Back in the Seventies, when I was saving for my first house, I was a serving wench in a German beer-hall restaurant in Hahndorf. My uniform was a Dirndl, a frilly white blouse, an apron and a green felt hat. … and that’s probably enough said about THAT!
It was a tough gig … all you could eat and drink for $20.00, with the inevitable messy consequences. But I still remember the day that two “serving blokes” wearing Lederhosen and carrying an enormous flaming Bombe Alaska on their shoulders slipped as they trooped through the bar. The lead serving bloke managed to duck as a huge metal platter shot over his head splattering burning meringue over the walls and floors like a sticky Molotov cocktail.
Some memories are just priceless!
Anyway, it’s been many years since I visited Hahndorf, and whilst some things like the pseudo-Germanic cafes and tacky souvenir shops haven’t changed, dotted along the main road there are little gems that make a visit worthwhile. Pretty little stone cottages built by German settlers, vineyards, quality craft shops and The White House.
The White House is a renovated heritage listed cottage – with not a trace of chintz, crochet or net curtains. Score three points immediately. More points for friendly and helpful staff, reasonably priced local wine and rustic, bistro style locally sourced food. Add an open log-fire on a chilly 10C day and you have an all round enjoyable experience.
We had a tasty lunch of Croque Monsieur (who doesn’t love Gruyère?) and a tender, tomato rich Lamb Ragout, and then finished the afternoon with a bit of shopping. I came home with a new winter woolly made from merino and possum wools from New Zealand. (The Australian brush-tailed possum being an introduced pest which has no natural predators, and is decimating New Zealand’s native forests ) Just doing my bit and being ecologically responsible!
A Bellingen Diary 