Just to the south of us here where the Rhine River has rather a wide flood valley there are massive sand dunes. Surprised ? I sure as hell was considering that everything else that is visible as far as the eye can see is lush verdent green pastures, agricultural fields, state forestry and buildings.
It is really bizzare but apparently the Rhine Valley was some 4,000 metres deep 150 mil years ago and the mighty river has slowly filled its flood plains and valley floor with river washed gravels and sands.
Today they are visible as these massive waves of dunes that has one expecting to see Peter O’Toole, as Lawrence of Arabia, pissed to the eyeballs on schnapps and cider, charging down them on his trusty Arabian steed, bedouin headress flying in the breeze, sword brandished aloft.
( *** Diary note: Apple Harvest 2006, must procure one horse, one sword, one Arabian Nights costume, large goat skin water bag for cider...hmmmm.........)
26.11.05
Searching For Heidi Part 2
The ferry ride was great and was certainly closer to a ship than a ferry. It was 2 decks high with 1st and 2nd class lounges, bars and a restaurant.
The houses that we passed on the lakes edge were nothing short of mini castles with their turreted boathouses and luxury launches and yachts tethered below them. We reached Luzern and were picked up by minibus and transported to the Palace Luzern.
Once again we were all given very nice junior suites with lake and city views. We had a bit of time to ourselves before our tour of the property with the Managing Director Mr. Andrea Jorger. Once again it was a true hotel of the grand palace era with huge chandelliers and massive marmotte pillars through the main lobby and lounges. We had canapes and very good pinot grigio in the lounge before heading to Jaspers restaurant which holds 16 gualt millau points. Classic but contemporary in its distinctive design, the Jasper embraces the finest furnishings and flavours.
"Their young chef Françoise Wicki (GaultMillau “Swiss Discovery of the Year 2001”) has already won critical acclaim for her culinary expertise. She possesses an intuitive feel for refined product combinations."
We had a 3 course meal interspersed with wonderful home made breads and olive oil for dipping. The entree was sauteed scallops with glazed celery and a herb pesto. The main was a Double veal rib chop (deboned)with rosemary potatoes, kenya beans and boletus and for desert an elder creme brulee with granita and pastry. Her remarkable use of herbs and spices create dishes that simply sparkled with surprise. The wines were also very good and we had a 2003 Sauvignon Blanc by Rosenauer from Luzern and a 2002 Blauburgunder also from Rosenauer. We then retired to the lobby bar with its classical English ambience for a snifter or 3 of Swiss William Pear schnapps and some more calvados. As it was Saturday night my colleague Adrian and I then took a long leisurely stroll through the old city of Luzern, through its winding cobbled lanes with its bars and clubs and hyper youths. An excellent little outing. Headed back to the Luzern casino to its night club for a quick beer before retiring at around 2.00am for a few hours sleep before the Sunday outing.
After a mammoth buffet breakfast we left our luggage with the concierge to be forwarded to Arth Goldau rail station where we would meet our train to Berne later in the day. We strolled around the lake with our courtesy hotel backpacks filled with picnic lunch to the ferry terminal and then sailed to Vitznau where we took the funicular Rigi train to the top of Mt Rigi. It was about 35 minutes to the top but the views to all points of the compass were sensational. We sat on the grass with our picnic lunches and took in the breath taking panorama. Nice lunch with sandwiches, fruit, chocolate, cheeses and salad.
We then took a different train line back down the mountain to Arth Goldau via Klösterli. There we took a regional express to Berne before changing trains again and heading back to Frankfurt via Mannheim. All in all a delightful 3 days but I have to say that it was a fairly strenuous and demanding little jaunt, probably due in the main to a complete over indulgence both gastronomical and visual.
The houses that we passed on the lakes edge were nothing short of mini castles with their turreted boathouses and luxury launches and yachts tethered below them. We reached Luzern and were picked up by minibus and transported to the Palace Luzern.
