Less than 24 hours in Stuttgart…

Bill and I just got back from our latest jaunt to Stuttgart. We usually go down there to see our dentist, Dr. Blair, who is the best dentist either of us have ever had. We missed seeing him in October because our appointment was originally made on a holiday, and there was a miscommunication. We went down there and found no one in the office. After that, Bill got busy and/or could never get the receptionist on the phone.

We finally got an appointment for noon today. Ordinarily, we’d stay for a couple of days and do a few fun things down in our old stomping grounds. Unfortunately, Bill is currently very busy with a work project. He also just took last week off work while his mom was here. So, instead of staying for a couple of days, like we normally would, we just went down for a night and came back late this afternoon.

Although our trip was short, it was very productive and a lot of fun! It began with a stay at the Wald Hotel, which is our favorite Stuttgart area lodging so far. I had actually considered booking a different hotel, as I thought maybe Bill would want to take the train instead of driving. There are a couple of hotels that are near the Hauptbahnhof that I thought we might try.

The Wald Hotel is not close to the main train station, but is somewhat close to the U-bahn. However, getting to the hotel from the station requires a walk, which is not fun while toting a bag. Bill ultimately decided he’d rather drive, because we’d have to check out of the hotel and then do something with our bags. We knew we’d be walking around Stuttgart while waiting for our appointments. Once Bill decided to drive, I booked the Wald Hotel, since I knew it would offer everything we’d need.

Instead of booking fancy suites, like I have the last two times we’ve been there, I booked one of the comfort rooms in the new part of the hotel. That was a mistake, mainly because the shower in our cheaper room– unlike the ones on the ground floor– was just an ordinary shower, rather than one of the awesome spa showers that are in the more expensive rooms. In my opinion, the extra money for the bigger room is worth it, mainly because of the spa shower! On the other hand, it has been a few years since I last stayed in one of those rooms. Maybe they took them out.

*This art is horrifying to me. I am a mycophobe.*

We had a pretty easy late afternoon drive down to the Degerloch area of Stuttgart last night, and were rewarded with a fairly empty parking lot at the hotel. We easily found a spot right by the entrance, went in, and picked up our key cards and a voucher for a free round of drinks.

Once we dropped off our bags, we headed down to the bar, where we were greeted by lovely Cosima, who took care of us when we visited Wald Hotel last spring! She remembered us, and was delighted when I said I remembered that she’d told me her name is Italian. Cosima said she was only working in the bar by chance, as she was filling in for a sick colleague. She is in a training program, so she’s been working all over the hotel in different capacities. I thought that was pretty great, since she’s becoming proficient in all jobs required in a German hotel.

Cosima made us a couple of rounds of drinks, and was kind enough to book us a table at Finch, which is the gourmet restaurant at Wald Hotel. We’ve eaten at Finch several times, but last night’s dinner was the best we’ve had there yet. I had a wonderful lamb’s lettuce salad with orange slices, croutons, and hazelnut dressing and crispy duck with Savoy cabbage, and bread dumplings. Bill had a leek soup with duxelles, and wild boar with mashed potatoes and mushrooms. We also enjoyed dessert– white chocolate mousse with blood oranges for me, and a banana almond cheesecake for him. And we had lovely wine from France, as well as a digestive, hazelnut for Bill, and pear for me…

My only complaint about our stay at Wald Hotel is that the mattress on the bed was too firm for my liking. It felt a bit like sleeping on a sidewalk. I remember last year, the mattress was also too firm for me. However, I don’t remember having that problem on previous stays.

After a nice Eggs Benedict breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we went back to the room, packed up, and processed a bit. Breakfast is not included in the room rate and could be considered expensive– but aside from a generous buffet, they also offer hot selections that are prepared to order and included in the price. We both had Eggs Benedict, but we could have chosen from a number of different items.

Then we went to downtown Stuttgart to wait for our appointments with Dr. Blair. It was kind of a special day, since there was Fasching going on. Lots of people were dressed in costumes and there was music. Some businesses were also closed, including the Markthalle, which is a great food and wine market. We were lucky enough to have sunny and somewhat warm weather, for February, anyway. I took some photos…

*Looks like they knocked down a building and exposed an old sign.*

Dr. Blair was glad to see us. Bill broke the news to him about his broken tooth, and the dental implant process in process with a Wiesbaden area dentist. Dr. Blair was very understanding, and wanted to know about the type of implant used and the process the other dentist used for the sinus lift Bill needed. He had good things to say about my teeth, which were thoroughly cleaned… (gums are sore tonight). He gave me an Implant Pass, which shows the type of implant I got in 2016. He wanted me to show it to Bill, so he could get the information about his implant. That way, if it breaks, the next dentist will have the information.

We made appointments for August, then headed out for lunch at Abacco’s Steakhouse, a steak joint where you get your steak served on a hot stone. I hadn’t wanted to eat there, but there was a big Fasching party going on at the Paulaner Bar next door. I wanted to get photos!

Sizzling steak and sizzling dancers!

We both had small rib-eyes with house fries. Bill’s was from Uruguay, and mine was from Argentina. It wasn’t that easy to eat steak after our cleanings. Maybe we should have had pasta or soup instead… but at least I’m still not hungry many hours later. We each had a beer, then went to buy some Berliners, which we had noticed being set up just before we went to see the dentist.

Below are some photos of the Berliner or Krapfen (Pfannkuchen– doughnuts) and other associated doughnuts. Tis the season to get them!

Our drive back to Wiesbaden was very easy, with no traffic whatsoever, and no building projects. The only drawback was the less than beautiful weather. But at least we got some sunshine while we were down in our old stomping grounds! And now, Noyzi is back home, too!

Bavaria, churches, dental

Italian food in Würzburg… part four

Featured photo was spotted in Würzburg… but it could apply to a number of other things… like my stomach after a big meal.

Thursday morning, we woke up to more rain in Würzburg. I was thinking maybe it would be a good day for us to visit the Residenz. However, we never got around to committing to that plan. I think it was because we were all a bit distracted by that big “issue” I mentioned at the beginning of this series.

My husband’s younger daughter was pregnant with her fourth baby, and she had elected to induce labor on Thursday, February 8th. She had hoped the labor would occur naturally, and because her other three babies had come early, she assumed this one might, too. I believe her due date was actually February 14th, but for whatever reason, she and her doctor decided that the baby needed to be born sooner than that. So naturally, we were excited about the new arrival– a baby girl– who would be joining two brothers and a sister.

We were sitting around talking about the baby, who hadn’t been born yet. Younger daughter lives in Utah, so she’s eight hours behind us in Germany. I think I was also getting a bit grumpy. Physically, I wasn’t feeling particularly well, and although I truly do love Bill’s mom, I’m not used to being around people anymore and was feeling a little company “fatigued”. So, because of that, my mood was a little bit off kilter, too. And then there was the incessant rain!

The upshot is, by the time we left the guest house, it was getting close to lunchtime. Parker also wanted to shop for souvenirs for her friends in Texas who hadn’t already benefited from her shopping trip in Bamberg. We drove back to Würzburg intent on having Italian food at Le Candele, a restaurant Bill found that was in another area of town.

