How to buy groceries like a local!

 We went to Gutenberg Marktplatz today (Sat., April 28) to shop for groceries at the open air market. I could do this every weekend! This marktplatz is located in a lovely residential area of Karlsruhe and is open on Sat. from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can buy everything from fruits and vegetables to meats, fish, cheese, bread, spices and flowers. It was a lovely spring day (finally!) and we spent a few hours wandering the stalls, buying groceries, and having lunch.

The fountain at one end of the platz. All the food stalls are to the left of Art, and to his right and behind the fountain you can see folks eating in the open air cafes.

A wonderful selection of fruit and vegetables. It is asparagus (spargel) season now, so lots of vendors (and restaurants) have white spargel for sale and on the menu. I bought some and will cook it with hollandaise sauce tomorrow. 

Lots of flowers.

Coffee anyone? Here is how to get an espresso while you shop. We thought this little 3-wheeled truck was too cute. 

More fruits and veggies.

I'd much rather buy my bedding plants here than from Lowe's!

The roast chicken (huhner) vendor. We are having huhner with our spargel tomorrow. :)

Grocery shopping is hard work, so we relaxed with the local brew. 

Here is the brewmeister next to our table!

Ulm Munster

Ulm is known for having the world's tallest church steeple (530 ft.) and for being the birthplace of Albert Einstein. We first saw the steeple from the train while we were traveling to Munich for Easter and decided we had to return to see more if it. On Sunday (April 22), we did.

The munster (cathedral) in the rain. It poured for most of the day, which is why we did not climb the 768 steps to the top of the steeple. On a clear day, you can apparently see the Alps...but not today! Construction of the church began in 1377.

The tower was built in two stages - the lower three stories constructed over the course of a hundred years (1392-1492), with the upper part of the tower being completed between 1885 and 1890.

The locals were having a beer fest next the the cathedral, along with a band and lots of good German wurst. Unfortunately, attendance was slim due to the weather.
Below are interior views of the cathedral. 

According to legend, construction of the spire of the Ulm Munster was halted while only halfway completed when a wagon carrying a large wooden beam - loaded sideways - arrived at the narrow city gate. After contemplating how best to proceed, the mayor of Ulm gave the order to tear down part of the city wall, but before the order was carried our, a sparrow-like bird was observed maneuvering a long twig into its nest - lengthwise! Following the lead of the sparrow, the beam was turned, the wagon passed through the narrow gate, work was resumed, the cathedral was completed, and the legend of the Ulmer Spätze was born. Here is a stone version of the sparrow in the cathedral; there are lots of other birds like this all over Ulm.

We walked along the city walls, which border the Danube. As with many other German cities, this medieval city was destroyed and rebuilt several times after being invaded by the French, the Austrians, and the Bavarians. The majority of the old town was destroyed by bombs during WW2. It's a miracle that the munster was not hit!

Standing on the city wall, we took this picture of the butcher's tower, built in the 14th century. When it started to pour again, we took shelter in the arch.

Town hall, which has some beautiful murals dating from the 16th century. 

The Fischerviertel (fisherman's quarters) has some lovely old half-timbered houses dating from the 15th-16th century. 

Part of the Fischerviertel. 

The Schiefes House (crooked house), which is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest continually operational guest house.

Another expedition for flammkuchen

We had planned to go to Strasbourg this weekend, but the weather forecast was for rain. So, we opted for shorter trips, closer to home, and ended up in Wissembourg, France. Oh, my, the weather did not cooperate for this trip either (Sat., 21 May). It was rainy and cold (40 degrees), but we made the best of it (all part of the adventure). The trip to Wissembourg took us about 90", with one change of trains. We chuckled when we crossed into France, as crossing the border became immediately obvious when the tracks switched from the smooth German rails to the rougher ride caused by lack of welding of the railroad track (reminded me of riding the NJ transit system to NYC). For us, Wissembourg is the quintessential French town: small, charming, lots of half-timbered houses, a spectacular church, a river running through the town, great patisseries and restaurants, open-air markets. And...the best flammkuchen we have had so far. 

Wissembourg has a population of ~8,000  and was founded somewhere around the 7th century.  Here is the river Lauter, which runs through town and is fed by several other canals (visible in other pictures below).

The town was fortified in the 13th century. Here is one of the gates to the town center. 

These walls surround the town and were refortified in the 17th century. I expect you can walk along the embankment for some distance. We did not, due to the weather. :(

Typical houses in town. 

Wissembourg had no industry worth bombing during WW2, so most the the 15th and 16th century building are intact. 

