As I mentioned in our previous post, I planned to write about our summer travels, but believe it or not, they’re all still up in the air. Two weeks ago things were looking promising, borders were opening and the vax certificate was our golden ticket. But, politics being what they are, everyone changed their minds and borders stayed shut. That’s not going to last, though, and things are starting to look promising.
For the most part our days in Switzerland were filled with sky drama and rain, but we did have a few days where we managed to get out on our bikes and do a few touristy things. In between rain showers we took walks into the village and along the shores of the nearby lake.
We both got much-needed haircuts and spent more time than we should have rummaging around in the local grocery store called “Coop”, or as we call it “The Chicken Coop”. Food is expensive in Switzerland, especially at small, local stores. But I have found the one item that is not only reasonable, but also on sale at times, and I am obsessed. It’s Rosti. I cannot read the ingredients, which is probably a good thing, because I’m sure it’s industrial crap, but I love it so much. It’s basically shredded potatoes with bacon(ish) flavor in a package that doesn’t expire until 2023 (!!) and doesn’t require refrigeration. Everytime I went to Coop I would buy another package or two. A couple of days ago I asked Steven to guess how many packages of Rosti I had squirreled away in Bijou and he said, “12”. LOL, not even close. I hope he doesn’t get tired of it any time soon, because I have 23 packages of Rosti. Yummy!
On one of the few sunny days that was not interrupted by rain showers we biked into nearby Neuchâtel to visit the castle and enjoy lunch in the square.
We had our first burger in recent memory while we were in Neuchâtel and it was delicious! Now that I am writing about our stay, it sounds like all we did was eat and I guess that’s not far from the truth. We had some fabulous pizza at the local restaurant whose specialty was an “at-your-table” grill, where you are given a variety of meats, veggies and sauces and you cook it yourself. Steven said he’d never done that before (except that time we had Korean BBQ in Seattle which he doesn’t remember…) so we made reservations to try it out. Since our 23rd wedding anniversary was fast approaching, we decided this would be our celebration dinner. The meats brought to us on a tray included lamb chops, chicken, beef and … horse. Cheval, as it is called in Switzerland, is widely available in most European countries and so far I have avoided it, but I figured when in Rome. Steven is not squeamish about food of any kind, so he was game to give it a go. It is not unlike beef, only a bit more mealy. It was a one and done experience for us, but at least we gave it a try. Local delicacy, box ticked.
We spent some rainy time playing backgammon in which Steven kicked my ass over and over. Then we discovered we were doing it wrong, playing “backwards gammon” as Steven called it. Once we played it right I won the first game and we haven’t played since. I want to keep my winning streak at 100 percent!
When we first decided to come to Switzerland we made reservations for two weeks. As we waited for Germany to open its borders we extended for three more days. After that, we just decided to make a run for it and see if we could get in. Switzerland is actually not part of the EU, so there is more border activity than is usually found between member states. Add lockdowns and COVID requirements into the mix and we weren’t at all sure what we would find as we crossed into Germany. We had all our paperwork and passports at the ready, but the guard just waved us through. That is always such a relief! In various Facebook groups we had been told things were strict in Germany so we were prepared to quickly transit north if they let us in. What we found, though, was more motorhomes on the road than in France and Switzerland combined. At our first stop, we found seven rigs already there and by the evening it was full with 17 rigs.
On our second night in Germany we stayed in the parking lot of a hotel where we celebrated our anniversary, again! Only this time, it was our actual anniversary. We ordered dinner which we then picked up and brought back to Bijou. The dinner came with real dishes, silverware and a white table cloth and each dish had its own set of serving utensils. It probably cost the restaurant more to pay someone to wash all those dishes than we paid for it, but it was such a treat for us to have such a delicious meal and no mess to clean up afterward.
At this point we realized we probably didn’t need to be bombing through Germany, that we could actually slow down a little. So, as I write this, we are parked up in a little town south of Lubeck. It’s a bit out of the way from where we need to be, but we have time. You may recall that we now have a broken lock on our entry door, so we’ve made an appointment at a Hymer dealer to get a new locking system installed. As is typical of German motorhomes, the lock is so over-engineered there is no way to repair it, only replace it. Not cheap, but necessary. Our appointment is not until May 19th because they needed time to order the part to fit our existing key, so that’s why we’re moseying around Germany.
