A Rum Runner, of Sorts

Friday morning, I said good bye to Sue and Keith but not before going to one of the 3 boulangeries in the village to pick up some breakfast pastries.  The one I have gone to for years has new owners - a couple probably in their mid-30s.  Some of the items haven't changed but some are new, including a lovely cinnamon Danish-style concoction.  The only problem is that they don't make too many of them and even getting there by 8:30 still meant I missed out on them both yesterday and today.  Damn!  However, the almond croissants more than make up for it.  What I did do on my way there, we take a few photos of buildings in the village, including the bakery.
 

Forgot to mention Sue and I created this savoury tarte as part of the dinner we
prepared last evening for her friend, Pascale, and the three of us.  Yummy! 

 

Wendorf's neighbour's very neatly stacked wood

 

Chez Nino, the nearby pizzeria and restaurant

La Vieille Caserne - the corner "pub"



My preferred boulangerie


My next destination was the small town of Feldmeilen, not far from Zürich, to visit friends there.  They had asked me to pick up some Alsatian wine - a lot of it - for them so, along with my suitcase and carry-on bag, four boxes of precious Alsatian white were stowed in my trunk plus I had two additional bottles as a birthday gift for Kathrin.  I knew if I were Swiss that I would have to pay duty to bring them into the country.  However, I am driving a German car and, as I approached the border, I knew the border guard would be much more focussed on me purchasing a "vignette" (sticker) for my car which is required if you want to drive on the CH autobahn.  The cost is 40 Euros regardless if you visit the country for one hour, one day, one week, one month or one year!   At least the Austrians and the Slovakians let you purchase one for a limited period of time at a discounted price; not so, those Swiss.  The border patrol guy looked at my car, quickly spotted that I had no vignette, pulled me aside, said Guten Tag (good day in German) and then asked me if I had anything to declare.  I said no (how was I to know I wasn't supposed to be bringing wine in and besides I could be taking it to Italy or Austria anyway.  I quickly asked him where I could buy a vignette and he turned all smiles and I drove over to a booth following him where I got the sticker and placed it on the windshield.  He then wanted to chat - guess it was a slow day at the Rheinfelden border.  He asked me what country I was from and, well didn't he know about Canada (had a friend who went to Saskatchewan to farm) and knew that Victoria and Vancouver were in BC.  I am sure he would have chatted with me for a while but another car pulled up to fork over another 40 Euros and I was "free" to go.  I have to confess this wasn't the first time I have somewhat surreptitiously understated my cargo going into a country.  However, it has been many years since I have done that sort of thing. 

I was in Zürich just over 2 hours after leaving the Wendorf's but Mindy (my not so trusty Garmin) once again led me astray.  (This happened a lot when my sister and I were in the UK in 2015!  I should have learned my lesson!)  I had programmed it to get me to Feldmeilen where the Jekers live but, for some reason, I was taken on a circuitous route and I found myself in the centre of Zürich contending with noon hour traffic.  Not fun dodging bikes, trams, and pedestrians!  That also delayed my arrival by over 3/4 hour.  However, once I spotted the lake, I did a U-turn to get myself in the correct direction (not sure the Swiss do those manoeuvres!) and shortly afterwards I pulled into the townhouse complex parking lot.  Thankfully, the Freudenreich wine is now safely stored in Roger and Kathrin's wine cellar.  I'm not sure how safe it is with me nearby, however!

So, I guess I was a bit of a wine smuggler (aka rum runner) today.  Mea culpa!