Girls Like Us

To the land of escargot and foie gras for Thanksgiving!!  That's where Jen, Kim, and I went, without husbands (I think they preferred that more than I, plus I wanted to use that word).   Unfortunately the Christmas market wasn't open and the weather was cold and wet, but France has wine and food and wine and wine.

Strasbourg is only about 2 hours from Wiesbaden and it's in the Alsace region, which at several points in history, couldn't figure out to which country it belonged--to France or to Germany.  Once it was decided and because of the winners, they speak French, but their food is influenced by Germany (think pork knuckle and potatoes with a delicious sauce, like Jen learned), and many people speak at least a little German.

We had fabulous food and some great wine.  When we arrived and were walking in no particular direction, Kim was about to pass out from hunger and we stumbled upon a very nice restaurant.  Everyone was very friendly and it helped we were willing to try without being demanding.  Jen asked our waiter a recommendation for food and what arrived looked very much like corned beef.  We were told it was pork, but it didn't taste like pork.  Later that night, we figured out from someone else's plate at another restaurant that she probably had pork knuckle.

For Thanksgiving we had dinner reservations at a restaurant apparently popular with dignitaries.  I got my escargot and foie gras.  The foie gras was a little sweet for my taste, but the escargot was wonderful--not Petit Louis wonderful, but still wonderful.  Our waitress was so nice.  She only spoke French, but didn't do in an elitist way.  She was clearly much more comfortable in French, but understood English.  I can't explain it.

Thanksgiving appetizers: escargot and foie gras

The next day before we left, we stopped by the Strasbourg City Hospital, which has a wine cellar that was built in 1395 and contains ancient wine barrels and wine from the 17th century.  We also did some clothing shopping and got some wine from the grocery store to take home.

Love Like the Movies

 October 31, 2010

Baltimore, MD

Anna Maria Island, Florida

Ain't No Particular Way

My friend Kim wanted to go to Prague. And she wanted to do so without having to bore a 5 year old and a husband with architecture and no plans. That's where I came in. Neither of us had been to Prague in about 10 or so years and neither of us really remembered much about it. Our plan was to relax, see some beautiful architecture, eat good food, and drink some good beer.

We stayed in a brewery hotel--the smallest brewery in Prague. We ate in the hotel's adjoining brewery restaurant when we arrived and were surprised when we ordered a dark beer that we were served a dark Budvar (the original Budweiser brand). The other surprise is that Prague still doesn't have the ban on smoking in restaurants.

On Saturday we had decided to do a walking tour of the city, but it didn't begin until 2, so we meandered to the Charles Bridge and took in the views. We strolled through the city, not looking for anything in particular and when we wanted to stop to see something or drop into a shop, we did.
One of our goals was to avoid the tourist restaurants and we did a fine job. For lunch on Saturday, we stopped into a restaurant for a long, leisurely lunch that had some wonderful food. I had a sausage and cabbage soup and a mushroom risotto.
The tour we took was by New Europe and their idea is that you pay for what you can afford and do so by tipping your guide at the end. I took one in Paris and think they're pretty good. You learn about the city, but also quirky stories that you don't read about in guidebooks.

An architectural example of cubism.

We ate at another great restaurant on Saturday night that was out of the tourist area, but quite close to our hotel. The prices in Prague have risen--it's not as cheap as it used to be--but we still were able to have a great meal at a much more reasonable price than in Germany or at home. After dinner we headed to the river so we could get some night shots of the castle. I had some turn out quite well, but my favorite is of the street car.

Just before we got our ride to the airport, we used the coupon from the hotel for a free beer from the brewery.  It was delicious.

Anything's Possible

You only live once.

One of my favorite bands, Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS), was playing at a music festival in the Netherlands.  And some other bands and musicians I really liked were going to be there too.  In a conversation with Chris, I said, "I'd be stupid not to go" (even if I was by myself).  His response, "I'd be stupid not to go with you."  Five minutes later, he had a ticket to fly to Germany so we could enjoy the some of our favorite bands.

