Tag Archives: pet friendly

Baden-Württemberg, Sundays

Heavenly hiking at the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle

Still chasing waterfalls in the Black Forest!

On May 19th of this year, Bill and I paid a visit to the lovely Burgbach Wasserfall in Bad Rippoldsau.  On that day, we had made tentative plans to also visit the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle (All Saints Waterfalls), which I found out about when I read this guy’s blog about waterfalls in Europe.  His post about the Allerheiligen falls led me to believe they weren’t anything special.  I was also thinking they were closer to Bad Rippoldsau than they are.  We couldn’t visit the All Saints falls on May 19th because while we were eating lunch, the sky opened up with rain.  Having now been to the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle, I’m pretty glad we chose to visit them on a different day.  The visit was a lot more intense than I was expecting.

We left the house at a few minutes past noon and made the trip to the Black Forest National Park.  The falls are located just north of the village of Oppenau.  As usual, we enjoyed a lovely ride through the Black Forest, past Freudenstadt and Kniebis.  The only thing that made it a little stressful were the many bikers sharing the road with us.  The Black Forest is very beautiful, and it attracts motorcycle enthusiasts in droves.  They can be rather aggressive in their need for speed.  More on that later.

A lot of people had the same idea we did.  We arrived at the falls at about 1:00pm and the first parking lots we encountered were pretty full.  We parked on the street, where there are a number of spots available.  Here’s another hint.  Keep going past those first lots and you will eventually find the main entrance to the waterfalls.  There is also a large, free parking lot there.  On the other hand, if you want to eat before you hike, parking at the first lots will get you close to the very good gasthaus there.

A lovely view of the mountains, meadow, and a war memorial honoring men who died during World War I.

Besides the majestic waterfalls, Allerheiligen is also the site of a ruined monastery, the foundation of which originated in 1192.  Evidently, the site of the monastery was determined by a donkey, which threw off a sack of money in the area.  A wooden chapel was built, and by 1657, it became an abbey.  The Allerheiligen Kloster was at the height of its power during the 18th century, but in 1802,  Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden began a course of secularization.  He dissolved the abbey and took all of its possessions.  The monastery was already damaged by several large fires between 1405 and 1555.  In 1804, there was another fire caused by a bolt of lightning.  It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century, when people started to tour the Black Forest, that anyone thought to preserve what was left of the ruins.  So many years later, they are still very interesting and kind of majestic in their starkness.

We encountered the ruins first, as they were at the end of the trail we took from our roadside parking spot.  Below are some pictures.

Now you see Bill…

Now you don’t.

This creek eventually turns into the waterfalls…

A more modern church on the hillside.  We didn’t investigate it because frankly, after walking up and down the falls, we were exhausted!

If you like photography, this is a beautiful place to be.  There’s a lot of interesting scenery.

 

The gaststätte is conveniently located next to the ruins.  Bill and I arrived just in time to snag a table. The hardworking staff was busy the whole time we were there and no table stayed empty for long.  We sat down next to two tables consisting of two couples with kids.  I’m pretty sure the husband of one couple was German.  Everyone else was very obviously American and spoke loudly enough for everyone to know from where they came.  It made me chuckle.

A very slender and extremely friendly lady took our order.  She spoke some English and was relentlessly chipper.  I admired how much she seemed to enjoy her work.  She was all smiles.  I used to wait tables myself and I can promise that I struggled to smile a lot when I was doing that work.  It was truly a pleasure to be served by her, though.  Not only that, but the food at the restaurant was surprisingly good.

Bill peruses the menu, which was passed to us by a nice guy at the next table.

Bill settled on Schweinebraten, which was served with brown gravy and a mound of delicious mashed potatoes.

I had fresh trout, topped with toasted almonds and served with mashed potatoes.  Those potatoes were off the chain!  They were very buttery and delicious!  It was such a treat!  I don’t remember ever being served mashed potatoes at a German restaurant before, but these would have made my mother proud.  We both enjoyed Weizen beers.

 

The food at the gaststätte is typically German.  They do have vegetarian selections and both a children’s menu and a menu for seniors.  We were pretty full after lunch, but I had to try the Black Forest cake.  All told, we spent 46 euros.

We shared a piece.  It was delicious.  Definitely not what you’d find at Busch Gardens in Virginia.  I used to decorate the fake Black Forest Cakes there. 

As we were about to leave, a group of bikers sat at the table next to ours.  It was good that we were leaving, since they pulled out their cigarettes and clearly intended to foul the air with smoke.  Sorry… I don’t mind smokers unless I am forced to sit next to them, especially when I’m eating.  But we were on our way to the falls by the time they lit up, so it was all good.  

Another shot of the ruins.

They were still busy when we left… and when we came back an hour later.  This restaurant only runs until 6:30pm, but it appears they work all day.  We thought it was well worth the trip.

There is a public restroom.  It’s not the cleanest and the doors have locks on them that require 20 euro cents to open.  I didn’t have to pay, though, because I got one that was left open by someone else.

A small museum with three rooms in it.  If you can read German, you can learn more about the history of the Allerheiligen monastery.

A fountain.

As you walk toward the falls, you encounter a fork.  If you go straight, you will go straight to the waterfalls.  If you bear left, you climb a gentle hill to the war memorial I mentioned earlier and pictured below.

You can unlatch the gate and look at the memorial close up.  We chose not to, which in retrospect was a wise decision.  We had many steps in our future.

You’re not supposed to wade or swim in the creek.  However, we saw plenty of people ignoring these ubiquitous signs.  We even saw one group that were actually wearing bathing suits and in the water.  Not saying you should do it, but I will say that there was no one policing.

The walk to the waterfalls is pleasant, easy, and flat.  You don’t know what’s coming…

 At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that we parked at the first parking area we encountered.  I think that was a mistake, even though I wanted to have lunch before we started our hike.  If you start at the top of the falls, you will get tired going down.  Then you will have to turn around and hike back up.  The hike up is a lot more strenuous than the hike down is.  There are seven levels, most of which aren’t steep drops.  However, at the bottom of the system, there are two big falls with many steps to climb up and down.  Keep that in mind if you visit.  Also… do not come to the falls with a stroller or a wheelchair.  This is a moderately difficult walk and requires participants to be able bodied or carried.

Below are photos from the walk down the falls.  It was fairly busy today, so a lot of people were taking pictures.  I think I did a pretty good job of not including most of them in my shots!  It took us about an hour to hike down and back, with another hour or so for a leisurely lunch.  If you have a lot of energy, you could combine this activity with another one.

One of the steep staircases to climb.

And a look at just how far down the mountain you are…

At the end of the falls, as we were approaching the main entrance.

Piles of rocks left by other visitors.

A map of the area.  If you wanted to, you could do a lot of heavy duty hiking here.

This is a picture of the main entrance– seems most people use it.

We turned around and started walking back.  This is a sign warning against winter visits, when the falls are closed.  I would imagine it would be dangerous to walk along the falls when it’s very icy.

