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Published: August 26th 2011
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Sunday 21st August, 2011
This morning my sister and I bid farewell to her family and we set off on our Roadtrip.
ROADTRIP!!!! YEA!! Visions of Thelma and Louise (only the fun bits) floated in my mind as we set off, two women together to explore unknown territory, temporarily free of all responsibilities. Veenendal being on the eastern side of Holland, we soon crossed over into Germany, leaving the neatly sectioned fields, perfectly straight canals and beautifully manicured verges behind, for a wooded, more relaxed looking countryside with fields not in straight lines and crops placed more haphazardly. It is apparent in even these small details that Germany is less densely populated. We stopped for lunch at a pretty little town near Dusseldorf named Hilden. We chose this town, as our family name is Hilden. Family history research has so far not indicated any family link to this town, but it was interesting to see all the road and street signs with our name emblazoned on them. It gave us a sense of ownership, however false. Being a Sunday, not too many people were about, but a café serving ice creams and breakfast was open. It was immediately apparent that we
had strayed far from the major tourist pathways, when the waiter spoke no English. Oh well, between us we have our high school German, and Leena’s fluent dutch, and we managed to order “Schinken und Kase mit brot und zweimal tasse caffee ohne zucker bitte.” (Ham and cheese sandwiches and two cups of coffee without sugar please). Probably not phrased like a true German, but since we got what we thought we were asking for, we felt really clever. A little later we were astounded when a wasp flew to my plate, chewed off a piece of ham, and flew away. Knowing that Germans have a reputation for loving their pork, we assumed that the insects have developed a taste for it too. The wasp having got her friends to help, soon there were several, flying in and out of the discarded sandwiches on our plates. Before anyone got hurt by a swarm in a ham induced frenzy, we asked for the “rechnung, Bitte,” and left. We decided to take a wander around the town, snapping photo’s left and right, much to the amusement of the locals who by now had emerged, and were enjoying the sunny day mostly by
having ice-creams in the squares, streets and café’s.
Late in the afternoon, we arrived at our first overnight destination, Nurenberg. My knowledge of Nurenberg before this was that it was where the trials of German leaders occurred after WWII. End of knowledge. Our choice to stop there was based solely on its convenient location about half way between Veenendal and Vienna.
The grand hotel in Nurenberg is a four star hotel situated right next to the old part of town across the road from the medieval stone walls. Picked off the internet. It is a large building in the grand old style, with rows upon rows of windows, the first floor balconies hung with masses of red geraniums. The entrance was flanked by flags, leading to an impressive foyer and reception, all mirrors, glass, chandeliers and marble. After our bags were carried to our room, and a quick shower, we went to the restaurant Brasserie downstairs, to have dinner before going to do some sightseeing in the cool of the evening.
As well as a la carte offerings, the Restaurant offered the Franconian selection, a set menu of locally produced and inspired dishes, which was very reasonably priced (32 euro
per head) and sounded excellent.
A small salad as a starter, was followed by a creamy truffle soup, the likes of which I have NEVER eaten. The first mouthful made my tastebuds come alive, and it was sheer heaven, from first spoonful to the last. I think I could eat that every day for at least a year. My first experience of Truffle was to die for, and now I get what the fuss is all about.
The main meal was beef cheeks slowly cooked to melting perfection with caramelised onions, strangely being the perfect complement to the meat and a rich beef jus – we detected a rich red wine or port and a hint of star anise. For dessert we experienced white plum fritters, crunchy, sweet and golden on the outside, soft and slightly tart on the inside with home made icecream which just melted and oozed, the whole meal downed with a pinot noir grown in the local region. I thought that german food was supposed to be all stodgy with mashed potato, sausage and sourkraut. How wrong I was. I’m in gastronomic heaven!
Needing to walk off the huge meal and excess alcohol, we set off
to see what the town looked like. It had grown dark by this stage, and the hot day had cooled to a pleasant evening with a hint of breeze. We crossed the road to the old town, and headed off down the cobble stone streets and discovered churches, cathedrals, and other old ornate buildings. I hadn’t expected to encounter a beautiful city, with incredible architecture, displaying a sense of its 950 year history at every turn, and a vibrant culture of music, craft and art. There were lots of people out and about, and as we continued our walk, we came across a pair of buskers, playing classical pieces with a violin and piano accordion to an appreciative crowd. We stopped for a while to listen as well. An impromptu concert to finish off the night.
The next morning after breakfast, we set off for more sightseeing, as we didn’t need to be in Vienna before 6pm.
The handcrafts centre housed just across the road from the hotel within the old walls was open, and there were small picturesque shops filled with wares by artisans of all sorts, confectioners, silversmiths, potters, artists, glass makers, and toy makers galore. It was
all too tempting and the souvenirs purchased will be sent home via the post – just as the last 20 kilos have already gone.
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