EUROPE -- JUNE 2001

PAGE 9

We drove to Gengenbach in the Black Forest in an hour and a half.  Our 11-room hotel, Hotel Benz, is not in the heart of town, but only five minutes away. The small single room (about $38 US) is functional and has a balcony where you can watch sheep grazing in the field next door.  The double room ($75 US) has also 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 we do not speak any German.  The bedroom has 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.  (Note, this hotel changed ownership and is now Pfeffer & Salz.)

The bathroom had modern fixtures, including a semi-circular shower that had a shower massage overhead and four sprays so you can be rinsed from numerous directions.  The bathroom also had a lighted make-up mirror (called a kosmetikspiegel) and tissues.  Tissues, of all things, were rare -- don't Europeans blow their noses?  We stayed in a total of five hotels and not once did we see washcloths (I didn't expect to see them) or bidets (that was surprising).

Gengenbach is a charming small town with timbered houses and flowerboxes.  Not a huge difference from Alsace, but somehow it felt a bit more real.  Our big treat, however, was the German food.  Up to that point we were okay with the cuisine, but not overwhelmed.  The dining room at Hotel Benz looked pretty, so we made dinner reservations.  The table was set beautifully; we could tell we were in for a treat and 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.  When I travel I like to try as many different restaurants as possible, but our first meal was so wonderful we ate there 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 -- after that we requested half-board, which amounted to $16 per person plus beverages.

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.

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 -- many of them are beautifully hand-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 were back at the hotel, the skies opened up with heavy rain, thunder, and lightening.  Even with the clouds and rain it was beautiful and we enjoyed the scenery.

Downtown Gengenbach