A chair?  I sure could have used one.

Another long trip up the stairs!  Good thing I have a strong heart!

Although it didn’t take long to visit the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle, it was a challenging walk for Bill and me.  I was alternately panting, sweating, and thanking God I’m still able to do these kinds of activities.  I thought of my mom as I was climbing the steps.  She’s turning 80 in August and can no longer walk like she used to.  She would not have been able to enjoy the beautiful waterfalls here.  On the other hand, we did see a number of very fit seniors visiting this natural wonder.  So I will keep hauling my ass up the hills and taking pictures.  Even if I sometimes grouse at the hard physical work, crowds, and stinging nettle plants, I am never sorry I do these day trips.  I always come away better off for having made the effort to visit.

I was tempted to hike up and down this very short but steep shortcut.  But then I remembered being stung by plants yesterday and decided not to cheat.

One last shot…

 Now… earlier in this post, I mentioned the bikers and how they were creating a bit of a hazard on the road to the waterfalls.  Those of you who ride motorcycles should pay close attention.  Bill and I got in the car and started heading home.  My cell phone had absolutely no signal in the area.  While this was initially a nuisance for an Internet addict like me, it actually became what might have been a matter of life or death.

As we were driving along the road between where we parked and where the main entrance to the falls are, we passed a young woman dressed in biker garb.  I noticed that she looked very distraught.  She waved at us to slow down.  As we approached a sharp bend, I could see why she was waving.  There was a small group of bikers on the side of the road, next to the treelined cliff.  A young man stood in the middle of the road and flagged us down.  He motioned for us to lower the window and asked us if we had a “handy” (cell phone).  Bill and I were confused as to what was going on, but the look on his face told us something bad had just happened.  Clearly, he was hoping I had a signal so he could call for help.

I noticed the groups’ bikes were parked nearby and a couple of the men were looking over the edge of the mountain.  I can’t be sure, but it appeared that a very serious accident had just occurred.  Bill and I surmised that perhaps a member of their group had been unable to negotiate the turn and went over.  I don’t know this for sure, though… only that the people in that group appeared to be very upset.  It looked like whatever had happened had only just happened.  Hopefully, whoever came after us was more helpful than we were and no one was either hurt or killed.  But that’s sure the way it looked.

So if you ride a motorcycle, please slow down and be careful, especially on the very curvy mountain roads at high altitudes.  We saw an awful lot of people taking stupid chances today, even if we hadn’t run into this distressed looking group.

Edited to add:  Here’s a news report about the accident.  Our impressions were correct.  Looks like he survived.

Oppenau (ots) – On the county road 5370 between Allerheiligen and Oppenau came on Sunday afternoon at 16:25 clock a 47-year-old motorcyclist alone involved in a right turn to fall. The driver of a group of four slipped over the road after the fall and threw first against a tree on the left lane side and in the sequence down a slope. The man was seriously injured about 50 meters below the road to lie down, his admitted in France two-wheelers crashed about 80 meters in depth. The casualty was hospitalized in a hospital. During the extensive recovery, the county road was closed for about 2 hours. The damage to the bike is around 12,000 euros.

Minutes after we passed the guys on the side of the road, we passed the main entrance.  If we had parked there, we probably would have missed the whole drama.

It was a really beautiful day to visit the waterfalls.  And… I was thanking God we did it in June instead of late July or August!  I was still radiating heat when we got to the car.  By the way… it doesn’t cost anything to visit these falls.  Frankly, I thought they were gorgeous.  Triberg may have Germany’s highest falls, but I think Allerheiligen’s falls are much prettier.  In fact, I also liked them better than the falls at Bad Urach.  If you like waterfalls, I definitely recommend a trip to the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle.

Below are just a few photos I took on the way home.  The route took us a different way than we’d ever been before.  Oppenau looks like a really nice town.  I may have to explore there next.

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Hello again to the Holzkrug!

Back in August 2014, around the time Bill and I moved back to the Stuttgart area, we paid a visit to the Holzkrug in Vaihingen.  I had fondly remembered the tiny little eatery from our first tour in Stuttgart, from 2007-09.  For the first six weeks of our stay, we lived at the Vaihninger Hof, a run down hotel within walking distance of Patch Barracks.  Because it was a no frills German hotel, we only had a little dorm sized fridge in our room.  We had to eat out for most of our meals.  As a consequence, I got to know the restaurants circa 2007 in the Vaihingen area very well.

I remember liking the Holzkrug because of its local style charm and the fact that they sometimes serve roasted chicken there that is to die for.  I see by my last Holzkrug post, Bill and I both had chicken the last time we were there.  Today, we stopped in for lunch because we stopped by Patch to gas up my car.  They weren’t serving any chicken today, but we still had a nice lunch.

The door was open and the German pop was playing…

 

Holzkrug offers hot food from 10:30am until 2:00pm on Saturdays.  They also offer lunch with specials from 10:30am until 2:00pm and then dinner from 4:30pm until 8:00pm all during the work week.  On Sundays, they are only open from 10:00am until 2:00pm.  Dinner is not offered on weekend nights.

The Holzkrug is the only restaurant in this area that I’ve been to that sometimes offers roasted chicken.  The only other time I’ve seen it has been at fests or from “chicken men” with food trucks.  If there are other local restaurants that have chicken, I haven’t run into them yet.

Bill checks out today’s limited menu.

 

Today’s offerings.  Bill originally settled on “Forelle” (trout), but they were out of it.  They did, however, have fried fish of some sort.  That’s what he ordered.  I ordered “Cordon Bleu und Krokettes”, basically a fried schntizel stuffed with ham and mild melted cheese.

 

The Holzkrug has a very local vibe, even though it’s close to Patch Barracks.  Although I did see a plaque with an American flag on it, I don’t know that they get a lot of Americans in there.  We had to share a table with a guy who was clearly a regular and kindly made room for us at the “Stammtisch” (a table set aside for regulars).  I think it’s mostly a bar, though we’ve always gone there to eat and have enjoyed every experience.

“Stammtisch”– if you see one of these signs in a German or Austrian restaurant, it means it’s reserved for regulars.  However, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen too many regulars taking advantage of one.  Maybe it’s because I make a habit of trying so many different places that I haven’t really become a “regular” at many restaurants here.  The Stammtisch is different than a table that’s “reserved”.  

 

The view of the bar from where I was sitting.  This is a small place, but it’s very quaint and kind of charming.  I’m pretty sure they have English menus if you ask for them.  Sometimes the servers speak English, though today’s didn’t really.  I like the interior of the Holzkrug.  It’s the kind of place I wish we had in our own little town… you could go there and soak up the atmosphere over a couple of beers.

 

Here’s a picture of our deep fried goodness…  Bill had the fried fish special, which came with potato salad.  He washed it down with a Hefeweizen.  I had the Cordon Bleu and fried potato croquettes.  It was a lot and we brought home leftovers from my dish!