One thing we have been desperate to do is have Bijou’s chassis serviced. For some reason we can’t quite understand, this cannot be done in France. Believe me, we have asked and asked, but each time we have been told it isn’t possible in France. I mentioned to Steven that maybe the Germans would do it. So he fired off an email to the place where we have our appointment on the 19th. Of course, Steven is using Google translate to correspond, so whatever he writes in English is then translated into German before sending. When they respond, in German, Steven then translates it into English. Believe me when I say a lot can be lost in translation. The guy’s response, translated, said that if we have an Alko chassis, which we do, it would be a pleasure to lubricate. Steven said he didn’t want to reply anything more than “thank you” because he didn’t want it to translate into “thank you I look forward to the pleasure of having my chassis lubricated” 🙂
So, that’s it from us for now! We’ve got a few days to mosey around before continuing north. By then, we hope to have some firm plans and if so, we will share them with you!
P.S. A big thank you to Jason and Julie over at Our Tour Blog for mentioning our humble little blog in their latest post. Welcome to our new readers who came from there (and elsewhere) to check us out, we hope you stick around and enjoy our adventures. If you’re the commenting kind, please speak up and let us know!
UP NEXT: Summer plans (we hope)!
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Beautiful photos…Love your blog.
Thank you, Rita! I wish we had some more exciting travels to share, but maybe soon!
Oh my gosh, the food?!?!!!
If that lock is over engineered doesn’t that make it harder to break into? And a good thing? Unless it breaks if course 😁
I thought the same thing about the lock, but I’m not sure over-engineered necessarily equates to overly safe. Wouldn’t it be great if it did, though??!
Really enjoying this !!!
Happy Travels !!!
Barbara ( Connecticut) 🌺
Thank you for taking time to comment, Barbara! I hope we have more exciting travels in our future to share with you! Cross your fingers for us!
My son lives in Bielefeld, Germany & loves Rosti as week. I’ve never seen the packaging! Thank you!
One thing that’s great about the packaging is that it’s easy to store. That’s how I got so many in Bijou without getting Steven’s attention, lol. 🙂
I’ve been dropping in to visit your blog since you were rving in the U.S. Now your European travels are very interesting. We’re at the SKP park in Summerfield Alabama where it’s been very rainy. Re rosti, in Zurich I remember it being served with our entrees. The servers made it sound like something special – was I surprised to discover it was actually hash browns 😁 delicious. Happy travels!
Hi Sandra, thanks for commenting. I think this spring has been rainy everywhere, so much more than last year. We are ready for some sun (but not the heat, ew.) LOL on your rosti in Zurich. I mean really, what’s the big deal, right? But yeah, so tasty!
We loved Germany and spent a lot of time travelling around this great country. Do look out for Stolpersteine – little brass plaques in the pavement. You will have to Google them if you are unsure what they are (there’s info at the top of our blog too). Sadly. we came across these far too often on our travels around Europe. http://www.moho-dream.co.uk
Hi, Carol, good to hear from you again! Thank you for the reminder about the Stolpersteine, we will make sure to research an area where we will be and see what we can find. (I do have an interesting story to share about the Stolperstein, which I will share in the next post, so stay tuned!)
I love your new banner photo at the top. The public art in the center seems like a bit of overkill. 🙂
I googled Rosti to see what was in it. Dozens of recipes popped up. Looks delicious! You will never hear me complain about too much food news on your blog.
I completely agree about the public art, I said the same thing! It seems almost like a distraction! Rosti, lol, basically hash browns. It’s no wonder I love it because ever since I was a kid I’ve loved hash browns. 🙂
Another beautiful blog. I love the photos! And Rosti sounds delicious. Cheval , not so much!
I have to agree with you about the Cheval. It’s not something I’d knowingly have again, there is just something that seems so wrong about it. It’s a cultural thing, I guess. Thanks for your kind words about the post and photos, we appreciate you taking time to comment!
