Le Relais de la Poste

One of the most exciting culinary adventures of our current stay in France has been at Le Relais de la Poste, in La Wantenzau, just north east of Strasbourg.  La Wantzenau is an old fishing village on the Ill River which curlicues its way through the town, running vaguely parallel to the nearby Rhine.

Carte des Vins

Deb (debsravingrecipes.blogspot.com) had contacted Chef Emile Jung, of Au Crocodile restaurant in Strasbourg, in search of haute cuisine versions of traditional Alsatian Easter fare – in this case a rabbit dish.  M. Jung sent his regrets that he could not assist given that he had retired recently, but recommended Le Relais de la Poste as a culinary experience that might meet our needs, especially as his former head chef, Laurent Huguet had taken over the kitchen there.  Not only did he recommend, but contacted Caroline van Maenen, the owner of Le Relais, who made us most welcome and was willing to give us access to the kitchen and share recipes for Deb’s Canberra Times column.

The building itself was suitably ancient, and picturesque in a quintessentially Alsatian way.  It had been, as its name would indicate, a former staging post for coaches. It started its foodie life as bistro and tabac and developed into a seriously popular local eatery in the 70s. Caroline took over the business in 2009 and it has since been awarded a thoroughly deserved Michelin star.

Our accommodation was a very comfortable contemporary adaptation of old Alsatian style and the restaurant provided with some gastronomic experiences that will stay with us.

As you would expect for this standard of restaurant, quality and smooth professionalism exudes from every pore.  The dining room is cosy and sophisticated in its decor and the wine cellar is extensive and impressive, with brilliant guidance and service provided by young sommelier Hervé Schmitt.

Foie de Canard

I won’t attempt to review the food here, as Deb does that much better than I can in her blog and Canberra Times column (should be published in early May), but I do have to say that the Foie de Canard en croûte de sel, haricot blancs au bouillon, laurier et gras jambon, a dish served for two, is no doubt one of the best things I have ever eaten.  

Les Sommeliers

Essentially it’s a duck liver cooked in a crust of salt and served on a bed of haricot beans cooked in a rich stock. Our waiter wheels a serving trolley up to our table and carefully removes the top half of the salt crust, gently lifts the liver on to a cutting board where it is sliced deftly into 8 or 10 portions, and delicately laid on a bed of beans on our plates.  The beautifully presented whole is then drizzled with a sweet and piquant brown sauce.  The texture is amazing, the taste exquisite and the rich bottom end provided by the haricots in their rich bouillon makes for unforgettable eating. The recipe will be published in the Canberra Times on 4 May and will also be available from debsravingrecipes.blogspot.com from this date.

This experience is one to save up for, as this sort of quality doesn’t come cheaply, but it’s well worth it for those with a culinary bent. Don’t stint yourself and try it next time you find yourself in Alsace.


Lots more photos on the Picasa link to Relais de la Poste at top right of blog sidebar!

Fools Day in Trier

St Peters

Trier is the oldest city in Germany, possibly founded by the Assyrians centuries before Rome, and a very important city in turn to Rome, the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire and, through most of this time, to the church.  It boasts a plethora of imposing, if somewhat grim, edifices, including the Roman Porta Nigra town gate and thermal baths, and the immense St Peter's and Constantin's Cathedrals.

Porta Negra

It's also noted as the home town of Karl Marx who was born there in 1818.  In fact, his house was right across the road from our hotel, but we never made it into the museum as it always seemed to be shut when we had a moment!  Obviously it has iconic value to Marxists & fellow travellers round the globe, and appears to be an object of pilgrimage for many contemporary Chinese.


By coincidence, our stay in Trier in Germany in early March 2011 coincided with Mardi Gras (literally "Fat Tuesday" and we know as Shrove or Pancake Tuesday), or the Fasching as it's called in Germany, supposedly the last day of feasting before the Lenten fast but also a celebration of the fool, which made me feel very much at home.  There are parades in towns across Europe and everyone seems to get into the spirit of it.

Blue Fool

Lots of people had gone to amazing lengths to dress up for the day, but even the most undemonstrative of the locals made some concession to the occasion, through a silly hat, slightly odd make-up or some other relatively subtle signal of celebration about their person. Even the dogs were kitted out for the event!


The sight of Obelisk with beer & fag in hand, chatting to one of a thousand pirates in the crowd, devils by the score, jesters, clowns, insects and animals of every kind, hardly raises an eyebrow. But even the mardi gras-hardened Trierers were drawn to the two bright blue Avatar characters as they strolled down the mall and they were mobbed by everyone with a camera in their hand.


The Fasching parade was in great contrast to the pomp that attaches to these grand historical monuments and one gets the feeling that its roots predate any Christian notions and are more linked to Pan and his mischievous mates.  Much fun and a glorious sunny day to boot. 

Everyone plays

Follow the link to Fools Day at Trier in Photo Albums on Picasa at top right of the blog for plenty more photos.

Segway to Paris

There are many things one should do in life, and this definitely includes going to Paris.  Needless to say, there are many things that you have to see in Paris, the City of Light.  If I could suggest one way of combining this necessity with a mode of transport that is a jolt of fun, treat yourself to a Segway tour of this remarkable city.

3 Wise Segways

A segway is an astonishing 2-wheeled device that seems to respond magically and intuitively to your desire to go fast or slow, turn left or right or just to rotate on the spot so you can take in a quick 360 scan of whatever wonder you happen to be surrounded by.

Guess where

This was the second encounter I’ve had with segways, after a similar tour of Vienna a few years back.  The way I’ve described that tour to anyone who was interested, and possibly to some who weren’t, is that I remember almost nothing about the no-doubt breathtaking highlights of the Austrian capital, but had the absolute best time charging around on my hired Segway.  

For anyone who takes delight in effortless, graceful movement and is fascinated by the prospect of a piece of beautifully engineered technology that can leap gutters or stop on sixpence, charge through a break in the traffic, surge across a cobbled square or shortcut through a shopping arcade, then Segway is the way to travel!

Courtesy of Fat Tire Tours, located in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, you can take a tour that is led by a guide who not only knows his or her stuff, but is not adverse to having a bit of fun on the way.  Simon, our guide, was able to provide us with an authoritative spiel on the major monuments of central Paris, led the fun on our 2-wheeled steeds as we played “street domination” and was also able to make wry observations about life among the Parisennes.  We all agreed that for all the great cultural and gastronomic achievements of the French, good coffee could not be counted among them.  It is probably one of the last great unsolved mysteries - why a culture that so prides itself on scaling the heights of gastronomic perfection could so utterly fail to be able to make a decent cup of coffee.  It’s not just that they seem to be unable produce a decent but humble espresso, but ask them to involve milk in your coffee and all pretence at sophistication and savoir faire evaporates.  Not that they would see it that way.

Simon did also make the observation that lots of Australians he had met were actually coffee snobs.  I was tempted to defend our beleaguered land, but decided quickly that if I had to be snobbish about something, then an insistence on good coffee was laudable and defensible.

Anyway, treat yourself to a segway, whatever the city.  Our tour could have been a little warmer as the temperature was in single figures that day, but it’s a phenomenal way to get around, and in a city as beautiful as Paris, I would say it’s parfait!

The ultimate thrill