Diane

Trip report of Brugge, Alsace region of France, and the Black Forest. My thanks to all those who offered assistance, especially to Wes for his assistance on the Black Forest. <BR> <BR>This report is rather lengthy, so if you are not interested in reading an in-depth report, especially on hotels, you have been given notice and there is no reason to add comments here about the minute details. That said, I will begin our journey. <BR> <BR>We were three women in dire need of a holiday. We called ourselves the multi-ethnic trio -- one Asian, one Latina, and one Caucasian. I guess you could say we stood out in a crowd, but with our white tennies and cameras we were clearly American tourists. <BR> <BR>Tuesday, June 5: My friends traveled on Delta, and I on United Airlines thanks to frequent flyer points. We departed about the same time and were to meet at the Brussels Airport. My flight from Los Angeles to Dulles went fine, but the connecting flight did not. We got as far as the runway when they announced mechanical difficulties. The flight was cancelled after 7 hours of “informational updates”. I was housed at Marriott’s Westfield Conference Center for the night and given a substantial allowance while there. This was one instance when traveling business class came in mighty handy. The hotel was very nice, and although I was missing a day in Brugge, I began my vacation with room service and a movie. Better the pilot discover mechanical problems at the airport than over the Atlantic. <BR> <BR>Thursday: Arrived in Brussels at 6:15 am (22 hours late), stopped at the ATM machine, trained to Brugge, and arrived at the hotel as my friends were about to start breakfast. We stayed at the Egmond Hotel right by the Minnewater Park. We took two rooms. My friends shared a very large, pretty room upstairs overlooking the hotel’s garden. I had a small but efficient single room (#3) downstairs. We were delighted with the hotel. The location is close to activities, but in a quiet area, with free parking. The bathrooms have modern fixtures and hairdryers. The ladies’ bathroom was small; the bathroom in my room is larger with an accordion door. If I were skinny I would have been able to stand at the sink with the door closed, but alas, the door needed to remain open. The showers were great. Gone are the days of 25-watt light bulbs. My room had excellent recessed lighting in both the bedroom and the bathroom. There was a halogen lamp on the desk and reading lamps over the bed. The mattress was a double size -- unusual for a single room in Europe. The breakfast buffet was substantial (meats, cheeses, yogurt, cereal, fresh fruit, fresh orange juice, breads and a toaster), and they make delicious hot chocolate. We spent some time talking with Chris, the hotel’s proprietor. He is a very nice man and he filled us in on some of the cultural differences between Belgium and the U.S. Web site: www.egmond.be <BR> <BR>More to follow. <BR> <BR>

Diane

We spent the day walking around the city, took a horse-drawn carriage ride, and a canal boat ride. Of the two rides I preferred the canal boat as it was peaceful and we saw more of the beautiful architecture. If you take the ride, try to sit at the front of the boat. We sat towards the back and some rude people kept standing up in front of us to take photographs. The horse-drawn carriage ride was through busy streets with cars and buses in front and behind us. In the evening I watched just a bit of the British copy of “Survivor” on TV. <BR> <BR> <BR>Friday: We visited the Church of My Lady to see the Michelangelo statue, Madonna and Child. The church is exquisite, and we spent almost an hour there taking many photographs. This is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. From there we took the bus to Damme, a small town about 20 minutes away from Brugge. There is not much there. We visited the church, had lunch at one of the small restaurants lining the main street and took the bus back. The plan was to take the boat ride one way, but it was too chilly. Back in Brugge we climbed to the top of the Belfry. Not only is it a challenge to get up the 366 stairs, but you must do so on a narrow, circular stairwell with people trying to get around you as they head down the same staircase. It gets particularly narrow as you reach the top flight. There are a few landings where you can catch your breath. The view from the top was well worth the climb. <BR>

