Lobethal to Hahndorf

The largest Brewing Company is owned by the Japanese, but that aside, South Australian  “Beer” is actually  a lager beer, which the boys don’t like. Andrew has a list of the Microbrewery places in South Australia. They consider Lobethal to be one of the best. Actually I think almost all of the beer manufacturing in South Australia is foreign owned.  I liked  Lobethal., a quiet place, not very overtly German, like some of the other towns in the area – particularly our next stop. I had a wander around the  main street, which for a weekday, was very quiet.  I did, of course, find the little white church and took photographs of   the 1922 foundation stone. Around the place there were many  posts and posters highlighting the benefits of the Lobethal Lutheran  School.  All this came about in 1838 when George Fife Angas left South Australia to recruit prospective colonist for the new  Province in South Australia.  A number of Lutherans were anxious to leave the town of Klemzig In Prussia because of persecution by the   King of Prussia. They were led by their Pastor,  Augusta Ludwig Kavel. They settled in  a small parcel of land by the River Torrens which they called Klemzig after the town they had left. Over the years the area has been absorbed into the City of Adelaide. The second wave of German Settlers move further into the interior of the colony and purchased land there. There were a number of settlements of which Lobethal and Hahndorf are

but two.  With the anti-German feeling during the World War One, many of the German names were abolished and  changed – Lobethal became Tweedvale. Most of the names were changed back by government decree in 1934 all except  Petersburg. Petersburg became simply Peterborough. In 1934 when the other towns were allowed to return to their original names, Peterborough decided not to and to remain as it was. Interestingly, the first ever Lutheran Church in Australia was built in Lobethal and the 1641 Bible of Pastor Kavel is kept there.  Not too sure about that so I will have to do some searching.

We spent some time wandering around Lobethal before heading off to Hahndorf for a late lunch. John had been there before so he chose the  place where we would have our meal. We had a quiet walk through the local area before entering the  “German Arms Hotel” Hahndorf was one of the areas settled by the  German Settlers who became prosperous in the new settlement.  The South Australian Wine industry, the largest in Australia had its Genesis here with several German families who realised that the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills was perfect

for  growing grapes and producing wine. There are a large number of Wineries in this area and I am led to understand the the Wolf Blass Gallery and Museum will be built at Hahndorf. Unlike Lobethal, Hahndorf displays its German Heritage  in a number of ways, not the least of which is its food and restaurants. Having been here several times, John took me to the German Arms a German Bierhaus and Restaurant. Because of

the long drive ahead of us we settled on Lemonade ( boo — hiss)  John  ordered a Trio of German Wurt with some sauce, -which he said was really good. I was  less adventurous and had  a Chicken and Prawn Pasta with a really nice  cheese sauce. The portions were very large and I was unable to finish my meal. The staff did offer me a take-away box, but I felt it was a long drive and quite warm – too warm to carry in a car for 550 kilometers. Not being a food blogger in any way shape or form, it never really occurred to me to take photographs of our meal.  The place was really nice, the staff friendly,  the service excellent  and it just had a really good atmosphere. I would have liked to have spent a lot more time there.

Leaving the German Arms carpark  John set the  Tom Tom for Tea Tree Plaza. I needed to go there to get some things for the

church before heading home. As I said in  the previous post, our drive through to Lobethal and then to Hahndorf was uphill, downhill, narrow roads, sharp twists and turns, well,  less than ten minutes after leaving Hahndorf we  were on the approach road to the South Eastern Freeway and  a short while later at Adelaide. I asked John why we didn’t go that way in the first place,  “my way was more adventurous”.  Sheesh…