On Monday I went on a short day trip to Mettlach, Germany, with a tour group. (The day turned out shorter than advertised because a handful of tour goers were disappointed with the shopping options.... grrr.... )
But anyway, Mettlach is a small town in a corner of Germany near the borders of Luxemburg and France, on the Saar River. It is one of the manufacturing locations for Villeroy and Boch, a company that's been around for over 300 years. They make everything from floor tile to bathroom fixtures to the probably better known ceramic and porcelain dishes, crystal stemware, and steins. Mettlach is home to a small but quite interesting museum and a couple of outlet stores, including one for Villeroy and Boch tableware.
We were greeted by snow that morning - though it was a gray day, it was kinda pretty with all that white stuff. It mostly melted toward the end of the day, though.
The first stop for most of us (excluding the ones who ran off to shop shop shop then wanted to leave early) was a trip through the museum. It's not really huge, but it's really quite nice. In one area, they've set up rooms with tables all laid out with the company's tablewares - some as cafe tables, some as kitchen nooks, some as outdoor patio tables. They even had the "day" cycle through - the blinds would come down, lights come on, then dim, then a skylight lit up, then the blinds went back up and so on. I guess that's so you get the chance to see the products in different lights.
They had a gorgeous cafe, all done in the company's tiles. They make a great cappuccino if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
They had a room full of displays in glass cases, showing examples of various products throughout the centuries that had been produced by Villeroy and Boch. Because of the glass and the lighting, it wasn't very easy to take pictures, but I was especially struck by the detail and craftsmanship of a couple of the steins.
Finally, they had a big room set up with a long table, featuring members of the Villeroy and Boch families at a wedding dinner party. The characters are considerably oversized and I'm not entirely sure from what material they're made. Quite entertaining!
I very much enjoyed the day despite the "we need to get back, there's nothing to do!" bunch. I didn't buy anything from the Villeroy and Boch outlet, but I did pick up a couple of nifty cat food bowls at a store nearby. Since it's not very far from Ramstein and I do head over there on occasion, I may stop by again for a longer visit.
I'm happy to share the adventures and the pictures. If I didn't share them here, the poor little pictures would just sit on my hard drive and what fun would that be for them? :-) Thanks!
Lovely! When I was a teenager I had a penpal from Germany (Hamburg area). We kept in contact for years (she even came for a 2 week visit when I was in grade 11) and when I got married she sent me a beautiful Villeroy & Boch platter.
