By noon yesterday (Saturday) we arrived in Hahndorf, the oldest
German settlement in Australia, after crossing the foothills northeast of
Adelaide. Hahndorf was a cute little village for tourist – shops of all sorts.
We met our new hosts at the Old Mill Restaurant, transferred luggage and said goodbye to our lovely host from Adelaide. All of our hosts on this trip have
been so gracious, showing us the best of their area.
We had lunch at the Old Mill with our new hosts. We were
warned that plenty of food awaited us during the evening hours so we opted for
a light lunch. After popping in and out
of a few shops, we left with our host for the Barossa Valley. It is continually referred to as “the Barossa”. The Barossa Valley is most known for its
wines, but there are also fruits grown in this area. All of the old churches are lovely old German Lutheran
buildings.
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The German Village of Hahndorf |
Before I go any further I must tell you about our hostess.
She chose us to stay with them because she read in our Bio that we lived in
Holland and Cal taught at the American School of The Hague. She as a child lived in Holland. Since her Mum was Aussie she wanted the
children to attend the British School in The Hague, but it had reached its capacity
of students, so her and her siblings attended the American School. She started attending ASH the year that we
left, and was there for 3 years. This was during her upper primary and middle
school years, while Cal taught at the High School. So our time did not overlap,
but we had plenty to talk about regarding life in Holland. We both had such positive experiences.
But back to the Barossa - Our hosts are part of a tennis
group that meets every Saturday at a winery to play doubles tennis. The tennis courts are set among the vineyards,
a beautiful setting. After an afternoon
of playing tennis and chatting, everyone gathers in one of the tasting rooms to
nibble on lovely items each player has brought. Last night, including us, 17 people were
there. It was a wonderful group of people.
We tasted several wines and the appetizers were special – these women
are wonderful cooks. This was enough
food for the evening, but this was just the beginning!
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| How is this for a perfect setting for tennis |
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| After Tennis Desert |
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| Local wine |
We drove to our hosts home, a charming older home that has
been updated. After tasting more wine,
we sat down to a dinner of Beef Wellington.
Everything was done to perfection, and we ended with another beautiful
pavlova dessert.
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| Our wonderful Host Home |
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| Stained Glass Windows in their home |
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| Dinner with our host and friend |
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| OH!! That Incredible Pavlova |
I am writing this Sunday morning after a light breakfast of
tea/coffee and toast. By noon we are off
to a Sunday noon BBQ.
We have seen many stone cottage style homes in the Adelaide
area, and now we are staying in one. Our
hosts have done a great job decorating this cottage. They have kept a lot of
the old character of the house, such as the stained glass windows. The
lots on which these houses stand, are very narrow, so you add to the rear of
the cottage if you need to expand your home.
This one also has a lovely rock style garden on the hill behind the
house. We have hit the jackpot again by
having great hosts.
Back again… We just returned from the BBQ and a short drive
though “The Valley”. Attending the BBQ
were people from 3 different Rotary Clubs, friends, and even a couple from the
local Lion’s Club. The location was at a cottage in the country – the BBQ was
in the back garden area which had lots of native plants. The weather made it a lovely day.
The BBQ began with plenty of wine and great cheese. When the
grill was fired up, 4 meats were prepared, plus there were salads, damper and
more wine.
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| Sunday BBQ |
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| Our Chefs |
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| Our Host and Frienda at the BBQ |
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| Preparing the Damper |
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| The BBQ Host with is Damper |
Damper is a simple bread, baked in cast iron pots by the
campfire – The pot is first heated in the hot coals, the dough is then placed
inside, it is covered with the lid before hot coals are placed on the lid –
damper bakes in 10 minutes. It has a
wonderful crust and it is very tender on the inside! The original recipes have no leavening, but
when soda was available they used it, thus it is really a type of soda bread (now
most recipes call for self-rising flour). It was delicious. Damper was a staple for those living on the
frontier, and for stockman moving their herds. It is a perfect complement for campfire
stews on the trail and now at BBQ’s. They
gave us a real country BBQ – yes, our hair smells of smoke, but who cares!
After the BBQ we drove around the valley, and to the
Seppeltsfield winery. This is one of the
oldest wineries in the valley. The
grounds of the winery are lovely. It has
been a lovely day and the weather was perfect.
We are now back at the house, relaxing, before a pasta dinner with our
wonderful.
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| Palm Tree lined Road near the Winery |
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| Ornate Country Lutheran Church |
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