Visiting Germany's Alpine Lake Constance Resort with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
All the Stuttgart, Germany license plates that my husband Laurent and I saw on the way to Konstanz let us know that this quiet resort town is a favorite destination of city dwellers.
Konstanz
lies on the border with Switzerland and shares Lake Constance with the Swiss as
well. Lakeside walks allow you to see
mist rising off the lake at dusk.
Pedestrians, bicycles, and trams share sidewalks. Bike lanes in both directions are indicated
to prevent mishaps. High-end antique
shops offer one-of-a-kind finds from England.
Queen Elizabeth II has even visited the antique shop in the
pedestrian-only down town.
We came to
enjoy some nice strolling and a nice dinner out, but had forgotten that you
have to reserve a table in advance to dine out in Germany on a Friday night.
Since we had neglected to do that, we went scouting for a restaurant about two
hours before dinner time.
We found a
restaurant named Ruppaner that was founded in 1795, which let us eat
early. We expected to find a very German
restaurant inside with beer steins and cuckoo clocks, but found Western décor
with modern paintings on the walls.
Ruppaner had changed its name to Bonanza and offered steaks in addition
to German fare.
The steaks
came in four sizes – small, medium, large, and extra large. Laurent ordered a small rumpsteak, which
turned out to be pretty large while I ordered maultaschen, which resembles
ravioli in heartier proportions.
Maultaschen
are a specialty of the Swabian region of southeastern Germany. These pockets of pasta are filled with a
combination of spinach, onion, white bread, egg, and cooked chicken, beer, or
pork according to former restaurant critic and author Mimi Sheraton in The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to
Mastering Authentic German Cooking. Sheraton
likens maultaschen to Italian ravioli as well, but also mentions that they
resemble Jewish kreplach and Chinese won-tons.
The
maultaschen I ate appeared to be stuffed with pork and the ingredients
mentioned above. The thick dough was
tender and was covered with small fried onions and their pan juices. Fried potatoes accompanied the dish. It was all very good and made me feel like we
had eaten in a restaurant with culinary traditions dating back to 1795.
The strolls
around town and meal in Konstanz made for a nice getaway from our busy life in
Stuttgart.
By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
 |
| Ruth Paget Selfie |
 |
| Laurent Paget Photography |
