NOTE : Please read the previous blog for the Introduction to the 2006 Wine, Beergarden, and Bratwurst Tour...
Tuesday, September 5th
At 8am, Aggie and I were in the car on our way to Frankfurt, Germany to pick up Big Ferd and Andrea. At approximately 10:30am, just outside the arrivals gate at the airport, there was a “Lindenwalder” sighting…and the National Lampoon’s Marcum European Vacation had begun! We had a serious road trip planned out, we were feeling good, and our itinerary was as follows: Luxembourg; Burgundy, France; Bern, Interlaken and Luzern, Switzerland; Fussen and Munich, Germany; and Salzburg, Austria (only if we had enough time…Salzburg was to us what Bed Bath and Beyond was to Frank the Tank).
We met the Marcum parents at the airport without any problems and we got back to Luxembourg around 1pm. I gave them the grand tour of our apartment (which took not even 5 minutes). Then we jumped onto the bus and headed into Luxembourg’s city center.
We walked around at the Schueberfouer (see previous blog “Cinque Terre” for definition) and had our first of many brats and beers. Then we walked through a few parks and window shopped on the pedestrian streets.
Fred and Andrea were tired from their travels so we headed back to our place for dinner. We grilled out and had a feast! Wine, beer, cheese, veggies, steaks, etc…tasty stuff! Off to bed we all went dreaming of Burgundy, France….
Wednesday, September 6th
After showers, coffee, pastries, etc., we were on the road to Burgundy, France (this was Aggie and my’s second time in this wine region, see previous Burgundy blog from the May 2006 archives). We left around 10:30am and arrived in Burgundy around 3:00pm. We passed through Dijon, France and stopped in Nuit St. George for a late lunch. Nuit St. George has 3 or 4 places in the town center where you can actually eat, but of course all the places were only serving drinks; they were not serving food. We kind of forgot that in most French cities (and several other European cities for that matter), restaurants close their kitchens from 3:00pm to 7:00pm….fiddlesticks!
We went back to the car and decided to eat some of the snacks we had packed instead. Finding a nice set of stairs to sit on, we made a little picnic and ate our pretzels and Goldfish crackers. We also got a few odd looks and, with Big Fred’s crutches (he's fresh off knee surgery) laying there, a couple of people actually dropped coins into our snack bag! (Okay, not really) Then we went for some wine tasting in the same vineyard which the Ag and I visited back in May. The same caretaker dude came out and on we went to our tour of the cellars and tasting of it's wine. After some drinking and purchasing 3 bottles of wine, we were on our way to the Chateau we’d be staying at in Melin, a few miles down the Route du Grande Crus (the wine road).
We pulled up to our mini-castle and for some reason, no one was around. There was a sign that said “ring the bell for service” so I went over and rang the big tower bell. Literally, like a church bell at the top of a tower with a long cord you had to pull on to get it to ring!! Quasimodo Marcum! A man stuck his head out the window and told us the owner would be right back.…she had to take her kid to soccer practice. We found out that she and her husband bought this place in 2000 and fixed it up. They now run the vineyard, make all the wine, run the Chateau, etc. Not a bad gig.
One part of the Chateau was built in the 1400’s, and the second part was added on in the 1700’s. Either way, it was pretty sweet. Once the lady got back, we were taken to our room, which was really neat. The room was huge and the furniture was all antique and was a beautiful dark wood. We got settled and then went to the cellar around 6:00pm for our wine tasting (the second of the day).
We were joined in the cellar by 4 other Americans who were staying at the Chateau as well…talk about a small world. Anyway, after a good hour or so of wine tasting….and again, after purchasing another 3 bottles of tasty wine…we headed off for dinner.
Our landlady suggested dinner in either a small village up the street, Mersault, or in Dijon. We opted for Mersault and it was a good call! The restaurant was called Les Arts and it was the only restaurant in the village. There were probably only 20 house in this village too. We sat in the back patio and (luckily) were the first to be seated out there….within 20 minutes, the place was packed! No surprise, as this patio was an incredibly pretty setting in which to dine. The walls were brick and flowers covered them. Lights were hanging in a few trees. And on and on…
Our dinner was probably one of the best I have had. It was a 4 course meal and the main dish was beef tips and pasta noodles. The meat was just falling apart….mixed with some bread and wine, I was a happy camper! And the best part…I ordered everything (for all 4 of us) completely in French. And it all came out the way I intended!! Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn every now and then.
It was just an all around great night: good company, refreshing wine, delicious 4 course meal, perfect weather, great scenery.
We headed home, full and happy, and anticipating our next jaunt….Bern, Switzerland awaited us the next day…
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