Diane

There are a lot of shops in Brugge and we stopped at more than our fair share. Many of them sell lace (not necessarily from Belgium) and tapestries. I particularly liked the tapestry handbags, but they are a bit pricey. The city has many, many restaurants, chocolatiers, pastry shops, and teashops. We make chocolates and pastries here in the States too, but they have perfected the art of display. Just pass by one of the windows and you cannot help but salivate. Honestly, you cannot go hungry in Brugge....unless you want to sit down in a restaurant between 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm. There is a small window for eating lunch and you need to be on their timetable. We found the restaurants in the city to be expensive, especially for mid-day. I believe they use the same menus for both lunch and dinner. Overall, we were okay with the food, but not delighted, and the only restaurant we ate at worth recommending is ‘t Zwaantje (I think it translates to little swan), address Gentpoortvest 70. Website: http://go.to/zwaantje <BR> <BR>Saturday: In the morning we taxi to the auto shop to pick up our rental car. We ordered an intermediate sized car through Auto Europe for 10 days. Supposed to be Renault Laguna or similar. Turns out, the only auto available for us is a diesel Renault Scenic mini-van. Not what we had in mind, but it worked out okay and got good mileage. After dropping the car off at the hotel we went to a flea market frequented primarily by locals. It was interesting, especially the food area. In the afternoon we went to the lace school to watch them....make lace, of course; then we walked through the museum and museum shop. There are two lace museums and the one referenced here is out of the town center, but worth the 10-15 minute walk. There was a little girl about 10 years old working the bobbins at the school as if she’d been making lace since she was in the cradle -- very precise and confident. The museum shop has some lovely items to purchase, and you can be assured that the lace was produced in Belgium. <BR>

Diane

Sunday: Uneventful but scenic drive across Belgium. We stopped once along the freeway for something to eat at an exit noting a knife and fork. We came across hotel/restaurant Chateau de Vignee serving Father’s Day lunch. We knew we were in trouble when we saw the table set with four glasses per person. I’m still not certain what I ordered, but it was not to my liking. The setting, however, was pretty and we enjoyed the unexpected long lunch. Our “snack” turned out to be one of our most expensive mid-day meals and we joked about it throughout the trip. <BR> <BR>We drove past Luxembourg and over the border into France to L’Horizon Hotel in the town of Thionville. The hotel has the Romantik Hotel & Restaurant designation. We got there late in the afternoon without a reservation and lucked out by getting a large room (#7) that could accommodate three people. This was our most expensive hotel on the trip with the room costing about $150 including continental breakfast. Parking is free. The hotel and the dining room are elegant and we dressed up just a bit for dinner....well, at least we changed our shoes. Dinner was very good. I ordered monkfish in saffron sauce. For dessert, a variety of cheeses. Thionville is not a tourist destination, and you would need to know the hotel is there -- you would not stumble upon it. Web site under construction, but you can see a photo: www.lhorizon.com <BR>

Diane

Monday: The area around Thionville is somewhat industrial. The closer we got to the Alsace region the prettier the view. We traveled two hours from Thionville to Ottrott where we were to stay. Ottrott is a charming, small town along with wine route, limited in facilities, bordering Obernai which has banks, post office, restaurants, shops, etc. We stayed at L’Ami Fritz for five nights, the first night in a two-room accommodation (#220) as that was all they had available when I made the reservation. The first room is quite large with two twin beds, a sleep-sofa and a small table and chair. The bedroom also is a decent size with twin beds. The bathroom is modern with a tub/shower. For three people it goes for 810 francs. Breakfast is an additional 60 francs per person. Parking is free. The hotel is more than I had hoped for -- after seeing some of the other hotels in the region I could not have been happier with our choice, and I cannot say enough good things about the property. The second day we moved into two rooms; each of us had an opportunity to have a single room at some point in the trip. The double room (#105, 480 francs) is also a good size with a separate room for the shower and sink, and another room for the toilet, all en suite. There are two large armoires with an adequate number of hangers and shelves. Especially pleasing about the room is the use of fabric, wood, and wallpaper. It is possible to block out all light from the outside using both the drapes and grates over the windows. We found the same type of grate at a hotel in Italy a couple of years ago -- I’ve never seen one used back home. Again, we find wonderful recessed lighting, good mattresses and pillows, great showers, hairdryers, mini-bar, and a nice view overlooking the hotel’s garden. They do not allow smoking in the breakfast room -- finally, a smokeless meal. Toiletries consist of bath/shower gel and tiny bars of soap. It was the same in Brugge. Are these small bottles of gel supposed to double as shampoo? Breakfast was extensive and similar to what was served at our hotel in Brugge, except that the orange juice was not fresh. Web site: www.amifritz.com

