and East German adventures… part five

Tuesday was to be our shortest day driving. We planned to drive to Gedser, Denmark, where we would pick up our second ferry. Unlike the first ferry ride, which only lasted about twenty minutes, this one would be almost two hours. It would also cost about three times as much. We left the city bright and early, at about 8:30am. I got some pictures of Copenhagen’s rush hour, which seemed to include as many bikes as cars. I thought the Dutch were bike happy. They’ve got nothing on the Danes!

I wish we’d had a day to explore Copenhagen. Maybe we’ll have another chance to do a proper visit. Last time we were in Copenhagen, it was during a cruise. I got some good photos, but no real feel for the culture.

The drive from Copenhagen to Gedser was very pretty. I was thinking I’d like to explore Denmark’s countryside more. I even noticed what appeared to be a “treewalk” in the distance as we drove on the highway. These “tree walks” are opening up all over the place and they’re really fun and cool. I see the one in Denmark doesn’t have a slide, like the one near Stuttgart has. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to stop for a visit, since we needed to catch the 11:00am ferry. It was delayed, and the next ferry, at 3:00pm, was cancelled.

Pretty Danish countryside…

Danish “tree walk”.

Pretty impressive Danish engineering.

Once you drive your car onto the ferry, you have to go to the upper decks for safety reasons. There, you can eat, surf the Internet, or hang out on the sundeck, where the wind will try to blow you off the boat. I got a few photos from the trip.

Driving up to the toll plaza.

Into the ass of the boat…

When you buy your tickets, they give you vouchers to buy duty free tobacco. Apparently, you’re supposed to smoke it all on the ferry… Good thing I don’t smoke.

We saw one guy breaking the rules, hanging out with the vehicles.

A Lamborghini was next to us.

It was hard to stay topside, due to the high winds.

But you could have a buffet lunch, schnitzel, fish & chips, or sandwiches.

I had a schnitzel, which was surprisingly good, even if it was served with cocktail sauce instead of ketchup.

We landed in Rostock in the mid afternoon. It’s a very pleasant East German city with kind of a dark past.

Part of the reason I wanted to go to Rostock is because there’s a very cool museum there. Rostock is where many East Germans who were arrested for political crimes awaited trial. There’s a prison there that was used until 1989. I read about it in a book last year and somehow learned about the prison museum in Rostock. There is also one in Berlin. I was really hoping to visit it during this trip, but they are currently doing renovations and the museum is closed until next year. Maybe we’ll get back there. I did get some pictures of the outside of the prison, which I’ll share in the next post.

“Lovely” East German architecture. It looked like it might have been refurbished.

Aside from East German horrors, Rostock is also a very charming port city with beautiful architecture, decent restaurants, and plenty of talented buskers on the streets, which are crammed with good shopping. We chose to stay at the Radisson Blu. Given another opportunity to visit Rostock, I don’t think I’d stay there again. Right from the beginning, things got off on a perilous foot when Bill missed the turn for the parking garage. He wound up driving into a “walking area”, earning a lot of dirty looks from locals, as well as the shame of embarrassment.

The hotel was undergoing some renovations during our visit, which I hope will include an updating of the rooms. Our room was very large and had a nice view, but the decor was truly nightmarish. It looked like the set designers of The Lion King threw up all over the interior, with loud colors, safari-ish accents, and stuff that was cool in the early 1990s. Service was decent at this hotel, but our room had at least one dead outlet and the bed was extremely firm and uncomfortable. Also, I’m not absolutely certain, but it’s possible that we might have picked up bedbugs there. If we didn’t get them there, there’s a chance we got them in the next hotel, which is where we actually found a bug, as well as bites on one of my legs. More on that in a future post.

Here are some pictures of the room.

Bill was excited about the trouser press in the closet.

That print on the wall gave me nightmares.

I didn’t think to take a picture of it, but our room had both a shower/tub and a stand up shower.

After we checked in, and Bill mentally recovered from the error he made in driving through the walkplatz, we took a walk around town. I got more pictures.

Cool fountain near Rostock’s University, 600 years old this year.

A university building.

This busker was playing a song for the little kid, bravely approaching him. It was super cute! The weather was cool, so people were bundled up. I wished I’d brought a jacket.

The Rathaus…

I didn’t get pictures of inside of the Marienkirche, because it appeared that they weren’t allowed. However, it really is a beautiful church and is well worth a visit. It even has an astrological clock.

The tower at the Marienkirche.

We were looking for dinner, but most places either didn’t have what we wanted or were heavily populated. So we ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, L’Osteria. It wasn’t bad, mainly because we were the only ones there until we were almost finished eating.

Bill had beef strips and shrimp with tagliatelle and spicy sauce.

I had salmon with creamy mashed potatoes and a cucumber salad with dill and a bit of vinegar. It was surprisingly good, although the salmon was just a little overcooked.

For dessert, I had an apricot tart with salted butterscotch ice cream.

Bill had affogato– espresso with vanilla ice cream.

Probably my favorite part of the meal, though, was the focaccia bread, which was served warm with olive oil and some kind of black currant vinegar. It was delicious! They only had wines by the glass. I think it was because of the renovations. The bar area was totally dismantled, so it appeared that they had diminished ability to serve drinks.

“La Fontana” is one of the restaurants we encountered before we decided to eat at the hotel. I didn’t want to go in there because the signs had typos. Here’s a PSA for all of you readers. There is no reason to use an apostrophe for simple plural words. Apostrophes are mainly used to show possession. I know it makes me sound like a freak, but I had a visceral reaction to this sign. It also sparked a very interesting Facebook thread.

