Strasbourg, France

Alas, our last town of the weekend full of French fun ends in Strasbourg (if you wonder where we have been this weekend see posts on: Colmar, Eguisheim and the Alsatian Wine Route).  We ended at Strasbourg, the official seat of the European Parliament garnished in Franco-German culture, design and feel.   We scored a pretty "pretty" parking spot along the waters edge, what a lovely day!

I love these homes along the river banks, they remind me of Amsterdam

and the carousels, think they let big kids ride?

These were our favorite things to see in Strasbourg:

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1. Cathédrale Notre Dame

The Cathédrale Notre Dame is the city's main landmark.   It was built between the 12th and 15th century from a beautiful pink sandstone, and in a classic Gothic style.  We could see it's single spire driving into the town and it can actually be seen all throughout the town-it's a great landmark.

The inside is pretty beautiful too!

The organ is so high, it must make for some pretty good acoustics

Amazing stain glass, it was taken down during WW2 by the Nazis and hidden in a salt mine, later to be rescued by the Monuments Men. 

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2. Strasbourg Anatomical Clock

Okay clock lovers this is amazing, and even if you aren't a clock lover, it is still amazing.  The clock dates back to 1843 and has so many features.  Besides the automata, there is a perpetual calendar, an orrery (planetary dial), a display of the real position of the Sun and the Moon, and the solar and lunar eclipses.

The main attraction is the procession of Christ and the Apostles figurines, which happens every day at 12:30PM. 

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3. La Petite France

La Petite France is a charming quarter, it was where Strasbourg's tradespeople (tanners, millers, and fishermen) once lived.  It's a charming area laced with canals, crowned with half-timbered homes, carpeted with cobblestones, and has lots of cafes to sit and enjoy a treat. 

 !Totally digging this piece of art!

We sat at a cafe and enjoyed a tarte flambee and people watched

What a wonderful weekend, a touch of France was just what we needed!

Alsatian Wine Route, France

If you like hiking, or even walking, you'll enjoy Route d'Vins d'Alsance.  It's a beautiful walk from one medieval village to the next, along lush Riesling wine vineyards.  We went to three different towns Riquewihr, Hunawihr, and Ribeauville, and let me tell you they are charming!

We started in the town of Riquewihr, and you enter into a townscape of winding roads and fabled houses.

Since we arrived in the early morning, we stopped for breakfast, and we found some wonderful buttery croissants, just out of the oven and they practically melt in your mouth.  

I love the storefronts, they remind me of all the classic children's book, yeah? 

You find so much character around every corner

The rolling plains and hilltop castles above the town make me ready to explore, let's get to walking!

 Blossoms of popcorn popping!

Miles and miles of grapes...makes for a pretty walk

50% of the grapes are for Riesling wine, and the other half is for a Gewurztraminer wine; I'm sure they taste delicious, too bad it's so early in the season and none of the grapes are ready to eat!

Even the weeds are beautiful here

 I spy town number 2: Hunawihr and their famous fortified church!

The town is pretty tiny, not too much to see, but still a beautiful walk

...and we march onwards to the third town

Jordan showing me how to blow the dandelions, "watch and learn Morg, watch and learn"

Ribeauville, was just as quaint as the other towns, with a fortified wall and window dressings of more nursery rhymes.

 Adorable

From here we headed 3 miles back, and when we got back to Riquewihr of course we had to reward ourselves with french macaroons from Gilg, which we have come to the conclusion have been the best macaroons in France that we have yet to have. After eating them we decided, we could probably eat a few more...

The Alsatian Wine Route makes for a great 1/2 day of exercise and sight seeing, check it out!

Morgan Makes Passover

Life long learning is important, but nobody thinks they have time to take up a new hobby.  Now that I am a bit more acclimated and settled in (although I still haven't hung photos on our walls... but it will happen one day I keep telling myself) I have started to branch out to new friends and new things.   I have joined a really cool club with a really cool concept.  It's called the "Learn Something Mystery Club".

This is how the club works: one person hosts whenever they want, and they share a "mystery" topic of surprise with everyone that comes.  No one knows ahead of time what they are getting involved in. The topics are totally random, it can be an easy craft, visiting a local monument, some chemistry, history, a dance, a new recipe, anything.   So I wanted to share a slice of my heritage,  so in the spirit of the Jewish Passover coming, I decided to host my very first Passover.

Once the guests arrived I explained to them about how Jewish families prepare for Passover and we jumped right into a 30/40 minute Passover Sedar.  It was so awesome! I loved every minute of it; it really made me feel like I was close to my family, even though they are so far away.  I explained the different rituals of the Passover, we read from the Haggadah (my aunt sent me just the right amount for the group), and I described the symbolism behind the Matza and items on the Sedar plate.

