Day 78: An inspection of Hahndorf (18/08/12)

With the weather having settled down somewhat, we decided we would go for a drive around the Adelaide Hills to see what’s what. The natural starting point was the Mount Lofty Lookout. This turned out to be a disappointment. We had hoped to improve on our viewing of Adelaide from this point. In 2006 we had stood there looking down on a city wreathed in bushfire smoke with the sea beyond barely visible. This time the clouds (and rain) came down around the hills and Adelaide once more was only just visible.

Adelaide from Mt Lofty in 2006 wreathed in bushfire smoke.

Adelaide from Mt Lofty in 2012 in a south-westerly gale

Rather than sightsee around the gray and wet hills, we decided to revisit Hahndorf instead. Our previous visit had been in summer on a very hot day. This time we visited in winter: the trees were bare, there was a constant drizzle. Yet the place was full of life – hundreds of visitors, the restaurants and pubs were doing a roaring trade and every little specialty shop was open. We went from shop to shop to our hearts’ content, enjoying the place immensely. There was even a shop with Indian stuff – elephant’s feet and incense and the like, run by an old Sikh gentleman. I couldn’t imagine buying anything there, but lingered in the shop anyway because of the Grieg piano concerto on the sound system. Perfect!

We wanted to go and have lunch in the Hahndorf Inn where we had been with the kids. But there was such a long waiting line for tables that we went on and found an almost empty German restaurant where we had a lovely meal. I had the German sausage dish – chock-full of healthy calories and goodness, and Joke had a less calorific quiche. We both schmacked our lipps mit pleasure, it was so gut!

Courtyard of the Hahndorf Museum

Inside the Hahndorf Museum

It might be wet, but Hahndorf was still crowded.

The Hahndorf Inn

On the way back to the car we bought a pair of microwaveable slippers for Joke. Miriam has recently acquired a set of these and lo! there they were in this Hahndorf store. They are a disgusting purple colour, but they will do the job for Joke to warm her eternally cold feet!
We went home via Glenelg and the Adelaide beaches.

The beach at Glenelg

A view into Glenelg from the jetty. The clouds stayed where they were....