In March, when our would-be new dog escaped from his pet transport and was later dispatched on the Autobahn, I joined a bunch of local Facebook groups spreading the news of his disappearance. Although the dog adoption did not work out, I stayed a member of the local groups. One Facebook group that has been particularly helpful is the Wir In Hofheim group.
We don’t live in Hofheim, but it’s very close to our neck of the woods. Though the Breckenheim community does have a Facebook group, it’s not as active or entertaining as the Hofheim group is. I should thank my Stuttgart area German friend, Susanne, for suggesting that I join these groups, even though they are mostly conducted in German. I’m learning a lot, not just about the local culture, but also language and community hot spots. It’s also a place where people sell things.
A couple of weeks ago, someone in the Hofheim group shared a link to a restaurant called Blanca Bistro. The food looked and sounded so good that I told Bill we needed to try it. Last night, we finally got our chance when Bill ordered take out.
Blanca Bistro serves healthy food. It appears to be mostly empanadas, salads, burritos, and Middle Eastern favorites like falafel and hummus. There are many vegan and vegetarian options, although the restaurant does serve beef and chicken, too. Last night, Bill got us a vegetarian tapas plate and chicken empanadas. He said when he went into the restaurant to get the food, it smelled wonderful in there. If we weren’t on lockdown, I think we’d happily go there to eat. I would love to eat better food, and if they can make vegetarian or vegan food that appeals to me, I’m all for it. I’d like to stop eating so much meat.
Here’s a picture of last night’s fabulous dinner. I am not a big “healthy food” fan, but I have to say that this food would make me a believer. Bill and I both felt great after we ate. The cartons were eco friendly and biodegradable. Only the sauces came in plastic.
The carton on the left contains two chicken empanadas and a delightful salad with greens, mangos, red peppers, and striped beets. The red dip was sort of a fresh tomato flavored sauce, while the white dip was creamy quark and chive sauce. The chicken empanada had peas, chicken, raisins, and carrots.
The carton on the right has a vegetarian empanada with ricotta, chia seeds, and spinach. It came with the same salad, as well as a chickpea and pomegranate seed salad, hummus, oven baked vegetables, and a falafel.
All of this cost about 27 euros, and it was delicious! We will definitely be back for more, and I will continue to keep my eyes peeled for more fun restaurants offering take out!
EDITED TO ADD… with much sadness… Blanca Bistro announced on May 8th that they will close because of COVID-19.
Bill and I had to go on post today. We both needed to get our vision tested for new driver’s licenses and I needed passport photos for a renewal. So, for the first time since March 14th, I rode in the car. This time, it was with face masks I bought from Amazon.de. They’re the surgical kind, since they were the easiest to get my hands on quickly. I bought a pack of ten.
As we passed the entrance to our neighborhood, I was reminded of a month ago, when the dog we had hoped to adopt escaped his pet transport and got hit by a car. We live very close to Autobahn 3 and Autobahn 66. A3 is literally right next to our neighborhood. I felt a little sick thinking about that poor dog disoriented, terrified, and lost as he ran away from what could have been the lap of luxury for him. He was so close… And it will probably be a while before we can get our next dog.
Maybe it’s for the best, since it’s hard to get the routine services we need. Bill needs to get new rear tires for his car, since we had snow tires put on them in France back in December. I need to get my car serviced. Arran, Bill, and I all need dental cleanings, which means a vet visit for Arran and the dentist for Bill and me. Germany is starting to loosen up some restrictions, but everyone has to wear masks now in any place where social distancing isn’t easy.
We did decide to order take out again last night. Our local Italian joint/sportsplatz, La Fonte, had pizza and pasta on offer. Bill said the family that runs the restaurant was sitting outside drinking wine as they handed over the orders. They were doing a good business. We’ll probably get more take out tonight, since I’m tired of Bill’s cooking and we want to support local businesses. I’m kidding, actually. Bill has turned into a great cook. But I do want to give some business to the restaurants, since they have provided me with content for so long.
Passed this on my walk with Arran yesterday… Wonder whose handprint that is.
Pizza with an incredibly thin crust and tortellini with ham. No wonder I look fat in passport photos. La Fonte has good food.