Sunset… I think it was at about 10:00pm.

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!

caves, Sundays

Down in the hole… the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle

Special shout out to Dianne, who recommended today’s activity a few days ago. It’s been quite hot in the Stuttgart area lately and she recently shared a link to the local travel group about the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle, a very cool (literally) vertical cave in Laichingen, a town about an hour’s drive from the local military installations.

Bill and I decided to visit Tiefenhöhle today. From our home in Unterjettingen, it took about 90 minutes to get to the cave. Once we got there, it was about 1:30pm and there was very little parking. The place was teeming with Germans enjoying the small biergarten on site and the Kletterwald, which is a big play and picnic area, along with a ropes course. We didn’t take time to explore the Kletterwald, although it did look like the people who were using it were having a lot of fun.

I happen to love caves. When I was in high school, I took an advanced biology class that offered many amazing field trips. One of our first trips was to two wild caves in Virginia. Ever since I took that trip in 1989, I’ve enjoyed spelunking. Last year, Bill and I had a great time visiting Postonja Cave Park in Slovenia. Well, I’m here to tell you that Tiefenhöhle bears very little resemblance to Postonja, Europe’s largest show caves. This pit cave in Laichingen is much smaller and requires a lot more stamina to visit. But it was well worth the effort and the price was right, too. It was just four euros per adult to take the self guided tour. The cave is open every day from 9am until 6pm from April 15-November 15.

This was a busy place today! Parking is free, but I did notice some people weren’t very considerate about how they parked. There were several spots that were almost, but not quite, large enough to park our Mini Cooper. We ended up having to make a spot on the grass.

This building is where you buy your tickets, visit the small museum, and perhaps enjoy cake or beer after your trip through the cave.

Once you buy your ticket(s), you head down a flight of stairs where there is a small introductory exhibit. As you can see, you can press the button and hear about what you’re looking at. Bill pressed the button for English, immediately outing us as Auslanders (as if anyone had a doubt).

He was a little embarrassed by the spectacle.

I’d be interested to hear the German for kids. There are several of these stations in the cave, too.

Once you’re finished with the first exhibit, you open the door to the cave and start walking…

Seems harmless enough.

Start the very steep walk down…

My thighs got a workout…

These steps are really more like ladders. I advise wearing long pants and good shoes. The steps are often wet, cold, and can be slippery. You may also want to wear gloves because the metal railing gets icy cold. You definitely need to use the railings. This is not a place where you’d want to faceplant!

Toward the bottom of the cave… This is the deepest show cave in Germany and the only vertical cave that can be visited by the public. Once you’ve reached the bottom, you are about 55 meters below the Earth’s surface. The deepest part of the cave is 80 meters down, but that is not part of the tour.

Now it’s time to climb up. I hope your heart is strong!

I recommend stopping to take a lot of pictures as you catch your breath.

You may also want to wear something you don’t mind getting wet. There is an area where water drips constantly and it will get on you.

A steep climb!

Bill is happy! He likes it when I find stuff for us to do besides drinking beer.

One last shot before we started the last painful set of stairs. I was pretty winded when we finally reached the exit.

Some readers may remember that Bill and I visited Blautopf in March of this year. Blautopf, in the pretty town of Blaubeuren, is located about 16km from Tiefenhöhle. If you wanted to, you could easily do the cave in the morning and then visit Blautopf, to see where the cave system ends. In the museum at the cave, there is a cool display that shows how the caves wind up at Blautopf. After you visit Blautopf, you could stop in the Hammersmith museum. That would easily kill most of a day and use up plenty of energy.

Here are a couple of shots of the play equipment at the adjoining ropes course/picnic area at Kletterwald. We didn’t hang around too long because it was time for beer.

This was just what we needed to regain our strength. Leave it to the Germans to reward you after a tough climb! We were joined by a very friendly German family. The man of the family brought coffee and cake for the ladies– looked like his wife and two Omas. Then they were joined by people who appeared to be friends, having a great time. Across the way, there was a lady who had brought her adorable and very well behaved beagle!

The museum is small, but interesting. You can stop by the restroom, too. They are free of charge!

This is a skeleton of a cave bear.

As you can see, it’s a lot bigger than your garden variety brown bear.

Bill was impressed.

The caves are closed during the cold months, probably to give the bats a break. I did actually see a bat flying in the cave.

These are pictures of the 3D display they had of the cave system. In the first picture, you can see Blautopf, while the second shows the Tiefenhöhle.

I had to get a picture of this car in the parking lot. I think it’s for moms who have just given birth and want to reclaim their bodies! But Bill wondered if it was something involving kangaroos wearing boxing gloves. I wonder if being so deep in the ground did something to his thinking!

It didn’t take us long to visit the cave, although we didn’t necessarily take our time. Needless to say, this is not a stroller friendly activity, nor would I want to take young kids in this cave. You have to be pretty surefooted and cautious to explore it safely. I am not kidding when I say the steps are very steep both going up and down and it is quite strenuous, especially if you’re a fatass housewife like me.

There are areas in the cave that are low and/or narrow, so tall people or very overweight people may want to be especially cautious. This is not an activity for anyone with mobility issues, claustrophobia, or heart problems. You will probably work up a sweat, too, even though the cave is refreshingly cool.

