Sorry this is so full of cafes and food. It was bloody cold(!) so sightseeing at a minimum. Thanks to PS.com for putting on a great do. Nice to meet OnkelHotte (namedropping as usual) and Dvl321 (sorry we were both too drunk to have a proper conversation...).
Most of all, delighted to meet finally the SnG guys who turned out to be even nicer than they sounded on Skype.
Arrived very late 10th of February. Hotel room freezing as window had been left open; we warned ourselves with red wine from the minibar, peanuts and a Mars bar. The next day (11th) up to the Prinzpalmarkt and Pholmeyer's Holzoffen cafe for chocolate croissant, chocolate chip croissant shaped bread and a green olive and cream cheese Flammekuche (oven baked pizza bread).
Wandered around the old town and then to the open-air market in the Domplatz, where we saw many meat and sausage sellers, tried cheeses and different pestos. We saw a group of three young guys in the square speaking in English and I wondered, for a moment, whether these were the very three poker players we had gone there to meet.
Taking off gloves for photos was unbelievably painful in the -5° cold, so we quickly escaped into the warmth of 150-year-old Grotemeyer's Cafe on Saltzstrasse. I got stuck in to The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer. A short walk further on took us to Altes Gasthaus Leve with Dutch style tiles on the bar front. Wheat beer for Tim, Grog (hot water mixed with rum and sugar) for Mrs Tim64. For lunch, Töttchen (a rich dark brown stew made from offal and cheap cuts) for Mrs Tim and meatballs served with a thick caper sauce, yellow, waxy potatoes and pickled beetroot slices for me. We walked around the woody Promenade encircling the town, site of the old city walls, and then it was once again time to escape the cold back in a hotel room with a take-out coffee.
We both soon fell asleep, waking in time to get ready to take a taxi across town to Heaven. There we quickly met Akrammon, Demonic226 and Kurrkabin who were indeed the same three I had seen earlier that day in the Domplatz. The dinner was a rocket salad with roast tomatoes, balsamic dressing and Parmesan shavings, followed by rare veal served with a port wine reduction, broccoli with almonds and fried potato balls served in a wonton wrapper. Puddings were white and dark chocolate mousses with a mint pesto, red currants and Cape gooseberry. The tables were cleared away and we put our drinks chips to good use as the house music started.
Breakfast the next day at pain et gâteau off Pinzpalmarkt. Crusty bread with salami and tomato, and brioche with butter and jam, café au lait for Mrs T, regular milk coffee for me. More walking around in the icy cold, finishing our walking tour of the old town at the Kleiner Kiepenkerl restaurant. Really excellent lunch of more Töttchen served with dark bread, and for me Lieberbrot and Wurstbrot fried sausage served with buttery mash, sauerkraut and apple slices. I enjoyed my Himbeere bier and Mrs T her well-behaved water.
Kafé und kuchen at pain et gâteau, of mixed fruit tarts and coffees and then another sleep back in the hotel.
Pre-dinner drinks of more grog and weisbier at Stuhlmachers' on the Prinzpalmarkt where we watched the waiter serving up a huge knuckle of pork and almost wavered about our dinner decision. Headed off to the modern-looking restaurant serving Schnitzl we had seen earlier that day but it was closed on Sundays. However discovered a huge place called Cafe Bar Celona (a play on words which escaped me for ages) which was full of young people and where we parked ourselves. A small carafe of ropey red wine and two enormous schnitzel (one with a mushroom sauce), both served with excellent frites, later, and we were ready to head back to the hotel.
Our last day -- Monday -- saw us at Josef Bakery for breakfast. I had a brandy filled "Berliner" (doughnut) and coffee, while Mrs Tim went for a flat pastry and cafe latte. A short bout of shopping and then a walk to see the frozen Am See lake on which we tentatively walked, along with many others.
Lunch at Royals and Rice where I had Pho Bo and Mrs Tim crisply fried wontons with spicy dip. Mrs Tim had a quick wander round the shops while I retreated back to pain et gâteau for hot chocolate and more Eiger revelations. After 45 minutes Mrs Tim joined me with a gift of Valentine chocolates. We got down two more coffees and an apple and plum cake each.
In a department we store bought a bottle of Riesling as a present for Oma and Opa and then headed back to the hotel for a short nap. At around 7 we went out again to meet up with Akrammon, Demonic226 and Kurrkabin in a trendy bar where we all drank wheat beer of different hues (mine dark). Really good chats with lots of laughter. Then we headed off to an old style pub just off the main drag, for halb-trokken Riesling, schnitzel with pfeffersause and sautéed potatoes; and pork medallions with a mushroom sauce and Rösti.
The next morning we had a good hotel breakfast of bread and hams and cheeses. This set us up nicely for a very stress free journey back to England every part of went like clockwork. Düsseldorf airport provided a salami sandwich and a last glass of Warsteiner. Emotional reunion with our daughter, who was all snuffly but gorgeous nonetheless.
Not sure if I could pull the trigger without backdoor diamonds, though...
![:]](https://www.pokerstrategy.com/_forum-runtime/wp-content/uploads/wpforo/emoticons/pokerstrategy-legacy/basics/pleased.gif ":]")
haha 
