From the historic wine cave, it was a short walk to Taverne des Serruriers/La Schloss Brasserie. I didn’t stop there for any particular reason, other than I was in the mood for a beer or three. I hadn’t heard anything special about the place. We had a good time anyway, though, because the barmaid was friendly and they played really good music. They had a nice selection of beers in bottles and a few on draft, as well as the expected wines and liquors. We started off with a couple of the daily special– a Meteor Hefeweizen. Meteor is a French beer, and they do okay with their suds.
This bar offers beers on draft in different sizes. They have small beers, large beers, and liters. We went the large, half liter sizes, as we people watched and listened to the classic rock played. I had a good time Shazaming, using an app that identifies the cool or horrible stuff you hear in public. If I’m honest, Shazam kind of sucks sometimes because it doesn’t always recognize songs, but it was doing fine at our watering hole. I noticed the bar offered some snacks… pretzels and the like. They probably had other stuff, too, but I didn’t see it in the menu. The restrooms were typical of a bar. Not the cleanest, but not a horror show, either. We stayed for a couple of happy hours, people watching and drinking suds. After our first French brews, we moved on to some bottled Belgian suds.
On the way to the bar… 
Strasbourg is lovely, even on a cloudy day. 
My goofy Valentine… 
Beer always makes him smile. So do my jokes. 
The view from our table. It got busy shortly after I took this. 
Next to this bar, there’s an impressive looking beer shop. 
Some folks were outside enjoying beer when we left. It was that warm.
After our beer stop, we decided to walk around Strasbourg and search for dinner. As I mentioned before, I didn’t have particularly high hopes for dinner. Given that it was a Friday night too, I had a feeling our dinner would probably be rather ordinary… and it was. But we did enjoy a nice evening walk around Strasbourg. I was enjoying how vibrant the city is and kicking myself for not visiting sooner. Strasbourg is so close– that’s probably why we never went there before, aside from a lunch stop back in 2008, where I ended up drinking a half liter of wine by myself. But it’s definitely a great place to visit!
Even at night… 
Strasbourg is magnificent! 
The cathedral is breathtaking! 
So are the lingerie shops… 
This was a cute little square where there were bars and restaurants, most of which were booked. 
We ended up stopping at a Winstub… 
Where we had a half liter of Pinot Noir. 
Bill had cordon bleu… 
I had salmon… 
Chocolate mousse for me. 
Apple tart for Bill… 
Bonsoir!
Our Valentine’s dinner was at Winstub Meiselocker, a rather touristy looking establishment not far from the cathedral. We didn’t go in there for any reason other than it was getting late for us and we figured most of the other restaurants would be booked. We were seated at a rather cramped table right next to a young couple who didn’t look so pleased to have us sitting next to them.
I think they had a special Valentine’s Day dinner offered, but we didn’t go for it, since the mood in there wasn’t particularly romantic. The place wasn’t totally jam packed when we first arrived, so our food and wine arrived in a reasonable amount of time. What we had wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t particularly special, either. The wait staff worked very hard, especially the guy who appeared to be the head waiter. He was put through his paces for sure! I was impressed by his ability to hustle and not get totally confused.
I had grilled salmon on sauerkraut with a steamed potato and Riesling sauce. Bill had a cordon bleu that was full of stinky Munster cheese. He loves stinky cheeses, so it was right up his alley. I wasn’t all that thrilled with the salmon, which was kind of boring and a little overdone. But I did enjoy dessert. It’s hard to disappoint me when it comes to chocolate mousse. The worst part of the meal was when it was time to leave. As we were preparing to end our repast, the restaurant got hit with a shit ton of people.
We asked for the bill and waited a good twenty minutes or more– I didn’t check exactly how long, but it was awhile. Bill finally flagged down the head waiter, handed him 100 euros, which was 17 over what we owed, and said “C’est bon!” The guy rewarded us with a huge smile. Tipping isn’t a huge thing in France. I’m sure the guy thought we were clueless Americans, but really I just felt sorry for him and was remembering my days as a waitress on holidays. Also, we really wanted to get the hell out of there. Watching weeded wait staff gives me the heebie jeebies.
After dinner, we walked out of the heart of Strasbourg. I was expecting we’d call a cab, but Bill said his favorite taxi app didn’t work in Strasbourg. We didn’t see any taxi stands that were convenient, and having forgotten to bring the map the hotel receptionist had given us, we weren’t sure where we could find a cab. I told Bill to consult Google, but he wanted to walk back to the hotel. So that’s what we did. Luckily, the weather was balmy and I was wearing somewhat comfortable shoes. Then when we got to the hotel, we didn’t realize the door code was changed, so we had to wait for the door to open. So much for a romantic night… although it definitely could have been a whole lot worse.
I often bitch at Bill for silly things. One thing he regularly does that is especially irritating is that he has a habit of taking cabs places with no plans on how to get one back. Consequently, my retired soldier has taken me on many miles of unintentional hikes around unfamiliar cities. It’s an ongoing theme with him! One time, on a visit to Slovenia, we hiked about ten miles in the sun with no water. We were eventually rewarded with views of a magnificent gorge, but I insisted that he call us a cab back to the hotel. I know I complain a lot, but if I have to march around a city, I’d rather do it with Bill than anyone else! And yes, I know… I could call the cab myself. Believe me, the thought crossed my mind.