 The table was all set and ready to go!  We have the apple charoset and everything!

 Some light Jewish literature for the guests to read over

It's very rare to find any sort of Jewish Holiday food when you're in Germany.  In fact, it is almost extinct, unless you are shopping at the Commissary on post, which has a tiny selection.  I am so grateful for my family members (shout out to my mom, my aunt and better than Betty Crocker Jeanie!) and Amazon Prime who really helped make the Passover a success.  It took about two days to prepare the Passover meal.

For starters we had Gefilte Fish, made by the famous Manischewitz.

Then some Matzo Ball soup...the key is to not touch the balls a lot while they are doughy and my mom says to add a little seltzer water!

I ordered a brisket cut from the grocery store about a week ahead and marinaded it for 24 hours.  After 8 hours of cooking, overnight cooling and cutting, it was warmed and delicious to eat!

I served the brisket with a caramelized leek vegetable kugel

For dessert I made chocolate covered matzo, coconut macaroons, and the traditional jelly candies

It was so good and so fun! I am glad I had the opportunity to host such a great event.  

Thanks to everyone who helped and made it a success.  As they say, next year in Jerusalem! 

Bolesławiec, Poland

Before moving to Germany, I never knew that "Polish Pottery" was a thing, or that people in the States pay 100+ dollars for dishes to eat and cook from. The people that I know who use Polish Pottery swear that it is better than any Pyrex or metal baking dish, so...since we are so close to Poland, I joined the bandwagon and a few of us girls took a quick trip across the boarder to Bolesławiec, Poland to shop for some of this fine handcrafted material.

We left after work and arrived at the Elim Mission Center for the night (the drive was about 5 hours).  It was dark when we arrived, but the rooms were super cute, so I could only imagine what the outside of this fine establishment looked like.  It felt like a princess castle, and was a perfect place to get our  beauty sleep before we shopped till we dropped!  I was impressed that we only paid 12 euro a person to sleep here!

Really pretty in the daylight too,  Now off to the land of pottery!

These were some of the places we went to: Andy's, Henry's, Ceramika, Manufactura and so many others (there is a list at the bottom of the post with details)! You can never shop at too many Polish Pottery stores right?

It is so cute as outdoor garden decor

So many designs to choose from! They should warn you the feeling of being overwhelmed is a side effect of the so many choices. Styles, pieces and designs oh my!

Not all Polish Pottery is created equal, they are sorted into different categories (Gat) of quality.  If you look at the bottom of any piece, you will see the Gat number, here's what it means:

There's more to look through

Polish Pottery is made from clay, molded by hand.  Each factory has its own molding process. Everything is painted by hand with brushes, rubber stamps, and sponges.  It is really rather exacting!

So much detail to make it look perfect

Nice displays

Valentines Day Pottery anyone?

I have an enormous crush on Polish Pottery

I think I know who they cater to...army wives?

I made out like a bandit on this trip, I picked up some great pieces of pottery that I will use often. Take a look at my loot:

Butter dish from Ceramika Artystyczna

 Serving platter from Henry's...It will be great for salads or pasta 

Deep dish 8x8 casserole from Andy's

My favorite piece, a taco platter from Andy's

No trip of mine would ever be complete without local cuisine.  Poland's traditional foods is some of the best in Europe! So delicious and comforting. We went to a delicious restaurant Opałkowa Chata. Just the thought of the food there makes me hungry all over again.   Thanks Paige for this picture, sorry you're not in it, but you're a great photographer.

Starter #225.  Buraczana polewka z uchami: traditional beet soup with little mushroom dumplings

 Main course: #54 Opałkowa micha: A variety of pierogis, and no matter the filling you can't go wrong!

If you like the pictures I took on this trip, and are interested in the shops we went to, here is a list of where I recommend spending your Zlaty:

1. Andy: Tomaszów Bolesławiecki 111A

2. Ceramika Boleslawiecka "Kalich": Czerna 32, 59-730 Nowodrodziec

3. Ceramika: Czerna 39

4. Manufaktura: ul. Gdańska 30, 59-700 Bolesławiec

5. Manufaktura Shop: ul. Kościuszki 24b

6. Henry's: ul. Masarska 1, 59-700 Bolesławiec

7. Ceramika Artystyczna: ul. Kościuszki 23, 59-700 Bolesławiec

8. Zakłady Ceramiczne: ul. Kościuszki 23, 59-700 Bolesławiec

This is only a start to something dangerous, I'll be back to expand my collection!