I wore shorts and Keen sandals when we toured the cave. The shoes were okay, but I wish I had worn long pants and/or socks. The steps are not very deep or wide, so my bare skin kept touching the icy cold metal on the steps. It wasn’t an altogether pleasant sensation and I got pretty dirty around my ankles. Edited to add: there are spats available to borrow for protecting your lower legs. I didn’t see them until after we finished.

Other than that, though, we really had a good time exploring Tiefenhöhle. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys exploring caves. Tomorrow, we will probably visit another cave attraction. Stay tuned!

Sundays

You can be a big kid in Freudenstadt!

Some days, I really wish I had kids to entertain. I am myself a bit a of a big kid, so having a kid to play with would give me a good excuse to visit kid friendly museums and attractions. Bill and I didn’t actually plan to do anything kid friendly today. We stumbled across our fun, just like we always do. And now I’m going to pass along our good fortune to readers who have kids and enjoy science.

We had absolutely perfect weather today. Bill wanted to know what we should do today. We went looking for a fest. I remembered that next weekend, Freudenstadt would be hosting a fish market. Then I remembered that next weekend is the weekend before my birthday and we’ll probably be out of town. I’ve always been intrigued by Freudenstadt. It’s a decent sized city not too far from where I live, in Unterjettingen. We always drive through it when we go to France. One time, we stopped and had lunch at the Turmbrau. I remembered that lunch with fondness, so we decided to visit there today and wander around…

It turns out Freudenstadt is undergoing a lot of major road work.

It’s a bit of a mess in some parts of the city.

I noticed the name of this store and it made me laugh. “To Crazy”, huh? I think they meant “Too Crazy.” But that’s no worse than Der Wienerschnitzel in the United States, which is also incorrect.

There is an art fair and flea market going on today and tomorrow.

And someone was getting married. I took this right after withdrawing money from an ATM. While I was doing that, a couple was changing their baby next to the machine. I guess the baby left a deposit.

We didn’t linger too long at the market. We wanted food and beer.

Bill checks the menu.

We enjoyed housemade beers. Bill had a Maibock and I had a Hefeweizen.

For lunch, I had Schweinshaxe, which I couldn’t finish. It wasn’t as big as some I’ve had. At the Turmbrau, this dish comes with sauerkraut. I have to be careful with that or else it’ll be a very windy night at my house.

Bill had roasted pork with fried potatoes. This was served with a beer gravy that was very good. The pork was also tender and flavorful. I think I liked Bill’s dish better than mine. My pork knuckle was a trifle overdone.

But it did come with beer bread.

Turmbrau has live entertainment, too.

And a really excellent looking Biergarten. We probably should have sat out there, since I wore plenty of sunscreen.

Brewing!

This is a great place for lunch. Both times we’ve been, it’s been busy. Service is friendly and efficient and prices are fair. We had a couple of weizens for dessert. With the extra round of beer, the bill came to just under 35 euros. We made the waitress smile when we topped it up to 40.

Because Bill didn’t want to drive so soon after our second round, he wanted to walk around Freudenstadt. I had a better idea. On the way into town, I noticed a sign for a museum. After looking up the word “Erlebnis”, I determined a visit to Experimenta might be a fun way to sober up… even if it was kind of a kid oriented place. Like I said, despite last week’s fun, I really am a big kid. Experimenta turned out to be a no frills kind of science museum, but it was surprisingly fun for us! We did, however, get curious looks from other visitors.

Experimenta is open daily from 10-6. Tickets cost 6 euros for adults and 5 euros for kids. A young guy was manning the desk. It looked like the building was once a music school.

The first exhibit was about time zones. I noticed the signage was all in German, but with a little effort, I could understand a lot of it. A lot of the exhibits are very intuitive anyway.

Here’s an exhibit about size perception.

Bill has fun with balls. That silver thing was blowing air

I never did figure this out… it involved a marble. Edited to add, my German friend Susanne says there is a bigger Experimenta in Heilbronn and she shared a picture that shows how this activity works. I want to also mention that a lot of the activities had step stools for little ones.

Spyrograph.

This was the room I really got into. Bill and I built a bridge.

And we learned how holes affect the speed of cylinders.

I brushed up on my terrible geometry skills.

Bill loved this activity…

Pictured above is a logic activity involving a man who has to move a goat, a wolf, and food across a river. He only has room on the boat to move one at a time. Bill really got into telling me how the man could move each. I giggled at him because it was fun watching him turn into a little boy, much like the young kids who were enjoying the activities.

Next, we made a bridge out of magnets. This was a very interesting exhibit because it forced us to learn the logistics of building a bridge and what you have to do to make it work. I am still a confirmed former English major, though, and couldn’t explain this if my life depended on it.

Next, I saw how water can propel a boat…

I learned about human organs.

And bones.

And the tongue!

I think my favorite room was the last one we entered. On the main floor, there’s an exhibit about electricity…

I played with these for a long time…

And then I discovered the black light. Sorry for the ugly photos but…

You can’t see it in this picture, but in person, it was really obvious which of my teeth is an implant. Hard to believe I’ve had it for a year now!

I may never have teeth this white again.

I made a short video of our fun today… It offers an example of what you can expect at Experimenta!

Like I said, I wish I’d managed to have kids. We live in an area that’s really great for kid friendly activities. If I had a kid, I’d make of a day out of Freudenstadt and its environs. You can stop at the awesome Barefoot Park in Dornstetten, which is on the way. After that, head to Freudenstadt and have a good lunch at one of the many restaurants in the town. Then visit the science museum. By the time you’re done, you’ve killed a few hours. And… as you can see below, the countryside is BEAUTIFUL! God bless Germany!

