A day off

Travel can be hard work. It is all too easy to think that you need to go out and see something or somehow get value for money for all the airfares. We took the day off and just did a leisurely stroll along the bike path with the temperature about 70 F (21 C).

We sat outside for dinner (pasta, zucchini from the garden, tomatoes etc). I love the old wooden shed with the trees on the mountain behind it.

A bottle of rose was demolished. We noticed that the woman across the road was home. She is often out there dead heading and watering the flowers.

The big awning kept the sun off. Marianne has a strange relationship with this awning which can be furled back at night. When she presses the button sometimes it goes down or up straight away. Other times it waits awhile and taunts her.

I stand back and leave it to her. She has the magic aura that can deal with it, somehow.

It is all just so French. Flowers everywhere. An old elegant building off in the distance. The really tasty ingredients. The wonderful cheese, bread, sausage, pate, wine. I ask myself, could I live in France and the answer is yes. Of course there are negatives but on a lovely summer evening you can ignore them.

Marianne remarked that the awning gives a lovely glow to the deck.

Marianne loves these place mats.

So when you travel, take some time off to smell the roses. I have two sayings about travel.

Less is more.

There is always a next time.

Slack bunny goes for a walk up the hill

This was our first cool day since we arrived and we have been taking it easy relaxing in the house when we are not travelling around in the car doing the tourist thing. It was time for a serious walk and there was a steep hillside only a few yards away.

I looked up walks in the area on Everytrail which is an app I used on the Coast to Coast and Lycean Way hikes. Just a hundred yards away or so there was a trail heading up the nearby mountains. I put on my hiking boots and headed off.

Heading up the trail I met a car coming down. I don't know what happens when there are two cars going in opposite directions.

Eventually the bitumen petered out to be replaced by a pretty decent dirt / rock road.

It is a pretty steep climb. Not quite as steep as the hillside outside Linz but still a decent ascent that went on for a mile or so.

My map showing that I would have to make a sharp turn soon.

The start of the turn. This GPS on a phone stuff really works.

Looking through the clouds down to the valley. I got a little wet but not too bad.

Eventually I reached the top and there was a house with a big open field.

The Vosges Mountains heading off into the distance.

Fungus.

It was time to descend back to the village.

Despite what you see, this path was not as smooth and easy as the path coming up. The rocks were not stable so it was easy to slip.

The rocks were not stable and it would have been easy to twist an ankle. I wished I had a hiking stick.

I came down the right hand path.

You might be able to make out the houses just below. Walking in the woods is fine but you don't really see too many great vistas which is why I don't have too much ambition to walk the Appalachian Trail.

Finally the trees petered out.

The church steeple. The clock had struck 4 pm a few minutes before and I had started at 3:30 pm.

The Town Hall.

Walking back up the street to our exchange house. Yes, I had been at the top of that hill, probably higher. The whole walk took about 45 minutes so with the slow ascent and descent I estimate it was a bit over two miles. But tough work in both directions, so I deserved a beer as a reward.

Assumption Day in Saint Marie aux Mines

Our host had mentioned to us that there was a market each Saturday in nearby Saint Marie aux Mines. We decided to go and so headed off in the car.

We drove down the main street looking for the market but could not find it so we parked the car and walked around. As usual, I could not resist taking photos of the buildings. Look at the rumpty one on the far right.

There were quite a few of these places for dogs to do what they have to do.

More of the metal tiles on a wall.

A small chapel.

Interesting shed for outside performances. I suspect the market might have been in the large car park right next to the shed. It was empty.

Big house towards the rear. With numerous silver mines in the area, there had to be a few very wealthy owners at one time.

A telephoto view of a couple of houses way up on the hillside to the south of the town. No doubt the view is good but it would be an interesting trip up and down the road on an icy, snowy morning.

The clouds were so low that occasionally we felt as if we were walking through them. An umbrella would not have helped too much.

I like shutters.

Not too keen on purple gates however.

Statue of a miner in ceremonial dress.

There was very little activity and Marianne had figured it might have been some sort of holiday. We found that both supermarkets were closed as well. When we got home, we found out on the calendar that it was Assumption Day. It is a holiday in much of the Catholic countries and states of Europe.

Our local bakery was open however. The French need their daily bread.

Lunch at the Hotel Frankenbourg

Our hosts had strongly recommended to us that we eat at the nearby Hotel Frankenbourg. Its restaurant rates a Michelin Guide star which means it should have really good food. Eric said the price was low compared to most other one star restaurants so we booked a table for lunch.

Unfortunately, most of my photos did not turn out but here are a few.

Notice the bread plate and the notch to hold the knife.

Blurry photo of the first course of the seasonal menu. The yellow balls were some kind of egg and cheese puff. On the left was avocado and olive on toast. Eaten already was another concoction with salmon. A couple of the waiters spoke some English so we were able to get some sense of what we were about to eat. 

I have translated the menu using Google Translate to get the following.

Trifles and amusements

Roasted foie gras, pepper pate, salted watermelon and bloody Mary

Poached sea bass, roasted tomato, French caviar, water green zebra, fresh almonds and saffron pasta

Baked Guinea Fowl, sweet and sour blueberries, some sort of broad bean, creamed chicken stock and burned onion confit

Lemon with meringue, fig and something like mint, spicy crust and carrot

Figs infused with sangria, creamy lemon crumble and lemon-green vanilla sorbet

Sweets

This was the Guinea fowl and it was particularly yummy.

We also had the flight of wines to match the food.

Arnold Pinot Gris (I never knew Pinot Gris could taste this good and it was made just a few miles away)

A French Marsanne, (not as tasty a wine as the Pinot Gris)

Mas de la Doux (excellent with the fowl)

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It was an absolutely wonderful and surprisingly filling meal. Each mouthful brought some new taste and flavours. I could not say that I had a favourite dish, but I really enjoyed the fish and the fowl. And of course, this was the best foie gras I have ever tasted. This was a level way beyond pate.

This restaurant was more upscale than Chez Nico in Innsbruck, but just as enjoyable. There were about eight waiters scurrying around but the restaurant held many more people than Chez Nico. There were four or more tables with eight or more diners, some with children.

The cost for the two of us was 102 euros including the wine.