Innside view

Before the Teochew monkey disseminates a certain sordid picture of my duck, I thought it advisable to counter the impending venality with a (hopefully) more dignified view of my duck in his lonely little room in Erbach. Unlike the guesthouse at Kühedorf, this establishment is less overtly given over to bloodsport and is thankfully nowhere near any cows. To get to the entrance, one must squeeze through the little lane on the left (whose walls are infested with large opilionids, snails and slugs) to a small inner porch sheltered by a fruiting apple tree. There is no lobby; one must rouse the attention of Frau Kern who will issue a set of keys (one for the room and one for the porch door) and ask your preferred time for breakfast in crisp German (she doesn't speak English).

More of an inn than a hotel, the Wappenstube features a tavern on the ground floor lined with medieval weaponry and torture implements. I am told the establishment used to serve fabulous home-cooked German dishes but since the death of Herr Kern from lung cancer some years ago, the hall is now lit only for morning meals. While munching on muesli and pretzels, I sat across this unconversant bloke in a shiny suit of steel who stood guard over a cart of confetti chicken. I suspect that inside he's just as fowl as the birds, given the showy plume on his pate...   

Comments

[Walter]

Hey Marcus,

Just dropping by to say Hi. Your splendid prose and photos really left my drooling for my own holiday (coming up in snowy Hokkaido). Nice to know that there are more conservationists out here in Singapore.

If you have the chance, do drop by my blog at www.coolinsights.blogpost.com

what a great story - it makes me want to take a trip! thanks for posting it!