Octoberfest 2000

Part 3 - Black Forest

Sept. 19, 2000

Stammtisch Day!

We slept fabulously and awoke very early to the melodic sounds of garbage trucks and a jackhammer. Ed and I are showered, packed and ready to go at 8 a.m. Carson, on the other hand, is still paying hommage to the bier gods and can't get out of bed. So, Ed and I decide to walk around Baden-Baden and get some more pictures. We take our time and return to the hotel about 10:30 a.m. Carson is still in la-la land, but we inform him that check-out is at 11 am and we must get on the road!

After checking out and fetching the van, we return to the hotel and Carson still isn't ready! Argh! I inform him the bus is leaving now...if he doesn't get his carcass out of the hotel in 5 minutes, he can just meet us in Urach. That gets him moving and we are finally on our way...only 3 1/2 later than planned!

We stopped off in Triberg to see the waterfall and grab some lunch. Lunch at the Hotel Pfaff, right at the entrance to the waterfall, was very good. It consisted of onion soup and shrimp salad, plus a few beers.

We hiked up to the waterfall and took some pictures. Very pretty spot!

Carson and Michelle decide they want to hike further to the top of the falls. Ed and I decide to head back into town to find a basket, which I had promised the stammtisch members I would bring to the gathering for everyone to place their gifts in. BavariaBen had assured me that I would find "lots of baskets" in the Black Forest...he failed to mention that Triberg had none! We walked all the way down the main street and back...not a basket in sight! We asked in every store ...only basket shop was about 12 miles down the road. So, we decided to hop in the van and find a nice, large basket. Only problem...on the way to the car, we spied a "Quick Service" sign at a bar. Very intriguing!!! Seems you can stop by the bar and have your lunch and/or beer on the street at the outside counter. (These Germans are ingenious!) So, we stop in for a couple of beers and watch the Olympics for awhile. We decide to try to find a basket on our way to Urach.

We meet up with Carson and Michelle at 4 p.m., hop in the van and do find one shop that has baskets...very, very small baskets, but hey!....they're baskets, right? I buy a couple with the thought that most of the stammtisch members will not be sober enough to notice the small size...at least, that is what I was hoping!

After zipping right past the Kalte Herberge (our hotel for the night), I do a full driving loop around Urach...pass by the Sternen without knowing it...and end up right back at the road which the Herberge is located on. We spent a good 1/2 hour driving around, but finally found our hotel.

After checking into our rooms, we hurried and scurried to make the meeting at Gasthaus Zum Sternen. Since I didn't have any idea where it was located, I asked the hostess of the hotel where the Sternen was. We spent about 10 minutes in total confusion. She couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand her. Finally, she understood "Shtairnen"...I had been pronouncing it as it's spelled ..."sternen". She chuckled and pointed us in the right direction.

Upon entering the Sternen, I was met with nothing but kind, lovely statements such as, "We were just talking about you. We were commenting that you'd better be dead or severely injured, since you are so late!" Ahh...it was just like being with family! :)

Ben gave us all a warm welcome. (What's this about you not feeling well? Why...that's the best I've seen you look in years!!!!) Cornelius came up and surprised me with a gracious hug and a quick introduction was made to everyone. I must say...everybody looked much, much younger and all were much better looking in person than in their pictures! (Lord forgive me...it is Sunday after all!)

The evening was actually very sedate and everyone was on their best behavior. It was extremely hot in the Sternen, so I ran outdoors every chance I got for fresh air.

Have you all heard the song, "And the band played on"? Trust me...it did! Don't get me wrong...they were terrific! We especially enjoyed all the band members drinking while playing...quite a feat!

Next, the choir sang a few selections and were very much appreciated also. Near the end of the evening, three choir members enchanted us all with some local songs...they were wonderful also! Rudi cooked up some superb food and Tina kept us all plied with bier, bier, and more bier. (No...nobody saved any of Cornelius' wine for us, so...even though we're not big bier drinkers, we had no other choice than to drink it!) :o)

The certificates and gifts were exchanged, the money collected for the children's playground, and everyone just basked in the glory of this wonderful evening! Quite a special group of people to make this journey...quite a novel idea dreamed up by our own BavariaBen...and quite a unique evening. It was truly "a happening"!

