Installment II

So, where was I? Oh yes - dinner night two (everything is getting away from me now that I've been here 4 nights - hard to keep up with a blog, travel, eating, work at home, eating, dog, eating....navigation, eating)

For night two I wanted to go 'off piste' and asked the hotel to recommend a good local: she booked me at a place she said, with a significant glance at the dog  was a "nice, easy walk" for 7 pm. At 6:40 I presented myself and hound at her desk and awaited out direction interaction. She handed me a blurry Mapquest page which clearly showed my start and end points, and a lovely, wavy blue line between them and again she pointed out it was a "nice walk". And then I noticed at the top of the page it said "2km to destination, 30 minutes". Hmmmm. It is 30C and I am supposed to wander around vineyards?!?!?! Well, I could have taken the easy way out, but that would have been giving in and I am made of sterner stuff, so off I went, up hill and down dale, on gravel and cobblestones (I will attempt to post some pictures of the terrain). They weren't roads so much as paths for farming equipment, and I came across a lot of it working away. Several wrong turns and a couple of helpful cyclists later, I arrived at Schloss Valderons. The best I can say is "it's not the destination, it is the journey that counts", and as I hiked downhill en route to dinner, I was keenly aware that my journey back meant going UPHILL on a full stomach and with a glass or two of Riesling.......well after sunset. Dinner not worth mentioning and I think I can sum up the restaurant by sharing that as I finally stumbled into the parking lot I counldn't help but notice many signs directing the tour buses to their parking aprons.  Thus, a day that began with a 4-5 km dawn walk/run ended much the same way at 4 km in the prettiest setting possible. I would do it again, with better directions. Or maybe I would drive - not exactly the spirit of the Allied Forces, but easier on the feet.

Scloss Valderons - finally

Cobblestone path through the vineyards (yes, I know, another picture of Hanley, but what can I do?!? He doesn't have opposable thumbs, so I am never going to be in the frame).
 

Pre-prandial treats @ Burg Schwarzenstein

FIrst course: tomato variations

Dessert! Choclate, caramel. tobacco(!) and cherry lava.

The next night was dinner at the 'gourmet restaurant' at my hotel, and it was truly sublime, a tomato concoction that was an effort at molecular gastronomy that left the many varieties of tomato looking a bit tortured, but still - it was ART. My main course was something they called "ray wing", which I finally determined was skate: it looked and had the texture of cod cheeks and was served in a satay and amaranth sauce. The chef was not completely brave, though, and had a light hand on the flavours: he should have added a light touch of chili oil garnish on the satay sauce, but a nice effort. Did I mention dessert? At the end they presented a couple of plates of sweeties, but I could not face them and they were remained untouched in my room, but very pretty ornamentation.

And then it was time to change the scene, so the next morning off I went, thanks to my new GPS, to the Black Forest. I would heartily recommend the Burg Schwarzenstein, should you ever happen to be in the  area. Fantastic staff, if a bit malicious about planning your dinner commute. The parking lot was heaving every night with Maseratis, Porches, Mercs, and Rollers.......quite the sight. I don't know where the people were who owned them because the restos never seemed very full. But what a lovely hotel and well worth a detour.

I arrived the next day after a short drive of about two hours at the Villa Hammerschmiede in the town of Pfitzer-Sollingen - you must have heard of it, no? Well, you have now. Nice hotel in a terrific parkland property, but it has a major handicap in that it is on a very busy road that roars with traffic day and night, and the lack of a/c means one must sleep with the window open....plus there is a heavily used train track running through. I was to have stayed three nights but yesterday I clipped it down to two, as I am no good without sleep. 

Had a lovely meal in their casual restaurant, though the goat's cheese salad could have used more salad and less cheese, but the fish was interesting: it was called "fried meagre on the menu, and despite my wide range of experience with fish, this was a new one on me. It arrived looking like halibut and tasted similar, so I am going to assume it was a salt water fish (my server was not able to tell me). A disappointing dessert of pancakes and blueberries that could easily have been sooo much better served warm, and then the dog and I wandered off to check out the neighbourhood, which is something I always love doing. Hot, though - man!

Today was a very happy day trip into the heart of the Black Forest, one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken myself on, with the ultimate goal of reaching Baden Baden for lunch. It was 35C in the shade, so I didn't linger over a forgettable repast which was  only made palatable by my first German beer in Germany :) I only realized a few hours ago that I failed to take a single picture, so I was obviously entrance by the scenery - oh, what vistas!! What a glorious road and dazzling little hamlets I dawdled through. I would love to come back.

I was about to describe tonight's meal when it occurred to me that this blog really should have been titled "A Pescatarian in Germany", as I can't seem to deviate from my fishy preferences. Tonight it was a rather stingy starter called "summer vegetables",  mostly micro and no greens, and turbot - I ADORE turbot. Another plate of post-prandial sweeties were delivered to my room while I aired the animal, who is so incredibly trustworthy.  I left him alone in the room this afternoon so I could go for a swim and didn't realize until I was well under water that I had left his suitcase with an open bag of his food directly a nose level: I opted to shrug off the inevitable damage and keep swimming, but returned to find he hadn't touched it! However,  after the walk tonight he made a beeline to the sweetie plate and wolfed at least two chocolates before I could lunge at the remains and stash them out of reach. 

Tomorrow I set the GPS for Beaune. And I have decided on the name for my new best friend: Otto. Really - what else could I have chosen :?? Night night.