The Take Root Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands was indoors and began at 4 pm.  Given that the theme was "Americana" and included a lot of bluegrass, I was looking forward to what the Dutch and other Europeans would decide as the appropriate dress.  I know someone who saw OCMS in Scotland and he saw a lot of overalls, flannel shirts, and hats.  I didn't see any overalls, but there were a few cowboy shirts, and one guy who wore what he probably thought was a cowboy hat, but was really a hat from the Australian outback.  An A for effort, though.

Even if you don't like bluegrass, you have to appreciate how amazingly these people can play a guitar, fiddle, banjo, or mandolin.  And you can tell they love doing it.

OCMS was awesome.  We were right up on the stage.  And later, Chris and I met Cory, a member of the band, who called me "darlin."  He's the one with the cap, second from the right.




Chatham County Line was a band we'd only listened to on iTunes and they were amazing in concert.  At the beginning you can see us right up against the stage on the left hand side, next to the guy in the white hair using his camera to video.



Dave Rawlings Machine and his wife Gillian Welch were beautiful and members of OCMS joined in with them too.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

In early September I had a couple of visitors. Dad and Chad arrived on the same day for their Euro trip. They had the requisite schnitzel and beer for their first meal and I showed them around Wiesbaden.

The next day we took a Rhein river cruise up to St. Goar. It was a tad brisk on top of the boat, but we had great weather and saw so many castles. Some of us *cough* even saw submarines. We all really enjoyed the cruise and I don't think Chad thought he'd ever see so many old things within such a short period of time.



In St. Goar, we took a self-guided walking tour of the castle that was built in 1200AD. The views of the river valley were amazing and the castle had so many nooks and crannies to explore.
Chad flew to Paris the next day and Dad and I started our journey. Our main destination was the Belgium beer festival in Brussels, but on the way there, we stopped in Cologne so he could see one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

The festival took place the entire weekend, but unless you get there in the first few hours, it's terribly crowded and very difficult to maneuver (i.e. get beer). Instead, that evening we just went to the main square to see the craziness and then headed to dinner at Chez Leon. It's on a touristy pedestrian street, which meant we got to sit and watch people, a lot of them drunk, pass by our table. I don't know how long we were there, but I know we both enjoyed watching the characters walk by. We ate at the same place both nights, because the food was good and the people watching was phenomenal.


We had a lot of fun at the beer festival. We got there right when it opened at 11 a.m. You have to buy tokens to use inside the fence and Dad, for some odd reason, thought 20 was enough for the both of us. (I used 20 or more last year by myself.) I relented, knowing that we'd need more later...and we did. This year, you had to buy a separate token that you used to return your glass and when you did, you received the token back, which allowed you to get another beer. Last year, when you were done with your glass, you just set it down and someone would come by to pick them up. I guess, with this year's method, the vendors lost fewer glasses.


Dad's first order of business was walking around to all the stands to grab their coasters, which made great souvenirs. Dad also picked up some For his first couple of beers, I directed him to a few of my favorites and ones he might enjoy. We probably stayed there for about 4 hours before we went back to the hotel for a nap (and some water).



The next morning we made a pilgrimage to the Trappist brewery Westvleteren. The monks' brew has been voted as the best beer in the world (the 12 that is) and you have to have an appointment to be able to pick up cases of it. (I've written about this before.) They do have a cafe and a small gift shop, so I had a 12 and Dad had two blondes (those are beers). I made sure to give him a hard time for not having the best beer in the world and instead having blonde beer. Given that this was his first true indulgence in to the world of Belgian beer, I let it slide. We also each bought a six-pack, which is the only opportunity to buy the beer unless you were lucky enough to have an appointment to pick up crates of beer.

After the monastery, we headed to a beer store and found a couple of the beers that Dad enjoyed at the festival, as well as a glass or two, and I got a case of something too. The American military cemetery in Luxembourg was our next stop, but by the time we arrived, it had just closed for the day. We did go back before we headed home. Then, we made our way to the oldest city in Germany: Trier.

Trier has a lot of Roman ruins all over the city and I knew Dad would like it. We saw the amphitheater, the city gate, the baths, and the bridge--all Roman ruins. It's hard to believe that they're still standing and we can still get a good idea of what these structures looked like and how they were used.


