Pedalling made fun!

Family coming to town is always something fun and exciting, especially when it's a city we haven't lived in before. Exploration, history, touring and fun is what's on the menu!  Here in Savannah, you have all that and more, not to mention that you have many different modes to take of advantage of all the city has to offer.

Savannah Slow Ride logo used from TripAdvisor.

So when our friends recently came to visit, we decided Savannah Slow Ride was the way to go!

If you aren't familiar with the concept, don't worry, we weren't either! I do believe that Savannah is the only city who has anything like this. Picture this: a bike, 15 riders, sitting bench style, rolling through the historic district, our guide giving us magnificent stories of the people and events of the charming city of Savannah, all the while steering towards various pub stops. Sounds great doesn't it? Well it was a BLAST! Savannah Slow Ride is the only company in Savannah providing anything close to this 2 hour tour.

Everyone loves lists and they make for easy reading. I am including a Star rating so make it easier, with 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest.

So here goes my Savannah Slow Ride experience listed, for you, and your reading pleasure.

1. Their website was very user friendly. It allowed us to see the various tours available for our group, and the pricing (group and individual). We could actually view the availability of guides for the time slot we wanted. When the tour we wanted didn't come up, we called the number and we were greeted by a friendly and helpful person. The entire booking process took about 10-15 minutes, and they sent us an email confirmation immediately. Be prepared the tour in its entirety because they are pre-paid tours. The only drawback about the website is they don't tell you where they have scheduled the stops, or how the stops differ from tour to tour. Website rates 4 out of 5 stars for usability and ease of booking.
2. We originally wanted to go on the Pub Tour, however they do not permit anyone under 21 on the pub tour. Our DD, which simultaneously stands for Designated Driver and Darling Daughter, is under 21and despite her DD status was not allowed. So we went with the Historic Tour- only to find out that the stops were exactly the same. Odd. 
3. On the day of the tour they were very easy to find- much easier than parking in Savannah, but that's a different post. We arrived early, as we were told, and got our waivers signed. This was a piece of cake! Within a short window after we arrived, we boarded our "craft". For their 'game day' ease, I give them a 5 out of 5. It was smooth, fast, and we were on board and having fun in no time at all. 
4. Our guide, Mike, had a great attitude and was incredibly knowledgeable about his Savannah history. His ability to weave tales and make history interesting made this tour phenomenal. He was also funny, and sarcastic and entertaining! Mike gets 5 stars as our guide.
5. Now for the "craft"- it's a 15 person pedalling bench-bicycle-apparatus that is steered (and stopped)by the guide but pedalled by the guests. That being said, I would recommend getting all 15 seats occupied by your party, or close to it. We had 7 people on the "craft" and 6 others. In an effort not to bash people I don't know, let's just say our 7 people did 99% of the work. At one point we are all pedalling, while they have they legs up on the railing. That sucked! Also let it be known that there are several seats they do not have pedals due to their location on the"craft". So position people according to who will pedal, and who might be along for the "ride". Oh! And don't forget to distribute your party evenly! Our entire party sat on one side of the "craft", which made it difficult to talk to each other and to see each other. Never mind the fact that all of our pedalers were on one side of the "craft". Since this issue had nothing to do with the actual company, but still take this bit of advice. Just be warned! You will work harder if others won't!



Photo taken from TripAdvisor-
Savannah Slow Ride.

6. The tour lasted 2 hrs, which is just enough to work up a sweat (even on a comfortable spring Saturday) and get heavily buzzed. We visited several cool historic sites and bars. Overall the tour was pleasant and informative, while still giving the drunks on board (myself included) the pit stops we needed to refuel. Tour itself gets a 5 out 5. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the afternoon and our friends in from upstate New York loved it as well! It is a unique experience they won't soon forget! 

Lastly, if you read other reviews out there (like I did before we did it), some will bitch about the heat, the physical exertion, and how exhausted they were at the end. Let's be real here for a minute.... you are on an eco-friendly craft where you have to pedal to make it run. Yup, that's physical! Savannah's heat can be brutal! I don't suggest you doing this in the middle of the day in the middle of summer. Hell doing anything but AC, the pool, the beach or a cold damn shower is highly unrecommended in the middle of Savannah summers. 

What I am trying to summarize is that you need to go into it with the right expectations, and I hope this review gives you that insight! 

Now pedal on my friends! 

**All photos and logos used are property of Savannah Slow Ride, and are used with the sole purpose of reviewing our experience. I do not own the copyrights to these photos and no copyright infringement is intended. 

The Bier Haus Gastropub, Savannah

So we are in Savannah, or as they say around here, Slow-vannah. I'm not really sure why they call it that because there is so much to do here, and it always seems like the city is alive with energy. I love it!

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This past Saturday we had the opportunity to try out a Savannah first: The Bier Haus Gastropub.

I honestly don't remember exactly how we heard of this restaurant, but it was probably doing an internet search for German beer in Savannah. *laugh* Either way, we enjoyed it.

When we arrived at the restaurant, the server was very friendly and helpful. The decor was light and airy, which was great for Savannah, but not very authentic German. The menu was varied, but still very much Americanized. For example, you could order Pommes Frites, which are french fries and not German in my book, with 'käse cheese' on them.  Kinda redundant because käse is cheese. So french fries with cheese cheese on them. Ok, I'll bite. Despite the language barrier on the menu, the fries were good- not authentic but certainly tasty. They were wedge cut, fresh fries drowned in melted white cheese reminiscent of Mexican queso dip.

The rest of the menu was a blend of bizarre non-German treats. We had Serrano ham with a tomato basil pesto on crostini bread. Again, very, very tasty but NOT AT ALL German, but again par for the course with the menu. Other strange items were mussels, portabella mushrooms, and fried artichokes with pancetta. The only authentic German items were Schnitzel and bratwurst, at least in theory.

We both ordered the Schnitzel with two sides, which was actually good. It was lightly breaded and not overcooked. The potato salad was closer to German cuisine than most of the menu, with it's decent vinegar based flavor, and my other choice was sauerkraut which was wasn't bad.

The beer list was far more impressive than the menu, and we enjoyed the selection they had on tap. I'm more of a Belgian beer kinda gal, while hubby really enjoys the Konig Ludwig Dunkel Weissbier. For us the beer selection was worth the visit. They have over 20 beers on draft and twice that many bottled beers. If you are looking to sample some international beers at a reasonable cost, it is worth the visit.

Lastly, I can't say enough about the service. Of all the things, the service was most like Germany than anything else. We sat for about 3 hours with little interruptions and leisurely drank our beers, had an app or two, and eventually ordered lunch. The wait staff was attentive without being overbearing and even spoke a little German- well at least she pronounced things in proper German.

After 3 years in Germany, I didn't it take me back to my favorite place in the world, but it was enough nostalgia to make it worth a second trip, if for nothing else than the Le Blond Bruxelles.

On a scale of 1-10 here is how I rate this restaurant:

Ambience: 6
Menu: 6
Beer Menu: 8
Pricing: 7
Quality: 7