Nagold Garden Show/Landesgartinshau Nagold

I've blogged on Nagold a lovely little village situated in the Black Forest before.

In that blog I walked you through the old part of the city and showed you the architecture in the area.

Nagold is certainly worth another blog this year as it has is hosting a State Garden show.

Nagold has been getting ready for this show since we moved here to Germany two years ago.

Search this site for the history and walk-through the old town of Nagold.

There is something for everyone here at the Garden Show.

For the high-spirited and adventurous there is the

high ropes course

and zip lines over the show.

For the gardeners amongst us, there are lovely garden ideas ranging

from how to have the prettiest vegetable patch in your

neighborhood

to more exotic ideas.

For the kids there is mini-golf

a train ride,

paddle boating

two play-grounds

and a petting zoo. Also available were pony rides for the wee little ones.

If you are bringing young children, I recommend a blanket, a packed picnic lunch and a change a clothes as they have a lovely wadding area in the river.

There is a nice river restaurant area with healthy wraps for lunch or dinner.

We enjoyed a visit from the garden show mascot while we ate.

Some local school children have done an Indian project

complete with a teepee.

There are interesting exhibits for adults

 

you may walk and peruse at your leisure.

You never know what you are going to see.  Here is the local Zimmerman club.  They put this together inside of 5 minutes with NO NAILS or BOLTS and hopped on and had a ball.

Check out the video for a flavor of what we saw.

 Mac and I ended our day at the restaurant across from one of the stages.  We enjoyed a

tasty beverage and a wonderful jazz concert.  Do come out and spend the day while the Nagold

Garden Show lasts.  It has been going since April 7th and ends in October 2012.

Entrance for adults is 15 Euro but a family card is 35 Euro.

This weekend is the last of the rose exhibit in one of the buildings

Our favorite...."Life is not a bed of roses" but it sure smells nice!

HR Giger Alien Bar and Museum in Gruyères, Switzerland.

After leaving the Cailler Chocolate Factory, Rich and Terry pointed the car in the direction of

medieval town of Gruyères, Switzerland. 

This village boasts awe inspiring views.

The town center is storybook quaint and takes you back in time.

Being that this is the area where Gruyère cheese is made, all the restaurants here serve fondue, quiches, raclette and a special macaroni and cheese.

Inside the 13th century castle is a museum covering eight centuries of the history and culture of the Gruyères region. In the second, smaller castle, St. Germain, is the HR Giger museum.

I thought I had never heard of Mr. Giger, but I soon realized I did indeed know some of his work.

Many of us will never forget seeing the movie ALIEN in 1979. Quite frankly, it scared me to death!

This was a science fiction movie by Ridley Scott.  Mr. Scott chose the Swiss artist and designer HR Giger to create the fantasty figures and "alien" environment for his movie. In 1980, Giger won the prestigious Academy Award for the

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
for the movie ALIEN.

The museum contains the largest existing collection of the works of HR Giger: paintings, sculptures, furnishings.  It even has some film sets.

The ALIEN BAR opposite the museum, is designed like the alien spaceship inside.

Since you may only take pictures if you are a patron we went in and ordered some soft drinks.

It was a bit too early in the day to partake of alcohol, I thought.

It was "FREAKY"

Looking at the ceilings you can easily imagine that you were in the

Alien Spaceship.

Mac and I enjoyed our time in Gruyères.  It's worth a visit for the food but, if you are a GIGER fan, then you NEED to come and see this all for yourself.

Mimi and Mac at the Cailler Chocolate Factory

My cousin is leaving Switzerland and we decided to have a weekend to remember with them.

Terry and Rich took us to the

 Swiss Cailler Chocolate Factory located in the

town of Broc in the region of Gruyère.

The Cailler Factory has a wonderful little show called

ONCE UPON A TIME....

It is about the history of chocolate, starting from the Cocoa bean seen here

to

how it was discovered and transported to Europe, where

it became popular. 

When the show ends you are dumped into an area where you can see the cocoa beans and nuts they use in the making of their confections.

You then follow how Cailler's Branche bars are made

and try a freshly made one for yourself.

Then it is on to my favorite part of the tour.

Sampling their amazing products.

These were fabulous and Mac and I did our best to taste each one.

I think these were my favorites though.

We then got to watch some people particpating in the

Atelier "Fun in the Chocolate Kitchen" where you can dream up your own chocolate creations as a team building exercise or as fun for your friends and family.

You will need a reservation for this class before you visit.

Finally you come to the chocolate store filled with all their

confections.

I spent a long time looking at their candy bar wall.

It was well worth the visit and Mac and I do want to go back for a chocolate making class in the future.

This is a MUST do if you are in the Gruyère region.

What a wonderful adventure we had, but Terry and Rich weren't done showing us around yet. 
He pointed the car in the direction of Gruyère the village and the ALIEN BAR.

Gordon Ramsey/Plane Food Picnics

Here's Gordon Ramsay, the Scottish chef with the "potty mouth" on all his 

television shows. I have never appreciated his choice of expletives but I do admire a man whose cooking has been awarded 13  Michelin stars in his career.

As Mac and I headed back to Germany from England last month we found that Terminal 5 boasts

PLANE FOOD,

a restaurant Mr. Ramsay opened to give weary travelers a better eating choice

than normal terminal fare. 

We thought we'd better try it just to see if that was true.

It was! 

We were happy we stopped in and had a meal before our flight left late afternoon.

But, what made us most happy was the picnic we bought for our flight home.

Mr. Ramsey has come up with a brilliant idea for travelers who are sick of the peanuts

and crackers offered by the flight attendants on your airplane in the economy section.

I'll admit that often I smell the food from FIRST CLASS and wish I was sitting up there and receiving what they were on the flight.

Now there's an answer.

Stop at PLANE FOOD and get yourself a picnic.

These picnic's boast 3 courses for 12 pound 95 p.

You may purchase them in this insulated container from the hours of 7am-9pm

You may choose from 4 starters,

1. Selection of mini breakfast pastries

2. Caesar salad with pancetta and soft boiled egg

3. Antipasti of salami and buffalo mozzarella

4.  Prawn and baby gem cocktail

4 Main Courses

1. Smoked Scottish salmon with an apple, celery and walnut salad

2. Honey-roasted beetroot, goat's cheese and rocket lettace

3. Roasted Hereford rump of beef with green bean salad and mustard

4. Cumbrian honey-roast and Parma ham with slow roast vine tomatos

4 Desserts

1. Fruit salad with vanilla yogurt

2. Chocolate and pecan brownies with creme Chantilly

3. Cheesecake tart with berries

4. English cheese selection with quince and biscuits

(that's crackers for us Americans)

When the steward came by and offered us the normal

PLANE FARE

Mac and I smiled at each other and took out our picnics.  They were just

PLANE WONDERFUL!

"Mac, how did you feel when all the other passengers around us craned their necks to see what we were eating," I asked.

He smiled and winked at me, "Very clever indeed!" he replied.

Do give this a try if you are ever at terminal 5 at Heathrow, unless of course

you are lucky enough to be seated in FIRST CLASS!