Monday, October 24, 2011

Have you been to Kientzheim?




What about Ora, Italy?





 Kientzheim, where the streets are lined with half-timbered houses and Storks build their nests on top of chimneys.

When traveling by car in Europe, you sometimes end up in the most unexpected places.  Kientzheim, south of Strasbourg, in the Haut-Rhin region of the Alsace, is such a place.

Something happened with our rental car. 
It  needed to be hoisted onto a flatbed and taken in for repairs. 

The Hostellerie Schwendi, in Kientzmeim, was recommended for an overnight stay.  It turned out to be a fine Hotel with an award winning Restaurant. 
http://schwendi.pagesperso-orange.fr/


This was not the only incident with our rental car.  (I'll save that for another time)


Now on to Ora, Italy





Ora (Italian)  Auer (German)

See those stripes on the wooden shutters.  I used to know their meaning.  I think that red and white striped shutters designate a Hotel.  Green and white or blue and white  stripes mean something else.  Very convenient when you're out in the country side. Maybe my readers know the real scoop.





Ora, Italy with an incredible restaurant with an impossible name,
Tschurtsch.





Ora is a tiny village in the northern Italian region of the Trento Adige, not far from Bolzano.  Often, we travel to Europe in September and October.  We rent a car and set out with no particular plans except we usually make a round trip from Paris to Umbria, Italy,  and back to Paris. 

That is how we found Ora.  Our  modus operandi is always to start looking for a place by about 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  We head for a very small village and locate the village church tower.  That is where you find the best lodgings.  Lodgings which have provided a good meal and bed for many travelers through the centuries.




Strolling through Ora we came upon this intriguing looking Restaurant. 
Would you have gone inside?

If you had, you would have been served one of the finest meals in all of Europe.  

http://www.tschurtsch.it/de/essen.htm

Have a look at their very unusual Menu.

Have a great week my dear Blogging Friends!

Gina
Addendum Please note: Ownership of Tschurtsch Restaurant has changed.  For now, I can not recommend it. January 5, 2014. 
1/4/2018 Not recommended.



 
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12 comments:

  1. Theresa CheekOctober 24, 2011 at 1:47 PM

    I am so enjoying your travels! Your pictures are always like postcards...I love the door with the carved lintel.

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  2. LaPouyetteOctober 25, 2011 at 3:04 AM

    Yes Gina, I've been to Kientzheim but not to Schwendi's restaurant so far, maybe at my next visit.
    I love the name Tschurtsch !!!! Hoert sich so gemuetlich an!
    The stripes on the shutters? Don't know anything about. But in Germany you'll find 'striped' shutters very often on old castles (Burgen) at the country side. Will make some research sometimes....maybe next week when I'm in Germany for a few days to have a 'wallpaper-change'. Denn ich brauch' 'nen Tapetenwechsel!

    Thank you, liebe Gina, to take as with you on your Europe trip...
    Lieben Gruss,
    karin

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  3. Mark D. RuffnerOctober 25, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    Hi, Gina - I've found, as I'm sure you have, that the unexpected is sometimes the most memorable part of the trip. Your postings are making me hungry for another trip to Italy, and one through the countryside. I keep coming back to that carved doorway - I wonder how many years it's stood there?

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  4. GinaOctober 25, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Hi Theresa, The door surround must be very old. It is those discoveries that makes traveling through Europe so attractive.

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  5. GinaOctober 25, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    Dear Karin, I first noticed the striped shutters in Spain, on the Paradores/ancient cstles restored into beautiful hotels.
    All were on top of a hill so one could see them for a long distance...no GPS necessary.

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  6. GinaOctober 25, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Hi Mark, I'm glad that no one has tried to "beautify" this old wall and so the carved stone arch is intact for us to admire. To me it looks Celtic. What do you think?

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  7. AnonymousOctober 25, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    Hi Gina! Wanted to let you know I'm still reading, even though I don't comment much any more. I'm usually at work - got a job that is about a one hour (or more) commute from home. Steve lost his job,so mine is more critical than ever. Other than that, we are fine. I'm not doing much painting right now, just from lack of time (or time mismanagement, ha). But I'll get back to it one of these days. Tell Gene hi for us! Jacki Salinas

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  8. German GemsOctober 25, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    You travel like I do -- some scheduled places, some not. And, the gasthaus loooks inviting; I would have gone in, especially if it was late in the day and I was hungry.

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  9. FrancesOctober 25, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    How kind you are to take these marvelous photographs and let readers like me learn about places that we'd not otherwise know about at all.

    I will definitely remember to look for the church tower as a starting point.

    Best wishes on the rest of your journey.

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  10. GinaOctober 26, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    Hi Jacki, I'm so sorry to hear that Steve lost his job. He is such a fine Gentleman. I would hate to have to drive for an hour each way to go to work. What a waste of precious time. Hope things turn around for you soon.
    Warm regards, Gina

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  11. GinaOctober 26, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    Hi German Gems, It pays to be curious, doesn't it.

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  12. GinaOctober 26, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    Hi Frances, Bloggers should compile a list of great places to stay in Europe. We could all contribute. It would be the best travel publication of them all.

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