Sunday, November 25, 2012

September & October: Fests and visits to France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, and then France again!




I have this fear when we come back to the States that I will still drive and park on sidewalks.

You hear people here talking about what they miss from the States.  I feel like we've gained so much that I am embarrassed to complain about the small things.  But, here you go.  These are a few things I miss:

1.  Wal-Mart & Big Lots
2.  House Hunters, Forensic Files, and other random true crime shows. 
3.  Snow cones
4.  2-day shipping  <---Ok, now this is a big one.  


The last few months have been filled with festivals and events.  I have never lived anywhere that has so much going on --All. The. Time.  To the point, I have a calendar dedicated to reminders for everything upcoming.   It’s impossible to hit everything but we sure are trying!  

The Ludwigsburg Venetian festival was one of my favorites this summer.  It only occurs once every two years and it’s just for a weekend.  The costumes are extravagant and colorful--and they are everywhere!  Not just in the shows, but walking around in the crowds and posing for pictures.  In true fest style, there was plenty to eat and many champagne and beer huts.






Hey, this is mine!  My little forever reminder of theVenetian festival!


Alicia's Arrival

No matter how much fun we find here in a far away land, there is something so comforting about familiar faces.  I consider ourselves very lucky to have enjoyed three sets of visitors so far!

Our most recent visit was a dear friend of both Mike and I.  Unfortunately, her husband was unable to come due to a surprise work vacation but, we were thrilled to have her here to help her break that oh-so familiar monotony of time apart from the hubs.  

We didn’t waste much time after she arrived.  Our goal was to hit Volksfest for their opening night  **Friday, Sept 28th** But, Alicia was missing a necessary fest requirement:  A dirndl.  So on that hunt we went and found a perfect, purple dirndl.  (Not really required but for Alicia’s fest vision to be fulfilled, she needed a dirndl) See dirndl documentation below:




Things I’ve learned about dirndls:
1.   They are really fun to wear!  Really fun!  If you live here or ever come for the Fests-  Get one!    This is one of those few times in life where you can put it all out there and it’s not only acceptable but, expected! 
2.   I can barely breathe in mine (Which I realize somewhat contradicts the prior claim)
3.   Don’t refer to it as a costume.  This is their traditional wear.  It is culturally significant and is taken seriously! 
4.   Where you tie your apron ribbon signifies your marital status.  On the left, single,  On the right, married,  In the back, widowed or waitress   Neat huh?
5.   I think that’s all I know.

There is a local goddess named Kathy Crews.  She played a pivotal role in finding Mike and I fest tickets last year.  She did it again.  She found us two armbands for the exact tent I wanted!  Prost Kathy Crews for being so thoughtful….again.

I wrote about our first fest experience last year so I won’t go into detail this time but yes, we had a great time.  It’s just one of those things you need to experience to understand.  The vibe is unlike anything you can imagine.  Everyone is friends and everyone is in a good mood.  It’s fantastic!  We met a German couple on the train and he told me about an Oktoberfest celebration he visited in California.  He said “They wouldn’t even let you dance on the tables!”  HA!  (Probably a fear of law suits)



Piddling around Stuttgart the first few days...

The markethalle downtown


 At Schlossplatz


 Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival





Euro Girls' Trip
Lucerne - Bellagio -  Colmar

A few days later we were off for a very anticipated adventure!  I’m not a fan of driving here in Europe.  The streets are tiny, the parking is even smaller and it’s just overwhelming at times.  But, sometimes you just have to suck it up or you’re going to miss out- so I did. 
First stop?  Lucerne Switzerland.  I am glad we didn’t plan an overnight there.  Lucerne was a nice stop but a stop was all it needed.  (Unlike Interlaken which was amazing- In my opinion, that is true Switzerland and is a must see!)  We had coffee at a cafĂ© and visited the Musegg Wall.  Built in 1370 and still standing!  You could climb to the top of three towers for a fantastic view!  We also stopped into a local chocolate store and picked up several different chocolates for the drive.  I bought one with sprinkled gold flakes.  Eat gold.  Check. 