Once again we were all given very nice junior suites with lake and city views. We had a bit of time to ourselves before our tour of the property with the Managing Director Mr. Andrea Jorger. Once again it was a true hotel of the grand palace era with huge chandelliers and massive marmotte pillars through the main lobby and lounges. We had canapes and very good pinot grigio in the lounge before heading to Jaspers restaurant which holds 16 gualt millau points. Classic but contemporary in its distinctive design, the Jasper embraces the finest furnishings and flavours.
"Their young chef Françoise Wicki (GaultMillau “Swiss Discovery of the Year 2001”) has already won critical acclaim for her culinary expertise. She possesses an intuitive feel for refined product combinations."
We had a 3 course meal interspersed with wonderful home made breads and olive oil for dipping. The entree was sauteed scallops with glazed celery and a herb pesto. The main was a Double veal rib chop (deboned)with rosemary potatoes, kenya beans and boletus and for desert an elder creme brulee with granita and pastry. Her remarkable use of herbs and spices create dishes that simply sparkled with surprise. The wines were also very good and we had a 2003 Sauvignon Blanc by Rosenauer from Luzern and a 2002 Blauburgunder also from Rosenauer. We then retired to the lobby bar with its classical English ambience for a snifter or 3 of Swiss William Pear schnapps and some more calvados. As it was Saturday night my colleague Adrian and I then took a long leisurely stroll through the old city of Luzern, through its winding cobbled lanes with its bars and clubs and hyper youths. An excellent little outing. Headed back to the Luzern casino to its night club for a quick beer before retiring at around 2.00am for a few hours sleep before the Sunday outing.
After a mammoth buffet breakfast we left our luggage with the concierge to be forwarded to Arth Goldau rail station where we would meet our train to Berne later in the day. We strolled around the lake with our courtesy hotel backpacks filled with picnic lunch to the ferry terminal and then sailed to Vitznau where we took the funicular Rigi train to the top of Mt Rigi. It was about 35 minutes to the top but the views to all points of the compass were sensational. We sat on the grass with our picnic lunches and took in the breath taking panorama. Nice lunch with sandwiches, fruit, chocolate, cheeses and salad.
We then took a different train line back down the mountain to Arth Goldau via Klösterli. There we took a regional express to Berne before changing trains again and heading back to Frankfurt via Mannheim. All in all a delightful 3 days but I have to say that it was a fairly strenuous and demanding little jaunt, probably due in the main to a complete over indulgence both gastronomical and visual.
25.11.05
Searching For Heidi Part 1
Just back from a weeks holidays which was mainly spent in Darmstadt working on the garden. Last Friday I left with 4 work colleagues for a 3 day trip to Switzerland on a hotel familiarisation and returned late last night. We caught the ICE high speed express service to Interlaken on Friday morning and after a train change in Berne we zoomed off down through the alps along the side of Lake Thun, arriving in Interlaken about 5pm.
We were met at the station by Beate Makowsky the Sales Manager from The Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel and taken to the hotel. It is a Grand Hotel in the true tradition of palaces of its era and boasts a lot of art deco and magnificent ballrooms overhung with fabulous crystal chandeliers. It was the height of Victorian society and fashion to stay at these types of hotel by the aristocracy in turn of the century europe. They have just finished building a state of the art spa onto the rear of the hotel which also has a new wing of 12 suites. We were each given a stunning new suite of about 60 square meters, with Bang & Olufsen TV and stereo, big balconies with recliners and views to the peak of the Jungfrau, and bathroom big enough to accomodate a normal lounge room in marmotte marble and glass. Very modern and wonderfully comfortable with a full lounge sitting area and writing desk. Normally 900 swiss francs per night. For James and friends, free !!!! Gotta love that word.
We were given enough time to enjoy their new spa complex for 1.5 hrs and then we met in the lobby for a tour of the hotel and its facilities.
