Bavaria & Thuringia
19 & 20 September
Being taken fast up the Romantistraße sounds like a line Kenneth William might have flared his nostrils to in a Carry On film but it does set the scene for the next couple of days. But the Romantistraße is more Tourist Board construct than historic route as it dates from about 1950 when the Fatherland needed economic revitalisation.
Encouraging tourism to the medieval towns of Wurzburg, Dinkelsbuhl and castles like Neuschwanstein was one way of achieving this and so the Romantistraße was born and promoted as a means of travelling between them. Consequently, it’s a mix of rural and trunk roads that range from average to very good. In many respects, it’s a bit like the NC500 in Scotland but much less busy.
The most famous of the towns is Rothenburg, the quintessential postcard Bavarian town in the middle of the state and about three hour's drive from Munich. Perched on a low hill overlooking the meandering River Tauber, it is fastidiously maintained, so looks like Disney built it last year as part of a Theme Park, even though some buildings in the historic center date back to the thirteenth century. Sitting in the cobbled Marketplatz, drinking pre-dinner steins of Pils surrounded by American tourists, in the early evening sunshine sustains the holiday mood.
The rule of thumb, dinner-wise, used to be that a Michelin plate symbol meant a really good meal, often authentic to the region, at a not-too-ambitious price-point. Something has happened in the last couple of years as three nights in succession following this credo has landed us with bills totalling €1100. Yes, wine was involved but only just over half a bottle on each night plus an aperitif. And maybe a digestif…
They’ve all been good mind: Vinothek by Geisl in Munich at the Excelsior Hotel the night previous was up to the standard of two previous visits, albeit they’ve changed format. It used to be a series of small plates that offered both variety and value but it’s now a more traditional approach where starters are €25 upwards and mains about €40. Wine service is knowledgeable and inventive, but this too comes at a price.
Tonight, we visit HerR run by comedy duo Sascha Bungeroth and his front-of-house sidekick, a supremely charming showman whose name I can’t remember. Sascha has trained with pretty much all of Germany’s uber chefs and he really can cook. Winningly and without superstition, they have absolute confidence they will be upgraded from Michelin-listed to starred status next time round and it’s difficult to see why the Clemont-Ferand mafia would deny them this although I think their judgements are increasingly random, especially in London. On every level - cost included - HerR is on a par with the two, single-starred places we’ve been this week.
Tomorrow, Northern Bavaria will give way to Thuringia and kilometre after kilometre of soaring roads through and above dense forests. Not in the least bit challenging but intensely relaxing to ride as the surfaces are perfect. The few people you have to share them with are largely swift, competent and civilised drivers.
Erfurt is a city in the former ‘east’ that has shaken off its communist past and bustling with visitors and locals, early on a Friday evening. The bars around the Krannenbrooke, a sort-of-Middle Ages Ponte Vechio are teaming as the sun sets and we thread our way through the maze of narrow streets to Estima by Catalan.
Run by a single-minded German with an obsession for Catalonian products, there is no doubting his commitment to the art but there comes a point where the delicate equilibrium of price and value is just too far out of kilter. For me, that point came after three-and-a-quarter hours when we were presented with a bill for €420. In return, we had been given four small dishes each, four really small glasses of wine (think 100ml) and a wickedly good brandy at €17.50, for what I think was half a standard measure. Lovely food but value does have its place.
Did we research any of these three cities to seek out better value? And did we question the price of any wines suggested?
Err…no. So on both counts so we probably only have ourselves to blame.
But what online sources can you trust? Not TripAdvisor for sure, as many of the genuine reviews appear to have been written by people who are simultaneously cost-obsessed and borderline-illiterate. And the fakes are a laughable waste of time to read…
I suppose there must reliable food bloggers (hate that word…) somewhere but how to sort the wheat from the chaff? No, I’ll probably keep going back to the Michelin site and put up with the occasional spanking, price-wise.