*Note:  Leaving Lucerne I accidently took the wrong exit out of a traffic circle and started driving up the wrong side of the road.  Fortunately the only injury was to my feelings when an old Swiss lady was screaming and shaking her hands at me.  Like I didn’t know at that point I was driving the wrong way!  C’mon lady!  The next driver was much kinder and stopped to allow me to bust a U-turn.  How Alicia remained stoic during that will boggle my mind forever.  I would’ve been screeching.  




Lake Como-  Bellagio
Bellagio, Lake Como- Here we come.  At some point between Lucerne and Lake Como we realize my GPS is no longer working.  Typical-happens-to-Carolyn scenario really.  And no, it’s never happened before.  We have about 30km before the town of Como.  We pull over, Google Map the route and Alicia also pulled the directions that were in the GPS.  Directions.   Too bad there were almost 40 turns (no exaggeration) in Como and all back to back…  Alicia is an a-mazing navigator.  With my iPhone in one hand and the GPS turn by turn directions in the other, she got us there.  There was one point she told me to go straight…into an alley between two buildings.  This was no street.  This was an alley with THREE rows of cars inside.   You can’t hesitate driving in Italy.  You either go or get run over.  I went.  And drove on the sidewalk with three rows of cars.  In an alley. With women and children on the sidewalk also.  It was one of the most nervous moments in my life.  I still can’t believe I didn’t hit anything.  Leaving Como is just the beginning.  You then start the long 45 minute drive on the lake to get to Bellagio.  It’s a 2 lane road that is smaller than any 1 lane in the States.  And, it’s curvy.  Very curvy.  And beautiful…Very beautiful.  There are buses and people walking everywhere.  My biggest piece of advice for anyone headed to Bellagio—Rent.  A.  Smart.  Car.  Don’t just laugh—Really do this.   We finally get to Bellagio and the GPS comes back on.  Really.  After all that?  It instructs me to drive on this cobblestone alleyway clearly in a pedestrian area full of people and cafes.   Since it abandoned us in our biggest time of need, I was having trust issues so I just stop in the middle of the road and we are just looking at all these people.  An old man walks over, sees my German plates so starts speaking German.  I’m speaking German to him and English to Alicia but I’m so frustrated, my German is garbled.  Then, he starts speaking English.  Sidenote:  It’s very common for people here to be bi and tri-lingual.  It’s impressive!   He explains this road is the only way to get to our resort.  He tells us we will get a ticket for driving there but the hotel will take care of it.   Guests are given a pass for driving down the center of a pedestrian area.  Ok, got it.  We are exhausted but finally at our hotel.  Oddly enough, there was a huge parking lot with big normal sized parking spots.   The resort was Villa Serbelloni and it was as amazing as it sounds.  We however, were staying in the apartments behind the resort.  It was a sweet deal actually-  The apartments house the fitness center and other amenities for the resort.   The apartments were a good size and had a huge terrace with a view of the lake.  The resort was $600-$1100 (yep!) a night but if you stay in their apartments (much, much less)  you have access to the resort’s pools, sauna, and  even their toiletries!  :D  We called it the Resorts’ Stepchild but, hey it worked!  We had a great time there!

This was the only picture taken but this will give you an idea of some of the tiny alley ways I keep
mentioning!


Best memories of Bellagio:

1.   Our 30Euro glass of champagne by the pool
2.   The resort’s live music-  They played the entire Sound of Music sound track and it was fantastic!  Bravo worthy!
3.    Trying Grappa.  AKA: The fire drink
4.    Our Italian boat ride around the lake at sunset-  Spectacular!  www.bellagiowatertaxis.com
5.   “Compliments of the chef” desserts served with our coffee while watching the band referenced above
6.   The Azalea silk shop-  Great experience.  The shop keepers are what make this such an experience.  They were fabulous! We spent quite a bit of time in here and we own lots of Italian silk now.  I splurged for a hand made silk scarf that took 14 days to make.  I even learned how to wear it. 
7.   Finding Murano glass jewelry for much cheaper than in the States
8.   Not the drive.
9.   The concierge at our apartment who when we couldn’t find our way to the main resort pool commented, “If you don’t find it this time, then I can’t talk to you again.”  And, a few minutes later when we did find the pool area he called the pool attendant to make sure the two American girls made it.  Hilarious.
10.                 Dinner on the water with the best tortellini we’ve ever had.  Oh, and we were given complimentary champagne too!  Mega score!


