Danke schoen, darling!

Hahndorf - 20 mins SE of Adelaide
Image credit here

One of the great things about Adelaide is that you're pretty much 20 minutes from anywhere - from a major shopping centre, from a beach, from a winery, or from gently rolling hills and fresh country air.

Case in point: drive for 20 minutes south-east of the CBD into the Adelaide Hills and you'll come to the lovely town of Hahndorf.  Even when the city bakes in the summer sun, Hahndorf remains a lush and green place.  It is also classified as Australia's oldest German settlement.

But Hahndorf was an area steeped in history well before the Europeans arrived.  For over 2,000 years the Peramangk people occupied the land where Hahndorf is today and they were sustained by its plentiful supply of native flora and fauna.  By the early 1830s the Europeans had settled in Adelaide and in 1838, a South Australian businessman named George Fife Angas went to London to promote colonisation here.  On his travels he met a man named Pastor Kavel who was trying to help German Lutherans who were being persecuted by the King of Prussia.  Angas persuaded Kavel that South Australia was an ideal place to escape to, and the first cohort of German settlers arrived here the following year.  Thirty-eight families established their homes in Hahndorf, and while it was originally a farming village, Hahndorf ultimately became a major service centre for the surrounding region, and businesses prospered.  These days, Hahndorf remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city.

We started our day with a visit to The Cedars, one of Australia's historic and artistic treasures.  It was the home of Hans Heysen, master of the Australian landscape and also showcases the work of his talented daughter, Nora Heysen.  An accomplished artist in her own right, in 1938 Nora was the first woman to win the Archibald Prize.  At the Cedars, you can tour the Heysen family home, and even look through the famous artist's studio, which is now the oldest purpose-built artist's studio in the country.

With our bellies growling, it was time for lunch and we drove along the Main Street, under the 100-year old elm trees that line the sides of the road, shading the heritage-listed homes and stores.  There were signs up everywhere celebrating the 175th anniversary of German settlement in the area so we felt it was rather fitting to snag a table inside The German Arms, which was established here in 1839.  Their chicken schnitzels, German beers, and crisp ciders are all pretty amazing - you heard it here first.

We walked off lunch by dawdling along the beautiful Main Street, weaving in and out of the old stores.  The architecture here is so charming and many of the stores even sell old-time goods like boiled sweets, home-made candles, and freshly-made ice-cream, prepared with recipes that haven't changed for generations.  Local artists are thriving here and their works are on display in tiny galleries lining the Main Street.  I found the indigenous artwork at The Aboriginal Art House to be particularly impressive, but you know that I am a huge sucker for colour.

At this point in the warm afternoon, hydration was essential so we called into the beautiful, brand new cellar door location for Handcrafted by Geoff Hardy.  Geoff's son Seb took great care of us and made sure I sampled the delicious Fiano 2014, which of course I had to purchase at the end of the wine tasting.  Make sure you call in to see the Hardys when you're in Hahndorf - they will not steer you wrong.

On the way home, we called in to see another South Australian family dynasty- the Beerenberg Family Farm.  We chose not to pick our own strawberries (though you can, from November to April); rather, we left such sporty activities to the young families.  Instead, we just browsed the storefront area and came home with armloads of fresh jams, chutneys, and sauces.  Definitely worth a look to score some tasty treats at the end of a long day.

I got a bit snap-happy today too, and I've done my best to write captions against most of the photos in this album.  Check out the Hahndorf photos in the album below.

Post by The ABCs of NYC.