 

The guy sitting next to us was humming off key.  It was driving me nuts.  I happen to be a very musical person with “perfect pitch”, which means that when things are off key, it’s like nails on a chalkboard.  I felt badly about being annoyed, though, because he was nice enough to share his table with us.  The guy sitting behind Bill, also clearly a local and a regular, kept shooting glances at us.  But the wait staff was very kind and attentive.

This is a decidedly dog friendly place.  A large Doberman was enjoying a visit while we were there.  It’s also kid friendly.  I noticed the bartender gave a little boy a little bag of popcorn while he was waiting for his Oma to finish up.  There are also a couple of kid-sized choices on the menu.

After we ate, I noticed the sign on the wall.  It basically translates to “If you’re the type to forget to pay when you drink, pay beforehand.”

 

A Pilsner…

After lunch, I had a Pils.  I don’t usually drink Pils, but every time we visit the Holzkrug, I am reminded of our first time here.  Bill ordered a Pils at this restaurant and thought they had forgotten about his beer when I got served my Hefeweizen first.  He asked the barkeep where his beer was.  The bartender chastised him and told him that a proper Pils can take up to seven minutes to pour.  A quick Googling tells me that she was telling the truth about that, but truth be told, I have yet to ever visit a bar in Germany where it’s taken that long…

At about 2:20pm, it was time for our server to clock out, so she asked us to settle our bill.  It came to about thirty euros before the tip.  I finished my beer and visited the ladies room.  Here’s a handy tip for anyone who happens to be in Vaihingen and needs to pee.  The Holzkrug will allow non-guests to use their restroom if you pay 50 cents.  Yeah, I know paying to pee is the norm here, but at least you know there’s a place to go if the need strikes.

Anyway, we like the Holzkrug.  I like them even better when they have roasted chicken, which they also sell to go.  This is a nice local hole in the wall with typical German food, friendly service, and very reasonable prices.

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European pet friendly lodging I have known…

Zane on a road trip to Belgium!

Arran begging for a belly rub.

Sometimes I get inspiration for blog posts from people in local Facebook groups who have a need.  I think the many travel bloggers in the Stuttgart area each offer different things to our readers.  I don’t have children, so generally speaking, I’m not the one to come to for advice on where to take your kids.  However, I do love good food, wine and beer, unique places that are off the beaten track, and, most importantly, pet friendly lodging.

We didn’t used to take our dogs on our trips.  When we lived in Germany the first time, we had Flea and MacGregor, two high maintenance beagles that didn’t travel well.  Flea would get car sick.  MacGregor was deathly afraid of people he didn’t know.  Both of them barked incessantly.  MacGregor would also howl when we left them alone.  In those days, we’d take them to Hunde Hotel Haase, which was at the time being run by a woman named Kirsten.  Kirsten was awesome, and she took great care of our dogs.  Unfortunately, sometime in the five years between our Germany tours, Kirsten left, and took the Hunde Hotel’s good reputation with her.  I started hearing some very disturbing stories about dogs who were left there.

We started using Dog Holiday for our current dogs, Zane and Arran.  Dog Holiday is great, but it’s frequently booked, especially on holiday weekends.  When we want to take a dog free break, we book Zane and Arran at Dog Holiday months or even as far as a year in advance.  Since we don’t know how long we’ll be in Germany, that can be problematic as well.

In 2016, we decided to start taking the dogs with us on our trips.  We started with a one night experiment in Riquewihr, which is a lovely French town in Alsace, not too far from Stuttgart.  Although Zane and Arran had stayed in hotels before, we decided it was time we trained them to be good in hotels.  I booked us a deluxe room at Best Western Le Schoenenbourg.  Although the dogs weren’t on their absolute best behavior, the trip was a success.  We even managed to enjoy a delicious gourmet meal in Riquewihr with our dogs in tow!  After that victory, I started looking for other pet friendly accommodations.  I’ve found some good ones, which I am sharing in this post.

Before I get started, I want to list my criteria for booking pet friendly accommodations.  First, I look for parking– particularly free parking.  That’s because we don’t take our dogs on trains, at least not yet.  We have to have a place to park our SUV.  Next, I look for free WiFi because I’m addicted to the Internet, but also because you never know when you’ll need to find an emergency vet or something.  And finally, I try to book places that don’t charge pet fees.  It’s not that I don’t want to pay pet fees or that I don’t think property owners are right to be concerned about pets staying in their rentals.  It’s more because I’ve found that people who don’t charge for pets tend to be less nervous and/or anal retentive about having them in their rentals.  I prefer to rent from people who like my dogs rather than just tolerate them.

So here goes with my list of nine pet friendly properties we’ve enjoyed so far.  They are not ranked in any particular order.

1.  Best Western Hotel Le Schoenenberg in Riquewihr, France

This will be the only hotel listed in this post.  I am mentioning Hotel Le Schoenenberg because they were exceptionally pet friendly.  When we checked into our deluxe room (the only one they had left), we found it outfitted for our dogs’ arrival.  They had included pet bowls and treats for Zane and Arran and they were super understanding when my dogs started baying on the way downstairs.  My one concern about this hotel is that it’s pretty pricey.  We paid just under 200 euros for one night with breakfast.  However, we were also in a suite and it was during the high season.  Also, I don’t think you need more than a couple of days to see all of Riquewihr, although there is much to see in the surrounding areas.

Hotel Le Schoenenberg was very welcoming to our dogs!

2.  Chalet Montana in Barvaux, Belgium

We booked Chalet Montana in Barvaux, Belgium for Labor Day weekend 2016.  I found this house on Booking.com.  It was larger than what we needed and kind of pricey, but it has the distinction of being our very first experience renting a vacation home.  I see on Booking.com that Chalet Montana *may* charge for pets, but I don’t think they charged us when we stayed there.  There are two master bedrooms with two trundle beds.  Bring your own linens.

This property is near the charming town of Durbuy and within range of towns like Rochefort, Bastogne, and Dinant.  We visited each of those towns while we were in Barvaux.  I was particularly enchanted by Dinant, which is where Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, was born.  We found the area very dog friendly and the house itself is very nice and extremely kid friendly.  Additionally, it boasts a still water hot tub (fueled by a fire that you have to build) and a sauna.  There’s an adventure park in the area, as well as golfing.  We also found great beer and good restaurants nearby.

Apparently, Durbuy has a problem with human stealth shitters.  However, we never encountered human poop and, in fact, thought the area was lovely!  It smelled good, too. 

3.  Villa Moretta in Domaso, Italy  (ETA: This property no longer accepts pets as of 2020)

You’d rather head south for a trip to Italy?  I can’t blame you for that.  We found Villa Moretta in Domaso, Italy on Booking.com and stayed there for Memorial Day weekend.  I notice that the name has changed since our stay.  In May of last year, it was called Casa Oliva di Domaso.  I don’t know if that means the place has new owners, although I note that when we stayed there, there were no pet charges and now it looks like they *may* charge for pets.

