Today we spent much of the day relaxing (hoping to get over this stomach bug) and settling into Böblingen. For dinner we went with some friends to an amazing restaurant called Krabba-Nescht, which means Crow’s Nest. It’s in a tiny town called Holzbronn hidden in the hills along the edge of the Black Forrest. There are no billboards in Germany so there aren’t any signs pointing the way, and when you do find the town the restaurant is on a side-street, which means you would probably never find it by accident. So basically their clientele are not drive-by impulse diners! However, word seems to have gotten around because on any given night you will find the place packed and the little street even gets crammed with tour busses that bring their guests to this one-of-a-kind dining experience.

I can’t really describe it so you’ll have to go see for yourself. Basically the place is made out of wood and has a large tree growing in the middle of it. The atomosphere is warm and loud, and the crowd of locals (and by local I’m guessing many are tourists from around Germany because even THEY take pictures) breaks into an occasional boisterous German drinking song. I would describe the food as small-town country home cooking at its best (though not the “country” I’m used to), and it’s dirt cheap which makes it all the sweeter.

I got the classic schnitzel (I’d say it’s like a chicken-fried steak made out of pork if that makes any sense) which was great and I think it was only about $7. The beer is also a must-try. For one thing it’s the same price as ordering water, but more importantly they have a variety of custom-mixed brews including cola-beer, banana-beer, and cherry-beer–all of which were good. They didn’t speak English and that was great–you really feel like you’re experiencing a special part of the local culture.

A view from the apartment where we are staying in Böblingen.

The Krabba-Nescht.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 1st, 2005 at 10:49 pm and is filed under Travel, Just for fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.