The drive to post was even quicker than usual, since there wasn’t so much traffic. We got to the gate and a uniformed guy in a mask asked us the three important questions about whether or not we had been exposed to COVID-19, whether or not we had symptoms, and if we were ordered to be quarantined by a medical officer. We both said no to all three questions, then presented our IDs to be scanned touchlessly.
This is probably a European eye test as opposed to an American one. It’s probably harder to cheat on it, since it’s not letters. I remember doing one in Armenia that was different, too. It was a Russian eye test.
The PX opened for regular folks (as opposed to high risk folks) at 11:00am. We needed the optical shop. A sergeant was standing there in his mask, enforcing the wait time. Finally, at 11:00, we all washed our hands, donned our masks, and went in. Taking the eye exam was weird. It was a German style test, which meant telling the examiner where the openings were. I had trouble with my left eye until I realized that the steam from behind the mask was fogging up the lens. Once I let the steam dissipate, I could read everything properly.
After the eye test, we found the passport photo booth, where I got new pictures done for my passport. I was actually quite pleased with them, since the photo I’ve had since 2011 is horrible. In that picture, I look fat, hungover, and my hair is a yucky shade of dark brown. I gave up hair color several years ago, because the hard German water mixed with dye was turning it into straw. So now I’m back to my original blonde with silvery hints. And the new pictures done by a machine are prettier and have more natural light, even if I still look fat. The weird thing is, it’s just like taking a selfie with your phone. You think you’re going to look like you do on the monitor, but your image is reversed. But for some reason, it looks less ridiculous taken by the machine.
We went into the PX to pick up a few things… I got a new hairbrush, conditioner, and lotion for my horribly dry skin. I think I have eczema on my boobs, which is not very pleasant. The hard water and constant washing has turned my skin into leather. Edited to add: my German friend says there is soft water in parts of Germany, however in all of the places I’ve lived, it’s been very hard by American standards. It’s been hardest of all in Wiesbaden, where there was so much chalk on our taps when we moved in that we couldn’t turn one of them on and had to get it replaced.We also have to use salt in the dishwasher or else our dishes look terrible.Vinegar is useful for getting rid of some of the Kalk, but it’s an ongoing battle.
After about twenty minutes with the mask, I was ready to get the hell out of the PX. It wasn’t as stifling as I feared it would be, but the thing kept going into my eyes, requiring me to touch it to adjust it, which you shouldn’t do. Anyway… since this was a momentous occasion, I did get some photos…
Rocking the fucking mask…
Bill shows he’s not blinded by the fog.
This was a painless exercise.
The machine has a recorded female voice with a British accent. I was grateful for a few minutes without the mask.
Handy service. I’d use it again. Five euros well spent.
Anyway… I’m glad to have that chore done with for now. I’ve been bugging Bill about our driver’s licenses and my passport for ages. We should have done it before this coronavirus mess started. Hindsight, unlike my eyesight, is 20/20.
With all the dining out we’ve historically done, It’s surprising that it took until last night for us to get any take out from local restaurants. I told Bill I wanted to support local joints during this time of social distancing so they can keep afloat, so he went to Restaurant Ariston in nearby Hofheim to pick up Greek food last night.
For me, he got a Grill Teller with gyros, beef cutlet, souvlaki, fries, and a salad. It came with very garlicky tzaziki. For himself, he got gyros baked in Metaxa sauce and covered with cheese with fries and a salad. We shared the food. I normally wouldn’t get the baked gyros, but they were very good. I especially enjoyed the traditional gyros, though, with the delicious tzaziki. I usually get a bit weirded out by white condiments, but I have to admit tzaziki on grilled meat is delicious!
This cost about 30 euros and we have plenty of leftovers. It’s been ages since we last had Greek food, and over a month since we last had any food from a restaurant. We used to eat Greek a lot, since we’ve always lived near Greek restaurants. There aren’t that many of them in our current area. Bill said the inside of Restaurant Ariston looks nice and the outside area would be great for this time of year, as the weather improves. Hopefully we’ll get to dine in there at some point.