Diane

In the early evening we went to Mont Sainte-Odile, a monastery high up on a hill. The view was amazing. As you look out you see open fields with small villages dotting the landscape, each one with a tall church steeple -- like something out of a storybook. <BR> <BR>Tuesday: This was the day I was waiting for -- my main reason for this trip was to visit the Alsace region and see the charming architecture of the old walled cities. We visited Riquewihr, Ribeauville, and Kaysersberg. As pretty as it is, the area appears to me to be a little like “Napa Valley meets Disneyland”. This was especially true as we took the “Petit Train”, a tram ride through Ribeauville. One of my traveling companions works for Disney, and I’m not sure she appreciated my reference. We got to Riquewihr early before the tour buses, and it was a good thing as the city is small. After wandering the cobbled streets the ladies made the shopkeepers at the Christmas store happy. The towns are well prepared for tourists and parking is easy. Ribeauville is much larger than Riquewihr with more shops and restaurants. Kaysersberg is the smallest. The architecture in all three towns is similar -- timbered houses brightly painted with various colors, flowerboxes on the windows, lots of photo opps. Due to the narrow streets some photo opps were missed due to inappropriate lighting. <BR> <BR>There is a lot of cooperation among drivers. Many of the roads in the small towns are really one lane going in two directions. At first I was amazed that people would park half way on the sidewalks, but then it became obvious that there just is nowhere else to park. It takes patience and ingenuity to make this work. The wine road takes you through the small towns or you can take the main road by-passing the small towns, which is still only two lanes at times -- a vast difference from the mega, bumper-to-bumper freeways of Southern California. <BR> <BR>

Diane

Wednesday: After a lazy morning, our first stop was the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle. Just like the monastery, it is built high on a hill. We toured the castle for about an hour. A very interesting and worthwhile tour. From there we drove to Freiburg in Germany. It looked a lot closer on the map (which I forgot to throw into my purse that day -- not a good thing as I was the navigator) and it took quite a while to get there. We had some difficulty finding the center of town and found ourselves in the city one moment and in a suburb the next. The signs there are not as tourist-friendly as on the French side of the border. We finally found the center and parked in an underground garage. We had lunch at McDonald’s, something I do not do at home -- but it was fast with food we could recognize, and we were able to read the menu! You can always count on McDonald’s overseas for a clean bathroom -- this one was only so-so. Other than the cathedral (which was as intricate on the outside as any I’ve ever seen) was the only interesting site we found in the city. There have been many posts on Fodor’s bulletin board about how wonderful Freiburg is -- somehow I get the feeling we missed something. <BR> <BR> <BR>Thursday: We had no problem finding the center of Colmar and headed right for the information office (as was recommended by several people on the bulletin board) and picked up a map. We went to the Little Venice area for the perfect photo opp. We took the canal boat ride and stopped for lunch at one of the outside cafes by the canal. A saxophone player played several melodies making it a perfect setting. It was all very charming. After Colmar we visited Eguisheim. I thought Eguisheim the loveliest of the small villages -- very quiet, not many shops to speak of. <BR> <BR>Two of the local specialties are tarte flambee -- it looks like a pizza, round and flat, and is an onion tarte. Also Choucroute Alsacienne is a dish of sauerkraut, sausages, thick slices of bacon and ham, and boiled potatoes. Both dishes are quite good and are served in most of the restaurants; you can even buy postcards with photos and/or recipes. A word to the wise: we had a great deal of difficulty reading menus in both France and Germany, and we were glad to have small translation books with us. <BR>

Diane

Friday: Our last morning in Alsace. I always like to check out the supermarkets, and we stopped at one on the way out of town. There in the window were fresh escargot displayed next to fresh shrimp. It was easy to see here how strong the dollar is -- we were able to purchase huge bottles of water for about $.30 each. <BR> <BR>We drove to Gengenbach in the Black Forest in an hour and a half. Our hotel, Hotel Benz, is not in the heart of town, but just outside not more than five minutes away. The hotel has only 11 rooms; we took one large double and one small single. The small room (about $38) is functional and has a balcony where you can watch sheep grazing in the field next door. Our large room ($75) also has a sitting room with a futton, writing desk, mini-bar, armoire, TV, VCR, and CD/radio. The hotel has at least 20 American movies to borrow, but they are all in German. The ladies watched at least four of them, and no, we do not speak any German. The bedroom has two twin beds, nightstands, and a chest of drawers. Between the halogen reading lamps over the beds and the recessed lighting in the ceiling, we had more than enough light. We also had a balcony about 12' x 15' with lounge chairs and umbrella overlooking the garden. Unfortunately, it rained a lot and we did not use it. The bathroom was something else -- modern fixtures including a semi-circular shower that had a shower massage overhead and four other sprays so that you can being rinsed from several directions. The bathroom also had a lighted make-up mirror and tissues. Tissues, of all things, were rare -- don’t Europeans blow their noses? We stayed at a total of five hotels and not once did we see washcloths (I didn’t expect to see them) or bidets (that was surprising). <BR>