The abbey church, Saint-Pierre et Paul, was erected in the 13th century.  The only other church in this region that is larger is the cathedral of Strasbourg. I don't think we will ever get bored of looking at these magnificent buildings and enjoying their splendor and history. 

This photo does not do justice to the ambiance of these houses along the river. I was captivated. 

Just around the corner from this plaza, we had our lunch. For starters, we had foie gras, which is duck liver pate. Out. of. this world. The last time I had foie gras was with my sister, when we hiked southern France for a week on our tour of the vineyards there. Louise, I toasted you and our trip with a glass of fabulous bordeaux at lunch today. And then, we had a traditional flammkuchen, the best we have ever had. I think I could live in France! We bought brie and some French pastries home with us.  No dieting on this adventure. 

No idea how old this house is; just loved the roof!

Another cluster of houses along the Lauter River. 

The second floor of this building is for rent. Any takers out there?

There is no way to capture the charm of this little French village. But, here is another attempt. :)

Beer for breakfast in Ettlingen...oh my!

On Sunday (15 April), we hopped on the tram and headed for Ettlingen, a small town of ~40,000 just south of Karlsruhe. There we met a friend of ours, Jurgen, who invited us to join him at the Vogelbrau, a locally brew pub, to listen to some music.The Vogelbrau, located in an old movie theatre, was packed with folks when we arrived at 10:45 a.m. The band cranked up at 11 and they were fabulous; they played lots of Elvis and old rock and roll tunes. I have never seen so many happy Germans in one place (of course, it might have had something to do with the local brew....hmmm). After a beer of our own, we left to tour the city with Jurgen and have lunch. When we returned at 2 p.m.,  the band was still going strong and the Vogelbrau was rocking! Art and I joined the rest of the folks on the dance floor and had an absolute blast. What a way to spend a Sunday. 

The Vogelbrau.

The band setting up. Note the large copper tanks behind the stage, where the beer is brewed.

Jurgen and Art with their first beer at 11 a.m. The beer here is unfiltered, cold, 6% alcohol by volume, and tastes great! Our favorite Irish pub in Karlsruhe, the Bray Head, also serves beer from the Vogelbrau next door to it.

The band cranks up and so do the dancers. Turns out that the base player (red checked shirt) is a good friend of one of my graduate students in Karlsruhe. Small world!

Standing room only on both floors. 

Here is the Alb River, which begins in the hills of the Black Forest, runs through Ettlingen, and eventually empties into the Rhine river. 

Ettlingen has been a city since 768. This is the entrance to the Marktplatz.

These are remnants of a Roman bath. Ettlingen was an important crossroads during Roman times. 

This is the pedestrian gateway through the town hall's tower. The relief shows death on horseback and honors those who were killed in WWI. 

The town hall. 

A statue of St. George, slaying the dragon.

Typical residences in the center of town.

Another view of the old town.

The Erbprinz is a 5-star hotel and restaurant, just down the street from the Vogelbrau. It was originally a stately home, back in the 13th century. 

Flammkuchen in France

We have become fans of flammkuchen (flam-coo-kin), which is the French version of pizza, made from a very thin rectangular bread crust, creme fraiche, onions, and pieces of bacon.  We have eaten it several times here, but our friends suggested we head to France to try it in its original form, where it is called a tarte flambee. So, off we went on Saturday to Lauterbourg, a small French village just across the Rhine from Karlsruhe. After 3 trams and one short train ride (and 90"), we finally ended up at the small train station in Lauterbourg. It was a lovely day and we walked up the hill from the station to the center of town. We really had a pleasant day exploring the town and enjoyed our tarte flambee, which is even better than a flammkuchen.

A typical house in Lauterbourg.

The town square. Just up the street to the right were several patisseries. We bought some fabulous eclairs to take home with us. 

A new church, circa 1750s.

More lovely houses in town.

We had lunch here at Chez Gilbert, Restaurant a la Charrue. 

The restaurant interior, which was small but lovely. We were the only Americans there. 

Tarte flambee and a glass of bordeaux for lunch. Yummy! Apparently, tarte flambee was originally used to test the temperature of the bread oven. If the temperature was correct, the flambee was cooked in 2-3 minutes, in which case, the oven was hot enough to bake the bread.   

I expect my bordeaux at lunch did not come from these casks; but, I thought they were an interesting artifact. 

More typical houses in Lauterbourg. Although the town did not have any spectacular castles or historic buildings, it was charming nonetheless. Tidbit: in Germany, you push a button on the top of the tank to flush the commode; in France, you pull the knob up...all part of the adventure learning to live in a different country. :)

Here is the town gate, built as part of the fortifications of the old town in the 1600s. You can see the original wall to the right.