Home Again

After our lovely trip to the Black Forest (which was mostly spent with me trying to convince my parents to retire there) we headed back to Metz for our final 4 days together before that sad trip to the Luxembourg Airport.

The weather in Metz wasn't particularly agréable but we found ways to fill the time and our stomachs.

This particular meal was one of the few we made at home. It's a duck confit salad that was the product of a whole duck that we bought a week back, cut up, and used for multiple different meals. It's a very economical way to enjoy this scrumptious and usually expensive meat.

We went on multiple walking tours of Metz and as it turns out, there is much more to show that I had realized. I think we managed to walk off a good portion of the deliciously high calorie meals that we were ingesting every night by going out to dinner. Mom and dad are pictured here in front of the Knight's Templar Chapel (whom you might remember from The Da Vinci Code).

We also showed them the normal sight of St-Pierre-aux-Nonnains basilica which is widely believed to be the oldest church in France right in our beautiful little city.

As expected, Dad made more friends with the local fauna.

And across the river we found and explored more about the Temple of the German Garrison which has a very interesting story. It was built around 1880 during the occupation of the region by Germany solely as a Lutheran church for the German soldiers. The locals though it was ugly, being of the Gothic Revival archetural design and all, and they were offended by the bell tower which rivaled the Cathedral in it's height. After Lorraine was returned to France in 1918, the church was abandoned and day dormant for decades. During WWII it's nave was badly damaged by allied bombs and in 1946, the roof of the nave caught fire. The locals could ignore the church no longer as it was now a safety hazard. They had the nave demolished but kept the tower as a monument that was later incorporated into Metz's Luxembourg Garden.

While exploring the other side of the river, which we rarely visit we happened upon this beautiful view of the Cathedral. Too bad they're busy cleaning it right now; I may have to photoshop out the scaffolding at some point.

After dinner one night we were walking along the Moselle river when we were bombarded with hungry swans. One minute we could see 3 and the next thing we knew, there were 11 following us along the river hoping for a morsel. Sadly we had none, we had eaten everything (and it's not like it's kosher to take a doggy bag here in France). 

The next day we packed everything, including an extra large duffel bag filled with our belongings into the tiny Twingo and set off for the Luxembourg Airport yet again. As expected, we had a wonderful time with my parents. I was so happy to see them  in the flesh after over a year of not seeing them and while it was sad to leave them at the airport, we've made it over a year without seeing them in the past and at this point, today, we have only 3 weeks (eek!) here before we will see them again. And just for a tiny plug: I can't say enough how much skype and other voice/video calling has made this year and a half away from family more bearable. Thanks to it, I never felt too far from home. 

La Forêt-Noire

(back to the chronicles of the Vogler Parents' Visit)

After our brief stay of recuperation in Metz we jumped in the Twingo yet again for a trip to the "motherland", so to speak (lots of German ancestry for us Voglers and Reindls). 

We drove 2.5 hours and arrived in the beautiful German city of Freiburg in the Black Forest. We dropped our things off at our beautiful farm B&B which was an adventure in and of itself. You see, when I booked the B&B online the information clearly stated that the owners spoke English. In France this isn't a problem; we know enough French to converse but German? Not one of us speaks a lick of German. And as it turned out, the daughter speaks a bit of English (think of your junior year of high school level of foreign language) but she wasn't home so we were out of luck. Really though, the woman was so nice and trusting, just leaving us with a key to their place without ever taking our name.

 After getting settled we hopped in the car again and headed back into Freiburg. We had a great lunch in the Cathedral square (goulach, pasta, wiener schnitzel and sausages) and spent the rest of the cold afternoon walking around the city and browsing in kitchen stores to warm up. At dinner time we filled up on more German food and beer and shortly after, crashed back at the B&B.

We woke up to this the next morning. It was rainy and dreary but the colors were so vibrant that even the rain couldn't dampen the day. 

We set off in the car on tiny winding roads through the mountains of the Black Forest. The views were spectacular but thanks to the rain, capturing them on camera was not an easy feat. After a bit of driving we pulled off into a parking area. Dad though he heard something but he was the only one...we didn't really believe him (sometimes his hearing isn't the greatest, and I've acquired the trait). But he insisted that I open the door and when I did, lo and behold, there was a horn playing clear as day.

We walked around a shelter at the end of the parking lot where we saw the Ricola man  himself putting on a concert for...well, for us I suppose. He spoke no English and again, we speak no German but we did manage to ask for a picture and he kindly obliged.

 

As you can see in the picture with the horn player (I really need to look up what that is), the rain turned to snow as we traveled higher until at one point, I was going about 5mph and trying to keep the sliding under control on the yucky slush. It did, however, make for some beautiful sights. I can't tell you how much I would love to live in that house. I'll soon be posting more pictures from the trip on Facebok and will be sure to share them with you all. I'm also hoping to get a hold of some of the pictures that my Mom took on her sleek and shiny camera that I spent the entire trip drooling over.

Up Next: More time in Metz

I Heart Mirepoix

 (And now, for a break from our regularly scheduled program; we'll come back to the Vogler Parents' trip soon)

 I really do, I <3 mirepoix. For those of you that didn't go to culinary school, here is a little lesson from Wikipedia. Pay attention to the the pronunciation, you'll need it later.

Mirepoix (pronounced /mɪərˈpwɑː/ meer-PWAH, French pronunciation: [miʁəˈpwɑ]) is the French name for a combination of onions, carrots, and celery (either common pascal celery or celeriac). Mirepoix, either raw, roasted or sautéed with butter, is the flavor base for a wide number of dishes, such as stocks, soups, stews and sauces. The three ingredients are commonly referred to as aromatics. (source)

Mirepoix is used in any number of culinary applications.

This particular pot was used to make a simple pot of braised lentils tonight and as the heavenly scent wafted through our abnormally small apartment I was reminded of just how much I <3 mirepoix.

Some of you may have heard this story before but when I was at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) our intramural sports teams had two catchy, chefy fight songs. Regrettably, I can't remember one but I will always remember this one (oh, and roux is pronounced "roo"):

"Mirepoix, Mirepoix, Roux, Roux, Roux

Chop 'Em Up, Dice 'Em Up

Put 'Em in a Stew!"