We made it!  

Great little wine bar with a super friendly owner who told us about George Clooney's visits!
Bring your walking shoes!  Tons of stairs and cobblestones!
The resort pool... 


The Azalea Silk Shop
Awesome wood shop!  This is me with the owner/hand carver!  I picked out a perfect oil and vinegar dispenser!
Bellagio Water Taxis






See the sign?  "NO GEORGE"  ie:  George Clooney does not live here!   Ha!




Grappa!  





Colmar, France

   Three days later we are off yet again…  Headed in the direction of home but we are stopping in Colmar, France for the night.  Colmar is in the heart of the Alsace wine region of France.  We were staying in a fantastic hotel in the center of town.  Finding the parking was a little tricky but after Bellagio, it felt like a breeze.  This nice gentleman walked out to our car and carried all of our bags to or room.  We later learned he owned the hotel with his wife!  AND, he was the Chef of the fabulous restaurant inside!  What a wonderful, personal experience.  We made reservations for their restaurant that evening.





    Colmar is nice.  It really is.  We had a great time but, neither one of us would put it on the list to go back.  This will contradict many people!  The wine route outside of Colmar however, A-mazing!  Many people use Colmar as a home base to visit the wine route.  I understand that but next time, and there will be a next time because I loved it that much, we will stay in one of the small wine villages.  They were much more beautiful and the people were friendlier!

Top Colmar memories
1.   The stinky cheese that was so stinky after I almost gagged on it, I gave it to Alicia who was forced to quarantine it underneath a glass.  You have to understand no English was spoken here so it was almost impossible to explain we weren’t trying to be rude but that damn cheese was horrid.  Guess what it was?  Muenster.  You think you’ve had Muenster don’t you?  I love Muenster or so I thought.  I am unsure I will ever be able to look at Muenster the same way again.  Funniest part?  I picked the Muenster because I thought it was the safe bet.  During the cheese course of your dinner, you can pick as many as you like!
2.   Our French room photo shoot.  It had one of the Juliette balconies overlooking a beautiful courtyard.
3.   This little French book cafĂ© and I can’t really explain why, only that it was picture perfect.
4.   Our second breakfast in yet another French cafĂ©




Riquewihr, France
the Alsace wine route

     The drive back to Germany conveniently goes directly through the wine route.  There are adorable signs leading the way.  The drive is relaxed on nice roads through beautiful countryside…  Vineyards everywhere you look!  The Alsace region is known for their sweet wines-- not our favorite but it really didn’t matter.  We chose two wine towns to visit on the way home.  We only made it to one.  Why?  Because it was so great, we stayed there all day!  Riquewihr, France.   Absolutely adorable.  It’s what I envisioned a French wine town would look like.  It’s perfect with beautiful buildings and flowers everywhere!  Parking was super easy and the shopping is fantastic.  We had quiche lorraine and ham & swiss crepes.  We also sampled macaroons from one of the bakeries.





Our favorite wine cave!
Perfect setting for a little wine tasting..

Our host was fantastic!  





Best purchase/gift of the entire trip was here.  We noticed in Colmar no matter where we were, wine was served in the same green stemmed glasses.  While in Riquewihr, Alicia and I found the most beautiful handmade and hand painted wine carafe.  I had gone over my trip budget twice already so after much contemplation I decided not to buy.  Alicia bought it for me as a Thank You for the trip.  I added six of the green stemmed glasses and I now have the most beautiful wine set.  I absolutely love it!  It’s displayed on our bar and every time I walk by it I think of our wonderful visit.  

I am so thankful my sweet friend made it from so far to spend two weeks with us.  Those are forever memories… 

Beginning in Belgium....
October was a busy month for us.  Two days after Alicia left, Mike had a work trip in Antalia Turkey.  The following week we were off again!  We started in Belgium for another work conference.  This was my second time with him in Belgium for work and I really hoped I would be able to visit Waterloo but like the first trip, it was raining!