The owner was doing work on an apartment on the first floor during our stay.   It looks like he’s now offering two apartments, one of which is one bedroom and the other is two bedrooms.  In any case, the two room apartment was pet friendly when we stayed there and offered stunning views of Lake Como, as well as access to some great Italian food.  I will warn that this apartment requires walking up steps for access because it’s situated on a hillside.  Also, there is one tiny parking space that was a challenge for Bill to fit our small SUV.  However, I have very fond memories of Domaso and would love to go back!  It’s a very chilled out town, perfect for relaxing and dog walking.

View from a trail going up the hillside.

I loved the donkey!

Watching storm clouds roll in from the balcony.

4.  Vila Verunka in Senec, Czech Republic

We stayed at Vila Verunka in Senec, Czech Republic just last weekend.  It’s a little two room house on the edge of a forest, located in a residential suburb of Plzen.  This house features pet friendly floors and a large, fenced in yard.  The owners are very nice and did not charge us extra for Zane and Arran.  Also, this accommodation was extremely inexpensive.  For three nights, we paid 288 euros.  The one caveat is that the tap water is not potable.  It’s fine for washing and watering your dogs, but not for human consumption.  The owners didn’t explain why, except to say that the house isn’t hooked up to city water.  My guess is that they use a cistern to supply water to the house.  Drinking bottled water is no big deal for us, but I thought it best to mention it.  There’s a swing set in the yard for your kids and the house is set far enough away from other properties that noise from dogs is less of a problem.

Plzen is a great place for beer lovers, as well as aviation lovers.  There is a huge, unique Air Park near the house that offers a rare chance to look at Cold War era airplanes, tanks, helicopters, and missiles.  Also, Plzen has a zoo and several museums for Cold War history buffs.  It’s a city that has a special fondness for America, which is evident in its street names.

Zane was very much at home at Vila Verunka!

5.  Gîtes de la Maison Vigneronne in Ribeauvillé, France

This property is probably my favorite dog friendly property on this list.  In 2017, Bill and I stayed at Yannick’s “wine house” three times!  The three links in the description lead to my series about each stay, all of which have been fun for us and the dogs.  Yannick names his apartments after different wine grapes.  So far we’ve stayed in Pinot Noir (one bedroom) once and Riesling (three bedrooms) twice.  Four apartments are in his wine house and the other two are located in a building on the main drag through town.  I have actually seen all but two of the apartments.  I have a feeling Yannick is counting on me to pitch them to my American friends in Germany.

I can vouch for how dog friendly Yannick’s apartments are.  He doesn’t charge extra for pets and welcomes ours whole-heartedly, even bringing them treats.  While we did encounter a cranky neighbor on our last visit, by and large, the people in Ribeauville are very dog friendly.  It’s a super cute town with several great restaurants and shopping opportunities, as well as free parking.  It’s also a great place to go wine tasting and visit other cute little towns in the vicinity.  We like Ribeauville more than Colmar and Riquewihr because it offers a nice balance between touristy and homey.  Also, it’s a relatively short and pretty drive from Stuttgart.  I don’t know when we’ll be back to Ribeauville, but I’m happy to share the wealth with those who want to go.

Zane loves Yannick’s Riesling apartment, too.

6.  Holiday Home Bonjour Clara in Alveringem, Belgium

Are you interested in being close to a beach?  Like good Belgian beer?  Have a big group?  You might want to consider Holiday Home Bonjour Clara in Alveringem.  This large old house is located in a rural area about a half an hour from the North Sea.  It takes about nine hours to get to Alveringem from Stuttgart, but you pass through a few beer towns to get to it.  Bonjour Clara has four bedrooms and is usually rented to crowds.  We paid 760 euros in cash for four nights, which we thought was very reasonable given how many people can stay there.  Besides being close to the beach, this house is within driving distance of Ghent and Bruges.  There’s a dairy farm next door, where you can buy fresh milk, and the hostess, Marianne, has chickens that provide fresh eggs.  We really enjoyed this property in Belgium with its huge kitchen and swimming pond.  I wouldn’t mind a return trip.

This beach is maybe thirty minutes away.

The boys in the kitchen.

Bill enjoys the pond.

7.  Hexagonal Tower for Two in Semur-en-Auxois, France

I’m adding the Hexagonal Tower for Two, although this property is probably the least pet friendly on my list.  First of all, the owner did charge us for Zane and Arran.  I think it was 20 euros or so, but I’m not absolutely certain of the exact amount.  Secondly, this house is strictly for two people.  Although it’s pet friendly, it would be best if your pet was on the small side.  Why?  Because it’s a tiny house.  However, it’s also a very cool place to stay.  The owners are a British woman and her French husband, who is a master stone mason.  They built this cool tower a few years ago so they could host guests.  For two people, it’s probably the perfect size.  For more than two people, it’s a squeeze.  However, the town of Semur-en-Auxois, situated in Burgundy, is a very quaint, French town surrounded by more quaint French towns.  The area is absolutely beautiful!  If you need a break from Germany, it’s a great place to be.

Look how cute the town is!

This is about the size of the downstairs room.  Note no handrail on the steps, which could be a problem if you have small kids.  My dogs were leery of it.

The tower!  For couples or singles only!

 
8.  Gite de la Maison Bleue in Saint Marcelin de Cray, France

This is another one of my favorite pet friendly spots so far.  Located in Burgundy, a bit further south of Semur-en-Auxois, is Gite de la Maison Bleue, a beautiful old farmhouse in Saint Marcelin de Cray.  The owners of this property run a snail and rabbit farm and they have lots of friendly animals, including a spunky donkey named Antoine.  When Zane and Arran barked at Antoine and his friend, the Friesian horse, Antoine brayed right back at them.  It was hilarious!  Not only is this property beautiful, the owners are also very nice and accommodating, especially to our dogs, who were made very welcome.  It was no problem at all if the dogs pooped in the yard since there were pigs, llamas, alpacas, sheep, rabbits, geese, snails, and other dogs there.  I am dying to go back to this area, too, since it’s in the heart of wine country and, quite honestly, offers a look at “the real France”.  Cluny is a nearby town where you can shop, eat good food, and mingle with the locals.  There’s also an interesting abbey open for tours.

This tower is part of the rental property and offers a great view from the top.

Antoine the donkey!

View from the balcony.

Zane and Arran are feeling at home.

Of all the pet friendly rentals we’ve tried so far, I think Anno 1499 in Rothenburg ob der Tauber may have impressed me the most.  This house was not only dirt cheap to rent, it had every comfort you could want.  Located on the main street into the walled city, this house had two full bathrooms, two bedrooms with double beds as well as a crib and daybed, and a full kitchen.  The owner works across the street and was super friendly and welcoming to Zane and Arran.  There were no extra charges for them.  She also showed us where we could park for free.  We had an absolutely trouble free stay at this house.  I’m probably going to be sorry I shared it!

The house!

Tower in a walled city.