I was looking forward to having some Italian food. I love German food, too, but we ate a lot of it during our trip to Bavaria. It can be kind of heavy, and since lately my stomach has been giving me problems, I thought I’d prefer something else. Le Candele did offer good food and rightfully earned their high ratings on Google. We had a nice, long, leisurely lunch…

It was a really nice lunch. Service was professional; prices were fair; and everything tasted good. The only thing I didn’t particularly like was the pop music that was blaring from a speaker over my head. But that’s just a personal quibble of mine. Le Candele appears to be yet another local gem in Würzburg.

The only problem with such a luxurious lunch is that it can lead to indigestion and having to go to the bathroom, which can be problematic in public places. And, sure enough, shortly after we left the restaurant, I needed to go to the toilet. Parker wanted to buy some fridge magnets, so we went into the Euro Shop, which looked kind of like a store on par with The Dollar Tree in the US. We found some magnets for her friends back home, and noted the the weather, which was getting worse.

I started to feel like I’d rather just go back to the guest house, put on something comfortable, and be near the bathroom, since I figured I’d have some “processing” to do, plus I kind of wanted some peace and quiet. I tend to be kind of introverted, and sometimes I need a little alone time. This is especially true when I have an upset stomach. I don’t blame this on the restaurant, by the way. I have been having some stomach issues for awhile.

I told Bill he should just take me back and he and his mom could go out and do something together. But Parker didn’t like that idea… She also wanted to buy some soaps for her friends. So we headed back toward the Old Main Bridge, where I remembered there was a public toilet.

I was actually a little scared to go into the public WC. It was underground and didn’t look particularly clean. And, truth be told, the area around it was pretty gross. It looked like there was a pile of something right by the door, along with trash. Fortunately, the toilet itself was clean, if not kind of akin to the free roadside toilets on the Autobahn. At least I didn’t have to pay to use it.

Once I had gone to the bathroom, I felt a little better, so Bill went to the Edeka to pick up some snacks and wine for the evening. Then we decided to head back to the car. Parker was reassuring me that she could just buy soap at the airport. But then I noticed a shop that had homemade soap displayed in the window. I told her she should go pick some up for her friends. She protested– obviously not wanting to inconvenience me– but I was getting annoyed, because she had mentioned wanting to buy soap more than once, and there it was, right there! I’m afraid I got a little short tempered and snapped, “Just go get the soap! It’s right there! It’s not a problem for me to wait a few minutes.”

Bill and his mom went to buy the beeswax/honey soap while I took a few more photos of the Neumünster. I considered going in there for a few photos, while Bill and his mom were picking up souvenirs. I noticed people were going in and out of there, so it was obviously open. But then I thought I shouldn’t do that, because then they’d come out and wonder where I was.

So I waited, and Bill and Parker came out with the goods. We went back to the car and drove back to the guest house. I was a little sad… because I would have liked to have done more. I was just feeling icky… both physically, because of the big meal, and mentally, because I felt a little like a third wheel, and because I just needed a couple of hours to relax by myself.

When we got back to the house, I decided to close the door to the bedroom take a nap, which helped my mood. I appreciated that the rooms in the house had thick doors, so it was very quiet in the room. By the time I woke up, I felt better in all ways. I joined Bill and his mom for wine, snacks, and German television shows about the police and paramedics.

We enjoyed one last night at the guest house, and on the morning of February 9th, awoke to the news that Bill had a brand new granddaughter who weighed a respectable 7 pounds 12 ounces! The baby was born at 4:15 PM on February 8th and is very beautiful and healthy.

Friday morning, we packed up, and Bill went to check out of the house. He paid for the wine we enjoyed, and bought a six pack of wines to enjoy at home. Kudos to the wine tasting guide, who remembered that we prefer wines that are less sweet. He replaced the “halb-trocken” wine in the pack with a Riesling.

All in all, we enjoyed our time in Bavaria. I would love to go back to Würzburg and Bamberg when the weather is better. I think next time, maybe Bill and I would stay in a hotel in Bamberg… although I also truly enjoyed Würzburg. You can’t really go wrong in either place; they’re both very nice cities.

This trip was marred mostly by the German weather which, unfortunately, tends to suck in February. Also, the guest house’s location wasn’t conducive to being able to walk downtown easily. That last day could have been saved if I could have just gone to a hotel room for a short rest while Bill and his mom walked around some more. But Bill didn’t really want to drop me off and then go out again… and his mom was very worried about inconveniencing us. If we’d had more sunshine, I think it would have been a better visit… but then, that kind of goes without saying. And the fact that we were anticipating a new family member also kind of added to the stress.

I was eager to go home, too, because I missed Noyzi. He’s my baby. He had to go back to the Hundepension again today, though, because we’re going to Stuttgart today for an overnight. It’s time to see Dr. Blair for a dental cleaning and exam, after we missed him in October. We might have stayed two nights, but Bill has a big work project going on, and frankly, Stuttgart isn’t all that exciting in February, either. Ah well… at least we’re staying at the Wald Hotel, which is my favorite Stuttgart area hotel.

Anyway, so ends another series… Time for my ten things I learned post.

dental

Sorry we missed you, Doc… part three of our 2023 Czech tour!

Monday morning, Bill went to get more goodies from the bakery near Hotel La Casa. I was kind of dreading the afternoon, as I was under the mistaken impression that we would be visiting our dentist. The weather was sunny and warm again, and I was wishing the appointments had been made for the morning, so we could get the cleanings done and be on our way to Czechia. But because they were made for 3:00 PM, we were committed to a third night in Tübingen. I would have rather hung out in that town all day, instead of heading for Stuttgart.

We decided to get to Stuttgart early enough for lunch. I wisely packed a short sleeved shirt in my purse, because I had a feeling I was really going to need it. Bill wanted to try a place called NOA Restaurant, which specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine. He made a reservation on OpenTable.de for about 1:00 PM.

We got to the restaurant, located on Tübingener Strasse, and took a seat on their terrace. I ended up really enjoying our lunch at NOA, which has a lot of colorful and tasty selections. I ended up having a Beirut Bowl, which had chicken, avocado, hummus, red beets, salad, fattoush, and almonds. It was dressed with mango chili dressing. I had a lavender lemonade to go with it, that really tasted like Sprite with lavender syrup in it.

Bill had iced tea and a marinated Oriental chicken breast filet with rice. It was notated as a NOA Favorite. I could see why. Bill really enjoyed the way the chicken was prepared. After lunch, we had time for me to have a beer, while Bill had coffee.

After lunch, we crossed the street and went into the Galeria store, which had signs up that they were closing. I was looking for a couple of items that they didn’t have. I was sorry not to find what I needed, but at least I got a couple of photos of an honest to God German going out of business sale… Actually, the location is closing, but I don’t think they’re totally going out of business.

After a few minutes looking in the store, we headed over to Dr. Blair’s office, which we found totally deserted. Bill was confused, as he was absolutely certain that the appointment was for October 2, 2023 at 3:00 PM. He searched his emails to see if there were any from Blair’s office. He found none.

