Alte Bäckerei

Monschau and the Rursee were wonderful to visit, and we'll definitely return to the area. The Alte Bäckerei in Monschau-Höfen, though, won't work for us again. My husband refuses, and after the number of head bumps, I understand why. The house suits people who stay alert as they move around; daydreamers or anyone not especially attentive might want to avoid it. We spent a long weekend there. The house has charm, and the living and dining room is spacious and nicely furnished, with local information and sofas covered by blankets. I liked that, since we bring blankets ourselves to protect sofas from our dogs. The entrance is also roomy, with chairs for outside, a pet water bowl, event information, and space to store e-bikes. The route to the living area felt safe. The main issue is the low doorways. The opening from the living room into the kitchen is only about 1.5 meters high. My 1.85-meter-tall husband hit his head hard enough to bleed. The kitchen has what you need, including a small dishwasher and large fridge, and leads to a modern, attractive bathroom with a shower, washer and dryer, and a standard-height door. From the kitchen there's also a hall entrance with a stone frame around 1.7 meters high, so watch your head there too. Upstairs, a staircase leads to a large street-facing bedroom with two beds around 1.8 by 2 meters. You need to duck a bit. Another bedroom, with a TV and a similarly sized bed, is reached over a high step after passing under two door frames. Coming back out means ducking very low under both frames, then taking another step into the hall before standing up. There were bloody injuries there too. The upstairs bathroom is modern and functional. The house is on a main road, but the traffic wasn't especially bothersome. Most windows are still single-glazed. At the front, there's a fence, a small paved and gravel path, plenty of parking, a seating spot, and a large weedy patch that looked unattractive and could easily be tidied up. There are two bathrooms, lots of sleeping options, including a large sofa in the living room, and the usual things needed in a vacation home. Bed linen, one hand towel and one bath towel, kitchen towels, and dishwasher tablets were provided. A guest towel and bath mat might have been nice, but we bring those anyway, so their absence didn't bother us. Dogs are welcome and have plenty of space. Free Wi-Fi was available, but the connection kept cutting out.

Höfen has this lovely little holiday home right in the center. It's a short walk from there to either the national park or the church, and there's a bus stop nearby. Bus line 84 goes to the old town of Monschau.

The cakes are delicious, the service is friendly, and they also serve hot food.