So there you have it… nine places Bill and I have taken the dogs and had a good enough time that we’d book again.  Actually, I’m not sure I’d book the Hexagonal Tower again with the dogs, but I would for just Bill and me.  If your dog doesn’t have to sleep with you and is pretty small, it would be okay.  For us, it wasn’t quite enough space.  However, we loved the town and enjoyed our hosts.

I hope this list is helpful for those of you who are seeking pet friendly digs while you’re in Europe.  I will keep searching for new places and will probably write a sequel when I have another good sized list of pet friendly accommodations.  Happy traveling!

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Eastern Europe

Cheap thrills in the Czech Republic! Part two

After we decided we wanted to go to the Czech Republic, Bill and I had to determine where in the country we wanted to go.  I was actually kind of wanting to visit Brno, which is a city we hadn’t seen before.  It got some great write ups that made it sound like an appealing place to see.  Unfortunately, we were constrained by the brevity of Bill’s time off and the fact that we’d need to bring our dogs, Zane and Arran, with us.  I did consider another visit to Chodovar, but again, thought of the dogs.  Although Chodovar allows dogs to stay in its hotel, Zane and Arran do better in lower density populations.  They aren’t exactly quiet.

I went to Booking.com, to look for appropriate accommodations near Chodova Plana and found a couple of possibilities.  The place that won our business was Vila Verunka, a little freestanding house in Senec, a suburb of Plzen.  I was won over by the fact that it offered free parking, free WiFi, and didn’t charge extra for the dogs.  It’s not that I mind paying pet fees; it’s just that I’ve found that people who don’t charge extra fees for pets tend to be less nervous about them staying.  They’re usually dog lovers who won’t freak out over normal things that dogs do.  That appeared to be the case at Vila Verunka, too.  The owners were very welcoming to our dogs, which I always love to see.

A lot of people like Air BnB.  I haven’t tried it yet, mainly because their Web site makes it hard for me to find exactly what I’m looking for.  I tend to be specific about what I want in a rental.  Although Booking.com doesn’t seem to have as many properties as Air BnB does, its search process is easy to use.  And, if I end up really hitting it off, sometimes the owners will just tell me to text them personally.  Such is the case in Ribeauville.  We’ve stayed at one guy’s apartment three times in the past year and he’s given us his number and told us to text him next time we want to rent from him.  I’m sure it’s because he makes more money that way, but if I’m honest, I kind of like having our French friend Yannick on speed dial.  😉

I could tell Senec would be a suburban location.  The price was definitely right, though.  For three nights in a two bedroom house, we paid the Czech crown equivalent of 288 euros.  Although we paid in the local currency, it turned out we could have paid in euros or even by credit card.  We didn’t have quite enough Czech crowns when we arrived because Bill stopped at the border and changed money at an exchange– something he shouldn’t have done, because they’re very expensive.  The owners were cool, though, and came the next morning for the money, after Bill had a chance to hit the bank.  Apparently, that house is popular with business people.  The owners asked us if we were there on business or filming something.  They seemed surprised that we’d go to Plzen for fun, although if you’re a beer lover, it’s a must see place.

Below are some pictures of the accommodations.  Everything was very clean and appeared to be new.

The living room.  There’s a gas fireplace, which we didn’t use.  I liked how carefree the couch was.  Very durable material that didn’t embed dog hair.  I will probably be in the market for a new couch when we move out of Germany.  I’m going to look for one upholstered with that material.

The bigger bedroom.  The mattress was a little hard, but the bed was nice and big.  There were flatscreen TVs in both bedrooms.  There’s also a single daybed in this room that could accommodate another person.

This property doesn’t have a shower.  Instead, there’s a bathtub with a handheld sprayer.  Also, the toilet is in a separate room.  The sink is in the washroom with the tub and the washing machine.

Nice kitchen, although the microwave was in a cabinet over the fridge.  Bill had to get it down when we wanted to use it, which was kind of a pain.  We’re both short.  It would have been nice if the microwave were on a cart or a table instead of a high cabinet.  There is a coffee pod machine, so Bill went out and got a cheap French press because we don’t like coffee pods.  Otherwise, the kitchen was well appointed, although lacking coasters.  The water in this house is not potable, though.  I think it may be because the house has a cistern, which means it uses rainwater.  Our first German house had a cistern that we could turn on and off.  

The toilet.  There was a curtained off “closet” with cleaning supplies.  No sink in the WC.

The other bedroom.  Somewhat smaller.

Another view of the living room.  There’s another daybed for another person to sleep on.  Nice flatscreen TV, though there were no English channels.  We watched the Winter Olympics in Czech, which was more interesting than it sounds!  WiFi in this house worked great!  No issues whatsoever.

Washing machine.

The outside of the house.  The picture doesn’t show how big the yard is.  It’s fenced in and has a picnic area and grill.  There’s also a swing set and the owners will rent you an inflatable pool for your kids.  There’s also a very small pond, which was frozen over when we visited.

Another shot of the house.  It backs up to a wooded area where there are trails suitable for walking your dogs.  Otherwise, you can turn them loose in the large, fenced yard.

This house is in what appears to be a developing subdivision.  There are several homes being built now.  In the neighborhood, there are a couple of small markets and a restaurant or two.  We didn’t explore much of Senec, although we did make a very cool find on Saturday morning.  More on that in the next post.  Here’s a hint, though… if you like old aircraft from the Cold War era, you might want to take a peek!

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Bavaria, short breaks

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Part one– amazing digs!

It’s Martin Luther King Day and Bill and I have just come back from visiting a place that has been on my bucket list for years.  A few years ago, I even drew the name of this place out of my champagne bucket; we were actually “supposed” to visit in 2014, but for some reason, our plans to get there got put on the back burner.  I’m writing of the beautifully preserved walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, Germany.

My very first view of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Rothenburg is located not far from Ansbach, which is a town that has the distinction of being one of the places where Bill served his very first assignment in Germany (the other was Vilseck).  He has often spoken of Rothenburg during our fifteen years of marriage, making me want to see it.  Now that he’s been there and seen how beautiful it is, he says he’s not sure if he actually ever did go there before this past weekend.  Rothenburg is the kind of place that won’t slip your memory and he was surprised by how cool a place it is.

Because we find ourselves having to bring our dogs with us on a lot of our trips, I have to look for pet friendly accommodations.  Because we have beagle mixes and they can be loud, I have to find places where it won’t be a problem if they make noise.  I managed to book a fantastic place in Rothenburg.  As usual, I consulted Booking.com and it was there that I found a house called Anno 1499.

Folks, it’s not often that I gush about a property, but I feel like I have to about this house, which is located just inside the medieval walls of Rothenburg and dates back to the year 1499.  It truly had every comfort we could have ever wanted.  I was a little unsure about how successful this rental would be, since I could see that the house was in a row that shared walls with the next property.  I can now say that wasn’t a problem.  In fact, I think this might have been our most carefree pet friendly rental yet.