To be honest, we were both kind of relieved… Neither of us really felt like having cleanings done, anyway. Still, if we’d known this was going to happen, we definitely wouldn’t have visited Tübingen. Hell, maybe we wouldn’t have even taken the trip at all. That would have been too bad, though, because so much happened during our visit to Czechia, and a few cool things happened in Germany, too. I guess it was just meant to be for us to be down in Tübingen when we were. We really have missed being close enough to visit whenever we want to go.

We visited a local public toilet in Stuttgart, where it’s free of charge to use the bathroom. I changed into my t-shirt, because it was pretty warm by that point of the day. We drove back to the hotel in Tübingen and walked to the Neckarmüller, where we enjoyed a little more time at our favorite Biergarten. I swear, I wish we had one like it up here where we live now…

When the sun went down, we walked back to the vacant hotel with a bottle of red wine, which we used to wash down the leftover Hawaiian pizza. Bill sent an email to the dentist’s office. It turned out our appointments were for October 5th, and somehow Bill missed the memo. So now it looks like we’re going to have to go back down to Stuttgart in December for our cleanings… or, alternatively, I can just join Bill at the local dentist he consulted when he broke a tooth a couple of months ago. He saw that dentist today, to check on the status of his healing, and the Wiesbaden dentist found two cavities that need filling. Jeez!

Well, at least I got some pretty photos, right? And I also got beaned by a couple of huge chestnuts.

*These suckers were falling everywhere! I noticed Germans were pocketing them.*

Tübingen is always a pleasure to visit. And now that we’ve stayed down there for a dentist appointment that didn’t happen, we’d consider doing it again. But next time, I think I’ll probably try a different area, just because it’s more fun and educational that way. It also gives me more to write about in this blog.

Onward to part 4!

Champagne Bucket trips, dental, holidays

Strange welcome back to Tübingen… part one of our 2023 Czech tour!

We’re now back from our trip to the Czech Republic, otherwise known as Czechia. I planned this trip in late July, in anticipation of our bi-yearly dental exams in Stuttgart. Bill usually handles booking our dental appointments, because when we go depends on when he’s able to get away from work. When we last saw Dr. Blair in the spring, Bill made an appointment for early October. A couple of months later, the dentist’s receptionist contacted Bill to reschedule, because the original appointment was for German Reunification Day or thereabouts. Somehow, we got the idea that the new appointment was for Monday, October 2, which technically, wasn’t a holiday in Germany.

I planned our trip around the appointment, deciding that this time, we’d go to the lovely city of Tübingen for three nights instead of staying in Stuttgart or the Black Forest. There is a hotel there that I’d been wanting to try. We used to go there to eat in their restaurant when we lived in the Stuttgart area. I have always loved visiting Tübingen on day trips, and I figured it would be fun to go stay there for a few days, especially since there are a lot of nice areas nearby that are good for day trips.

A week or so before we started our journey to Tübingen, I got a message from Hotel La Casa, the boutique hotel I’d booked. They were letting me know that due to a lack of staff, they were going to have to close their hotel on Sunday, the day after we checked in. But, because I’d booked an apartment, we were allowed to “self-cater” and they’d give us a 20 percent discount for the inconvenience.

It did seem rather strange to be staying in a hotel that would have no staff available, but we’ve certainly self-catered plenty of times. So I thanked the lady for letting me know, and on Saturday, September 30, 2023, we made our way down there. On the way, we stopped at the Hundepension Birkenhof to drop off Noyzi, who was only too delighted to be staying there again. He loves going to the dog hotel and meeting new canine friends.

Noyzi is delighted to be back at the Hundepension!

After we dropped off Noyzi, we visited a very crowded rest stop. I guess a lot of Germans were headed out for the holiday. I got a few photos… I think I was enchanted by the wall of horse toys. When I was a kid, I would have been all over that!

When we got to Tübingen, we spoke to the lady manning the reception. She told us that not only did they have to close the hotel for most of our stay, but they’d also had to close the restaurant! She said they didn’t have enough staff to run it, and there weren’t enough people interested in dining there. I thought that was a pity, since we ate there three times and enjoyed ourselves. But a lack of staff in hospitality, especially since COVID, has been a real problem.

Because the hotel was fully booked when we arrived, there weren’t any parking spots available for us in the hotel’s dedicated garage. But since Tübingen doesn’t require people to pay for street parking on weekends, we just found a spot a block or so away. The next day, when everyone checked out, they gave us a spot in the garage and didn’t even charge us for it.

*The lobby, now sans the restaurant, Refugio.*

We were in Room 105, which was clearly originally a suite with adjoining rooms. The sitting room with the kitchenette had a shower with a rainfall head, while the shower in the bedroom was a spout type. Both showers were very small, but once you got into them, they were nice enough. The room came with free beverages, two televisions, and a rather uncomfortable bed. But there is a pizza/pasta joint nearby, and a couple of grocery stores, as well as a decent bakery, and it’s not too hard to walk into Tübingen… It takes maybe 15 or 20 minutes. We had beautiful weather, so that made it easier for us.

*Interesting lighting system. It was also how to work the “do not disturb” sign (red light or green light).*

Hotel La Casa has a pool/spa/hammam. The hammam, unfortunately, was closed– again, due to a lack of staff. Bill checked out the pool, which he said was pretty, but very small. We didn’t get a chance to use it before the hotel closed. In spite of the closures, we had an okay stay, except the bed wasn’t too good for our backs. But it is a very unique hotel, with decor done in a Spanish/Moorish style, and the staff is very pleasant. I would consider booking it again. Below are some photos from the room.

*Every time I turned on the TV, we got the “fish”, with its “tranquil” music.*

We managed to discover a new “to us” Biergarten in Tübingen that we’d never been to before caled Brauwerk Freistil. They do craft beers and snacks there, as well as offer fun activities like karaoke and billiards. We went there for a beer and to have a look at the Neckar River from the other side of our usual favorite Biergarten, the Neckarmüller. We actually went to the Neckarmüller twice, because although they make typical (excellent but kind of boring) German beers, their Biergarten is awesome.

It was interesting to stay just south of Tübingen. We had never had the opportunity to explore the southern side of this college town when we still lived in the Stuttgart area. It was a new experience to walk around there and see what was in that part of town. Below are some photos from our first night, Saturday the 30th. We were a little surprised the Biergartens were still open, as they’re usually closed by the time we visited. But the weather was unusually warm and very beautiful, so I guess it makes sense that they kept the outside areas open. Usually by this time of year, pants, closed shoes, and jackets are essential, but not in 2023. I needed my shorts and t-shirts.

Wow! Just look at these photos! Tübingen is just as beautiful as I always remember it, with plenty of people out and about, enjoying the city. I’m glad we stayed in Tübingen for this trip, even if it ended up being for naught. More on that in the next post… I need to take a pause and walk Noyzi.

dental

Rheingauer Weinwoche in Wiesbaden– 2023 edition! And more dental woes for Bill…

Yesterday, I lamented to Bill that yet another Saturday was about to get away from us with no fun outside of the house. His answer to me was to suggest that we go to downtown Wiesbaden, where the Rheingauer Weinwoche is going on. This annual event started on Friday and will run through August 21st. COVID kind of messed it up in 2020 and 2021, but we attended in 2019 and we went several times last year.

