Strolling through Swiss vineyards and visiting an Italian exclave… (part two)

Sunday morning, Bill and I went down to the restaurant/breakfast room for a continental repast. A very cheerful lady made us cappuccinos and we loaded up on the usual Italian goodies… cold cuts, fruit, breads, and I think there were also eggs. Bill enjoyed the cheeses, although I skipped that.

After breakfast, we decided to walk to the vineyards, a nice perk of staying at Relais Castello di Morcote, which owns the property. To get to the vineyards, we had to walk through the “town”, which was an unusual experience. Part of the walk involved passing through a narrow covered building, where people were also living. It’s hard to describe it, but I did get some photos, which might help give you an idea of what I mean.

*This was on the walk to the vineyards…*

We got confused by the first stroll into the town, because we were told we needed to open a gate on the edge of the village. The first gate we came to wasn’t the right one, so we went back and asked for clarification. We hadn’t walked far enough the first time. So we went back through the town, strolled past some very expensive looking homes, and eventually found the correct gate, ready to accept the code and let us in for a beautiful walk and amazing views…

At the top of the hillside, you will see the castle ruins, which are also open to visit. We were the only ones walking through the vineyards during our visit, so it was quiet and peaceful, and the scenery was so beautiful… I took lots of photos. I probably should embrace the idea of economy, but when you have such beautiful views, it’s hard not to get carried away.

After I took some pictures of Lake Lugano, we walked through the castle ruins, which I guess are now used for events. I marveled at how we had the whole place to ourselves. It was really nice to be able to explore without anyone supervising. I don’t think you’d ever find that in the States.

After we visited the vineyards, we decided to go to Campione d’Italia, a very special part of Italy that I first learned about after I saw a YouTube video…

A fascinating and entertaining video about a tiny piece of Italy that is totally surrounded by Switzerland…

Bill had never heard of Campione before I mentioned it to him on our recent trip. It so happened that the exclave was located very close to our lodging and is easily accessed by car. So we drove there and walked around… The first two photos below are in Switzerland, near our hotel. The rest are Campione, a little piece of Italy with a long, fascinating history that dates back centuries. Watch the video for the story!

When it came time for lunch, we stumbled into a very busy restaurant offering sushi and pizza. Ordering was interesting. Every table gets a tablet, and you just order through the tablet, rather than talking to a person. The pizza was pretty good, but the sushi might have been a better bet. The people who ran the restaurant were Asian and I noticed a lot of people were having sushi and loving it.

We passed what appeared to be a church turned art gallery. I would have liked to have stopped in and looked around, but we didn’t have time. Bill’s meter was about to run out. So we skipped the art gallery, and passed the enormous casino, which apparently is the only one in Italy. The video explains why this is so… It really is a monstrosity!

We stopped by a Swiss Coop grocery store on the way back to the hotel and picked up some provisions for the evening, since the restaurant was closed, and there weren’t any others nearby. We were able to order some wine and cold cuts from room service. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by the church where the parking garage was. The inside was extremely beautiful. Bill lit a candle for his father.

I was reminded that we have driven through the Lugano area so many times on the way to Italy. It really was worth stopping in, although next time, I think we need to go to the actual city and check it out. It’s very beautiful there, although it’s a lot more expensive in Switzerland than it is in Italy. But then, Switzerland is also noticeably less gritty.

We turned in early, since Monday morning meant a long drive to Abruzzo, the region in Italy we were determined to see. More on that in the next post.

Baden-Württemberg, Rhein, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Wiesbaden to Horben: Our first glimpse of Luisenhöhe, by way of Breisach!

When I plan trips, sometimes I get carried away with what I’d like to try to do. As a member of several Facebook photo groups, it’s easy to find quaint little villages where I’d like to go take some photos and walk around a bit. That was the case last week, days before we ventured to Horben. Someone in the Schwarzwald photo group on Facebook had shared a picture of a very attractive village that was on the way down to the Freiburg area. I thought it might make for a nice place to stop for coffee and a wee off of Autobahn 5.

Unfortunately, after I saw someone’s photos of a quaint village in the Black Forest, I neglected to make a note of where the place was. Bill and I looked for it on Google Earth, but never were quite sure of what we were looking for. Then, on the morning of April 5th, I decided to do laundry before we left the house. We can only drop off Noyzi at the Hundepension at an appointed time, so we didn’t end up leaving early enough to make a stop in a village. Instead, we wound up at a very familiar Rasthaus stop, where we had very ordinary food for lunch. That would be the last ordinary meal we’d have before we got home yesterday afternoon. I see that I didn’t even bother to take a photo of it. Instead, I took one of the Paulaner Hefeweizen I drank, so I could tag it for the Untappd app.

