Steiff Bears and Gluten Free Food in Geingen, Germany

Our next stop on our Germany adventure, was Geingen, home of the Steiff Teddy Bear Museum.  My son Colin had insisted that this be included on our itinerary, over his father's objections.  As it turned out, it was quite cute and well done, and my husband enjoyed it.  Be warned that the bears are extremely overpriced.  We left with two outrageously expensive bears, but if I had it to do over again, I would have taken the time to go to the nearby Steiff outlet and get souvenirs there instead.

We stayed at the Ambient Hotel Salzburger Hof, walking distance to the museum.  It was not a luxury hotel, but it was clean and charming, and we were able to get a room that slept four people.

Having been burned by the gluten and bratwurst at Neuschwanstein, my husband was determined to get a better meal, and was skeptical of eating at the hotel.  Choices were limited in Geingen, however, and we ended up eating at the hotel after all.  What a good decision!!  The food was simple German cuisine, perfectly executed.  They not only understood "gluten-free" but actually brought be some gluten free bread!  It was some type of whole grain brown bread and it was very good.  I ordered a veal cutlet, which they prepared without breading or gravy, and it was served with potatoes and white asparagus.  This was our first introduction to white asparagus on this trip, but it would not be our last.  Apparently the Germans are crazy for white asparagus, as it was nearly every menu we saw for the rest of the trip.  I still prefer green asparagus, but it was fun to have the white version for a change.

GF Veal and White Asparagus at Salzburger Hof

GF Potatoes at Salzburger Hof

My kids in the cozy dining room at Salzburger Hof

Just outside the restaurant was a koi pond and small garden.  I am a sucker for koi ponds.

Koi Pond at Salzburger Hof

Breakfast was included in our stay, so in the morning we had more of that delicious GF bread (it took them quite a while to bring it -- they had intended to defrost it that morning, but forgot.  We were not in a hurry, however, so I waited the 20 minutes it took to bake.)  Of course, there was nutella to go with the bread, as well as my brie, which I gladly ate every morning.  They also made my daughter some scrambled eggs, and there was plenty of fruit, so all in all an excellent breakfast.

Sandy