At the end of the tour we were taken to the cellar for glasses of Laurent Perrier vintage champagne and hors dourves. This was followed by a four course dinner in La Terrasse, an elegant restaurant with exquisite French cuisine and piano entertainment and running 16 gualt millau points. Courses included Salmon tatare with bretzeli,caviar and herb salad followed by a soup of Fennel cuppuccino with saffron blossoms. The main course was a saddle of veal with star anise and chilli jus on risotto and topped with horns of plenty mushrooms. The final round was a tasting of plums dome three ways as a plum crumble, plum mousse and plum sorbet inside a delicate wafer bowl. Dinner was served with a variety of Swiss white and red wines which included Eppesses La Braise d'Enfer 2004 and a Pinot Noir Luzifer 2003. After dinner we were taken to the lobby bar where we were given our choice of after dinner drinks. I had a couple of glasses of a truly lush 1981 Vintage Calvados by Christian Drouin. My, my but the gods were smiling and so was I. As we were so full to the gills we took a walk around the streets of Interlaken, looked in the shops and stopped at a bar for a couple of beers before returning to the hotel for a short but well earned sleep.
We were up again by 7am for breakfast and departed at 08.30am to the rail station where we caught the scenic train over the mountain passes to Bergenstock. The scenery was truly awesome and the lakes were so clear and the water blue from the glacial melt. We were met again by the hotel pickup service and driven the 15 km's to the Burgenstock Park Hotel
The hotel is perched on the edge of 1000m high enscarpment overlooking the lake to Luzern in the east. We had a full tour of the property before taking lunch in their traditional swiss restaurant the Taverna. Lunch for me was a traditional Bouillon mit Fladle which is a clear consomme with fine shreds of pancake followed by a Rosti with bar-b-que pork fillet and herb butter. After lunch we walked the trail out east on the Felsenweg path for a scenic 2km forty-minute clifftop walk to Europe’s fastest outdoor elevator which makes the 100-metre trip up to the mountain station of the Bürgenstock (1,114 m above sea level) in just 55 seconds. It is a mindblowing ascent in a glass fronted elevator which rides in a steel cross member tower. The lift rises at 3.42 meters a second for the last 123 meters of the ascent. It was built by the Schindler company and I couldn't help but remark, " Ahh, so this must be Schindlers Lift!"
At the top we walked around the various lookouts, watched an aircraft flying by at head height towing a glider, observed a huge Zepplin cruising around the lake 500 meters below and took in the unfettered view of a miriad of yachts, launches and ferries plying the lake below. We had coffee at the restaurant before returning via the lift and by foot to the hotel where we then took the funicular rail or zahnrad bahn (tooth wheel train) to the lake below to catch the ferry to Luzern.
We were met at the station by Beate Makowsky the Sales Manager from The Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel and taken to the hotel. It is a Grand Hotel in the true tradition of palaces of its era and boasts a lot of art deco and magnificent ballrooms overhung with fabulous crystal chandeliers. It was the height of Victorian society and fashion to stay at these types of hotel by the aristocracy in turn of the century europe. They have just finished building a state of the art spa onto the rear of the hotel which also has a new wing of 12 suites. We were each given a stunning new suite of about 60 square meters, with Bang & Olufsen TV and stereo, big balconies with recliners and views to the peak of the Jungfrau, and bathroom big enough to accomodate a normal lounge room in marmotte marble and glass. Very modern and wonderfully comfortable with a full lounge sitting area and writing desk. Normally 900 swiss francs per night. For James and friends, free !!!! Gotta love that word.
We were given enough time to enjoy their new spa complex for 1.5 hrs and then we met in the lobby for a tour of the hotel and its facilities.