The Champagne Region of France-Mike’s Birthday Trip

Reims, France, a little less than two hours east of Paris, is home to many champagne houses and a ton of history.  The city is actually quite big (about 200,000) but it really didn’t feel that large.  Our hotel was in the center of downtown on the major pedestrian thoroughfare.   We spent the first part of our day at the Museum of the Surrender.  If you’re like me, you didn’t know places like this even existed.  The museum is quite small but absolutely worth a visit if you’re in the area.  It was here in the war room of General Eisenhower on May 7th, 1945 at 2:41AM WWII ended with an unconditional surrender.  The museum has a small theater with an interesting video (offered in English, German, or French).  Much of it was actual footage from the war.  The highlight of the museum is the War Room itself.  The room has remained unchanged since the day of surrender.  The strategic maps on the wall, casualty boards, and the table and chairs-  Everything- just as it was that day.  They have glass walls built around the room but you are able to see everything clearly.  It doesn’t matter if you’re into history or not.  This is a worthwhile look into our history. 





We spent the afternoon in the champagne caves and the evening downtown for Mike’s birthday dinner at this wonderful brewery restaurant.

The Champagne Caves  Some of the caves require appointments well in advance and some are walk-in.   We did one of each.  Dom Perignon and the Ruinart are two of the most prestigious caves and while we tried weeks in advance, evidently weeks is not long enough for a reservation!  We were able to get a reception reservation with Veuve Clicquot and we did our walk-in visit with Mercier.  Both caves were beautiful but strangely enough we enjoyed our visit with Mercier more!  ($15 verses $90 for Veuve Cliquot)











We also found this little family owned distillierie, the Distillerie Guillon.  We drove on a few gravel roads to get here but absolutely worth it!  It was a cabin in the forest with the kindest family welcome.  It was such a personal experience and we tasted 10 different whiskeys.   They do not export but only sell in France so we brought home a bottle. 





Verdun, France  Verdun is about an hour east of Reims and  home to much war history.  We stayed in a beautiful family owned castle, Hosterllerie du Chateau des Monthairons, with its own history!  The castle was built in 1857 and served as a US Military hospital in WWI and was occupied by the Germans in WWII.   After a day of touring the memorial sites we enjoyed a wonderful dinner in their Michelin rated restaurant. 


Verdun

Our hotel...I mean, our castle!
That just doesn't sound right.
This place.  pictures below..   Is where we stayed for the night!

"Taking" our coffee and wine in the library
I like when they say "Where will you take your breakfast?  Or coffee?  Or wine?"  
Um, I'll take it wherever you're supposed to take it?  

Mike and his birthday pipe!


Fort Douaumont
One of our favorite stops





 Trench of Bayonets


 The Douaumont Ossuary
 Where the bodies of 130,000 soldiers of the 1st World War, French and German, are buried together for eternity

Saint-Mihiel American Cemetery
War 1914-1918










This was just one of those perfect trips….  A mix of great food, interesting history, good company with my sweet husband, and beautiful driving through France.


Headed home on beautiful backroads through France



Halloween week we had snow in Stuttgart!  Lots of it!  It’s unusual to have snow this early.   It’s beautiful to see the seasons change.  We bought advance tickets to visit the Burg Frankenstein but due to snow, were forced to cancel a few hours prior.  Burg Frankenstein is an entire castle insanely transformed into a creepy Halloween castle.  We heard references to grown men experiencing PTS from visiting this place.  Ha!  We were really looking forward to seeing this supposed terrifying place but we’ll just have to hit it next year!     http://www.frankenstein-halloween.de/content/e566/index_en.html

Our German Photo Shoot

How thankful am I to have a husband willing to humor me for professional pictures?  Very!  When we found out we were moving to Germany, I had these pictures in my mind…   We found someone that made it happen and to say I’m happy with these pictures is an understatement.
This one will be a landscape canvas -  Very excited!

See our sweet Dempsey dog?  He is missed every day.








And....favorite #2!








No comments:

Post a Comment