Wisconsin Uplands: Day 2

This morning, another romantic hike, another four-course breakfast. We're really beginning to love the B&B at this point. Breakfast was a poached pear, a cranberry scone, a quiche, and sorbet. Mmm! This cooking, combined with the hot mulled cider every night, I could get used to.

First on the list today was a visit to New Glarus, which was hosting a Swiss Fest. The fest had a price tag to get in, and we were short on time, so I just bought a spaetzle maker and chatted with a local about her St. Bernard, who was adorable.


Apparently there are "dry-mouthed" St. Bernards that don't drool, and if you get a female, they are much smaller. So, I might have to look into this further.

Then, obviously, we paid the visit that was the whole point of coming to New Glarus in the first place: the New Glarus Brewery. We had a little walking tour of the brewery, and we got to chat with an employee about the beer and the company. I was really thrilled to hear that they are committed to staying small, even though that means limiting their distribution to Illinois.

We filled a bag with various goodies, including Spotted Cow glasses, New Glarus Brewing Co. t-shirts, etc. Outside, they had a tasting going on, and we sampled some of our old favorites - Stone Soup, Moon Man, Raspberry Tart - and also a new one, Golden Ale. This is part of their research and development series, available only in the shop at the brewery. We bought two large bottles at $8 a piece, so we'll be saving those for a special occasion.


So, that was obviously the highlight of pretty much the whole trip for Dave, as the Moon Man beer has overtaken Reisdorf as his favorite beer of all time. Congratulations, New Glarus.

At this point, we drove to Monticello and took our bikes on the Badger State Trail toward Monroe for lunch.


Fall colors were out, and we definitely got our exercise. On the gravel trail, sometimes it was kind of slow going, but we made it to Monroe nonetheless. In downtown Monroe, we went to Baumgartner's, a small sandwich shop. I followed in the steps of the Sun-Times reporter and got the limburger and onion sandwich.


The sandwich is served with a mint, hint hint. I took a sniff of the sandwich, and I think my direct quote was, "Dave, my sandwich smells like anus." But I ate the sandwich, and it was delicious, if a little intense. The mint did not dispel the funky breath, which pretty much stayed with me through the rest of the day. But the limburger is produced in the Monroe area, by the only company in America producing limburger. Woo to me and stinky cheese.

At this point, I was tuckered out. Dave went back and got the car, then picked me up. We noticed that the Swiss Colony has an outlet, so we're going back tomorrow. For a dessert (and in the hopes that I could dispel my breath), we went to Verona's grocery store to pick up a quart of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate ice cream. I'd heard it was good, and I was not disappointed.

More stargazing, more hot cider at the B&B, more crocheting, and then bed! I could get used to this.