At the end of the tour we were taken to the cellar for glasses of Laurent Perrier vintage champagne and hors dourves. This was followed by a four course dinner in La Terrasse, an elegant restaurant with exquisite French cuisine and piano entertainment and running 16 gualt millau points. Courses included Salmon tatare with bretzeli,caviar and herb salad followed by a soup of Fennel cuppuccino with saffron blossoms. The main course was a saddle of veal with star anise and chilli jus on risotto and topped with horns of plenty mushrooms. The final round was a tasting of plums dome three ways as a plum crumble, plum mousse and plum sorbet inside a delicate wafer bowl. Dinner was served with a variety of Swiss white and red wines which included Eppesses La Braise d'Enfer 2004 and a Pinot Noir Luzifer 2003. After dinner we were taken to the lobby bar where we were given our choice of after dinner drinks. I had a couple of glasses of a truly lush 1981 Vintage Calvados by Christian Drouin. My, my but the gods were smiling and so was I. As we were so full to the gills we took a walk around the streets of Interlaken, looked in the shops and stopped at a bar for a couple of beers before returning to the hotel for a short but well earned sleep.
We were up again by 7am for breakfast and departed at 08.30am to the rail station where we caught the scenic train over the mountain passes to Bergenstock. The scenery was truly awesome and the lakes were so clear and the water blue from the glacial melt. We were met again by the hotel pickup service and driven the 15 km's to the Burgenstock Park Hotel
The hotel is perched on the edge of 1000m high enscarpment overlooking the lake to Luzern in the east. We had a full tour of the property before taking lunch in their traditional swiss restaurant the Taverna. Lunch for me was a traditional Bouillon mit Fladle which is a clear consomme with fine shreds of pancake followed by a Rosti with bar-b-que pork fillet and herb butter. After lunch we walked the trail out east on the Felsenweg path for a scenic 2km forty-minute clifftop walk to Europe’s fastest outdoor elevator which makes the 100-metre trip up to the mountain station of the Bürgenstock (1,114 m above sea level) in just 55 seconds. It is a mindblowing ascent in a glass fronted elevator which rides in a steel cross member tower. The lift rises at 3.42 meters a second for the last 123 meters of the ascent. It was built by the Schindler company and I couldn't help but remark, " Ahh, so this must be Schindlers Lift!"
At the top we walked around the various lookouts, watched an aircraft flying by at head height towing a glider, observed a huge Zepplin cruising around the lake 500 meters below and took in the unfettered view of a miriad of yachts, launches and ferries plying the lake below. We had coffee at the restaurant before returning via the lift and by foot to the hotel where we then took the funicular rail or zahnrad bahn (tooth wheel train) to the lake below to catch the ferry to Luzern.
23.11.05
Local Market
They had there big annual town market festival on the weekend just past here in Darmstadt. Lots of stalls with all the usual hand made hobby arts as well as a lot of baubels and trinkets.
The food stands offered a wide array of traditional German foods in the form of huge bratwursts and pudding type sausages as well as the endless arrays of continental bakery produce.
The big carousel was a real Magic Roundabout type of affair with the organ pipe music blaring out so loud that most of the kiddies were only screaming because they couldn’t hear themselves anymore and thought they had gone permenantly deaf. ( ``Hey Mum!, Hey Dad!, I’m not screaming with laughter and joy this really hurts you idiots and I’m getting really dizzy as well !!!)
They had the buskers out and about and most of them seem to have a piano accordion strapped on. Some of the gypsy traditional stuff is O.K. but the rest sounds like Happy Hammond Hour at the Sunset Hills Home for the Musically Bereft.
The food stands offered a wide array of traditional German foods in the form of huge bratwursts and pudding type sausages as well as the endless arrays of continental bakery produce.
The big carousel was a real Magic Roundabout type of affair with the organ pipe music blaring out so loud that most of the kiddies were only screaming because they couldn’t hear themselves anymore and thought they had gone permenantly deaf. ( ``Hey Mum!, Hey Dad!, I’m not screaming with laughter and joy this really hurts you idiots and I’m getting really dizzy as well !!!)
They had the buskers out and about and most of them seem to have a piano accordion strapped on. Some of the gypsy traditional stuff is O.K. but the rest sounds like Happy Hammond Hour at the Sunset Hills Home for the Musically Bereft.