Diane

Gengenbach is a charming small town with timbered houses and flowerboxes. Not a huge difference from Alsace, but somehow it feels a bit more real. Our big treat, however, is the German food. Up until now we have been okay with the cuisine, but not overwhelmed. The dining room at our hotel looked pretty, so we made dinner reservations. The table was set beautifully; we could tell we were in for a treat and we were not disappointed. The food was presented so artistically we took photographs. If you ever have the chance to dine here, be sure to order the Hotel Benz Special. It was an amazing meal yet affordable. When I travel I like to try as many different restaurants as possible, but our meal was so wonderful, we ate at the hotel all three nights. Each night we had a 5-course, gourmet dinner, lasting two and a half hours. The first night we ordered from the menu. The following nights we chose half board, which amounted to $16 dollars per person not including beverages. <BR> <BR>Breakfast was also very good with a huge selection of sausages, meats, cheeses, smoked fish, cereals, dried fruits and nuts, marvelous breads, fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs made to order, orange juice squeezed on request. I gained a lot of weight on this portion of the trip, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Web site: www.badenpage.de/hotel-benz <BR>

Diane

Saturday: Today we visited Triberg, specifically to visit the House of 1000 Clocks where one of the ladies bought a cuckoo clock and had it shipped home. I can’t imagine how many cuckoo clocks they must sell each day -- they have a wide variety and many of them are beautifully carved. Tour buses line the streets. We wandered through the tourist shops, had lunch, and looked at the waterfall. It was cloudy when we arrived in Germany, and today we received some rain. Each evening once we are back at the hotel the skies opened up with heavy rain, thunder and lightening. Even with the clouds and rain it’s beautiful here and we enjoyed the scenery. <BR> <BR>Sunday: The weather is not getting any better. We drove to Oberkirch only to find everything closed. Sunday is a day for church and rest. So we took the day to read, nap, watch the rain, and look forward to another wonderful dinner. <BR> <BR>Monday: Had a leisurely morning and headed up to Frankfurt. We had reservations at the Sheraton at the airport as the ladies had early morning departures. There is major construction going on at the Sheraton and we had a heck of a time finding a way to pull the car in to unload the luggage before turning it in. We were given a very large room with three single beds. I cashed in some Starwood points for the room. The sign on the room door said the price for three people was equivalent to over $300....and that’s with a strong dollar. We went to the airport to check on our flights. The Sheraton is across from Terminal 1 where I was to catch my flight. The ladies had to get to Terminal 2 for their Delta flight; options were to take a taxi, a shuttle bus, or skytrain. We had a good dinner at the hotel (I had rack of lamb) and spent the evening packing. <BR>

Diane

Tuesday: My flight boarded on time but departed late causing me to miss my connection in Chicago. I realized when we landed that I might miss my flight so I made sure to keep all my luggage with me as I raced for the connection. I schlepped that baggage down long hallways, at least six escalators, along people-movers for what must have been at least 10 minutes. Having missed the flight by only minutes I was fortunate to discover a flight departing from the next gate in 20 minutes to Orange County and they assigned me a first class seat. I couldn’t believe my luck. Literally one minute before they were to start boarding they announced that the Orange County flight was cancelled. I wound up getting to LAX four hours late. On my last trip to Europe I was delayed at my connecting airport for seven hours. I’m beginning to think that United Airlines is playing me. <BR> <BR>Just a note about the flights: this was the second time I flew business class in a 777 and found the seats to be less comfortable than the seats on the 747 and 767. I’m not sure what the difference is, but I’m convinced it’s not my imagination. <BR> <BR>One interesting thing I saw at the Frankfurt Airport was a string of about two dozen travel agency counters selling last minute packages to destinations all over the world. I stopped and talked to a man at one of them and he said the tickets were for same day or next day and that lodging was included in what looked to me like very good prices. I’ve never seen this at an airport before. <BR> <BR>I realize that this has been an extremely long travel report, but it has been as much for my record as for sharing information with others. I hope you have been able to get something useful out of it. <BR>

lisa

Great report! I love the details, especially since I was recently in Bruges myself.