Love the barn. Totally understand
You must be a photographer. 🙂
Love Rosti!
Guess what’s for dinner tonight?? With eggs. So yummy!
Rosti looks delicious! I so enjoy reading about your travels. Happy belated anniversary. Looking forward to your summer posts, and to having your chassis lubricated!
Thank you, Jennifer! I hope we get to do some exciting trips and that our chassis lube will help Bijou glide right along. 🙂
You’re welcome, and thank you for the thank you 😉
We’re travelling vicariously through you guys and looking forward to see where the road takes you x
It’ll be a big surprise for all of us when we figure it out! 🙂
Great writing as always and wonderful photos . You make me smile and even laugh . I won’t say at which story just that it was funny to me. As I read your blog I studied up on my Switzerland and darn if I wasn’t able to tell the time on that one clock picture . Stay safe and as always thanks for letting me follow along . Vern
Hi Vern, so good to hear from you! I’m glad our post put a smile on your face. That’s what it’s all about, right? Hope everything is good where you are and that everything is on its way to normal.
Lots of pretty scenery snd yumminess there!
That’s a deadly combo, pretty and tasty all at the same time. We sure enjoyed it, though! 🙂 Hope your travels get you where you need to be without running out of fuel! I read Kelly’s post yesterday about the shortage. Unbelievable!
Perhaps a Rosti intervention is needed? When you’re hoarding your stash………just sayin’.
The natural and architectural beauty sure competes everywhere you go. That water landing is absolutely amazing!!! I also love the framing of your catastrophic bench 🙂 Hope you can get the lock fixed, and the lubrication successfully completed! I love, love German food so I look forward to drooling over your future posts as well.
LOL, you have made my day with “catastrophic bench” because that’s exactly what it was! You always get me, Jodee! Imma bring you a rosti! 🙂
I love your blog! I’m a foodie and love that you take photos of your meals. Also love your sense of humor and of course Steven’s photographs are beautiful! As you can see I’m a fan and always look forward to your next adventure!
Thank you for your kind words, June. We are thrilled to have you along on our travels and of course we will always be providing some kind of food stories and photos!
Love Rosti and Lübeck is beautiful, we were there a few years ago. Take a trip out to Fehmarn. Safe travels!!!
We’ve been working our way up to Lübeck but there is precious little in the way of legal overnight stays. For the most part, it’s illegal for stellplatz to be open in Germany until the 21st, which is fully given how many motorhomes are on the road. We’ve been lucky so far.
How fun that your anniversary dinner #2 included a white cloth tablecloth and table settings with your takeout food. Happy anniversary, you guys! I love the way you manage to celebrate every day, wherever you happen to be. Wishing you many more years of adventures together. And thanks for sharing your travels with us. 🙂
Thank you, Laurel. We certainly do our best, but I can’t deny this pandemic year has been tough. I had to laugh at your wondering if you had used your pandemic year successfully. Now you have me thinking about that, too! I probably didn’t, but I plan to make the most of whatever travels are available to us in the coming months! Magnolia looks huge, btw! (I like how I’m actually commenting on your post in your response to our post. 🙂 )
Magnolia suckered us in…she was so little, but apparently is going to be a BIG kitty. I weighed her the other day and she’s over 9 pounds, and she’s only 7 months. 😻
I loved this post. The writing was hilarious and literally made me laugh out loud…and what a treat that is these days. The photos, as always, are fantastic. Best to you both, Maggie.
Aw, thanks, Maggie. We are forever entertained by Google Translate, especially as it relates to food as I try to figure out ingredients. I’ve mostly given up. 🙂 Hope you are doing well, thank you for taking time to comment!
Lovely photos and interesting to hear about the numbers of motorhomes in Germany!
The grocery store Coop is short for Co-operative. There are many in the U.K. (and many European countries) where the co-operative movement was founded in the mid 19th century to provide affordable groceries to the poor.
Thanks for your kind words and taking time to comment. We sure enjoyed Coop for shopping, they had a ton of interesting things. 🙂
A nice outing with great places and lip-smacking food! Thanks for sharing… great pictures!
Thank you so much!