Although we had some rain yesterday, we managed to get to the festival after most of the weather had passed. It was just partly cloudy with some breezes and a few drops from the sky. As usual, the big celebration is going on in the Schlossplatz, and there are dozens of wineries from the Rheingau region represented, along with some food stands and live entertainment.

Bill and I parked at our usual garage at the theater, where we soon noticed that they had a brand new parking system in place. It used to be, when you drove in, a machine would give you a ticket that you’d later feed into the payment machine. It would tell you how much you owed when you reclaimed your car. Now, you just drive in and input your license plate number when you leave. I also noticed that they had designated a bunch of spaces on the first floor for electric vehicles. I guess that’s one reason to get an electric car. You get prime parking spots downtown! 😉

Anyway, it had been awhile we were last in downtown Wiesbaden. We should probably go there a lot more often than we do, because it’s a really nice town… much prettier than downtown Stuttgart is. There is often a lot going on, too.

We walked around the fest, just to see what was available. I stopped at the first WC I saw, noticing that the price of a whiz has gone up to 1 euro. However, you can purchase an all day ticket for four euros, or a family pass for six euros. I ended up going four times and Bill went twice yesterday. Next time we go, we’ll have to get a family ticket. 😀

We stopped at a random wine stand that had plenty of seating and a good view of the festivities. I had a glass of Riesling and listened to a female singer in the distance, but noticed I could also hear a brass band on the other side. I was more in the mood for the brass band, so we left after one glass and went to the other side. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of seating there, so we went around the corner and sat at another random wine stand that happened to specialize in Sekt.

That other stand was also near a WC, which was very handy for me… so we just sat there and people watched, drank wine, and took some photos. I’m sure we’ll be back again at least once, because just as they did last year, Bill’s co-workers have reserved a table for this coming Friday night. I have a feeling Bill will be ready for a celebration, because on Monday morning, he has to visit a local dentist to have a tooth extracted and start the process for his very first dental implant.

Wednesday, he was at work, eating a gummi bear, and suddenly noticed that there was some rattling in his mouth. He spit out a hunk of gold, which turned out to be a root canaled and crowned molar that he’d had done in 2011 or so. It just sheared right off! He called our usual dentist in Stuttgart, but as usual in August, he had shut down his practice for his annual vacation. Since this was not a situation in which Bill could wait until next week, when Dr. Blair returns, he asked a colleague for a local suggestion. Her dentist turned out to be pretty excellent, too.

He called that dentist’s office and they got him in at 10:30. The oral surgeon– a young German guy who went to school in nearby Mainz– said he couldn’t save the tooth, which had a huge cavity in it under the gold crown. But since the tooth had already been root canaled, the dentist said Bill could wait until Monday to have it extracted without risking infection. Then, perhaps, he might even be able to get the implant put in without having to wait for the tissues to heal first (like I did when I got my implant in 2016). Truthfully, though, I have a feeling he’s going to have to come back later for the implant. They’re probably going to have to do a sinus lift, which will take more time. I had to get one of those, too.

So… not only did we just buy a bunch of new appliances for our house, but now Bill is going to have a big dentist bill. We do have dental insurance, but it’s still going to be pricey work. And when we go back to see Dr. Blair in October for our cleanings, he’s going to be like “WTF”? 😀

Honestly, though, given the number of appointments it takes to get a dental implant, it’s probably a good idea for Bill to have it done locally. If and when my other baby tooth finally gives up the ghost, Dr. Blair can do another implant for me. I know he does excellent work. The one I had done in 2016 is still perfect.

I figure the wine fest will offer Bill some pain relief, after he has his extraction on Monday… I don’t know if we’ll go back today. Bill just brewed a new batch of beer last weekend, so he needs to bottle his brew. My car also needs a spin to keep the new battery functioning. It looks a bit cloudy, too. On the other hand, the wine fest is a lot of fun– there’s also beer and non alcoholic beverages for those who aren’t into wine, as well as plenty of food. We capped off yesterday by having a rare east Sicilian treat called arancini. I noticed them early in the day and was intrigued. They’re deep fried rice balls, covered with bread crumbs and stuffed with mince meat and/or vegetables, mozzarella cheese, peas, and ragu. The ones we had yesterday were delicious and filling!

Here are some photos from our excursion…

I do love this about living in Germany… There’s always some kind of fun or interesting activity going on, and the vast majority of people are well-behaved. Yes, the police were there, and there was security, but I saw little need for them to intervene. The same isn’t necessarily true at events in the United States. So, I’m grateful to live here… and raise yet another toast to the annual wine festival week in Wiesbaden!

dental, trip planning

Our next trip is shaping up…

So, in my last travel post, I mentioned that I was planning our next dental side trip. If you are a regular follower and actually care about my posts (I don’t like to assume), you might already know we’ve done a few of these trips. Basically, they entail going down to Stuttgart, seeing our fabulous dentist down there, then taking a few days off to explore.

Bill and I love planning these breaks. These dental side trips give us a much appreciated break from Wiesbaden, and provide content for my travel blog… which is not as popular as it used to be. Of course, thanks to the pandemic, and the fact that we both had to get some work done last time we went to Stuttgart, we haven’t broken much new ground on the last few excursions.

We moved to Wiesbaden in late 2018, so prior to that, we had no need to do “excursions”, since we still lived in the Stuttgart area. In May 2019, we went down to Stuttgart to get cleanings and see Elton John perform, supposedly for the last time, but I believe he came back to Stuttgart again after that show. We never got around to coming down for cleanings in the fall of that year, because Bill was very busy at work. Then came the pandemic…

Our next journey to see the dentist occurred in August 2021. I got the bright idea to book a few days in Baiersbronn, which is a small town near where we used to live, famous for its many excellent Michelin starred restaurants. We stayed in a nice resort, but that only made me curious about an upgraded experience at the Bareiss Hotel, which is where we went last fall. We spent lots of money and ate wonderful food, but what really sticks out to me, besides the friendly goats and ponies, is the Bareiss Hotel’s incredible pool complex. I’d go back there just for that!

In the spring of 2022, we visited Sessenheim, an area of Alsace, France we had not seen on our many prior visits to the area. We stayed in an awesome little hotel that had its own Michelin starred restaurant, and we bought lots of new French pottery. We mostly decided to go to France because its COVID rules were much less obnoxious than Germany’s, but that was a great trip, anyway. I love Alsace!

Now that the pandemic panic has somewhat passed, it’s time to branch out a bit, and go further afield. As I revealed in the previous post, the Czech Republic won the coin toss. Folks, I think it’s going to be a really great trip. I think we’ve got a good itinerary shaping up.