Noyzi was very happy to go to the Tierpension Birkenhof. He was so excited that he ran to the young folks who run it and practically bowled them over with his brand of canine hugs. It’s always reassuring to see how much Noyzi loves the staff at the Hundepension. We never have to worry about him when we take trips. He loves car rides, too, as you can see!

Noyzi LOVES the Birkenhof!

Although we weren’t able to stop in a cute town for a coffee break, we did kill some time in a town we’d never been to before. I get a lot of ads for river cruises, especially along the Rhein. I would never book a Rhein cruise, though, unless there was a reason other than the ports of call. I live about twenty minutes from the Rhein, and have seen most of the places where the vessels usually stop. I did notice, though, that Viking ships usually stop in a little town called Breisach, which is right on the Rhein and across the river from France. We had never been to Breisach, so we decided to stop there on the way to Horben. I thought maybe we’d have lunch there, but again, we got on the road too late for that.

Breisach is about a thirty to forty minute drive from Horben. Bill put it in the GPS, which was going to take us on a scenic route through another cute town to get there. Unfortunately, the GPS doesn’t always know about roadworks. When we were faced with a detour in a little town near Breisach, we decided to backtrack to the main road, with a quick detour to a gas station so I could have a pee break. The weather was a bit cloudy, but fairly warm. It was okay for a short stop near the cruise “port”, which turned out to be a little stop on the edge of the old town. Viking had two identical ships there, anchored side by side. Emerald Sky was also docked there when we made our short visit. We were happy to find free parking and a free toilet that was moderately clean and stocked! That’s quite a score in Germany.

Breisach is a very attractive town, smaller than I was expecting it to be. A large Catholic church– Breisacher Münster St. Stephan— overlooks the little port town, and I noticed lots of tourist friendly businesses near the port and the main drag. The ice cream shop was doing especially brisk business on Friday. As I gazed across the Rhein, somehow it didn’t occur to me that I was looking at France. Especially when I noticed a water slide on the other bank. Yes… that is extreme eastern France! And there’s a lot of waterfowl there, too. I was especially enchanted by the swans. I think I could be persuaded to visit Breisach again, and spend more time exploring there.

Below are some photos:

*A little town near Breisach. It was very cute, but loaded with construction.*

After our too brief stop in Breisach, we continued on toward Horben. Our route took us through a corner of Freiburg, a beautiful, sunny, “green” university city that we need to return to by train and explore some more. Freiburg is not friendly to cars, as we found out on Saturday. But, what we did see of it is very appealing, especially if you like to bike. I definitely want to visit it properly and see what’s there. The part of Freiburg that leads to Horben is very charming and kind of ritzy, as you can see below.

As we made our way up into the mountains, we passed through a charming suburban hamlet. Then we saw it… the distinctive horseshoe shape of the Luisenhöhe, which just opened in the fall of 2023. More on that in the next post!

Bavaria, booze tourism

With a mere flip of a coin…

Yesterday, Bill and I decided where we will be visiting next. Bill’s mom, Parker, is coming to visit us during the first full week of February. As is our habit, we are taking her on a short trip. Last time she visited, we went to Alsace, in France. The time before that, we were in Berlin. When she visited during our first Germany tour, we went to Oberstaufen, near the Austrian border…

This time, we decided we wanted to go to Bamberg, a Franconian city in Bavaria known for its smoked beer and fabulous architecture that wasn’t ruined in World War II. I had heard a lot about the town over the years, but never got the opportunity to plan a visit. But, we have four nights… and Bamberg isn’t a big town. A lot of people spend a weekend there and are good with it. So I thought maybe it would be better to go to Nuremberg, which is about a 40 minute train ride away from Bamberg… I started looking for properties that would accommodate us.

Then I realized that Nuremberg might be overwhelming. It has a lot of fabulous museums, and a beautiful downtown area. But a lot of its original buildings were destroyed in World War II. I also figured that if we went to Nuremberg, we might never get around to Bamberg.

