Around 9 p.m. I arrived in Essen. I wanted to ask the front desk manager at the hotel where I could find a decent Italian restaurant, but then I noticed that the Welcome Hotel was serving dinner as well.
The restaurant was rather empty but a rather empty restaurant should not be taken as a bad sign.
I remembered that a couple of months ago I had eaten dinner at a Welcome Hotel in Darmstadt; it had been a surprisingly pleasant experience. I testify: the venison at the Welcome Hotel in Darmstadt is excellent.
In Essen the Welcome Hotel had steak with strawberries on the menu.
The charming waitress explained: “We have a special berries menu.”
“Why not,” I answered.
And the steak with strawberries turned out to be at least as good as steak with mushrooms.
“We should do this more often,” I whispered to myself.