On Dad's last day in Germany, I took him to the market, and for lunch to a great Italian deli that serves wonderful, fresh sandwiches, and some yummy prosecco. He also got to meet my friends Kim and Brian, and their ball of energy, also known as Jack.

It was a great visit and hopefully both Dad and Chad can return before I leave next summer.

If It's the Beaches

Azure Window, Island of Gozo, Malta

Malta. It's not a place many people on the west side of the Atlantic know about. Malta is a small island in between Sicily and Tunisia in the Mediterranean. It's been occupied by so many groups, I've lost count. However, the British occupied the island in WWII, as it was a sought after position, given the Nazi's hope to occupy northern Africa with the Axis power of Italy. Because of the British occupation, they speak English. The Maltese grow up bilingual, speaking both Maltese and English. In fact, during the second World War, the British almost made them give up Maltese, because it wasn't a written language. However, after some convincing that their language was secure, since the Nazis couldn't speak it and break what could be considered "code," they told them they could keep it if they turned it into a written language. So apparently on short notice they did so. The language has similarities to both Arabic and to Italian.

The capital, Valletta, was a port of call on the cruise I took last November and I loved it. The city was this mix of Europe and what I thought Africa might look like (I would find out days later in Egypt). But when I found out that other parts of the island were surrounded by this gorgeous blue and these amazing rocky coasts, I wanted to see them for myself.

I was in dire need of a vacation, particularly one that involved a beach or a pool and some sun. I flew down on a Thursday and I was at the pool, facing the Mediterranean by 2:30. I had a beer by 3.

Aside from the beer on this trip, the rest of my diet was not indulgent, as most would define the term. I ate a ton of local fish, which was sooooo good, like sea bass and the black meagre.

This is just for you, Gil. Sea Bass.

Malta is beautiful. You can't take a bad picture. The architecture is so different than what I'm used to. The sandy stone buildings look similar to Egypt, but a LOT cleaner. And then there's that magnificent blue water. It almost doesn't look real. The water really is that blue.

Looking at Valletta from across the harbor

I was supposed to have a tour of the island of Gozo on Friday; however, the private guide I hired had me reserved for 30 August and not 30 July. He made it up to me, though, and gave me a free 1/2 day tour of the island of Malta on Friday and my scheduled tour of Gozo on Saturday.
We toured the island of Malta, seeing some of the places that can be touristy, but then traveled off road, literally, onto rocky paths for some amazing views.

Marsaxlokk Harbor, is still a traditional fishing village. These colorful boats are the fishing boats.

The point of the tour was for us to see what the Maltese live like, so we even visited a "cafe," which was a hole in the wall that locals frequent. A bunch of older men, possibly there for several hours, and others who would stop in for a coffee and a pastizzi on a break. We did the same and tried a pastizzi, a traditional Maltese snack with a flaky crust sort of like a croissant, filled with peas and a potato type filling. It was great. I wanted to take pictures, but felt like it was intrusive, because this is what they do every day, which is nothing special to them. I thought a little like I was exploiting something so normal to them. It is normal, but it's Maltese to me, which isn't any different than an of us. It's just something that I never would have seen on any other tour or by myself and that's the only thing that made it unique.

Popeye's Village--the set where the 1980 movie was filmed and now serves as little tourist attraction.

The next day was my tour of the island of Gozo. The island is less commercialized than Malta, but still very similar. We took a car ferry over, which went past the island of Comino where the Blue Lagoon is located. I wanted to possibly take a boat tour for some snorkeling, but decided a pool and relaxing would do just fine. The tour of Gozo was beautiful and it was hard to take a bad picture. We saw what the Maltese compare to the White Cliffs of Dover, the Azure Window (at the top of this post).

We had lunch at this local restaurant. They grow all their own food and for lunch we had a plate of fresh tomato, olives, goat cheese, onion, and capers along with some fresh bread. It was delicious. He also took me to some sea salt farms. I had never even thought of how they collect sea salt, but this is one way it's done. The colors were very bright and the wind was also really strong.

You can see all of my pictures from my trip here.