In Meersburg...

We haven´t found a biergarten in Meersburg, and this is great news, because here, they are replaced with wine bars. Last night, mostly because we couldn´t find another place to eat, and largely because this very friendly guy invited us in....we ended up at the wine bar.

Goodness, it was fun. Just like the quirky little place that our host in Cologne took us too. We sampled the local wines, and wish we could take some home. They were very good (and a wee bit stronger than we were expecting, we discovered). Don´t worry, there were no hangovers. But, had we had a third glass, well, maybe.

This was a one man show. His name was Andreas, and he was charming because he was shy and very busy, and very curious. He pours the wine, explains the wine, answers the phone, answers questions, serves at the bar, brings things to the table, and if that weren´t enough, he is also the cook. So the menu....well, there isn´t a menu. He said what he could offer was a steak and fried potatoes with a salad. I asked if he had anything smaller, and he said that he had a smaller steak. Too much fun! He also said it would take some time, and that was okay too...we weren´t going anywhere! When he brought it, he was all apologetic. He burned the potatoes (but not really), and he had undercooked the steak (but not too much)...and we didn´t care because we were having such a great time. Then he said it was the first time he had cooked one for customers. We said we felt honored.

In the meantime, the man who invited us in came to chat. His name was Joe, and he is from Zurich. What a character! He is everybody´s buddy, and clearly a favourite at the place. All 20 of us thought so.

We were really disenchanted with Meersburg till then, but it wasn´t so much the town´s fault as our own. We just got in too late. Joe and Andreas saved the day!