Word of the day:
Meeresschildkrote = ???? Anyone????
After waking in the quiet town of Bacarch, we had breakfast at
the hotel and
then a bit of a walkabout before we hit the road. The city is
along the river,
cradled in a valley surrounded by vineyards. There are seven
towers around
the city that are remaining from the original city wall.
We walked up through the cobbled streets up into the vineyards to get
a better look
at the town.
Very cool setting but the German mood was broken by workers fixing a
roof nearby blasting
Madonna's "Vogue"....
We hiked around a bit and decided we had the flavor of the Rhein so
it was time for
something new. The Black Forest looked good so we headed down
the autobahn
(they drive very fast I wish I had my Supra) to come to Baden-Baden
at the beginning
of the Swartzwald (Black Forest). Baden-Baden is a very touristy
upscale spa town
with very expensive shops. We found a Greek restaurant that was
pretty good and
then had godiva chocolate (my fav) and looked around a bit in the old
square. Too
much like Rodeo/Palm Springs for us so we headed to the town of Staufen
that the
book said was cute and small. It was..
A cobbled square where we stayed in a very nice Gusthause. All
the action was at
a small outdoor circular booth where most the town was downing wine.
We started
ordering (by pointing as they spoke no English) and had very dry champagne,
then
weiswein (one trocken, one lieblich or semi-sweet) we then saw then
pouring something
out of a big plastic jug. Found out that was the NeuWein we had
heard about. It is fresh
pressed wine that is mostly unfiltered. Tastes like apple cider
and champagne. Very good.
We bought a bottle for Birgit's mother. They told us not to let
it tip or the top would blow
off.
By then we were shnockered and we stumpled down the street to eat a
traditional
local meal. Jeff had Jaeger Schnitzel and I had what ended up
being Tortellini in beef
broth. So drunk and now stuffed to rafters, we hit the Gusthaus
Krone for needed
sleep.
Meeresschildkrote = Turtle