Monschau

We went to the most charming little German town today while we have some gorgeous weather. I'm so glad that the sun is out, finally. Chris has a three-day weekend in honor of the Pentecost, so we decided to take a day of leisure and be tourists.

Monschau is located in the Eifel region, near Aachen, close to the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. It's about an hour from us. To get there, you drive through some somewhat hilly farmland, and then all of a sudden you realize you are at the top of a steep, winding, mountainous road!

The town has your quintessential castle at the top of the mountain/hill (your view of what this is depends on where you're from), a babbling river, and so many fun restaurants and shops, making this a town to which I will bring visitors for the duration of our living in this region.



This is definitely a great place to go hiking, and we will do that soon. But, today I wanted to explore the town and we spent lots of time wandering.

We chose to sit outside at a wonderful restaurant right on the river and outside a lovely church with bells that tolled for what seemed ages at noon. The sound of bells tolling is one of my favorite things about Europe, and something I will desperately miss when we move home.

For lunch I had the best schnitzel that I have had since we moved here. It did not seem greasy and was accompanied by a sauce made from the honey-mustard that this town makes well. We also tried some white asparagus, as that is in season now. I had another seasonal favorite - fresh strawberries. Incredible food today.

The shopping was great today, too. There were all kinds of wine stores, antique shops, and - wait for it - a Christmas store!! Of course, I went in. This store was perfect, and the prices were even good! I bought a few things. For those of you rolling your eyes at me right now, yes, I realize I have a problem involving shopping and Christmas.

I also bought some of the town mustard, and Chris, naturally, bought some wine. There was an intriguing store that sold a lot of Czech crystal. I'm not entirely sure why. But, I will keep that in mind in case I ever need something, and can't get to Prague.

We had such a fantastic day in Monschau and can't wait to return.