We drank Armenian wine with this interesting repast. Bill said the guy running the restaurant had a few orders going. I found a couple of other restaurants we’re going to try. This week, Germany is going to loosen a few restrictions. Small businesses are going to be allowed to reopen, which I’m sure will help make things feel more normal. Kids will be allowed to go back to school on May 4. I even found a local park we could visit maybe next weekend, if the weather is nice.
I do miss eating in restaurants, though… and I feel like such a hermit. I ordered some face masks so we can go on post and take care of some vital personal business. I need a vision exam and to get some passport photos so I can get a new driver’s license and renew my passport… not that we can use it to travel anytime soon.
I’m glad to be in Germany for this mess. It’s really disturbing to read about the nightmare occurring in the United States right now. People are losing their damned minds.
I wish I had more to write about, other than take out Greek food. On the other hand, it was very exciting to get it. Maybe we can order a fancy dinner from another restaurant at some point. I would encourage anyone reading this who can order takeout food to do so… Let’s keep the local eateries going so we’ll have places to enjoy if and when this virus crisis ends.
The coronavirus crisis has had a devastating effect on my travel writing. As I was updating the blog over the past few months, I realized that we’ve had a whole lot of fun over the past few years. I’m deeply grateful that Bill and I got to do so much in Europe since we moved back here in 2014. But now what are we going to do? How is this virus going to change things for the immediate future?
I could easily come up with some posts about our travels so far. I could write more about what living in Germany is like when things are “normal”. But what if things aren’t normal anymore? Things are still evolving… and I literally haven’t left my neighborhood in a month. Bill goes to work sometimes and handles most of the shopping and picking up the mail at our U.S. post office in Wiesbaden. But I stay home.
I don’t even have a mask yet. I have my reasons for that. First off, I only leave the house to walk Arran. Secondly, I don’t think the homemade masks are very effective. Theoretically, it seems like they would help, but we’re dealing a virus, which is extremely tiny. The virus can penetrate a fabric mask or your eyes, if they aren’t covered. If the virus is on a ball of saliva, maybe its transmission will be slowed, since the ball of saliva would have a harder time escaping the mask. But if you don’t wear the mask properly, and many people don’t, the homemade mask is not useful and, in fact, gives some people a false sense of security. Many people will reuse them, too, without properly laundering them.
Now… if I have to go on post, I’ll need a mask. I guess I’ll either make one or buy one, just so it looks like I’m following the rules. But frankly, I think it’s better to simply stay away from people, which is what I’m doing. I stay in the house with Arran or sit outside in my yard. I walk the dog and stay far away from other people. Bill has a mask, so he goes out in public. So far, masks aren’t mandatory in Germany. In fact, there are tentative plans to reopen some businesses this coming week. Schools are going to open in May. But things aren’t going to be normal for a long time.
Anyway… I don’t have any delusions that we will ever be rid of the coronavirus. It’s just one more exotic disease that will probably not be so exotic as time passes. I did read some exciting news stories about doctors who have figured out how to treat the illness. One story came out of Richmond, Virginia. If you’re in Europe, you will need a VPN to read it. Another was on CNN, about a company creepily called Gilead that makes a drug that seems promising. But the headlines are more negative than positive…
What’s so scary about this virus is that it’s affecting people differently. Bill has a co-worker whose had it. He and his wife are now mostly recovered. And I have a friend whose sister has it and is currently on a ventilator. It does look like she’s going to recover. She’s been improving. But she’s been on a ventilator since last weekend, and even though her need for oxygen is going down, she’s still in a fragile situation. I’m sure that at some point, most of us will be exposed… but until we have some kind of vaccine or treatment, a lot of people are going to be affected by this and many people will get very sick and even die.
So it puts a damper on our travel plans… and even our plan to adopt a new dog is affected. We have our eye on one, but he’s in Kosovo and can’t get to Germany until the borders open and he can have a blood test done. Our situation is better than a lot of people’s, but it really is sad and scary to see what’s happening to the world this year.
Maybe I’ll feel more like writing about travel soon. For now, I think it’s going to take some time.
I have not made it a secret that Bill loves to cook for me. Lately, he’s been knocking himself out. I don’t have a lot to talk about in terms of traveling or eating at restaurants, but I do have some enchanting food pics. I’m beginning to think I should send Bill to chef’s school.
