Vacation

I love traveling, I love my family and love visiting everyone in the USofA.  But when folks here tell me "enjoy your vacation" when I am going to visit friends and family, I tell them "That's not a vacation - it's fun, I love it - but not a vacation. A vacation is sitting on the beach and reading a book."

Werner and I decided to take a vacation. First we thought of a beach holiday in Portugal. They have wow beaches, amazing grottoes, blue clear water.  But somehow... no.

Then how about Lisbon?  Great city! So much to do and see!  We looked around and just weren't inspired.  Not a vacation.

Then my amazing husband said, "Why don't we go to Bad Bederkesa?"  Laugh if you will about this teeny place in the middle of nowhere north Germany, but suddenly, that was the answer to vacation!

There's a well-known, well-established, well-starred hotel there:  Bösehof.  Four stars.  All the amenities.

Book it, Wern-O!!

The weather forecast wasn't great - rain and cool predicted - but we didn't care.  Rain doesn't affect  massages or sauna visits or pool time.  And, besides, we have umbrellas.

Of course there is breakfast before we go and of course we have some odd things in the fridge to eat up before taking off.  That morning's breakfast was an asparagus salad.  And it was good!

 Google maps suggested a couple of routes: we chose the one that didn't include the Autobahn.  What a relaxing start to our vacation driving along the scenic route; the trees were all leafed in their spring green and no one was trying to get to where they were going at 200+ MPH.

After moving in, we had to have a bit of a break - coffee and cake - and then took a walk to acquaint ourselves with the neighborhood.  The actual location is funny to me - there are lots of single-family homes around, a little wood, a school with a large sports field...not where I would expect to find a major hotel.  But the hotel and grounds were here long before the houses or the school - established 1829.

Dinner is impressive:  carpaccio of beef, Zander filet with sugar peas, duck with sauteéd cabbage and a sour cherry crepe for dessert.  A little walk around the block to settle our dinner.

A good start!


DAY 2

Thunder and lightening during the night, and I mean thunder!  It was explosive.

Breakfast buffet.  Well, it was wonderful, every morning.  Fresh rolls, sliced meats, fried bacon and sausage, eggs on order, smoked fish, fresh fruit and vegetables. Müsli, yogurt, cheeses.  Oh, and desserts.  Of course we didn't eat everything every day, but I do think we got around to everything...

We picked up our Kurkarte - the little tax you have to pay when you visit resort areas.  They do love taxes here. It was grayish and coolish but the rain was a minor threat, so bought a sandwich at the bakery and a bottle of water and set off to walk around the lake.

 It's about 7K, not a great distance, and not demanding.  It is  f l a t  in north Germany, but I am still working on getting back in shape, so it was enough.  Song birds, cuckoos, ducks, geese, were heard or seen along the way and never did get around to the sandwich!  After a little rest, it was time for a massage - first Werner, then me.  Then it was time to eat again!

Bärlauch soup with shrimp, steak and pan-fried potatoes, veal for Werner.  It is too much, but delicious.

DAY 3

May 1st.  It's a holiday, still grayish and rainy and of course very quiet.  Werner set the alarm (but forgot to turn it on!) so we were awakened by the housekeeper!  Rush rush!  We ran to breakfast and I ate little (who is hungry, anyway!) and went first for the hot stone massage.  That was definitely a step up from yesterday, and in fact so relaxing that I had to take a nap afterwards!  And then when Werner was finished with his massage, he did the same!  Naturally, the hotel had supplied bathrobes and slippers.

Afterwards we headed to the pool.  There were a few other folks there when we arrived, just lounging around.  We did the same, not really willing to disturb the quiet.  But soon they all left and we tried out the pool.  Cool!  The room was warm, the water was warm, and it made a lot of noise spilling over the side - like a waterfall! I was glad not to have disturbed other folks.  So after we exhausted ourselves - it didn't take long - we dried off and lounged and read a bit more before heading back to get ready to eat again.

Avocado mousse with trout caviar, Carpaccio again (and just as delicious), Venison with Spätzle, Wolffish (Steinbeißer) with rice and veggies. Dessert:  Raspberry mousse with yogurt dressing (one to share).  Werner insisted we walk and I reluctantly agreed, but glad I did.  The rain had stopped but it was still COOL.

DAY 4

Werner set the alarm again, this time to go off every day except Wednesday.  It is of course Wednesday.

