Planet Stoppenhagen: September 2005

September 23, 2005

Who is 25 today!! Happy Day Kim

Always at her finest!

Steph Stoppenhagen 02:47 PM | (1)

September 22, 2005

Ramblings

I am sitting here at the wine shop. It is 9:00 on Thursday night. Obviously, the shop is not open at this hour, but nonetheless, I am working. As a sideline to working here I have also been cooking gourmet dinners here. I cook intimate wine dinners for up to four people - three courses each paired with a wine from the shop. A nice little gig. We have a small kitchen and a small room that is a replica 1930's Great Western Rail dining carriage. Tonight I have just one couple. I have bookings for this Saturday night and Wednesday night (repeat customer).

Tonight I have prepared-

1st Course: Spiced apple and squash soup with Creme Fraiche, paired with a Alsacian Tokay-Pinot Gris.

Main Course: Pan-seared chicken breast with tarragon and sage cream sauce, roasted new and sweet potatoes, new broccoli spears, paired with a 2004 Fleurie (Cru Beaujolais).

Dessert: Tiramisu paired with 1999 Lupiac (dessert wine similar to a Sauternes).

I went outside to get a little fresh air whilst (that's British for 'while' :-) ) they are enjoying the main course and got to thinking about how fortunate I am. We are living in Europe, I have a fun, rewarding and, yes, challenging job at the shop. Now, I am cooking - which I have a passion for. I have been doing these private, intimate dinners for a short while. The energy and the charge I get from this sure beats any charge I ever got from selling phones - regardless of how big a contract ever was.

We will be somewhere between Washington DC and Denver on our way back to official US residency in exactly one month. Mixed emotions, big-time. This set-up I have here is what I have been longing for. Food and wine...Period. The next few months will be interesting. I doubt that I will find something that even remotely compares with this tremendous situation.

I hope that wherever this new direction is taking us will also have as a stop on its course a venture that will be somewhat similar to this. Not really that likely, but hopefully something will at least give me the same satisfaction and charge that this does.

Food for thought, I guess. (Pun intended.)

Dan Stoppenhagen 09:02 PM | (5)

September 20, 2005

Deutschland

The trip started, as always, with a Ryanair flight for practically nothing (please see ryanair.com to see if I am taking the mickey on how cheap these airfares really are. Really. Make an itinerary from London to anywhere and see.).

We rented a car and drove to the beautiful Mosel valley. The real reason for the trip to Germany was to visit the famous winefest in Berkastel-kues. This festival showcases the Riesling wines. The weather was absolutely perfect, we think the best weather we have had all summer, we just had to go to another country to experience it... We took a boat ride up and down the Mosel River which Ethan enjoyed and of course we had some nice, yes, Riesling. These wines are world famous, although their popularity has sagged in the past few decades or so due to a lot of sub-par wines that hit...no flooded, the market around the world. The vineyards are situated on steep hills rising dramatically from the river valley. Their rocky slate soil gets rid of rainwater efficiently while retaining the heat from the day into the night. This develops very complex Rieslings that have potential to age for decades. In fact, you can find many 10 or more year old Rieslings for less than $20. If you find some, buy one. You'll have yourself a nice one.

The best part of the trip to the Mosel was the 3-hour parade. We didn't actually know that there was a parade until we noticed everyone lining up along the village streets. Once it started, however,...what a party! In most parades in the States, participants typically toss candy to the onlookers along the route. In the Mosel, they instead pour samples of their wines!! Let me tell you, three hours of this and it's a real wonder that anyone was in any condition to walk down the steep hills of the village! My kind of parade. I think that whoever coined the term "Everyone loves a parade" had to have been referring to the Winefest in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany!!!

After the Mosel, it was off to Berlin. To get there, we had to drive to Cologne and hop on a flight to get there. We narrowly made the flight due to a nice traffic jam just outside Cologne. We were forced to make a few detours that most sane people would try to avoid. Trying to navigate around rural Cologne trying to get to the airport is just a tad unnerving. Good thing was Ethan was a superstar.

Berlin was intense. Berlin probably elicits the most modern-history fascination in any of the European cities we've been to. When so many events took place here so recently, it is almost eerie to walk through the city. And yet, it is also one of the most comfortable cities to walk through at the same time. The Berliners, and most Germans we have had the extreme pleasure of meeting, for that matter, seem to have this underlying embarrassment and shame for the events of the 1st half of the 20th century. They are proud of their national heritage so much that they have reconstructed the main buildings destroyed in the Allied bombings of WWII (90% of the city was in ruins at the end of the war) to replicate the original design. When you see the Reichstag, or another ancient-looking building, you think "Wow, that's an old building." In fact, it is less than 60 years old! There are many memorials and tributes to the victims of the Holocaust, memorials to the oppressed during the Cold War, etc. The new construction in the former East Berlin is impressive. Sleek ultra-modern achievements of design and engineering that go miles to make you feel comfortable in this city of such unspeakable horrors.

If you ever travel to Berlin (I highly recommend it) make certain to book a spot on one of the English-language guided walking tours that wind their way throughout Berlin. No better way to get the basics on this city's history - guaranteed. We recommend this one - The Original Berlin Walks.

We were so impressed with Berlin. Everything about it. The people, their commitment to moving ahead, the scenery, the food, etc. Steph even wants to move there. I could go on and on. Instead, I would rather just refer you to the photo gallery. I have uploaded a lot of pics from the Mosel and Berlin. We actually took over 260 pics. Don't worry. Not that many are in the gallery.

To access the gallery, click HERE.

Steph Stoppenhagen 10:21 PM | (1)