To Lahr for Lunch

Lahr, in the Schwartzwald, was a Canadian Military Base until 1993.  My friends had worked as civilians there and stayed after the base closed.  While they now live in France (just across the river), to this day, they go back to Lahr regularly to shop, bank and take care of other day-to-day chores.  I find it interesting that, even though the town is only a short way from the ferry which crosses the Rhine back to their village in France, one side of the river is do different from the other in terms of language, architecture, food, culture.  One minute you have to be speaking German and, after about a 5 minute ferry ride, it is back to French (or, for some locals, Alsatian, a dialect which, to me, sounds like a mixture of the two languages).  Anyway, even some of the products you can find in the stores are different.  For example, cheddar cheese can be found in Germany but not at the supermarket in Rhinau, just across the river.  So, things like that necessitate going back and forth on a regular basis to get the groceries you need or want.  It is a lot easier now with the Euro as the common currency than years ago when you had to be using German Marks and French Francs.  I would inevitably have brought the wrong currency with me.  It is so much easier now!

So, Friday, we headed to Lahr to run some errands, do some shopping and have lunch.  It was a gorgeous day and the town looked lovely.  Everywhere, chrysanthemum displays were being set up for Lahr’s annual chrysanthemum festival.  However, there were no signs promoting it so we weren’t sure when it is actually going to take place.  It was lovely just to wander around the town and enjoy the fall day.

We had decided to have lunch there and finally decided on the restaurant in the Hotel Wacker.  Initially we were hesitant as it was a bit too cool to eat outside but indoors the room was very smoky – yes, they still smoke in some restaurants here.  You also notice a lot more smokers on the streets than you do at home and clearly there is no rule saying, if you smoke, you have to do it a few metres away from a shop entrance.  Anyway, we discovered there was a non-smoking area upstairs and it was very charming.  So, that is where we had our lunch.  Before we got started, however, we were asked to show our proof of vaccination (I was sure glad I had that pass sanitaire on my mobile) and our contact information.  Once we got settled, we ordered our drinks and perused the extensive menu.  When our meals came, it came back to me how enormous the portions are in German restaurants.  I had ordered pork medallions in a mushroom sauce with spaetzle.  What arrived could have fed 2 or 3 people.  As delicious as it was, I only managed to eat about 1/3 of it.  My friend and I had ordered the same thing so, thankfully, we could package up our leftovers and take them back with us.  No leftovers on her husband’s plate though!

As we were leaving the restaurant, I saw something you would absolutely never see at home anymore: a cigarette vending machine hanging on the wall of the building.  

After lunch, we headed back to the ferry (un bac, en francais) and we all remarked that the Rhine was so still it was almost like a lake.  The Rhine river in this area forms the border between France and Germany but, aside from the signs telling you that, you wouldn’t know you were crossing a border. 

So, after being here just a couple of days, I am gradually settling in and, except for the masks people are wearing everywhere, it is just like it has always been when I have been here:  wonderful!