Look closely and you can see a glider…

Sundays

Celebrating swine in Stuttgart…

Pig out!

Need something to do on a Sunday? May I suggest Stuttgart’s kitschiest museum? It’s a place utterly dedicated to the pig and the largest pig museum in the world, the Stuttgart Schweine Museum.

I don’t remember where I first heard about this place. I want to say it was mentioned in a local Facebook group. I know I also saw it highlighted in an online magazine article about quirky museums. What can I say? My people are originally from the same area where Foamhenge existed for years (it has since been moved to a new location). I’m a sucker for the surreal.

I suggested a trip to the pig museum last weekend, but Bill and I were sidetracked by beer and wine tastings. I thought we might go yesterday, but then we decided to go to Herrenberg today. We thought about postponing our trip for another week when I realized how beautiful the weather is today. I thought maybe the Schweine Museum might be better on a rainy day. After some discussion, Bill and I decided we’d go… and then maybe drop by Killesberg Park for awhile. Little did we know how absolutely HORRIBLE traffic was going to be.

At this point, we were very close to the museum… it still took about ten minutes to get there. I think there was a game going on, which also made parking difficult.

Bill made me laugh pretty hard as we drove through one of Stuttgart’s many tunnels. The GPS told him to make a U-turn and he said, “What? I’m not making a U-turn! Screw you!” He gets pretty funny when he converses with computerized objects. Thanks to the traffic going to a football game and the neverending road projects going on in the big city, it was kind of a challenge to get to the museum. Once we got there, we had to find parking, which wasn’t so easy since a lot of people going to the game were availing themselves of parking at the pig museum. Fortunately, we drove my Mini Cooper…

Props to Bill for his parking job. He managed to squeeze into a tight spot.

Pigs are everywhere at the Schweine Museum.

The Schweine Museum has a very nice biergarten in the front and back. There’s also a nice restaurant (called the Schlachthof Restaurant) on the first floor of the museum. My guess is that many people come there for the food. We saw plenty of people who were obviously in the area for football having lunch at the biergarten. It was pretty full when we arrived, but had emptied out somewhat after we finished lunch. It’s worthwhile, by the way, to stop in for food at the museum. They had some great stuff, naturally inspired by pork. For those who aren’t pork eaters, there are other selections available. Vegetarians and vegans might be a bit challenged, though.

Come on in… sit down and have a beer and a cigarette, if you want. Smoking is allowed.

Someone (not me) obviously got bored while waiting for their order… I have to admit being impressed. It never would have occurred to me to add these features to the beer coasters. I decided to be a good Samaritan and take these with me, lest any innocent children see them.

Bill laughs when I show him the adulterated coasters.

For lunch, Bill chose the barbecue pork burger, which came with onion rings, potato wedges, and kraut. I had bratwurst, which also came with potato wedges and barbecue sauce. Bill and I were delighted with the quality of the food. I noticed that the company providing the food is the same one that owns Ampulle Dry Gin and Beef Club in Stuttgart. We visited that restaurant last July and enjoyed it. I’m glad to see they know what to do with pork, too. Edited to add: My German friend, Susanne, says the museum was founded by Erika Wilhelmer, who is the grandmother in the family that owns the Wilhelmer Gastronomie Company. Wilhelmer Gastronomie is the force behind several food oriented outlets in the Stuttgart area.

The usual beer…

My fancy bratwurst. It was very fresh, although the BBQ sauce reminded me of what they put on currywurst, minus the curry.

Bill’s pork burger. It was a hit!

Other choices included everything from salmon filet to pork t-bones to beef. They also had salads and soups, as well as a kid’s menu. Our lunch was about 36 euros before the tip. Service was a little slow, but the servers were working hard. It was a beautiful day and they were very busy.

After we ate and visited the loo, we went into the restaurant to find out how to visit the museum. They lady running the museum had stepped out for a minute, so we ended up waiting for a few minutes. After she sold us our tickets, a guy came in and started asking about the restaurant, at which point she pitched the museum to him. I don’t know if she was the owner, but I would not be surprised if she was. I read that the museum was moved to Stuttgart from Bad Wimpfen, a location near Heilbronn, just a few years ago. The museum was housed in much smaller quarters in those days, but still made the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest swine museum in the world.

The swine museum itself is on two floors. I didn’t see any elevators, so I would guess this attraction would not be suitable for mobility challenged people or those with strollers. I wouldn’t swear to this, though, so if this post makes you want to visit and you have mobility challenges, you might want to call ahead. It costs 5,90 per adult to see the museum and that is the most you’ll pay for an hour or two of kitschy pig related fun! Below are some pictures I took while browsing the exhibits, almost all of which had English translations of what we were looking at.

Pigs like this one are everywhere!

Outside, in front of the museum, there’s a lot to see.

Artwork near where you buy your tickets. Looks like they had private dining rooms in that area, too.

Hours.

The two pictures above show who eats the most pork out of 75 of the 196 countries in the world. Austria is #1. USA is #21. Not surprisingly, several countries heavily populated by Muslims come in last.

A pig inspired barbecue.

These helpful signs are translated in English, so you won’t wander from room to room learning by osmosis.

I would actually love to have this table. I love this kind of stuff.

Pig booze?

Sexy pigs.

Today, I learned that pigs are rumored to have 30 minute orgasms!

X-rated pig stuff. This is just one picture of several I could have taken.

