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Lutherstuben RestaurantFrom: Eisenach, Germany
It may be touristy, but the Lutherstuben restaurant at the Ringhotel Eisenacher Hof is also a lot of fun--especially if you're visiting with friends.
It's the German answer
to the "medieval banquets" that have long been popular in the U.S. and Britain,
but on a smaller scale: The Eisenacher Hof's restaurant consists of a few small
rooms, instead of a banquet hall, and the tone is set by Martin Luther rather
than Henry VIII.
I had dinner at the Lutherstuben with a small group of travel
writers and tourist-office representatives.
When we arrived at the restaurant,
we were shown to a rustic table in a candlelit room and given white linen bibs
to protect our clothing.
(As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we noticed that
we were the only diners wearing bibs; the locals were either neater eaters or
more inhibited than we were.) We ordered drinks, which were served in earthenware tumblers
with cone-shaped bottoms that fit into holes on the tabletop. (We were told
that, in Martin Luther's day, diners didn't sip their beer: They swigged it,
then set their empty tumblers upside-down on the table to show that they were
ready for a refill.) Next, we took our pottery bowls to a soup station, where we had
a choice of two different soups. The soup went well with the crusty peasant
bread at our table, which may have been the best white bread I've ever eaten in
Germany. A few minutes later, waitresses brought wooden racks laden with grilled
meats and vegetables on long skewers. (Another rack held a meter-long
Bratwurst sausage.) We were also given bowls of potatoes, red cabbage, and
other vegetables to pass around the table. Dessert was a long skewer with thick slices of apples and other
fruit that had been rolled in sugar, doused with a liqueur, and set on fire.
(See photo at top of page.) After the flames died down, the narrow wooden trough
beneath the skewer contained chunks of liqueur-flavored caked sugar that most of
our group found irresistible. Dinner at the
Lutherstuben isn't high gastronomy, but it's tasty, filling, and a pleasant way
to spend an evening with companions in Eisenach, Germany. If you're the sort of person who enjoys Renaissance Faires and
other cornball theatrics, try to book a table during the "Small Luther Play" on
the first Sunday of each month.
About the author: Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation. After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (now including Germany for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post. For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials. |
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