So then I thought maybe we should visit Würzburg, which is also a well-known Franconian town in Bavaria, with lots of history, beautiful buildings, and wine! Würzburg is about an hour train ride from Bamberg. At that point, we decided to take Nuremberg off the table for this trip and focus on Bamberg and Würzburg, which is only about a 90 minute drive from where we live.

I spent several days agonizing… because I really wanted to see Bamberg, but the more I read about Würzburg, the more I figured it was worthy of a visit, too. And then I saw a very attractive rental property, which I thought would be great for us. Weingut Am Stein is a functioning winery that has a guest house next to the vineyard. It’s very close to the train station, offers parking, and we’d have separate bedrooms. I went looking for something similar in Bamberg and, although I found a couple of appealing hotels, I found that booking two hotel rooms in a nice place would cost about as much as the house would.

Still… I wanted to be fair, so Bill and I flipped a two euro coin. Heads for Bamberg– tails for Würzburg. Bill flipped, and we got tails. So I booked the guest house for four nights. Truth be told, I’m not surprised it worked out this way. The minute I saw that property on Expedia, I had a feeling I’d end up booking it. Although the idea of staying in a cozy hotel with a nice restaurant is very appealing, it’s not so practical. I also heard that Bamberg is best when you just want to relax and take in the atmosphere. February isn’t exactly Biergarten weather, but I could totally see us holing up in a wine bar. The guest house is right next to the Weingut, which has a wine bar and a restaurant (which I hope will be open).

We will visit Bamberg on this trip, and if it’s as enchanting as everyone says, Bill and I will plan to visit it properly at a later date. I do like the smoked beer… have had it before, but it would be nice to try it fresh from the brewery. We can do that on this visit. We’ve already been to Rothenburg, which is another Franconian town that is very tourist friendly. But my German friend, Susanne, says that we should visit Bayreuth, too. Sigh… yet another town to add to the list of places to go!

I did watch some videos to help inform me. And I look forward to writing up this trip and collecting a lot of photos. Both towns are notably beautiful, and not actually that far from Wiesbaden. So stay tuned!

I like this guy’s channel. He’s done some great videos about German towns!

And one or two about Würzburg…

It sure is nice to have this problem. We’re definitely spoiled for choices as to where to go on short breaks. I wish we had another day or two, so we could properly do both towns. I did consider booking hotels for two nights each in both towns, but the house at the vineyard just seemed too appropriate. I don’t like booking a house for two nights, either. Anyway… it’s bound to be a blast! I think it will go down as a great trip… but then, most of our trips are awesome. I may not be the world’s most successful person, but I have managed to have a lot of fun in Europe with the best travel companion, ever!

Special thanks to Christian Horvant on Wikipedia for allowing public domain use of his photo of the Marienberg Castle in Würzburg. I look forward to taking some of my own photos when I visit, but I doubt we’ll have such pretty weather!

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Ribeauville… AGAIN! Part 2… Wandering the vineyards, eating, drinking, and shopping

After Friday night’s dinner fiasco, Bill and I were determined to enjoy Saturday. The morning started off with beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures. We enjoyed some very fresh croissants for breakfast, strong coffee, orange juice, and fresh eggs and ham. Then, we put leashes on the dogs and took them for a walk in some local vineyards.

Those who have been to Alsace already know that the area is practically littered with vineyards, where grapes are grown for the local wines. Bill had found what he called a “trail”, but was actually a road that led up the side of a hill. Below are some pictures from that little adventure, which culminated in Bill’s falling on his ass and sliding down a hill.

In Ribeauville, if you get caught not cleaning up your dog’s poop, it’s a 35 euro fine. Having looked around, I don’t think this is a rule that is regularly enforced. However, I do like the sledgehammer imagery.

Despite the occasional landmine, Ribeauville remains a lovely place.

I hate climbing hills, but will do it for a good view. We got a few yesterday after panting in the heat.

A few dramatic views of the castle ruins over the town.

As pretty as this was, I fretted about walking back down. We had the dogs with us and they were eager. Zane almost pulled me over a few times.

We tried to walk down the side of the hill, rather than going back to the road we walked up. Unfortunately, we found it an impossible endeavor. There was no legal way to access the town from where we were in the vineyards. In fact, I’m not even sure if we were trespassing…

Finally, Bill slipped and slid down the hillside on his butt. So we sucked it up and walked back down the way we came. By the time we were finished, we were both hot and sweaty. The dogs were worn out for the rest of the day.

But I did get a picture of this interesting building, right before a local walked out of it and gave me a dirty look. There was a pile of feces nearby… wonder if he thought our dogs were the culprit.