Although most of the exhibits in the pig museum are good clean fun, I will caution those who are sensitive about sexually explicit exhibits. There is one room, easily identified because it’s red, where there are some items that may not be suitable for children or uptight adults. However, this room is easy to skip and you have to look closely to find the sexually explicit pig figurines. I almost missed them myself, until Bill pointed them out to me.

For Lego lovers!

Kids play area!

Someone should have given us this for our wedding…

All in all, Bill and I really enjoyed our visit to the Schweine Museum. It’s an inexpensive and fun place to visit, the food is great, and you will learn some surprising facts about pigs. They have exhibits about everything from where pigs come from, to their intelligence level, to what it takes to hunt them. I had no idea, for instance, that male boars in the wild are so cunning and dangerous. There are also some interesting exhibits about where certain pig related sayings come from, such as “Casting one’s pearls before swine” and “Even a blind pig can find an acorn sometimes.” I’m proud to report that I know more about pigs today than I did yesterday. I would recommend this museum to anyone else who likes a little porking.

When pigs fly?

We also tried to visit Killesburg Park today, but there were way too many people there and it was impossible to find parking. Maybe next time, we’ll take the U-Bahn and get there earlier in the day.

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Celebrating 14 years in Ireland! Part four

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning for our trip to Kilkenny. Bill ordered a cab for 9:00am after we were told it would take at least an hour to walk to the train station from our hotel. The cab driver arrived right on time.

A map of Ireland.

While we were in the taxi, I found myself listening to the talk show on the radio. My ears pricked up when I heard the female commentator refer to the United States as the “United Hates of America”. She said she didn’t see America that way, but other people did.

“The United ‘Hates’ of America, huh?” I responded. “Wow.”

The cab driver chuckled and, naturally, that opened up yet another conversation about politics. He gave us his impressions of our elections and we explained to him that Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump were not the only candidates. They were simply the only ones most people heard much about, especially outside of the country. Bill then explained that we live in Germany, so we’re somewhat removed from a lot of the political maelstrom that has been going on for over a year now.

We arrived at the train station a bit early, so after Bill bought us a couple of tickets, we went into a bar for a round of beer. Yes, it was 9:30am, but I decided I wanted a beer. We were turned away from the “outdoor” area of the bar, but inside, there were several old guys congregated. They were all sipping Guinness, so we joined them and enjoyed the 80s music playing on the stereo.

A new book by Jodi Piccoult.

While we were sitting there in the bar, Bill told me about the funny sign at the ticket counter that read something to the effect of “Antisocial behavior will not be tolerated! You will be caught and prosecuted!” Little did I know, our social skills would be tested on our ride to Kilkenny.

Cute Hoor beer…

And the first of several Guinness beers I’ve had since our arrival…

At 10:15am, we got on our train. It was pretty packed with people. We were at a four top table, so we were later joined by a funky looking lady who was very intent on reading a tabloid. We thought we would have a nice sedate ride to Kilkenny and we did… until we stopped at Kildare.

The train stopped and a bunch of people got on… and most of them were of the youngster set. I heard lots of high pitched chattering as laughter as we were suddenly joined by a group of about twenty or thirty kids. I didn’t count them; I only noticed as they made their way down the train, looking for spare seats together. They looked like they were on the brink of adolescence– maybe ten or eleven years old.

“Urchins…” I muttered.

One kid got on the train with a backpack and a large foam rubber mat. It was rather wide and he seemed oblivious as it smacked a few passengers he tried to pass. A motherly looking group leader advised the lad to unhook the mat and carry it in front of him. It seemed to take a couple of minutes before he finally got it and carried the thing in a less offensive way.

A few minutes later, the boy with the foam mat was back, along with a couple of his friends and a group leader. The group leader very apologetically seated the boys at the four top table opposite the aisle from Bill and me. A young man was already sitting by the window, blissfully tuned out of the action because he had ear buds planted firmly in his ears.

The overhead baggage area over the boys’ seats was full, so after prompting from yours truly, Bill very helpfully offered to put the foam mat over our seats. This kindness opened up yet another hilarious exchange with the Irish. You see, these boys were not the type to be quiet and shy. I don’t actually know the boys’ names, but I’ll give them nicknames for the sake of this story.

“Where are you from?” asked the foam mat bearer– I’ll call him Seamus for simplicity’s sake.

“America.” Bill said.

“America!” another boy exclaimed– I’ll call him Lefty due to his broken hand in a cast. “What the hell are you doing in Ireland?”

“We’re here on vacation.” Bill said.

“You can’t be here on vacation!” another kid I’ll call Ray said. “Nobody vacations here! Ireland is awful!”

Naturally, this unabashed comment made everyone in the vicinity crack up with laughter.

One of the boys pulled out a plastic bottle of some kind of juice. The three of them then commenced flipping the bottle, trying to get it to land right side up. I am told this is a game that is “all the rage” among youngsters these days, but it was the first time I’d ever seen it. I eyed the bottle nervously, fearing that it would either break or the top would come off, making a big mess. At one point, the bottle landed upright and the kid I call Ray started yelling “Drink! Drink! Drink!” like he was at a frat party. My eyes widened in surprise, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been.

“So do you like Ireland?” Ray asked during a lull in the gameplay.

“Oh yes!” Bill said.

“How many states have you been to?” Lefty asked, moving on to the fact that we were Americans and apparently totally foreign to them.

“48.” Bill said. “I have not been to Alaska and North Dakota.”

“48 states!” the boys exclaimed. “Wow!” They were extremely impressed that Bill had seen so many states. When another from their group sat nearby, they eagerly told their friend about Bill’s U.S. travels.