Although Esslingen won the coin toss for local lodging in the Stuttgart area, I couldn’t find a hotel that was particularly exciting. I ended up booking us at Hotel La Casa, which is a boutique hotel in Tübingen. If you search this blog, you will see that we’ve spent a lot of time in Tübingen. We lived near there during our first Germany tour (2007-09), and visited often when we last lived in the Stuttgart area (2014-18). We have also dined at Hotel La Casa on three occasions.

Even when we lived down that way, I was keen to stay at the hotel one weekend. I actually thought about putting our dogs up and just doing a weekend at Hotel La Casa, even though we lived about 20-30 minutes away from the town. I liked the staff, the restaurant, and the hotel’s interior design. Now that we live in Wiesbaden, we have the excuse to book a stay. Plus, Tübingen is just a really cool town.

*One of many iconic shots that can be taken in Tübingen… It’s a very beautiful city!*

Once I booked that hotel, though, I realized we might have a slight problem. In retrospect, I should have listened to my friend, Susanne, who had suggested a visit to Schwabisch Hall, a very beautiful town about an hour north of Stuttgart. I decided against it, because traffic around Stuttgart is a nightmare, and I didn’t want to be stressed about getting to our appointment. But Schwabisch Hall is actually more conducive to getting to the Czech Republic, as it’s just off Autobahn 6, which is the route we’d be taking under normal circumstances. Staying in Schwabisch Hall would have been more convenient (and I do plan to stop there sometime– maybe in the spring!).

Tübingen is south of Stuttgart, so to access A6, we’d have to drive about an hour north, and that might involve dealing with more traffic. It would definitely require backtracking, which I wanted to avoid if I could.

But then I got to thinking… We really have no agenda. The one place I do want to visit in the Czech Republic is Brno, which is pretty far east. There’s nothing to say we have to access it via A6. We can always get there using a different route.

Then I remembered that in 2008, we went to Passau, Germany for my 36th birthday. I had been there before, in 1997, when I was coming home from my Peace Corps stint and spent a month hopping trains all over Europe. I knew nothing at all about Passau in 1997, and just got off there because I was tired of being on the train. I ended up loving the city. It’s very pretty… and it happens to be exactly halfway between Tübingen and Brno. Below are a few shots from our 2008 trip to Passau. I love the cathedral there, and it’s mighty pipe organ! And I love the confluence of three rivers: the Inn, the Ilz, and the Danube.

Then I remembered that October 3, which is the day we’d be traveling, is a German holiday. And I wanted to get out of Germany for the holiday, because things tend to be closed on German holidays, although restaurants, tourist attractions, and hotels aren’t. I’m as excited about German Reunification Day as anyone is, but I’ve been here for nine years (this time), and I already know how Germans celebrate that day. Besides, what better way to celebrate that day than going to a former Eastern Bloc country? Why not cross back over the eastern border for a chance of pace?

In the late 1980s, Bill actually used to help guard the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. When we visited there in 2008, he got visibly nervous as we approached the border, which, of course, was wide open! I remember stopping to change money and get a vignette, and two sexy Czech girls started cleaning the windshield of our Toyota RAV 4. I said to Bill, “I think you are expected to tip them”. He did, and we were on our way to a very memorable exploration of southern Bohemia.

*The Czech border circa 2008. Bill was so nervous, even as two pretty teenaged girls cleaned the windshield for us.*

I briefly considered maybe staying in Austria. I stayed in Linz back in 1997 and found it kind of boring, but we went back in 2008 and discovered a great Biergarten there. But other than the Biergarten, on our last visit, I still found Linz kind of boring. Other travelers’ reports confirmed that it wasn’t just me; there are more exciting places to be. So then I remembered Cesky Krumlov, which is a VERY charming town east of Passau.

Bill at said Linzer Biergarten… I’d love to go back to that place, but October is kind of when a lot of Biergartens tend to close, anyway. And I’m sure there are things to see in Linz, but there are more exciting cities nearby.

Funny story about Cesky Krumlov. We visited there in 2008, too. The owner of the hotel where we stayed in Passau had recommended it. The day we were there was my birthday, and it happened to be when they were having their annual Five Petalled Rose Festival. We ran into many locals dressed in medieval garb, and there were games going on. I took an awesome photo there that remains one of my favorite pictures of all time. I thought we’d stumbled into a theme park! I had no idea the festival was happening. I remember thinking the town was very charming, and I would have liked it even if the festival hadn’t been happening. The fact that it was going on only added to its charm.

From Cesky Krumlov, we went to nearby Cesky Budejovice, which is where the Czech Budweiser is made. 😉 I remember having lunch there and thinking I’d like to stay in that town. Below are a few shots from our 2008 trip. I wasn’t as much of a shutterbug in those days. I also used Microsoft computers, which aren’t compatible with my Mac.

For our upcoming visit, I found us a cute hotel in Cesky Krumlov that gets excellent reviews. We’ll stay there for two nights, then move on to Brno, which is maybe three hours away. I found another hotel in Brno that isn’t quite as cute as the one in Cesky Krumlov is, but has a lot of amenities. It’s located on the outskirts of town, but from what I’ve read, a lot of Brno’s charm is found outside of the city itself. Since we’ve never been to Brno, we’ll stay three days there, then move toward home.

At this point, I’m tentatively planning our last stop to be two nights in Prague. We last visited Prague in November 2008, as part of a trip we did to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. In those days, we had a lot less money, but thanks to Hilton Honors Points, we were able to score two free nights at the Hilton Old Town Hotel. I remember they brought us sparkling wine and strawberries because we were there on our actual anniversary. I also remember they had an awesome old school pool that was DEEP. But I think this time, we’ll stay somewhere different.

I still came home with tons of cool souvenirs from Dresden, Poland (Bolesławiec), and Prague. I’m hoping we can find some art for the house. Last time we went to Prague, I bought a painting at an art gallery with an Armenian proprietor! I got to speak some crappy Armenian with him. I had (and have) forgotten a lot. Below are a few shots from Prague. It was COLD during our visit!

I can’t book the Prague hotel yet, though, because we have to make sure Noyzi can stay an extra night at the Hundepension. I don’t expect it to be a problem, but you never know. I gave some thought to stopping at the Chodovar Beer Wellness Land in Chodova Plana (very close to the German border), but recent reviews of the place make it sound less than enticing. I’d like to go there, though, if only to pick up some beer and their awesome flavored mineral water. Last time we were in the Czech Republic, we found some at a grocery store, but there wasn’t much of it to be had.

Chodova Plana isn’t far from Karlovy Vary, which is a great spa town overrun with Russians (last time we were there, anyway). We bought two paintings from a talented Russian artist, last time we were there. The town of Chodova Plana itself, though, is pretty desolate, other than the brewery, beer spa, and hotel. Prague offers a hell of a lot more to do, plus they’ve now got beer (and wine) spas, too. That wasn’t the case in 2008.

From Prague, we can reach Wiesbaden in about six hours, barring terrible traffic. I think it’s doable… If it turns out Noyzi can’t stay another night, maybe we’ll stay somewhere a little bit closer to home. Brno isn’t super far from Prague. I think it’s only a couple of hours’ drive.

