German settlers

I didn't know Australia had begun as a prison ... did you? Apparently Adelaide was one of the few towns that began as , well, a normal town without the "prisoner" element, and for that they are quite proud. Many Germans came out here in the 19th century and established both the vineyards and the old towns that dot the coast line. One such place is Hahndorf, a step back into turn-of-the-century settlers land. It is your typical one road town ... everything you want to see and do is pretty much on the main "high street". There's a berry picking farm that makes some darn good jellies and preserves so that was my first port of call, bien sur! I figured I could take some back to my lovely host who has lent me her oh-so-cool convertible car to zoom around the hills while she's at work in the office. This is, indeed, the life of leisure. So I went about my business, tasting jams, buying home-made dark, german rye bread loaves, snapping at the quaint houses and feasting in a local delicacy for lunch: sausage with sauerkraut. I then zoomed off to a nearby winery for a taste of their reds, non of which amazed me and then on the off chance, tried a white pinot gris and bought 2 bottles to bring home. So there you go...that was my day, in a far flung Australian hill town that looked more like a Bavarian outpost on a very lucky sunny day than an outback setting of Crocodile Dundee. Australia sure has some quirky spots, which I do hope to visit soon. In the meantime, german sausages down under it is!