I have made quite a few good friends in San Luis in the lat 5 years that we have lived there. As I think about each of them, I realize how different they all are, yet the same in some ways….like their love of travel. Each person I think of has traveled fairly extensively…Europe, Asia, South America, South Africa…. I love to hear their stories.
A few months ago, when we were in the throws of planning our trip, we were having dinner at a friend’s home in San Luis. We mentioned that we would be visiting Berlin and Hamburg on our trip. She has visited both areas several times and had some really great ideas of things to see while there. And, as it turns out, her mother, who I will call Ann, lives in Hamburg with a friend, I will call Bob. What a small world! Well….. after several conversations with my friend and some email exchanges with her mother, we all decided that we should meet.
Get ready for my next food and travel connection……..
As my friend and I discussed what we might do with her mother, she mentioned a restaurant for brunch She said it was in someone’s home and very unusual.,,but, typical German and excellent food. She also mentioned that we should not eat anything the day before we went because of the volume of food presented. Sounds good to me! SOLD! This would be the plan.
So, on Sunday morning, the 4 travelers boarded the S-bahn train to Blankanese to meet our new friend and have brunch. What a great time!
Blankanese is a suburb of Hamburg…about a 30 minute ride outside of town on the train. We arrived in good time and took a taxi to Ann’s home. She and Bob were already in their car waiting to take us to the restaurant. Since there were 4 of us and 2 of them and their car could really only seat 5 people comfortably, we opted to have the taxi deliver us directly to the restaurant.
My friend’s description of the restaurant was spot on. I’m not sure this was actually someone’s house, but it could have been and probably had been at some point. It was very quaint. The tables were set up in the lower floor of the house in what would have been the living room, foyer and possibly a sitting room at one point. The furniture was very old fashioned and reminded me in some ways of the dining room furniture in my grandmother’s home. Very comfortable and cozy, but still a little formal. All around were momentos of days gone by in Germany…..family pictures, doilies, and an array of antique furniture and knick knacks. It was like having a meal with an old German family in their dining room.
As we entered the area where the food was displayed, we began to see what my friend had alluded to. This was about the most extensive and delicious looking buffet brunch I have ever seen. Bob gave us a tour of the food options. There were at least 5 different kinds of fish displayed, maybe more. Some that I could identify and some that I couldn’t identify. On the same table were 2 kinds of caviar…..WOW! On the next table were some fruits and cheeses of all types (my favorite), along with all kinds of bread options to pair them with. Then, we moved on to the scone table (my second favorite). There were scones and clotted cream and a wide array of jellies and jams to try. The next table had eggs and bacon and some more bread options, and the last table had Muesli with some kind of a fruit compote and all kinds of juices. And, we had our own pot of coffee, which sat right in front of Carrie. She was a happy girl!
We dined for several hours. My friend was right, there was no need to have eaten the day before or for the rest of the day. The food was outstanding and what a great ambiance in which to experience it.
The company was also outstanding. Ann is a very interesting woman. She is 91 years old and speaks about 4 languages. She is well traveled. At one point, she owned her own travel agency in England. She had lots of great stories about places she had visited. She brought along with her to brunch her latest copy of the “The Economist” magazine to show us. She says that she educates herself about things that are happening around the world by reading this. In her opinion, there are no other periodicals that can compare with this one. We had a very lively discussion about American politics and the current American government shutdown due to the new healthcare initiatives. We shared stories about my friend and her children as well. Ann has lived in Brazil, London and now Hamburg and had some very compelling stories to tell about her family and her life. What an interesting brunch companion.
Finally, we waddled out of the restaurant. Ann and Bob wanted to give us a little tour of their town in their car. Again, I mention that there were 6 of us for a 5 passenger car. Ann looked at all of us and suggested that Carrie, who is younger and probably most flexible, should get in the front with she and Bob and share the seat with her. It was quite a scene, as Carrie straddled the middle gear shift with her legs in the passenger seat. Fun times!
They took us to a vista that Bob explained had been something of a toll collection spot for ships coming into Hamburg. The views were incredible. There was now a restaurant there and a small snack stand. We spent a good bit of time there looking at the views as Bob explained some of the things that we were looking at. Then, we all piled back into the car and they took us back to the train station so that we could head back into town.
I can’t say enough about the kindness of these people….the time they spent with us and directing us to a lovely restaurant where we could get to know each other and share some stories.
I think you can see where I am going with my thoughts about food being a connector. Over some great food in an amazing venue, we were able to become a part of a small German town, if only for a few hours. And, we made 2 new friends. There might be something better than this, but I don’t know what it would be!
Signing off for now…..fat and happy in Hamburg!
Travel With Betsy 
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