Our foursome retired to the Herberge, where we had beer with BobinHeidelberg...just a super human being! We all felt better about not being able to see the remains of Heidelberg Man while in Heidelberg. Hell! We didn't need him...we had Heidelberg Bob right in our midst!

I was very tired and retired to bed, while Ed, Carson, and Bob had another beer. It seems they each regaled the other with their tales of woe regarding their intestinal tracts not being compatible with German cooking. Glad I missed it!

Sept. 20, 2000

We slept well again...beer has it's way of making you sleep like a baby! We cleaned up and headed downstairs for breakfast. Bob, Joan, Jerry and Jane were already downstairs. Carson, Michelle and Roger joined the group a little later. Breakfast was the usual...cold meats and cheese with bread and rolls, juice and coffee. After a little more conversation with everyone, we filed upstairs to pack up and check-out. Joan Karr entertained us with a few of her jokes. Loved the one about the banker, Joan!

We checked out and headed for Hohenshwangau. A few words about the Kalte Herberge:

It wasn't a bad little gasthaus...just a little different! Our room was huge and very comfortable, with a very, very large bathroom...all immaculate. However, we couldn't exit our room without going through Carson and Michelle's room. Didn't prove to be a problem with our short stay, but still rather awkward. Also...no televisions. This wasn't a problem either, since we were definitely ready for sleep upon our return from the Sternen, but if we had stayed longer, I would have missed the old telly, especially with the Olympics being televised. Price was certainly right...about $50/double room, including breakfast.

Our trip to Hohenschwangau would be our longest driving segment of our trip. I did have a little bit of trouble finding the exact roads that I had printed out before leaving home, but we managed alright. We stopped for gas and lunch and did some turn arounds. We probably lost close to an hour in drive time, but most of that could be accounted for by our stops. The scenery was some of the most beautiful we had ever seen...simply can't give it justice by the mere written word! We especially loved the back roads right outside of Hohenschwangau...no fences for the cows and we saw lots of them just meandering down the road...so adorable!

We finally made our destination...the Hotel Lisl in Hohenschwangau. This hotel was suggested to me by BavariaBen. It is a nice hotel with a fantastic location, just at the foot of both Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle.

While the rooms were rather basic, the bathrooms were lovely and very modern. Great water pressure (I just knew you were all dying to know that) and the toilet paper was the closest thing to Cottonelle that we had encountered our whole trip! (I've vowed to write a book which rates hotels on their quality of toilet paper...stay tuned!)

Upon our arrival, it had started to rain. This continued through the night and all through the next day. We just put on our rain gear and headed down the street to check out the town. We happened upon a nice restaurant, the Gruebel I think, where we had our requisite beer and talked awhile. Then we headed back to the hotel to change for dinner. We decided not to have dinner at the Lisl as the fog had totally obliterated Neuschwanstein for the evening.

We did eat at a small gasthaus...the Alpenstube... and had a nice meal of tomato soup and mixed salad, with a very good riesling wine...very nice! Since we were all tired from our long ride, we decided to head back to the hotel.

What the heck...a nightcap in the hotel lobby bar would be nice. And nice it was! Michelle and I ordered Planter's Punches...some of the best I have ever had! Couldn't have just one, could we? Ed lit up one of his Backwoods cigars that he had brought from home...the vanilla kind. They smell like heaven! Hanne, one of the waitressed became enthralled with the smell and we became fast friends. Ed ended up giving her his last three cigars! She then introduced us to Willi, the bartender. Another friendship molded! We spent the night conversing with these two great kids and had lots of fun! Then bed.

Next - Neuschwanstein - Innsbruck - Berchtesgaden