Back To Portmann Cigars In The Vintage VW Bus
8 Oct
It was the annual VW Bus ride ( with a large flowerpot as an ashtray ) with Frank and Jos down to Switzerland and Portmann cigars.
A few boxes had to be picked up and, honestly, we missed the friendship, hospitality and love that the whole Portmann family extends to all their customers and friends.
Luckily it was just a few boxes as I had learned the day earlier to our departure that my right shoulder is not just inflamed but also shows a crack in the shoulder joint … no way I could lift a humidor 🙂
After getting an injection to ease the pain in the morning I met Frank and Jos at Cafe Fritz where Andreas the pharmacist invited us to a good lunch before hopping into the 21 year old VW Bus and taking off on a very busy Friday afternoon besieged by long traffic jams and road construction that added almost an additional 2 hrs to our ride – made comfortable by a few cigars and good fun.
In Konstanz it was a good Thai dinner, a cigar outside the hotel in the windy cold and an early night for us.
Next morning started sunny and calm with cigars after breakfast and by 9 AM we were at Portmann to greet Marlene, Urs, Marc and all the regular friends and customers that will drop by for a cigar, a chat, a coffee or a rum. Perfect place to meet old friends and make new ones.
Sensational service as always so we smoked a few cigars while selecting the boxes and shared the relaxed and familiar atmosphere with the other clients and friends.
Then it was a walk in the sun to Konstanz across the border, and while Frank and Jos took a boat ride in Lake Constance I did some shopping, sipped some champagne, had a fantastic Chicken Tikka at the Singaporean restaurant Karma and a nice Partagas Ser E Nr 2 in the afternoon sun.
We left Portmann with a satisfied and happy feeling – me especially as I received a surprise LGC MdO Nr 3 box from 2002 signed by Urs, Habano Man of the year 2013.
Very proud !
The ride back was faster via an alternate Autobahn and we only needed 3hrs45 for the 380 km – not bad considering we never passed 115 km/h …
It was back to Cafe Fritz and Schnitzels for the guys followed by good cigars at the Irish pub.
Conversation was next year’s Cuba trip when Frank and I will take Jos along, as former Formula and endurance rally driver as well as a passionate mechanic we want to give him a week of classic cars and petrol fumes in Havana – cannot be more toxic than the air inside the VW bus when we three ride and smoke … 🙂
Nino
