(Recommended by Pat & Randy - PWilson374)
Pension
Panoramablick
Familie Männle-Radtke
Clevnerstraße 17
77770 Durbach
Tel - 781/41791 ~ Fax - 781/440605
Email - Pension.Panoramablick@t-online.de
(Pat) ...Durbach is a lovely wine village along the Badischen Weinstraße
in the Rhine Valley near Offenburg. Our accommodations were at the Pension Panoramablick, located in a residential
area just outside the village. The Pension has 5 double rooms on the 2nd floor, each with private bath, TV and
mini-fridge. On the basement level, there is a lovely breakfast room and guest kitchen. The refrigerator was stocked
with beer and local wine, available for purchase on the honor system. Our room was large and comfortable, with
a balcony looking directly onto a vineyard. Herr Männle-Radtke was a gracious host, unobtrusive but happy
to sit and talk with us if we wished. His English was halting but very good -- a boon for us since none of us speak
German.
(Durbach village)
It was off-season in Durbach, and many restaurants were closed, but the local hangout was open and served delicious
food. And delicious wine. The local Spätburgunder Rotwein is the best red I've ever had the pleasure to guzzle!
In fact, I fear the group was rather rowdy one night after consuming various bottles of wine and delicious schnitzel
(the sparkling white wine is also wonderful!). I was a bit worried that we might have offended the local diners
and quizzed Herr Männle-Radtke the next morning as to whether he had heard any gossip about us. He pondered
a moment and then gravely said "Well, I went to church early this morning, but I didn't hear anything about
noisy Americans." And then grinned at me. Whew!
- (our room) - 
We stayed in Durbach several days, making various side trips - the obligatory trip to Triberg for the benefit of
the newbies with us, Wolfach for the glass museum, Baden Baden for shopping, and various trips into Alsace.
We braved the snow in the Vosges Mountains to visit Camp Struthof,
the remnant of the Nazi concentration camp used to imprison members of the French Resistance. It was also a staging
area for French Jews en route to Dachau. It was late afternoon of a gray, dreary day when we arrived, snow falling
thickly and silently over the camp. The weather was appropriate to the scene -grave markers, barbed wire and gun
towers, and the tall, eerie monument to the victims. Getting back over the mountains was tricky and slippery, but
we were glad we visited the camp.
- (Camp Struthof) - 
The next day we visited the Christmas
markets at Colmar and enjoyed lunch at our favorite restaurant in Riquewihr,
Au Tire Bouchon.
On our last day, we visited Haut-Königsbourg
near St. Hyppolite in Alsace. This old fortress dates back centuries but was in ruins when restored and rebuilt
in 1901 by Wilhelm II. The fortress perches high above the Rhine Valley and has the most splendid view. It was
worth the visit.
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Of the three countries we visited (England, France and Germany), our first time travelers voted for Germany as
their first choice for the best food and accommodations. And wine also, of course.
All had a good time...
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