We took a brief rest in the apartment. I hosed off in the shower with cool water and we all rehydrated. I had to change clothes thanks to all the sweating I did. But on the bright side, I get the sense that maybe all this exercise will help me burn off the beer gut I’ve been growing. According to the health app on my phone, I walked 4.6 miles and 20 floors. Not bad!

At around 12:30pm, we decided to have lunch at Brasserie de la Poste. It was another restaurant we hadn’t yet tried and I was curious about it. This time, we had a mostly excellent restaurant experience.

Obligatory menu shot of Bill.

But once again, the waiter misunderstood me and brought me a small beer instead of a big one.

I had a delicious Quiche Lorraine with a salad. Bill had a cheese tart with a salad. Service was friendly and the food was splendid.

Bill’s cheese tart. He said it was made with mild cheese. I didn’t try it.

Brasserie de la Poste is right next to Chez Martine, which has the best quiche I’ve ever tasted. I was tempted to eat lunch there, but decided to try a different place just for the sake of experience.

We walked around some more after lunch, then visited the local bottle shop to pick up some wines. Last time we visited Ribeauville, we stopped in to La Bonne Bouteille and bought some really nice vino. This time, the same guy who helped us before was there. He was quite a salesman, speaking excellent English with a gorgeous French accent. I could have listened to him speak all day as he demonstrated his vast knowledge of wines from the Rhone region. We left there with six bottles– four reds and two whites. I probably shouldn’t spend so much time drinking wine, but it’s such a pleasure. Especially in France!

Case in point… the nice local Riesling I had at a bar on the main drag…

But then I switched to beer, as we listened to French, English, and American pop music and watched our bearded barkeep flirting with the ladies sitting outside on his terrace. At one point, a friendly local came in and tried to talk to us, but our French skills and her English skills were compatible enough. Maybe it’s time I learned basic French. I spend a lot of time in France.

These guys looked pretty friendly.

The outside of the bar was more charming than the inside.

Next, we stopped in a pottery shop… same place we went to last time we were here. I bought two more pieces, a casserole dish and a plate for escargot. I don’t eat a lot of snails, but I thought it looked cool. Besides, I can always come up with a creative way to use it, not that I ever entertain anyone.

I got a kick out of this sign, which basically reads “Don’t let your dogs piss on my wall and clean up any droppings.” This doggie toilet habit seems to be quite a problem in Ribeauville.

Every time we’ve visited Ribeauville, we’ve noticed a large restaurant on the corner of town called Auberge Au Zahnacker. Bill wanted to try it for dinner last night, since they have a beautiful terrace with a vine covered roof. I was game, so we went. It turned out we were there at the same time several large groups were. One group was from Denmark and they loudly asked for English menus, which were both available and welcome. They had one server who spoke heavily accented English. She apologized that she only knew a little. Actually, her English was quite good. She was very helpful and very busy last night!

Bill looks for a bottle of wine. Last night, it was not held hostage.

The all important English menu!

He made a good choice! And from start to finish, this was a much nicer experience than the one we had on Friday night.

C’est bonne!

We decided to have grilled beef rib, which is a dish reserved for at least two people. Frankly, I think it would have served at least three. We brought about half of my serving back to the apartment with us, along with a lot of fries. It was priced at 27 euros per person and was very good. They also brought out the uncut version to show us before they plated it.

My portion was huge!

They gave Bill the bone. It looks like he should have gotten more meat.

Frites! They were kind of average.

The dish came with Bearnaise sauce.

Bill very sensibly had vegetables, which included cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and wax beans.

This was what I couldn’t finish. Maybe I’ll get to it today, but I probably won’t. We’re going to venture out of Ribeauville for awhile. The total bill came to 89 euros.

The outside area is very nice, especially at this time of year. I would go back to Auberge Au Zahnacker.

A couple more photos of the area. Ribeauville is so charming.

We didn’t do that much yesterday other than eat, drink, and walk. Today, I’m hoping to do some more specific activities… and maybe drink less. But we’ll see what happens!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: vineyards

Strolling through Swiss vineyards and visiting an Italian exclave… (part two)

From Wiesbaden to Horben: Our first glimpse of Luisenhöhe, by way of Breisach!

With a mere flip of a coin…

Ribeauville… AGAIN! Part 2… Wandering the vineyards, eating, drinking, and shopping