We arrived in Rothenburg at about 4:00pm.  Our hostess, who spoke a little English, told Bill where to find the keys to the house.  They are kept in a code activated safe outside, making it easy for renters to access the house.  Unfortunately, Bill still had some trouble finding the keys, so he had to call her.  She works as a nurse at the senior living facility right across the street, so she met us within about two minutes and let us into the house.  I am always nervous when I meet the landlord/landlady and I have my dogs.  I did not have to worry this time.  Our hostess warmly welcomed Zane and Arran!  Then she showed Bill a nearby spot where he could park all weekend for free!  Paid parking is also available at five euros a day.

Below are some pictures of this fabulous house…

The front door…  excuse the shadow!

Living room.  It has a couch, a television with German TV and CNN, a table and chairs, and a sliding door that opens to a small courtyard.  We didn’t use the courtyard, but it would be very nice in better weather.

A view into the kitchen.  It was fully equipped with a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher, stove, and oven.  There’s another table and chairs.

Washer and dryer.

A shot of the little courtyard.  I wished we’d had weather that would have facilitated using this charming space, which you can see from the medieval wall located right behind the house.

One bedroom on the second floor.  It had a small double bed.

And a huge TV!

Behind the bedroom is an office with a daybed, a crib, and a desk.

Yes, the WiFi works well, except on the top floor.

Huge bathroom.  The tub was amazing… nice and big and even had lighting controlled with a dimmer switch.  The hostess also provides his and hers rubber duckies!

 

Top floor.  Another sitting area with a couch and a small TV, as well as a CD “boombox”.

And another bedroom with a larger double bed…

TV number four.

Baby gate on the top floor.

The pretty door from the inside.  To the right (not pictured) is another bathroom that has a shower.

Adorable Bavarian touches…

 

The front of Anno 1499…  At one point, someone’s cat got stuck on the roof.  I’m not sure how it got up there or eventually got down, but evidently it did.  Its owner knocked on our door and unsuccessfully tried to rescue it.

You would think this house would cost a bundle to rent.  Well, I’m here to tell you that at least in January, this house is a steal.  For three nights, we paid just 285 euros.  And 60 euros of that went to taxes.  We did not have to pay a security deposit or extra pet fees, either.  I spent all weekend marveling at how reasonably priced this place was, yet how awesome it is to stay there.  We paid our hostess in cash, as was required, and this morning when we left, we simply put the key on the kitchen table.

We could not have asked for a better place to stay and if we ever make it back to Rothenburg, I hope we can stay again.  It truly was first rate.  Adding to the house’s appeal is the fact that it’s only a five minute walk from the nearest Edeka.  You walk out the gates, cross the street, and rejoin us in 2018…  Or you walk the other way and stay in medieval bliss.  I actually experienced a little culture shock this morning as we emerged from the town and I remembered what Germany looks like outside of the walls.

Regarding Rothenburg itself… well, I will be adding it to my list of places to go when I need to get out of Stuttgart and have to take the dogs with me.  It really is a very cool town.  I hope you’ll come along with me as I write up the rest of our trip in the posts to follow this one.

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I needed a vacation like nobody’s business… Our pet friendly Domaso Domicile! Part 2

Our apartment in Domaso was located on a pleasant but narrow street.  It was part of a large house with three levels.  We were in the middle level, as the top and bottom levels appeared to be undergoing renovation.  The middle level offered an enormous covered terrace with plenty of outdoor  seating.  Although the whole property was fenced in, we didn’t let our dogs loose because there were a couple of areas that were off limits due to the owner’s desire to landscape.

There was a parking spot, but it was a bit of a challenge to park our RAV 4 there.  Bill eventually got the hang of squeezing in the cozy spot.  To get to the apartment, we had to pass through a locked gate and climb some steps.  That would make this property unsuitable for anyone with mobility issues.  The climb wasn’t difficult for the able bodied, but could be tricky for anyone using crutches or someone in a wheelchair.

The floors of the apartment were either wood or tile, which is always a blessing if you have dogs.  There was a nice sitting room with a comfortable couch, a television, and a decorative fireplace (I don’t know if it functions).  WiFi was free, but a bit unreliable.  We had two small bedrooms with what appeared to be queen sized beds and a smaller kid’s room.  There were two bathrooms, one with a modern shower and the other rather old fashioned, with a bathtub and a bidet.  The kitchen was small, but had a table and chairs in it.  It also offered a great view of the lake.

The sitting room.  We spent a lot of time in there!

Great terrace!  The owner is working on a garden on the lower level as well.

The foyer.

The kitchen.  It lacks a microwave and the fridge is a bit old, but it had pretty much all we needed.  And again… fantastic view of the lake!

One bedroom.  I was glad we brought our own pillows.  The mattress was a bit hard and gave us backaches.

One bathroom.  It’s very pink!  Has a tub and a hand sprayer, as well as a bidet (which we didn’t use).  The other bathroom has a nice shower and a more modern toilet.

The other bedroom.  There’s also a tiny kid’s room.

Tight parking!  It takes some doing to get in and out of the space.

This waterfall is right next to the house.

 

All in all, this little apartment was very nice for four nights.  I wish the bed had been a little bigger and the mattress a little softer, and I wish the Internet had been a bit more reliable.  But we loved the neighborhood, which was very cute and offered a pleasant walk into town.  There’s also a nice cobbled rock pathway up the hillside, where the views are stunning and there’s a very well regarded agritourism restaurant/winery there.  I wish we had managed to make reservations there for a meal.  Now we have a reason to go back!

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short breaks

I needed a vacation like nobody’s business… Italy to the rescue! Part 1

Some years ago, I remember an ad that aired on TV that had a jingle that went “I need a vacation like nobody’s business!”  That’s how I was feeling a couple of weeks ago.  Although Bill and I currently have the privilege of being able to take lots of trips fairly frequently, it had been a couple of months since our last one.  We’ve had a pretty stressful spring, too, and the recently crappy weather did little to enhance my joy for living in Germany.  I told Bill I wanted to get out of town for a few days.  He agreed we needed to go somewhere.

Off I went to Booking.com to find pet friendly accommodations somewhere… anywhere within a reasonable driving distance.  Bill arranged to take last Thursday, Friday, and today off of work.  I considered places in The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy.  After a few coin tosses, we wound up booking our trip to the little town of Domaso, Italy, which sits right next to Lake Como.

Bill and I had visited Lake Como before.  In fact, it has the distinction of being the very first place we visited during our first Germany experience together.  In May 2008, we booked a hotel in a little mountain town called Pellio Intelvi, which is above Lake Como.  Although it was a nice hotel, it was in a rather remote area and was a pain to get to.  Of course, the last time we were in the vicinity of Lake Como was June 2009, when we unexpectedly got trapped there while day tripping.  I am happy to report that this time, we did not get stuck anywhere.  In fact, we had a marvelous time over our pre-holiday long weekend.