“What state are you from?” one of the kids asked.

Bill told them he was from Texas. I told them I’m from Virginia. The kids continued peppering Bill with questions. Eventually, they asked which country he’d been to that was furthest away. For some reason, Bill said “Iraq”, although he has since been to a few African countries that are even further away from where we’ve ever lived.

Recognizing that Bill had been in the Army, the kids moved on to subject of the war. “Did you know anyone that died?” one of the kids asked.

“Yes.” Bill said. Thankfully, they moved on from that line of questioning… only to start talking about politics!

“Hey! Do you think of Canada as your ‘goody two shoes neighbor to the north’?” Seamus asked, just in time for one of the roving group adults to hear him. I gasped in surprise just as one of the group moms came over and grabbed Seamus for a talking to. While she was chewing out Seamus, she shot Lefty what appeared to be a ‘death ray’.

“I’m so sorry,” the group mom apologized as she returned Seamus to his seat.

“Really, it’s not a problem.” I said as I laughed. These kids were cracking me up and making the time go much faster. I probably shouldn’t have encouraged them, but I have to admit to being similarly obnoxious… especially when I was their age.

“Oh no.” Lefty said suddenly. “Here comes Dermott.”

Dermott was apparently the head leader of this group and he gave the impression of brooking no nonsense. He was heading down the aisle toward the boys.

“He wears a Titanium vest!” Ray shouted. “And if you don’t get on with him, he’ll send the IRA after you!”

“Oh my God…” I muttered to Bill, who was having a hard time containing his laughter.

“What does D.C. stand for?” Lefty asked.

“District of Columbia.” I responded.

“Isn’t Colombia a country in Africa?” one kid asked.

“No, that’s a country in South America.” Bill said.

“Isn’t it a city in Ohio?” Lefty asked.

“No, you’re thinking of Columbus.” I said. “But good on you for being close, because a lot of people wouldn’t be.”

“We have to walk three miles to our campsite.” Lefty said.

“You’ll be alright if your rucksack is 20% of your body weight.” Bill offered.

“It’s too far.” the boys said as they flipped the bottle again.

“Hey! Why don’t you have a go?” Lefty asked Bill as they passed him the bottle. I shot Bill a warning look as he wisely gave the bottle back to the kids.

Finally, another stop came and a bunch of people got off the train. One of the moms came back to our little group of comedians and told them to come with her to another part of the train. They had found seats together. The boys all groaned and got up to leave. Seamus, who appeared to be the leader of the hooligans, came back because he’d forgotten his bottle. Before he left, he said goodbye to Bill and me and gave us both a bro fist.

I have to admit, next to the train ride we took in Luxembourg with a bunch of nuns and a woman wearing Depends and a rubber phallus on her nose, that was one of the more entertaining train rides we’ve ever experienced. It’s also not the first time Bill has become a de facto babysitter on a train. For some reason, he attracts people in need. Fortunately, he is great with kids and as kind and gentle as a man can be. More on that in part five!

Ads in the train station. I thought they were very clever!

Uncategorized

Salt mines and sunburn in Hallstatt…

Most popular places for photos in Hallstatt!

Lovely views…

Hallstatt happens to be a great place to kill time. It’s very tourist friendly. You’ll find signs in German, English, and Chinese all over the place. We happened to be in Hallstatt on the morning of First Communion, so besides all the Asian tourists and Anglo-Saxon thrill seekers, there were many girls dressed in white, a brass band, and many townspeople dressed in traditional Austrian attire. We also saw a number of Asians clad in lederhosen and dirndls. I guess they were getting into the spirit of things. In my previous post, I mentioned that there is a replica of Hallstatt in China, which is probably why so many Asians visit the real Hallstatt in Austria.

A little waterfall across the street from the Landhaus Koller.

Check out the poster on the house. They rent dirndls and lederhosen to Asian visitors who want to be especially festive.

A swan boat!

Bill and I watched the parade and I got a charming video which I will probably end up putting on YouTube at some point. Then we decided to visit Saltzwelten. I didn’t know anything about Saltzwelten before we went there. We just thought it looked like a fun place to visit. It was indeed a lot of fun, if not a bit pricey. For thirty euros a person, we got the full treatment, which included a ride in a funicular up and down a tall mountain, a lovely walk to the museum, and the guided tour.

On the day we decided to visit Saltzwelten, we had perfect weather. The temperature was about 72 degrees; the sun was out; and lots of people were teeming around the salt mines. Yes, there were a lot of Asians, but we were also confronted with the people who happened to park next to us in town. The group consisted of two young guys and two young women. I’m not sure if they were married, friends, or relatives. The two guys were pretty cocky and obnoxious. The ladies seemed to be along for the ride.

Our walk to the museum was absolutely gorgeous. At the altitude we were at, we were treated to beautiful views of the picturesque town below. The ride up the mountain was a bit nerve-wracking, mainly because we were all packed in the car like sardines. But wow… lots of sunshine and views and plenty of toilet facilities. Free WiFi throughout the entire complex, too, although the EU’s recent decision to regulate roaming charges has made this trip a lot easier to use my cell phone for keeping up with friends.

Once we got to the museum, I was a little out of breath. Some of the walk there was uphill and I haven’t been keeping up with my Jazzercise lately. The young folks who had parked next to us were sitting in the cafe, sipping beer and laughing loudly. Maybe they were laughing at me? Who knows?