We’ve also found a few new online sources of food and beverages. Good thing he doesn’t mind fat chicks. It’s hard to believe that when we met, I was the better cook. Some of my friends don’t think Bill is real. Trust me, he is… and common sense would have told me to stay away from him. Fortunately, for once I didn’t like practicality stand in the way of a good love story.
Feast your eyes!
Homemade ravioli…
Excellent beef from a butcher.
Coffee from Berlin.
Homemade bread…
Wild garlic soup.
Quesadillas.
Bucatini with tomato sauce and fresh basil.
More homemade bread…
Twice baked potatoes with spinach and bacon.
Burrata with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
Tuna salad with apples and walnuts on fresh bread.
Calzone.
Armenian wine.
Bacon and Schmalz.
Air fried chicken.
I am now at the tail end of my updating project. Hopefully, I will be finished updating old posts today or tomorrow. And then, everything that gets posted on the Facebook page from this blog will be fresh— fresh as Bill’s baked bread!
As we’re still not doing any traveling, I took a few more pictures from our neighborhood recently. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I went anywhere. It might have been when we went to the Globus last month. This is hell on travel writing, although now that I’m within striking distance of finishing my updates, I may soon be back to writing things of substance.
My guess is that I’ll write about our experiences so far. I have a wealth of them, thanks to so many years spent living abroad. I notice what I wrote in the spring of 2014 is not all that exciting, since we weren’t traveling much then. There were a few places in Texas I would have liked to have seen before we moved, though.
Anyway, our neighbors are being good about practicing their distancing. Several have posted signs on their door expressing their commitment to following instructions and staying inside. Bill says that masks are now required on the military installations, but frankly, I don’t think the homemade ones are worth a damn. They aren’t made to block viruses and I fear many people will not launder them. But I guess they make people feel better.
Here are some scenes in my neighborhood…
Everything will be good. We stay at home.
I don’t know if these were free for the taking, or what?
The local hangout’s COVID-19 statement.
Our pretty church.
And a stattment from them…
One of the historic buildings in Breckenheim.
Trees are blooming…
Making me wheeze.
But pretty soon, the field will be full of life.
These also make me wheeze. I’ve never understood why some people have cigarette and gumball machines outside their homes here. In just my short route, I pass three of these…
Arran and I had a nice walk today. We passed a couple of happy looking kids on their bikes. I hope things will get more normal soon… but this isn’t too bad. At least we have a nice garden and landlords who practice social distancing, too.
Since we’re stuck inside for the time being, Bill and I have been doing a lot of shopping. German businesses have predictably adapted to stay afloat during this challenging time. For some reason, Bill has been getting lots of ads on Facebook for meat. Pork, beef, and other butchered delights are being offered by local Metzgereien, complete with free delivery. He’s also getting ads for coffee. We’ve now fully stocked our liquor supply… which maybe we shouldn’t have done, but our mint plant has really taken off and maybe I’ll want to have a mojito or something.
I figured now was a good time to try new kitchen gadgets, so I decided to get us a pizza stone and an air fryer. The air fryer is an appliance I’d been wanting to purchase for a long time. I bought a Philips model, XXL, which is bigger than the basic, and one can also purchase baking and pizza attachments for it.
A new toy… takes up a lot of counter space, so it must live downstairs in the basement.
We tried it out last night. Bill cooked chicken leg quarters. They turned out deliciously, but after we ate dinner, we noticed a strange adverse effect on our dog, Arran. As Bill was clearing the table, I noticed that Arran didn’t seem to be feeling very well. He looked almost like he was about to have a seizure. He has had a couple of seizure like “spells” in the past, although they have been years apart. It looked like he was going to have another one last night.
Bacon and Schmaltz.TequilaDelicious air fried chicken.Decadent dinner. We’re very fortunate.Rum…
Poor Arran had a frightened, confused, and sickened look on his face, like he might vomit. His tail was tucked between his legs, and he moved very slowly, as if he was off balance and on the verge of collapse. He started trembling, which automatically made me think of awful reasons why dogs suddenly start to shake. A friend of mine recently lost her dog to kidney failure, and trembling was her dog’s most prominent symptom. I worried that maybe Arran was trying to tell us something awful… He’s ten or eleven years old, and seems very healthy, but I know all too well that dogs can have silent diseases that suddenly take them. Our dog, Zane, was diagnosed with lymphoma and died a week later.