I booked Casa Oliva di Domaso for four nights.  I chose it because it was pet friendly, with no extra pet fees, and near the lake.  It had free WiFi and parking.  Those are pretty much my main criteria when I book self-catered accommodations.  I usually book them because I’m bringing my dogs, who are sweet, but occasionally loud.  The price for this apartment was right, too.  We paid under $500 for four nights.  For that, we got a three bedroom, two bathroom house that included linens and towels and didn’t require us to clean extensively before we left.

After packing up the car on Thursday morning, we set off for Italy.  I remember being pretty tense during the drive down, probably due to some stupid argument I had on Facebook.  Bill was fretting over a job interview he had last week.  The dogs were also nervous– especially Zane, who always frets when he’s in the car, yet delights in getting to go with us.  Although traffic wasn’t too terrible, it still took us about seven hours to get to our destination.  I entertained myself by taking some photos.

In Germany, very close to the Swiss border… Hohentwiel!

As we headed south, we passed through some absolutely stunning areas…

And lots of tunnels!

The road around Lake Como can get very tight.  At one point, we were stuck for a couple of minutes as we took turns passing through a narrow part.  That gave me the chance to see a funny exchange between a couple of twin boys and an older girl.  The girl was giving the boys what for, and the boys responded by yelling back and wagging their fingers.  It was so stereotypically Italian that I laughed out loud.

Italians like their asparagus, too.

One thing I noticed as I took photos was that the air smelled heavily of flowers.  When I took pictures in Switzerland, I smelled a lot of manure.

Ferries are everywhere!

 

We passed through one part of Switzerland that was absolutely stunning!  But on the way down, we had a lot of clouds.  Today’s weather on the way back was much nicer, but I was on the wrong side of the car to take good pictures.  I almost wanted to book a trip to Switzerland based on the pretty scenery we saw, but then realized that when we stopped at Burger King for two combo meals, we paid the Swiss Franc equivalent of about $28!  Switzerland is bloody expensive!

We were tired when we arrived in Domaso.  It was about 5:30pm and we really just wanted a little dinner, a lot of wine, and a good night’s sleep.  I sent Bill out for pizza and vino and enjoyed the views of our little apartment on the hillside.

Our host left us some homemade wine.

My first view from our terrace.  When the weather improved, so did the view!

Real Italian pizza!  This was delicious, even though the restaurant that made it got rather mediocre reviews!

And wine to wash it down!

 
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Alsace and Burgundy… Eguisheim and Riquewihr! pt. 4

On Tuesday, Bill got up and went to the bakery, where he picked up an Alsatian delicacy.  The Kugelhopf, also served in western Germany, is a light, yeasty marble cake.  I noticed it the last time we visited Ribeauville, but we never got a chance to try it then.  This time, Bill made a special effort to score one for us.

It’s light and not very sweet, despite the optional powdered sugar on top.  There were raisins on the bottom and almonds studded the top.

Bill and I decided to go to Eguisheim, mainly because my Facebook friend Sarah, who left Germany last year, had posted a picture that made it look like a great place to visit.  Eguisheim is just a little bit south of Colmar, but it’s worlds apart in terms of the mood.  The town is positively medieval, with its concentric circles and old timbered homes.  We didn’t really have an agenda in going there, other than to take in the atmosphere and have a good lunch.  We managed to do both.

Right before lunch, we watched more storks.  They were everywhere in Eguisheim!

There were helpful signs all around the town in French, German, and English offering information.

The houses in Eguisheim have coats of arms on them depicting what the person who lived there did for a living.  If you click the photo above this one, you can read about the coat of arms pictured above.

An impressive church.

A couple announcing their marriage.

And a very dramatic work of art.

After we walked around Eguisheim, we found ourselves at a gay friendly restaurant called Caveau Heuhaus.  I only mention the fact that the restaurant is gay friendly because it had a very prominent rainbow flag on the menu posted outside.  I chose the restaurant because it smelled really good and so far, my nose has never let me down.

We walked into the place and I immediately thought the decor reminded me of a yard sale gone amok.  But it was all arranged in a very endearing way.  The restaurant was not full when we sat down, but it was full by the time we got our meals.  Our waitress was extremely charming and didn’t speak much English, but she did speak German!  So that was a bit of a help, although my German is still terrible.

Bill checks out the menu.

This was a special wine of the day.  It was about 20 euros and delicious.

Should have brought some home with us!

I ended up with an entrecote.  It came with frites and garlic butter.  It was perfectly cooked, by far the best steak we had all week.

Bill went with a big plate of meat.  There were two different sausages, three types of bacon, and sauerkraut done French style, along with boiled potatoes.  We also had excellent bread.

For dessert, I had creme brulee.  This restaurant has a very impressive way of serving it.  The waitress brought it to me and lit it at the table.

The flame died down at just the right time!  Bill had coffee because he was too full from his big plate of sausages.

If you come to Eguisheim and are looking for good food, Caveau du Heuhaus is a good bet!  We really enjoyed our meal there.

After we finished lunch, we drove to Riquewihr, which is just a few kilometers from Ribeauville.  I wanted to stop there and pick up some macarons and madeleines, as well as more wine.

On the way into Riquewihr, we were treated to a glorious rainbow over the grapevines.

We visited Riquewihr in July of last year.  It was still somewhat busy in February, but not nearly as much as it was in the summer.  A lot of restaurants and shops were closed.  It was okay.  We still managed to get what we wanted.

We stopped into the Hugel wine shop, where we tasted several lovely local wines.

We happened to be there at the same time as four generations of the Hugel family.  They are pictured outside, as they were posing for a publicity photo.

And I took note of the sign showing how many Facebook likes the Hugel winery has right now.

 

For dinner on our last night in Ribeauville, we stopped at a small wine/beer bar.  I think we got off on the wrong foot with the proprietor because Bill said “Bon jour” instead of “Bon soir.”

Still, I took note of the provocative sign for the local brew and ordered it.

Sans culottes…  the beer caused us to have an interesting conversation about how I was on a forum for fundamentalist Christians and they were looking for culottes.  Someone warned not to searched for them online, since apparently culottes are pornographic in some circles.  As for “sans culottes”, it is apparently a statement about the poor versus the rich.  Poor people did not wear culottes (silk britches) because they couldn’t afford them.  They were for the wealthy.

I wasn’t very hungry, so I had what is known as a flammkuechen here in Germany…  onions, bacon, and cream on a very thin crust.  

Bill had chicken and salad.

 

The proprietor’s attitude toward us seemed to brighten when we praised his cute little granddaughter, who was learning the tricks of the trade at about five years of age (or maybe younger).  She was super charming!

Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early and packed up for our trip to Burgundy.  Checking out of our gite was super easy.  We just put the key back in the little code operated lockbox by the door.  Later, Yannick sent me a text thanking us for staying with him and wishing us a good trip.  I think we made a new friend in Alsace.

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Running away to Ribeauville, France… part one (apartment review)

A couple of weeks ago, my husband Bill told me he wanted to get away for the long Martin Luther King holiday weekend.  Although there are a lot of places we’d like to go, we were somewhat hampered by the fact that our dogs, Zane and Arran, would have to come with us.  Our regular pet boarder was full.  That would mean wherever we went would need to be dog friendly and close enough to drive to conveniently.

