Dilsberg & Hirscchorn & SKUNK

Had a nice drive to two castles: Dilsberg & Hircchorn. We even ended the evening with a skunk, picture included at the end of the post. Dilsberg was a beautiful castle up on the hill that had a small community living inside of it.... take a peak.


Dilsberg sitting on top of the hill....

What I loved about this drive, are all the castles and fortresses that you can see scattered throughout the surrounding mountainsides.
We went to Hemingway's for dinner, a quaint restaurant along the water smothered with sailing and fishing memorabilia with random photos of Ernest Hemingway. Mike and Soni insisted that I try the 'Schnitzel', which I did for the first time. It wasn't that bad, but don't know if I would order it again. I barely ate half of it! The pork kebobs that Sonila had were simply mahvelous however! Before the food came, knowing it would be a long wait, Mike brought some dice and we played Yahtzee while we waited for our food. Don't know who won, but I was the first to get a Yahtzee!

Mike and Soni have some friends out here with a pet skunk named "Cotton". So we had to pay them a visit. Soni doesn't like animals though, and I had to beg her to take a photo with me. She did reluctantly but didn't want to get too close, as you can see.

Konstanz & Rheinfall

Mike and Sonila came down to Fraunfeld to drop off their cousins and stay the night. We had a great dinner with her family and I absolutely LOVED speaking Albanian! They couldn't believe that I understood them and were confused that I was from California and not Europe. I love when I get that reaction. We sat, ate, laughed, it felt so.... normal. This is the family that Sonila and I will be staying with in Italy for a little over a week mid-August, on the beach at Rosolina Mare. Yes, I have already contacted the SCUBA companies for the area. After dinner, we decided to check out the area and went to Konstanz again to see what it was like in the evening. It was amazing. The weather was perfect, we walked all along the water and I drooled over all the sailboats. We could hear music in the background and followed it. The Konstanz Yacht Club was having an outdoor concert, so naturally we went up to the front of the stage and started dancing! It was a perfect evening. As we were walking back along the water, the sun was setting and fireworks were going off all over the place. Someone must've told them I was in town :o).

Look at the Swiss Alps in the background.

The next day we went to church with the Mullers, had a wonderful lunch (the famous Raclette) and headed on to Rheinfall and then Heidelberg. Rheinfall is the biggest waterfall in Europe and it was absolutely breathtaking. See for yourself.

Yes, that is a hostel up on the peak behind me. I love Europe.

Gorgeous vineyard and town that nestles upto the Rheinfall.

Mike and Sonila Wood. The wonderful friends I am staying with here in Heidelberg. Sonila is Albanian and I served in her home town (Durres) and Branch for 9 months. We are very close and e dua si Motren time.

Introducing Raclette and Swiss Chocolate

Raclette... the Swiss dish that I fell in love with on Sunday. So intense was this delicious occassion that I have to share it with you all. Introducing the infamous Margrit Muller and her Raclette.

First, this special double decker grill that heats meat, sausage, pineapple, etc. on top. Below you can see little white handles to these small trays that gently craddles cheese as it is scorched to a bubbly perfection from the grill above.

Necessary ingredients to complete the moment: potatoes, onions, mushrooms, baby corn, pickles (not for you Ashley!), and whatever else goes good with cheese.

The cheese being placed on the trays. Black pepper cheese, plain cheese, herb cheese, etc.

How to put it together: Take the potatoes and cut them open, cube them or mash them. Place whatever you want on top, with a special Raclette seasoning. Top with bubbling creamy cheese. Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.

Most people know how I like to eat. Its very strategic and experimental. I think and plan ahead and know which bite I will be saving for my last, final memory of the meal. (No, you cannot have the last piece of my ribs that I have set on the side of my plate to save for The Last Bite.) I also love trying new things, which is why I am that person that will always share food with the person next to me, across from me, and down from me. An art that Kali and I have mastered. With that said, I would like to offer my favorite combinations. Potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cheese. Potatoes, sausage, pineapple, pepper cheese. Potatoes, onions, mushrooms, pickles, sausage, herb cheese. Potatoes and cheese. Oh.. I'm getting hungry. Here it is... isn't it beautiful! (Sonila just walked by and says, "Wow that looks delicous what is that? Oh! It's Raclette! Yummmm.. doesn't it look so pretty?) Pretty edible.

And for Swiss Chocolate. Most also know that I do not consider myself a chocolate connoisseur, that I actually prefer Caramel over Chocolate. Put the two together and that's more like it. Add Pear and you will be eating the best chocolate bar ever made. This is the location of where I purchased my newest love.

Grocercy store aisles in heaven. Rows and rows of Swiss Chocolate.

Frauenfeld

Here's to Frauenfeld. Home of my Swiss family!

Eidelweiss

A tribute to Eidelweiss and other Blumen of the surrounding areas.....

Hiking from Unterwasser to Wildhaus

We took the bus to Unterwasser and grabbed a Gondola up the mountain and then hiked up and over to Wildhaus... directly to the cabin door. It took about 5 hours total and was a decent hike. The vistas were like mini-postcard snapshots everytime I turned around. It was unbelievable.




Throughout the hike, they had placed different natural musical instruments for the small kids, and big kids :), to play with. This was on top of a rock that had been hollowed out in certain places that you could yodel into and it would echo. Some places the sounds would end up coming out of this guy.
We came to this picnic area and there were firepits everywhere, people huddled around, and everyone sausage in hand or cooking over a flame. The air was so delicious. mmmmm....


We stopped along a little stream and helped ourselves to fresh mountain blueberries and Spring water from the alps.