We shared a lovely, HOT day in Cologne with friends- co-workers Dave and Dana, and a German student of Adam’s, Sascha. He was an excellent tour guide and host.

We walked throughout Cologne, then had a tasty dinner near the river. I had the tagliatelle with cream, bacon, and chanterelles. It was creamy, smoky, and earthy. Adam had grilled pork cutlets in a creamy, chanterelle sauce. It, too, was very yummy! Good food. Good friends. Good life.

After dinner we found a spot near the river to watch the fireworks display- wow!!!! It was over thirty minutes long and synchronized to 70’s music. It was awesome although none of my pictures prove it 🙂

Michelin delivers again! Today we went to Čestr- a modern restaurant focused on quality ingredients, especially heritage Czech-raised beef. Our meal was amazing from beginning to end. The atmosphere and service were very comfortable. We each had the three course tasting menu.

Before we ordered the chef sent an amuse-bouche. A lovely custom in better restaurants. It is a single bite appetizer sent as a gift from the chef to “amuse the mouth”, to get you excited to eat and to offer a glimpse into the chef’s style. We had a small piece of Czech bread (similar to light rye) with a light egg salad spread topped with chives. Yum- I was amused!

We started with tawny port- sweet, fruity, great pallet wetter. For our first course we opted for raw. Adam had the house tartar and I had the “sashimi”. Wow! Adam’s tartar was buttery and flavorful with just a hint of minerality from the steak. It was served with house-made chips and an ever-so-slightly poached quail egg on top. Superb! My “sashimi” was thin slices of tenderloin with mirin, Apple purée, and ginger micro greens. I could eat this dish every day- clean, deceitfully simple, satisfying to every taste bud.

Adam had the unfiltered cask-conditioned Pilsner Urquell. I had the Cuvée Čestr 2011- a spicy, fruity red perfect for steak and roasted meats. For our second course Adam had the Golden Muscle and Shank slow cooked in goose fat served with a delicious gravy and onion potato dumplings. It was deeply, satisfyingly homey. I had the roast chicken with truffle stuffing and country potatoes with homemade cream cheese and parsley. Heaven. We had thoroughly tucked into our meals when I exclaimed, “oh my goodness! It’s Thanksgiving!”. Seriously. Everything was so delicious. There was so much of it and it was only the second course! Did I mention heaven?

We were worried the third course would push us over the edge. We were so full and so happy already. The kind waitress asked if we would like her to wait to bring the steak course, perhaps have some brandy? She read our minds. “Yes, please”!

After a short intermission, the steaks arrived. Adam had the Hanging Tender – wet aged for 28 days- with French fries and the mushroom sauce. Again. Amazing. The fries were so good. The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare with a smoky char on the outside. I had the Flap. Again, perfect. With the perigord sauce (truffle, butter, port) and the mixed vegetable salad. Wow!

We were so full, but the food was way too good to miss dessert… We just had to… I had a scoop of the fresh house-made orange sorbet and the apricot brandy. Adam had scoops of house-made vanilla and dark beer ice cream. Both were excellent. The beer ice cream was unique and delicious.

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What an amazing meal! We were so full and happy! After our fabulous meal we walked the beautiful streets of Prague!

THE Bavarian beer house! So much fun! It’s huge. It’s loud. It’s full of beer and music- can it get any better? Not sure, but we had a blast. We each had liter mugs of beer. Cold. Refreshing. Perfect. BEER!

I was feeling a bit heavy after all the beer, pretzels, meat, and sorbet so I opted for the fresh vegetable platter… LOL! Beware! the fresh veg platter comes with half a chicken and butter sautéed mushrooms 😀 Unexpected, but quite yummy!

Adam had the four wiener dinner. Again, LOL 🙂 The German potato salad was perfectly creamy and tart. The wieners were fine- good quality hot dogs. Not my kind of thing, but Adam seemed to really enjoy his meal.

We took a relaxing stroll through the English garden (it had finally started to cool off). What a beautiful park! It’s one of the largest city parks in the world and perhaps the only German English garden with a Chinese Pavillion serving as a Biergarten 😉

I don’t think I’ve mentioned how quiet Germany is. It’s wonderful! We noticed it immediately when we got into the airport in Munich. German people are simply quiet. Busy streets, airports, restaurants, quiet. It’s really nice, but strange to our American senses.

The English garden was very serene and quiet until… Is that singing? Glass shattering? Rambunctious laughter? We had been walking in the garden for quite some time when we heard uncharacteristically loud voices. We headed towards the light… It was a crowded Biergarten in the middle of a huge, pedestrian only park! Awesome!

Too fun to miss! We each had a beer and shared a pretzel with mustard. We officially love Munich ❤

It was hot today and we walked a lot (Adam estimates at least 11 miles). We needed some sweet, refreshing relief!

We stopped by a street-side sorbet stand 🙂 I had mango and Adam had lemon- just what we needed to carry on a busy day of sightseeing!

We found a great Bavarian cafe near the Marienplatz so we stopped for lunch. Great call Adam! We each had a beer, of course.

Adam had the roasted pork knuckle with potato dumplings and sweet and sour bacon-cabbage salad. Wow! The pork was simultaneously tender and as Adam described it, “Strong. Not tough. Strong.” 🙂 It had an awesomely crispy, cracklin exterior and a rich gravy over the tender, mild dumplings. The salad was equally delicious.

I had the veal meatballs with creamy bacon cabbage. So tasty! The meatballs were light and herbal. The cabbage was creamy and porky, but not heavy or greasy. Overall, really delicious Bavarian lunch!

Whoa baby!!!

Coffee, apple slices, toasted bio baguette with butter, salt, and Himbeer jam. Yum!

After being thoroughly scammed at the car rental place, we decided it would be fiscally responsible to eat at home for a few meals.

A calming bike ride in the German countryside made us ready for a hearty meal. I made a simple garlic, butter, Parmesan, and rosemary pasta with a fried egg on top and salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette. I always enjoy tucking into a hot bowl of pasta- especially when I’m in a beautiful garden in Germany with my husband which happens all the time.

We paired a delicious bio (organic) Italian wine labeled “Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo”. I have no idea what that means, but it was a light bodied red table wine. Cheap and easy to drink- just my style 🙂

After a great meal in Charlotte, we had to suffer through airline food. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t good either.

We had a light snack mix of pretzels and other cracker type things with a delicious German beer. An hour or so later, the kind flight attendants served dinner- chicken in a brown gravy with mashed potatoes and carrots, a salad, and a pleasantly crusty roll. The dessert was actually quite good. It was a rich chocolate cake with cream and a strawberry.