Hopefully, we can finalize these plans over the weekend. Bill is coming home from his latest trip today. I look forward to seeing him, as it’s been a very quiet, boring week here in Wiesbaden. On the other hand, my liver has gotten a break, as I have mostly been teetotaling. I had two beers last night, but they were my first since Saturday.

Anyway… I love trip planning. I hope to do more of it… at least until the next war or pandemic sidetracks everything. Maybe we’ll even get a chance to stop by the border of Slovakia, so I can get a new mug to replace the cracked one we bought in 2015. 😉

anecdotes, dental

Stuttgart, Germany… it’s as lovely as ever in the springtime… part one

Twenty-four hours ago, I was in downtown Stuttgart, lying on my back, as our trusty German/American dentist, Dr. Blair, was applying a dental dam to my mouth and telling me about his ancestry. It was the first time in a long time since I’d had any fillings done. And I don’t remember any of my previous dentists using a dental dam when I did have them done. I think previous dentists were more likely to only use them for crowns.

I knew this drama was coming. Six months ago, when Bill and I last went to Stuttgart to see Dr. Blair, he said he didn’t like the looks of the filling in my last remaining baby tooth, on the bottom left side of my mouth. I’d last had it filled in 2013, when we first moved to Texas. The tooth above it– also a baby tooth– had a cracked filling, which the Texas dentist repaired. She said she believed the other baby tooth needed a new filling. I was worried, in 2013, that the baby tooth wasn’t going to survive another repair, but my previous dentist assured me it would make it through the procedure. She refilled the tooth. I thought it would be for the last time, since it’s a baby tooth.

One year later, we moved to Stuttgart, and the top tooth that had the cracked filling promptly abscessed. It had a fractured root. I didn’t have pain, because there was an exit for the infection. However, this wasn’t a condition I wanted to let go for too long. Once Bill had dental insurance again, we visited Dr. Blair for the first time. He eventually pulled the abscessed top baby tooth, and in 2016, I got a spiffy dental implant, which has worked perfectly. I know that eventually, I’ll need another implant. Hopefully, Dr. Blair can do that one, too.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was worried about the baby tooth surviving yet another filling, because it’s 50 years old, and was never meant to work for so long. But after 45 minutes in the chair, the work was done. About 45 minutes after that, my teeth were clean and smooth, although my mouth was still numb for about four hours. Bill also had to have a little work done, but his work didn’t require any novocaine.

Lately, I’ve been choosing to pair our visits to Dr. Blair’s office with excursions to places we haven’t yet been. For instance, we’ve done two Black Forest trips and a trip to a part of Alsace, France, we hadn’t yet visited. We decided to stay in Stuttgart this time, because we weren’t just having cleanings done. Next time we see Dr. Blair, unless there’s a problem, we’ll probably go somewhere else relatively nearby that we haven’t been to yet. Maybe my German friend, Susanne, will finally see us visit her hometown of Freiburg. I’ve been trying to arrange a trip there for years!

The trip to see our fabulous dentist was the main reason we went back to Stuttgart over the weekend. However, we had other reasons for going back “home” (Stuttgart has been “home” for us for six out of twenty years of marriage). The fact of the matter is, Stuttgart is a pretty nice place to visit. We made a valiant attempt to see a lot more of it during our most recent four year stint living there, but there are still a lot of places we haven’t been. There are also places we wanted to see again.

Over the weekend, we managed to visit a couple of new places, as well as a place we hadn’t seen since 2008, when we lived in the Stuttgart area the first time. We stayed in the Wald Hotel, our favorite Stuttgart area hotel, albeit in their “suite”, which we’d never tried before. I believe it was our fifth stay at the Degerloch four star accomodation, located near a sports complex and the famed Fernsehturm (TV tower).

We ate good food, drank lots of libations, experienced just about every kind of weather, bought a new rug, met new people, listened to music, picked up souvenirs for Bill’s grandchildren, and spent plenty of euros. I got pictures, too. So I hope you’ll come along with me on my latest jaunt to our old stomping grounds… Maybe you’ll learn something new… or just be entertained. Or maybe not.

I’m just happy my smile is bright again, and my tooth is fixed. Turns out it wasn’t as bad as Dr. Blair thought it was. Stay tuned for part two!

Featured photo is yet another 3D city model… I just saw the one for Wiesbaden a couple of weeks ago. Now I seem to see them everywhere. 😉

dental, France, Germany

Reunited with France… and it felt so good to be back! Part two…

On Wednesday, March 2nd, we loaded up the Volvo with our bags and our pooches. I can’t say “beagles” anymore, since Noyzi is definitely NOT a beagle. Our first stop was the Tierpension Birkenhof, where the dogs stay when we leave town. I dug out a FFP2 mask for the brief time we would be inside, settling up with the Hunde Pension. Noyzi was absolutely delighted to be back at the doggy hotel. He barked almost the whole way there. Arran, on the other hand, was pretty cranky and kept barking back at Noyzi, probably telling him in dog language to STFU. I was doing the same.

Once the dogs were taken care of, we made our way to Stuttgart, with one quick pee stop at a rest station. I noticed they already had their Easter display up. I wasn’t able to get a picture, which may be a blessing. On the other hand, I don’t remember ever seeing an Easter display put up by a rest stop in the United States.

I had to pee again as we arrived in Stuttgart, so we decided to go into a McDonald’s. As I was making my way to the restroom, I heard someone behind the counter yelling “Entschuldigung!” Ahh… she wanted to check my COV-Pass to make sure I’ve gotten jabbed. The restroom in that McDonald’s was on the second floor, so it wasn’t like I could just duck in and out. I showed my credentials, did my business, and Bill handed me a very small Coke that he bought me for the privilege of using the can.

We got to downtown Stuttgart a couple of hours early, so we decided to have lunch at the Paulaner am alten Postplatz, a German restaurant on Calwer Strasse, the chic street where Dr. Blair’s office is located. Ever since COVID hit, I’m never quite sure of what I should be doing. We went inside, and a waitress checked our COV-Passes and IDs… a step further than what the lady at McDonald’s did. I was shocked, since the first floor of that restaurant is for smokers, and plenty were doing that when we visited! Fortunately, there was a non-smoking area upstairs.

Bill and I both opted to have daily specials. I had duck leg with red cabbage slaw and a bread dumpling. Bill had pork goulash. We had beer– the only beer we had all weekend. It was our first restaurant visit in months, and, I must say, it was great. The food was good, as usual, and it was kind of nice to be around other people. I especially got a kick out of the lady with a large puppy she carried in.

After lunch, we headed over to Dr. Blair’s office for our cleanings and waited, dutifully wearing the oppressive FFP2 masks. Bill got a stern lecture about his flossing habits. I got a lecture about my hesitancy in seeing doctors. I have an area of chronically red gum tissue under my front teeth. Dr. Blair always asks me about it. Then he ribs me about being anxious. He’s a very good dentist, and I think he truly cares about his patients, but I also think he takes my anxiety personally. He really shouldn’t. I had a terrible experience with a physician years ago that has left me very reluctant to see medical people. Dentists are, generally, an exception. I do get nervous before procedures, though. He has never forgotten it, even though it’s been years since he put in my implant.