When we entered the salt mine museum, we were asked to don coveralls. I give props to the lady for figuring out which sizes we needed without embarrassing us. I put the coveralls over my clothes, which temporarily made me hot and uncomfortable. But our group of about 40 people had assembled in the waiting area and we made our way up more steps in the hot coveralls before we were faced with the entrance to the mine. Our cheerful tour guide’s name was Bernie (short for Bernhard). He was very cute and quite witty, though he lamented that he only speaks German and English. We learned the catchphrase for Hallstatt miners, Gluck Auf, then started walking in the mine.

Bill dons his coveralls.

Pretty soon, the coveralls weren’t so uncomfortable. The air was much cooler and there was lots of salt on the floor. We sat through a number of films in German with English subtitles. Some of our fellow tourists decided they had to have these films recorded for posterity on their cell phones. I now know why some movie theaters take a hard line with people who text during shows. It was very distracting and annoying.I thought the films were fairly interesting, though I have read some reviews in which some people have said the movies were dull.

Most people appreciate the most fun part of the tour, which is going down the miner’s slides. I am ashamed to admit that Bill and I both chickened out on the opportunity to try these super slick slides in the mine. I probably would have done it had the group been smaller and I could have seen for myself what exactly needed to be done to get down the slide safely. But I got so exasperated by the group size and not being able to see that I just went down the steps on the side of the slides. I did get some pictures, though. On the second one, they take your photo and clock how fast you’re going. Our guide was by far the fastest; he came down the slide at over 43km per hour. One little girl got upset after the slide and she and her parents had to leave the tour.

The miner’s slide. I really should have tried this. I need a braver travel partner to goad me into these things.

The last part of the tour involved us riding on a “train” thing… picture a wooden kiddie train that goes super fast. You sit astride it as if you’re on a horse. It was a lot of fun and I suddenly wished I’d gone down the slides. I’m becoming terribly wimpy in my old age.After the tour was over, the guide made us hold hands and yell Gluck Auf again. I found myself standing next to one of the rude young bucks who had parked next to us. It was pretty obvious he didn’t want to hold hands with me, nor did I with him. He was saved when some Chinese guy came between us. Talk about an awkward moment.

View near restaurant.

We enjoyed the Salzwelten tour, though I don’t think it’s a good activity for anyone who is claustrophobic, has mobility issues, or is afraid of the dark (or going on fast slides). I think a lot of kids would enjoy the slide, though the several movies in German might bore them. The tour is pretty long and there are only a couple of chances to sit down; so if you go, be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Don’t forget your sunscreen, either. I got a mild sunburn in Hallstatt because I didn’t remember my sunscreen. It is possible to just pay for the funicular ride and skip the museum (16 euros round trip). It’s also possible to walk up and down the mountain rather than riding the crowded funicular, though I would not recommend doing that unless you’re in very good shape. It’s a very steep climb that will probably take at least an hour.

A well deserved beer at Restaurant Rudolfsturm. It only gets 3.5 stars on TripAdvisor. I thought the food was a bit pricey, but the views are stellar. What we had, we enjoyed.

I had trout with potatoes. This restaurant was a bit expensive, but the beer was cold and the waiter was willing. It was pretty funny talking to him, though, because Bill kept trying to speak German and the guy was bound and determined to speak English to us. I finally told Bill to give it up.

Bill had goulash.

So much better to sit and drink beer than wander among the masses of Chinese folk in Austrian attire.

After the tour, we walked back to Restaurant Rudolfsturm, a restaurant in the Salzwelten complex. It’s situated on the mountain side and offers stunning views of Hallstatt Lake and the town. It’s also right by the overlook. That place was pretty busy, though probably not as busy as Hallstatt itself was. Our friends from the parking lot showed up just as Bill and I started drinking beer and thinking about what we wanted for lunch. I watched them wander around in vain hope of scoring a table. As they were leaving in disgust, I heard “Mr. God’s gift to women” make a disparaging comment about Chinese people.

Sometime during the mid afternoon, Bill and I got tired of fighting the crowds. We enjoyed a blissfully quiet and empty ride on the funicular back down to the town. We stopped by a grocery store (open on Sunday!) and stocked up on wine, chips, and cookies. Then we went back to the Landhaus Koller for a rest. I gave some thought to trying out the pool, but decided I just wanted to enjoy the lovely daybed on the balcony. We made plans to have dinner at the hotel that night.

The daybed.

Another enchanting photo of our view from the hotel.

Ahh… this is the life.

The Landhaus Koller is so beautiful!

I’m glad we visited Hallstatt. It’s a very pretty town. I can see why people like it so much. However, I am extremely happy that we stayed in quieter Gosau, which is a cute little ski and hiking town. The scenery is pretty there and there’s a lot less chaos to battle. For those who are thinking of visiting Hallstatt, I highly recommend checking around the area for lodging alternatives to Hallstatt… unless, of course, you like being in the thick of tourists! Also be prepared to pay for your parking in change. We paid 1,70 euros per hour in an open lot. Cards were not accepted.

War memorial.

We bought a Sparschwein to help store the many coins we walk around with in Europe.

trip planning

A whirlwind trip to Austria, Italy, and probably Switzerland, part 11

I talked Bill into taking the train to Gruyeres, mainly because I knew he was tired of driving. I figured it would be easier to relax on the train and he wouldn’t have to worry about parking. Having now been to Gruyeres, I can say that it seems to be an easy drive there and there’s plenty of what looked like free parking. However, the train is also a treat. You go through some absolutely gorgeous, remote, Alpine villages.

The surreal blue lit bathroom at the Vevey train station. It cost 1 franc to use it. It was the handicapped stall, which I used because the other stalls appeared to take 50 cents and I didn’t have the right coin for them.