Breakfast today is very leisurely, the hotel has noticeably emptied out, but there's still enough on the buffet table to satisfy everyone twice over.

Rent bikes.  Of course they are available here at the hotel.  (I wonder if they could find horses for us?)
 
We plan a trip of about 35K but of course it didn't work as planned.  First of all, we argued about which way to go, each insisting on a different road to follow the map.  Naturally, I was right, but it was a fun mistake.

We happened on Hof Vallenbrook, which just happens to be owned by the partner of one of my club members.  It is just beautiful - a working farm, a traditional home, a meeting center, a horse stable.
 

Though it was incredibly sunny, it was also incredibly windy, and which way were we going?  You guessed it.

So we abbreviated the trip a bit and had our little picnic at a corner of a small neighborhood.  We saw lots of wildlife along the way, and just enjoyed.

Back in town, we spied the ice cream shop and found a sheltered corner in the sun and treated ourselves even more. Then we got my souvenir - a hand-made broom from small twigs. It is so perfect for sweeping the stones around our house of the leaves and such, and my old one was worn down.

The best was yet to come - the Liegewiese at the hotel.  I suppose there are such areas in the US, maybe in the north, though I've never seen one.  Big lawn, nice landscaping, lounge chairs.  I have wanted to do this for years.  So we lay in the sun, protected from the wind by the huge rhododendrons, and napped.

Heaven.

Then to the sauna - finally!  We sweated it out, then rested in the cool outside, then had some tea and read in the quite room.  Wow.

Dinner:  We got the smaller portions we asked for, and it was still plenty! Rolled fish filet with house-made noodles, saffron sauce, veal braised with creamed cabbage and carrots, dessert an assortment of house-made sorbets with sauces.

The staff here are just the best.  Friendly and warm but not too, aware but not intrusive.  It's a nice balance.

DAY Last

This is to be "museum day" though the museum offerings are sparse.  We're off to the museum at the Burg (the former fortified castle) and the handcrafters museum.

Breakfast is again leisurely: eat, read the paper, have a glass of champagne.  Then off we go.

First, we look at the local windmill.  Unfortunately, it's not open today, but still lovely to look at.

Then to the Burg (fort).  It's an easy walk from the hotel.  I've only seen it as it looks today, but inside was the historical and archeological history of the site from about 1250 to the present.  It was a moated fortress - still is - and went from German/Bremen to Swedish to Danish hands, back to German and then became a hotel and restaurant!  And then it fell into disrepair, rescued in the 1950s and restored to its earlier grandeur.

The Roland statue in the courtyard is a funny. He looks so comical to me compared to our stately Roland in Bremen. But there are Rolands all over north Germany and the styles are all over the board.

After that exhausting run through history, we had to have a beer and fries before hitting the Handwerker Museum, chock full from bottom to top with all the tools of the many trades - electricians, printers, hairdressers, clockmakers, tailors, housewives, plumbers, basketweavers and more.  I leave impressed, once again, at how much work it took to just have the basics, and think again about how much work my mother did (with no other help) to shop, feed and clothe us.  It was a full-time job.

Another visit to the sauna and then dress for our ....

last dinner, and a special one.  Not three courses, but six (!) with aperitif, wine, sorbet, coffee, digestif added to the usual.

What a special time.

Check out

Friday we packed our bags, had our last catered breakfast, filled the car and drove to Wremen to look at the North Sea and walk around the little harbor.

 Then off to visit Werner's cousin's husband Erwin who prepared Kaffee und Kuchen for 10 even though it was just the three of us!  Three kinds of cake, fresh strawberries, whipped cream.  Erwin's getting on in years and is becoming a bit forgetful.  He showed us around the house again, talking about all the collected things of his 85 years and that no one seems to be much interested in all these things.  Beer Steins out the wazoo, enough glass wear to start a bar, old hand-carved furniture as well as more modern pine.  We all have too much stuff.

And then of course there is Tante Dora's (Werner's father's sister) linen armoire, still chock full of hand-embroidered towels and napkins and rolls of hand-woven linen.  Erwin gave me a couple of towels that Tante Dora had woven and embroidered before her marriage (she was in her late 80s when she died in 1996) and one that Erwin's wife Sofie had embroidered before their marriage.  How special!


And then home again (with some leftover cake!) to unpack and wash up and get back to real life after a fantasy holiday.