After our appointments, we made our way toward Sessenheim, which is located just inside the border of France. Even Dr. Blair knew about Sessenheim, correctly identifying it as very close to Baden-Baden. But once you cross the border, everything changes! From the beginning of our trip, checking into Auberge au Boeuf, until the end of our stay, COVID rules were much less inconvenient. We walked into the hotel wearing FFP2s and immediately removed them for the rest of our stay after we were confirmed vaccinated. The same conditions applied at every restaurant we visited. We showed our passes, and it was like 2019 again. The FFP2s were also not required. Regular surgical masks were perfectly okay.

Auberge au Boeuf only has four rooms, and each one has a name. We rented L’Idylle, which is one of the larger rooms. It has a balcony that overlooks the beautiful church next door, it’s own private sauna, a jacuzzi, a rainfall shower, and an impressively stocked minibar. Below are some photos of L’Idylle.

We were still full from lunch and pretty tired from the day’s events, so we decided to stay in. We watched French news, drank wine from the local Aldi, and went to bed early. We were off to a good start.

dental, trip planning

A dental appointment means we finally have actual travel plans!

On March 2, 2022, Bill and I have an appointment to go to Stuttgart to see our dentist, the venerable Dr. Blair. It’s time for our cleanings, which we forewent for two years before we finally went to see him last August. Some readers may remember that we combined our last trip to Stuttgart with a visit to the Black Forest.

We went to the Black Forest for a few reasons. First, our usual go-to hotel in Stuttgart, the Wald Hotel, was fully booked when we needed a room. Second, it occurred to me that we’ve been to Stuttgart enough times that it’s no longer a very exciting place for us to be, even though we both love staying at the Wald Hotel. Third, we used to live at the edge of the Black Forest, and went there many times for day trips. We loved going there, and I thought it might be fun to stay a few days. And finally, it was a great opportunity to spend a long weekend in Baiersbronn, where there are several excellent Michelin starred restaurants. It beat hanging out in Stuttgart, where we’ve been many times.

Well, we did have fun in Baiersbronn last August. It was so much fun that I thought maybe we’d go back to the Black Forest and stay in another area we visited for a day and loved. I looked at visiting both Oppenau and Wolfach, both picturesque places that are in different parts of the Black Forest. But then I read about the strict COVID-19 requirements in Baden-Württemberg and decided that it wouldn’t be that much fun to hang out in a hotel, or even a guest house, dealing with those rules. Plus, I just want to get out of Germany for a few days, since we have that capability. When I searched for properties in Oppenau, I noticed that I was also getting results for Strasbourg, France. I didn’t want to go to Strasbourg, though. Our last trip to France was to Strasbourg, exactly two years ago this month. February is usually when Strasbourg hosts an annual wine expo. Last year, it was canceled. This year, it was postponed until late March.

Then it occurred to me that we’ve never been to Soufflenheim, which is a town near the German border, famous for its pottery. I went looking for a place to stay in Soufflenheim, and noticed that one of the choices was a small hotel in nearby Sessenheim, which is known for a museum dedicated to the German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The hotel, Auberge au Boeuf, has a restaurant by the same name with a Michelin star. The place gets rave reviews, especially for the food, but also for the rooms. They had one room open for the time we were visiting. It would cost substantially less than the room I was thinking of booking at the Wald Hotel in Stuttgart, and, as it’s just inside the French border, does not impose the same onerous COVID rules and restrictions that Baden-Württemberg currently has.

It’s not so much that I’m an anti-vaxxer, or anything. I have been triple vaxxed, and I wear masks when I have to. But I HATE the FFP2 masks with a passion, and while they could be required in France, at least if we go there, it’ll be a change of scenery. At this writing, masks and vaccines are required in France, but they have done away with the rule requiring people to wear masks outside, and it’s my understanding that a simple medical mask will do. And we have MISSED France so much! Bill and I didn’t visit France much when we were here the first time, from 2007-09, but this time, we have gone a bunch of times. We have come to love it. It’s almost like a second home, since it’s not far from where we lived near Stuttgart, nor is it that far from Wiesbaden.

Yesterday, I made reservations at the hotel’s restaurant for dinner on Friday AND Saturday nights during our visit. It looks that special. Also, Bill and I have been to Alsace enough times to know that it pays to make reservations. Otherwise, you could end up having a really terrible time at a poorly rated restaurant where the waiter asks you if you’re pregnant. Of course, that happened to me in October 2014, when I still colored my hair and wasn’t as nearly close to menopause as I am today. It’s doubtful that would happen to me in 2022, even though my face is still pretty smooth and, in fact, still occasionally has zits. Thanks, hormones. On another note, damn, we have really been here a LONG time.

I think we’ll have a great time in France. I suspect Noyzi will be delighted to visit the Hunde Pension again. Arran will be annoyed, but it’s only for four nights. Then, we’ll come home, and he’ll be pampered again. Poor guy used to love going to France with us, when we still had Zane, and it was easier to travel with the dogs. Noyzi is a good traveler, but he’s huge, and takes up the whole back compartment of the car. And hotels and rentals aren’t as keen to rent to people with big dogs… although I’ll bet Yannick in Ribeauville would be cool with it. We’ve stayed at his place many times; the latest was in January 2020. Alsace never gets old, but we do want to see other areas than Riquewihr and Ribeauville, and the like. Sessenheim is also a little closer to Nancy, where we visited in 2009. Maybe we can go there on this trip. Nancy is a beautiful city. It’s about a two hour drive from where we’ll be staying, but what the hell? We have no agenda, other than eating at the hotel twice. Based on what I’ve read, we could end up eating there even more times.

I’m looking forward to our trip. Hopefully, nothing will fuck it up for us. That includes anything that happens because of Putin.

Moving on…

We didn’t do anything special yesterday, except for use our new fondue/raclette grill. I got a few photos. It really is fun to use this grill, and it offers a nice change of pace at dinner. Bill is quite the gourmand.

And then, this morning, Bill decided to get doughnuts from our neighborhood bakery again, like he did last week. I think it’s because we finally have some Peet’s Major Dickason’s coffee to drink. We’re big fans.

*The heart shaped Valentine’s doughnuts were especially yummy! Raspberry! And sweeter than usual. No, we didn’t eat them all. I look forward to a snack later, or maybe breakfast tomorrow.*

So things are looking up. It’s nice to look forward to a dentist appointment. I think we’ll have a great time in France. Knock on wood, nothing will screw this up… I’m looking at you, Russian dictator wannabe Putin. I think the Georgians sang it best…

Hear us?

dental, Schwarzwald

Seeing “stars” in Baiersbronn… Part two

Bill’s driving habits turn to shit…

Thursday morning we woke up early with big plans for the day. Because we had dental appointments in Stuttgart, Bill decided that we’d need to skip breakfast. He said our appointments were at ten o’clock and eleven o’clock, and as downtown Stuttgart is about 100 kilometers from Baiersbronn, it would take over an hour to get there. Plus, there’s Stuttgart’s famous traffic to consider, and scheduled road work that was going on. Well… as it turned out, we certainly could have eaten breakfast. But more on that in the ensuing paragraphs.

