Untour apparently operates on a Wednesday to Wednesday week, and they started things off with a Thursday gathering of everybody who might be in the area. This numbered about 12 people, all Americans from pretty much all around the country. Sitting next to us was a couple from Wisconsin, not that far from Aimée and Steve’s town of Mount Horeb. It’s a small world.
The orientation was conducted by a couple of American expats, well versed on what Americans need to know about subjects like driving, banking, drinking, and health. We were strongly reminded that the car coming from the right always has the right of way, even when entering a major highway from a mere cowpath, unless marked otherwise. The one exception is at roundabouts, which appear to have standardized on the universal practice of right of way to vehicles in the roundabout and marked the entrance roads accordingly.
Then it was lunch, a delightful three course, three wine experience. Very, very tasty. The main course included grilled veal with a delicious sauce, and spaetzle (another one of those words that started out German but got adapted). And a marvelous meringue and ice cream dessert called vacherin.
Sue Anne got talking art with a few of the people, passed around her sketchbook, and learned from two women that they both enjoyed drawing but somehow, despite bringing drawing material with them, often just couldn’t bring themselves to get started at it.
This is a common situation; we've heard it before. The conversation resulted in an offer by Sue Anne for an art lesson. Back at their apartment we traded an opportunity to take in their view of a vineyard and a castle for a lesson and some pleasant conversation.
We had parked in a 5-hour lot in the center of town, figuring that to be easily sufficient to our needs. Nope, the French take long lunches, and the walk out to the apartment at the edge of town ate up more of that time. So once the drawing class got underway, Bruce walked back to retrieve the car while the lesson continued. What looked on the map like the main street of town turned out to be a narrow, cobblestoned road, jointly occupied by pedestrians and one-way vehicle traffic. Walking it was an enjoyable experience, but Bruce chose the real road around the edge of town for the drive back.
Sue Anne wrapped up the class, the two students were happy with their resulting work, and we made plans to meet for dinner in Bergheim on Friday to give them another locale to capture on paper and compare all their results.
The back garden at their apartment, scene of the drawing lesson. A vineyard is behind the flowers.
The view up to one of the many castle ruins, Chateau Saint Ulrich, done with the built in zoom in Sue Anne’s eyes.
After the marvelous lunch, we settled for a modest supper at home.
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