Then I wondered if maybe the air fryer had something toxic in it that had poisoned Arran. I even looked up xylitol, which is a sweetener that is deadly to dogs. I wondered if he’d somehow gotten ahold of some. We considered calling the emergency vet, then wondered if they’d be open during this cursed coronavirus crisis. I was very worried that we might experience another tragic canine loss.
But then I went Googling, and I came across this fascinating Reddit thread. About a year or two ago, many people posted about their dogs’ strange reactions to air fryers. The behavior they were describing was very much like what Bill and I witnessed in Arran last night.
Evidently, what Arran experienced after dinner is not uncommon in dogs when their humans start using new appliances. The air fryer was very quiet to us, but as a dog, Arran can hear things that we can’t. After reading the Reddit thread, it occurred to me that the high, whirring, fan sound of the fryer must have disturbed Arran’s inner ear, which would have affected his balance and probably made him feel sick. For him, it must have been like he was trapped at a super loud disco or something, and it just took awhile for his ears to quit ringing. That would explain his odd behavior last night. Thankfully, about an hour after we were finished eating and after lots of hugs and reassurance from Bill, Arran was back to his normal self. He’s just fine this morning.
People commenting on the Reddit thread wrote about their dogs not liking the Instant Pot, smoke detectors that beep, or other appliances that make a high pitched noises. We do have an Instant Pot, and Arran doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. In fact, he loves it when Bill gets it out, since he uses it to make homemade dog food. But clearly the air fryer is a problem. Fortunately, we have a fenced backyard Arran can hang out in, as well as a large house with distant rooms we can take put him in when we use the fryer. Or, I can just take him for an extended walk… which he loves and I desperately need to do more of for my health’s sake. According to the Reddit thread, just getting the pet away from the appliance when it’s operating is enough to prevent this odd attack.
For more reading about how our latest technology drives pets insane, click here.
We have beautiful weather today, so I decided to take Arran for a walk. As usual, I came armed with my camera, just in case anything interesting happened. Sure enough, something did. As I was passing someone’s gate with a crayon drawing on it that read “Wir bleiben zuhause”, Arran suddenly turned. The resident of the house, a middle aged woman with a German Shepherd, was coming out. The pretty female dog started barking and she and Arran touched noses.
The lady went across the street, headed to our usual route. She was speaking German to me, naturally, so I responded, “Entschuldigung. Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch.” Naturally, she switched to perfect English and explained that her dog always barks at other dogs, but is a friendly female. I could see that. She was a pretty girl!
I wanted to take a photo of the crayon drawing on her gate, but decided not to at that time, because it would look strange. Instead, I took a few other photos…
I was surprised by the open gate.
I need one of these…
Germans love their dogs.
Beware of Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Interesting how the sign starts in German and ends in English.
Then Arran and I went our usual route and passed a few folks. One guy was cutting grass near his garden. Another looked like he’d gone to the Rewe. Another was a young dad with his little girl on her bike. He kind of herded her away from us as we passed. I saw a couple of people responsibly visiting in the main “square” such as it is. They were standing well apart from each other. A neighbor and another guy looked like they were going to do some repair work in the yard.
The weather is getting better and I fear it will be hard to keep people contained for much longer. This is the time of year when people go back to eating al fresco and sitting in Biergartens. Just yesterday, I noticed a neighbor in a bikini, lying in the sun. It was about 50 degrees outside, but she was unfazed, and only went back inside because she got a delivery. The same guy came back about twenty minutes later to bring us a bottle of rum and a new pizza stone. He was sort of wearing a N95 mask. It was around his neck, anyway, kind of hanging down. Looked kind of pointless.
Today, we’re getting a tequila delivery. I am giving some thought to using Duolingo again and, maybe, breaking down and buying a guitar. Gotta do something other than type blog posts, sing songs, and watch bad TV. Although the veterinarian who owns our local practice is a singer and even put a video on Facebook. Good for him! I have not met him yet when we’ve taken our dogs to vet, but if I ever do, maybe we can bond over singing.
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