I took this photo during our visit in 2018. I took two more this year, but they didn’t turn out as well as this one did…

The sun was shining as we set off for our old stomping grounds. I busied myself by taking photos of the enchanting landscape as we passed through charming towns and past green fields full of sunflowers in bloom. Bill was trying very hard to make sure we got to the dentist on time. He decided to take a route that directed us through Horb, a town we only managed to visit once during our time in Jettingen, even though it’s a nice looking and easily accessible place from our old town. Going through Horb turned out to be a time consuming decision, since there was road construction going on. A detour sent us through more picturesque towns that delighted the senses. I took a few more photos as Bill continued to stress and stew over making our appointments.

We stopped at a bakery for coffee, juice, and bread. I noticed what appeared to be a new chain of bakeries… or maybe it’s not a new chain, but I had never noticed them before our visit over the weekend. I counted at least four outlets of Ziegler’s Bakery on our drive. We stopped at one in Horb, then Bill got back on the road and immediately got blitzed by a speed camera! Then, about fifteen minutes later, as we entered the hamlet of Eutingen im Gäu, Bill got blitzed a second time! To put this in perspective, I think in seven years of living in Germany this time, Bill has gotten just one speeding ticket. That time, it was near our old town of Pfäffingen, where we lived from 2007-2009. I guess in a few months, he’ll get the tickets in the mail.

A quick shot of Horb from the bakery’s parking lot, moments before Bill got blitzed the first time. This is a really cute town that deserves more exploration.

Despite the detour and blitzing, Bill managed to get us to Dr. Blair’s office at 10:00am. The sunshine we enjoyed in the Black Forest had disappeared behind clouds. Rain was forthcoming.

*Bill waits patiently in his high speed mask. I can’t stand the FFP2 masks, so I wear a disposable surgical mask. Using homemade cloth masks alone is no longer permitted in Germany.*

There were several other people in the waiting room. I’m not sure what happened… Bill said he’d reconfirmed the dates and times, but it turned out we were early. It was after noon when I finally got in the chair. I had a clean checkup, but Bill has to return this Thursday for a repair. He told Dr. Blair about a trouble spot in his mouth. As Blair was poking around, the tooth, the filling fell out. Fortunately, Bill can easily take the ICE train from Frankfurt and get to Stuttgart much faster than he would if he drove. Blair’s office is even close enough to the main train station that Bill could easily walk to his next appointment from there, rather than taking the U-Bahn.

After our appointments, I had a date to drop off corks with a member of the Stuttgart military community. But Bill wanted to eat lunch first, so we stopped by Abacco’s Steakhouse, a chain restaurant that offers steaks served on hot stones. We had eaten there once before, back in 2016. As we entered the restaurant, our waiter checked our COVID-19 passes. Every restaurant we visited over the weekend checked our vaccination status.

Abacco’s Steakhouse offers soups, salads, and steaks. The steaks, which come from the U.S. or Argentina, come out lightly seared and very rare. The idea is to let them cook on the hot stones to your preferred level of doneness. I’m not all that excited about cooking my own steak in a restaurant, but I have to admit the 300 gram rib eye steak from Argentina was good after a lean morning no protein. It came with barbecue sauce, horseradish, and a chimchurri sauce, as well as steak fries.

Bill is smiling, even though he has to go back to Stuttgart this week.

With lunch done, we headed to Panzer Kaserne, where we dropped off our corks. The lady we were meeting is a longtime member of the Facebook food and wine group I run. It was nice to put a face to the name, especially since we’ve been conversing for several years! I always collect corks from the many bottles of wine we drink, since I’ve found that a lot of crafters want them for their projects. Every time I’ve asked if anyone wants them in my Facebook group, someone always does! I could just as easily dump them at the store, but I like to help out the crafters when I can, since I’m not particularly crafty myself. Besides, it’s a nice way to meet people.

I was pretty shocked to see how things have changed around Panzer in the time we’ve been here. When we lived in Stuttgart the first time, the bucolic road that links Vaihingen to Sindelfingern, Pascal Strasse (affectionately known as Frog Road by Americans, thanks to the ponds and many frogs on it) was completely sheltered in forest. I used to love driving on that road, since it was so pretty compared to the A 81 Autobahn that runs next to it. When we moved back to the Stuttgart military community in 2014, that road started to change. The end of it was diverted to a nearby state road and the traffic pattern was completely rerouted. Since we left in late 2018, the area has changed even more. It made me feel sad, since I always enjoyed driving on Frog Road. Looks like it’s being torn up now.

After we dropped our corks, we headed back to Baiersbronn. Bill opted to go back a different way, one that would take us through Herrenberg and past our old town of Jettingen and Nagold, where we spent many wonderful weekend days during our second stint of four years in the Stuttgart area. I must admit, as enjoyable as Wiesbaden is, I really miss living close to the Schwarzwald. It really is a beautiful area, even on the edge where we lived, and in spite of our troublesome exit from our previous house. ‘Nuff said about that… I want to keep this blog post positive!

Lovely Nagold. The sun came back out as we approached!

Our alternative route also took us past Freudenstadt, which is another great town where we spent a lot of time. Freudenstadt is very close to Baiersbronn, too, so anyone who is tempted to visit Baiersbronn after reading this area can easily do a trip to Freudenstadt shopping or eating or other activities.

On the way in to Baiersbronn, Bill’s driving was tested again. We rounded a curve, where we were suddenly confronted by some guy who’d apparently had a single car accident. His small car was pointed in the wrong direction in our lane, as if he’d slid into the wrong lane. Bill had to swerve to avoid hitting him, since he was sitting in the middle of the road, wearing his orange vest but having neglected to put out his warning triangle to alert other drivers. We narrowly missed having a collision ourselves, as other cars were coming in the other direction. That was a near miss!

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to try the pools. The Hotel Engel Obertal offers several pools and whirlpools, as well as saunas. It was a bit crowded when we got there. We had to check in, and thanks to COVID-19, there were limits on the number of people allowed in the pool at a time. The lap pool was pretty empty and quiet, so we basically hung out there. Lots of people with kids were in the big fancy saltwater pool that offers egress to the outside. We skipped the saltwater pool, because there were many kids in it and there weren’t supposed to be more than four people using it at a time. We also skipped the Naturalbadsee because it’s entirely outside and the weather was a bit too chilly for swimming outside. However, we did see some intrepid Germans using it, including one woman who went nude!

We opted not to have dinner, since we had a big lunch and Bill had an online appointment with the Jungian therapist he’s been talking to for the past few months. While Bill did his hour with the shrink, I sat in the bar and listened to love songs from the 80s and 90s. Bill joined me later, and we enjoyed a few cocktails. Next post, I will write about our gourmet extravaganza! Stay tuned!

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The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Category Archives: dental