Zum Baren

with Kirsten, Sandra and Lutz

I wrote about the hotel and restaurant in OberBarenburg before, and the spectacular cuisine to be found high in the Ore Mountains, far from most of civilization. As I returned this trip...it was an early start for winter in the Saxony region. Half a meter of snow fell in 3 days, and temperatures dipped to below -19C.

As we drove up, this was the scene which greeted us...a kind of winter wonderland.



And as we reached, Zum Baren...



Compare with the pics I took when I was last here in May...there was just snow everywhere.

It was almost Christmas, so on the reception was a rather interesting decoration, with peanuts in their shells...



The food is still exceptional in this place. It never ceases to amaze me...small little restaurant, almost in the middle of nowhere...we were the only table for lunch...and such excellent cooking. Kudos to the chef for keeping his/her craft high.

I started with a pumpkin soup...made with Japanese pumpkin (!), and edelberries swimming within:



Needless to say, superb tasting...and nice as it was warming to the body and soul.

And for my mains, I had a platter from the sea...flounder with scallops.



The flounder was fresh (would have been a surprise as this is high in the mountains, far from the ocean, but since I had fish the last time, I was not surprised it was very fresh), beautiful tasting fish...cooked just right. The scallop was sweet, fresh...with a nice breath of the sea. And the fish sat on some pasta. The sauce was thick, rich, and nicely complemented the dish. Another superb dish. Loved it.

After the lunch, the ladies had a spot of snowball fight...:-)





Restaurant at the Hotel Zum Baren
Talblick 6
01773 Altenberg, Germany