Note the sign, written in four languages… I guess if you’re Spanish or Dutch, you’re out of luck. (kidding!)

Originally, Bill got us second class seats. He said it was because the lady who helped him didn’t speak English very well. I talked him into upgrading when we got to Montreux. It was no problem, especially since that time, he got a lady whose English was perfect. I’m not sure we had better seating per se; that’s just how we’ve gotten used to traveling on trains. We took a six minute train to Montreux, then a GoldenPass panoramic train for the 45 minute trip to Montbovin. Our car was full of guys who appeared to be from India. They took pictures the whole way. I drank prosecco (9,90 francs) and Bill had a large Boxer beer (6,50 francs). They also had other beverages, including my favorite bubbly, Taittinger, and snacks for sale. I almost splurged on Taittinger, but even I have my limits on what I’ll spend money on.

Bill takes his seat and checks the menu. I was a little worried we’d miss the train, since he went to upgrade the tickets. He made it with plenty of time to spare.

The view… pardon my reflection.

Prosecco for me… in a real glass!

Beer for Bill.

The views alone are worth the train ride.

Most of these little towns were stopped in only by request. I got a kick out of the English version of the announcements on the train. The woman had an obvious American accent. I would have expected a British accent.

From Montbovin, there was another 18 minute ride on a very new train with second class seating to Gruyeres. Then we took a bus to the village. You don’t have to take the bus, though if you have mobility problems, it may be advisable. Walking there from the train station involves hiking up a hill with some steps. Hours later, we walked back down when we’d had enough of Gruyeres.

The first thing we did in Gruyeres was stop into a fondue restaurant for lunch. In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the best idea for me to go there because there were people eating raclette, which is made with very strong, pungent cheese. I walked into the place and was almost knocked over by the smell of ripe cheese. Bill didn’t notice it nearly as quickly as I did and he thought it smelled great. I guess the next time I want to turn him on, I’ll just dab a little stinky cheese behind my ears.

First glimpse of Gruyeres. There’s a lot to do here, but we were set on the H.R. Giger Museum.

Bill checks things out.

We had lunch at Auberge De La Halle…

A half liter of Swiss wine went nicely with our lunch. It also distracted me from the raunchy smell of ripe cheese. Bill thought it smelled great, of course.

A salad came with my zander filet.

Zander (pike perch) with sauteed leeks in a white wine sauce and boiled potatoes. The sauce was very buttery and sinful.

Bill had a salad with cured meats and local cheeses. He said it was excellent. I tried a little of the ham and I will agree that it was very good. Maybe we should have had fondue. It’s made with cheese that isn’t quite so strong.

Outside of the restaurant.

A Christmas tree.

Once we finished lunch, we headed to the museum. For those who don’t know who H.R. Giger was (I didn’t until I met Bill), he was a surrealist artist whose creations appeared in the films, Alien and Dune, among many other works. Giger died last year, but was very prolific while he was alive. His museum is full of his very disturbing and brilliant works, along with some from some other artists. He acquired the Chateau St. Germain in 1998 and his museum has been operational there ever since.

The front door.

Bill checks out the ground… the inside of the museum has the same type of very intricate etchings. Bill was fascinated by it.

It cost us 25 francs (12,50 each) to see the museum. Photos are not allowed inside. Some people were bringing their kids to this museum. I don’t think that’s necessarily the best idea, especially for young children. Many of Giger’s works are very sexual and violent. Some kids may be frightened by what they see. Moreover, there is a part of the museum where kids are specifically not allowed. Inside, there are graphic artistic renditions of human genitalia, as well as some disturbing themes that may be hard to explain to youngsters. Bill loved the museum. I was less interested in part because I never saw Giger’s works and partly because the water and wine kicked in as we were looking.

After our museum trip, we had a drink in the bar…

A mojito and a vodka royale… The bathrooms, by the way, are across the way rather than in the bar itself.

A little kid came into the bar with his dad and promptly ran out screaming. His dad brought him back in and he screamed and ran out again. While we did see a few kids in the bar who were totally unfazed, it’s probably best if the kids sit out the Giger museum and just check out the chateau instead.

This little guy is the tip of the iceberg as to what you’ll see in the museum. Some of it is really weird stuff.

View from the village.

We stopped by a gift shop and bought a couple of things for the house, then got some Gruyeres cheese and chocolate.

Bill had a GREAT day. The Giger museum was a bucket list activity for him; he’s been wanting to go for years. I’m glad I got to be with him when he finally did it.

The trains only come on the hour, so we were stuck waiting for a bit. I entertained myself with photography. Later, I entertained myself by trying to avoid cigarette smoke.

Our ride back to Montreux was on an older train. We probably should have checked out more of the cars because they had a couple that seemed nicer than the car we were in. Ours was full of rambunctious kids and their annoyed parents. Nevertheless, it was a speedy trip back. After being around people and their kids all day, I was ready for some quiet time. We thought we’d have dinner at the hotel. More on that in the next post.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: museums

Our time in Die Schweiz was definitely not Scheißig… part five

Strasbourg’s annual wine extravaganza! Part two

Volvo, Mark Knopfler, and East German adventures… part five

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

Down in the hole… the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle

You can be a big kid in Freudenstadt!

Celebrating swine in Stuttgart…

Celebrating 14 years in Ireland! Part four

Salt mines and sunburn in Hallstatt…

A whirlwind trip to Austria, Italy, and probably Switzerland, part 11