Last July, we took an overnight trip to Riquewihr, which is a picturesque little village in Alsatian wine country.  I had noticed charming Ribeauville on the way there.  I also remembered how extremely pet friendly Riquewihr is.  With that in mind, I went searching on Booking.com for a “gite” in Ribeauville.  Actually, I looked for gites in Eguisheim first, but didn’t find anything that met our needs.  I chose Gîtes de la Maison Vigneronne, au Coeur de Ribeauvillé.

We enjoyed a very nice drive to France, taking a slightly different route than we usually do.  Although the weather was forecasted to be snowy, it hadn’t really started coming down during our drive.  It wasn’t until just until we got over the French border than the snow got to be noticeable.  Below are some photos I took on the drive to France.

Yannick, the guy who runs Gîtes de la Maison Vigneronne, au Coeur de Ribeauvillé, had told us we could check in after three o’clock.  Since he also works a different job, he said he’d meet us after six o’clock.  He gave us directions for getting the key to the apartment, which allowed us to check in slightly earlier than we meant to.  You just punch in a code by the gate and collect the key by yourself.  There is free parking near the apartments, so we found a spot and unloaded.  It was no problem whatsoever.

We rented “Pinot Noir”, which is one of the four apartments Yannick has.  It’s a one bedroom apartment with stone walls.  I noticed the other one near us was called Gewurtztraminer.  It was rented by a couple of American ladies who showed up Saturday, but we neither saw nor heard them.

One thing I loved about Yannick’s apartment was that it was very pet friendly.  I never felt like I had to be especially careful in the apartment.  When Yannick came by to meet us, he made it clear that he’s a dog lover.  If we go back to Ribeauville, we will rent from him again.  I would recommend his places to anyone who needs a place that is especially pet friendly.  Yannick also didn’t take the 300 euro deposit Booking.com said we’d need.  He said he trusted us.  He also left us a nice bottle of local wine.

A gift from our host.

We even had a Christmas tree!

A washing machine if you need one, although there is no dryer.  There is a drying rack.

Bathroom sink.

Rainfall shower.

Living area.

 

Kitchen (part of the living area).  There’s a table for four, a microwave, oven, stove top, refrigerator, and dishwasher.  It was well stocked with cooking and eating utensils.  I didn’t get a photo of the bedroom, but it had a king sized bed that was surprisingly comfortable.

Little courtyard in front of the apartment.

 

My only big complaint about the apartment was that it was really cold in there at first.  Yannick had turned the heat on, but no one had used the apartment recently, so due to the stone walls, it was pretty chilly in there when we first arrived.  It took several hours for the apartment to heat up after we put the heat on the highest setting.  If you are tempted to rent this apartment during the off season in winter, I recommend bringing warm clothes.

The little alleyway that leads to the main drag through the village.  The apartment is maybe fifty meters from town.  There’s a bakery and a small supermarket very close.  There are also lots of restaurants, although many were closed over the weekend because the proprietors had gone on holiday.

We spent about $360 to rent the apartment for three nights.  I thought that was a fair price.  And again, Yannick is super laid back and loves dogs.  He made ours feel very welcome.  Yannick has a couple of studio apartments, as well as a three bedroom one that sleeps six.

As we were leaving this morning, Yannick showed up.  He was going to get the Christmas tree.  He bid us a cheery farewell and the dogs gave him kisses.  Seriously… if you have dogs and want to go to France, look up Yannick.

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A pet friendly Columbus Day weekend in France… part one

Excuse the boring title for this series of posts.  I have just come back from enjoying the holiday weekend in Semur En Auxois, a lovely town in Burgundy, France.  Ten days ago, I had never heard of the place.  I was simply searching for a pet friendly vacation home rental for me and Bill, as well as our two hounds, Zane and Arran.  Until very recently, I habitually booked Zane and Arran in a local hunde pension.  But the one we used to use fell in to disrepute and the one we use now is frequently booked early for holiday weekends.

It wasn’t lost on me that Bill and I have had the great fortune of living in Germany together for the second time and we needed to make the most of our time here.  Although we did manage to see a lot of Europe the last time we lived here and in the years between Germany stints, we also know that things can change quickly, especially given our current election nightmare.  In late July, we took our first pet friendly trip and we’ve done several more since then.  Last month, we spent Labor Day weekend in Belgium and rented a vacation house for the very first time.  We decided to try the same thing in France.

So, off I went to Booking.com, which is where we had luck the first time we rented a house instead of booking a hotel room.  Originally, I thought we’d go to the Champagne region.  Bill and I visited there in 2014 when we took our most recent hop from the United States.  We enjoyed visiting Reims and Epernay, but I wanted to go back and spend more time visiting Champagne houses.  Unfortunately, I had some trouble finding suitable accommodations there.

I expanded my area and searched in Nancy, Dijon, and Beaune.  It was the same story.  I was having a hard time finding a place that had all I wanted– parking (preferably free), free WiFi, and pet friendly (preferably free).  I also wanted to find a place where we weren’t sharing walls, if at all possible.  Part of the appeal of vacation homes as opposed to hotel rooms or apartments is that we’re less likely to annoy someone if our dogs bark.

We did find one place near Dijon that looked very promising.  It was at a winery, which was a huge plus!  And, at least on Booking.com, it was supposedly pet friendly, too.  Then I did some more searching and found the place listed on other sites.  On those sites, it said pets were not allowed.  I got the sense that the owner was one of those people who will rent to pet owners if she has to, but would definitely prefer not to.  When I rent a place, I don’t want to be merely tolerated (although in truth, that’s probably the situation most of the time).  Anyway, I figured she’d rather rent to pet free folks and I’m fine with that.

Just as I was about to tear my hair out in frustration, I found a very unique property in Semur En Auxois.  It was called simply “Hexagonal Tower for Two”.  It was a nice, generic name, kind of like the title of this blog post.  But the property was far from generic.  What I was looking at was literally a tower intended to host guests.  And it was pet friendly!

Yes, this is a tower for two– count ’em– two people…

 

Although I had never heard of Semur En Axois before and had no idea of how to pronounce the name, I did some checking and thought it looked like a very picturesque place.  So I made a booking request and quickly got a response from Louise, the proprietor.  She advised me there would be a small supplement for the dogs (30 euros for both dogs over our three night stay).  Booking.com took payment for our stay and we’d need to pay Louise cash for the dogs.  That was fine, so we made our plans to visit.

The first thing I learned is the pronunciation of the town’s name (say-moor-ohn-ohk-swah).  Next, we plugged it into our GPS and were advised it would take about 5.5 hours to get there, mostly by way of excellent French high speed highways.  Then, when I looked for it on Google, I was advised it was actually seven hours away.  Nope– turns out the GPS was right.  If my series makes you want to visit, plan for about six hours tops on the road.  Also plan for tolls, though I don’t think they were excessive.  I think it came to about 30 euros each way.

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