Today is a long awaited day in our house. We’re FINALLY getting a new mattress. The one we’ve been sleeping on, I bought at a Haverty’s in Fayetteville, Georgia, back in September 2009. Mattresses are supposed to be replaced after about ten years, but we’ve had this one for almost 16 years. It now sags on both sides, where we’ve been sleeping.
I put off getting a new mattress because we live in Germany, and beds are differently sized in Europe. And if I was going to buy a new mattress, I wanted it to be a really nice one. AAFES doesn’t have the greatest selection, especially in Europe. But the sagging finally got so bad that I told Bill to go to AAFES and see what he could get there. He bought their most expensive Serta mattress, alas, without new box springs. They didn’t have any of those.
The new mattress is supposed to be delivered today, so I just stripped the bed, which was quite an ordeal. To cope with the sagging, I put a foam topper on our old mattress, which helped a bit. It’s also heavy and bulky, and takes up a lot of room on the floor.
I also bought us a new air conditioner. The one we bought in August 2018 in Nagold went on the fritz this week. It’s been hot as hell, and although we don’t know what the future holds in terms of where we’ll be living next year, I don’t think I can bear weeks of being hot at night. I put the older AC in the bedroom, as it’s still working fine. Then I ordered a Dreo air conditioner from Amazon, which is supposed to get here today. I’d rather not buy from Amazon, but logistically speaking, it was the most practical choice. So, hopefully, it will work well, because as I write this, I’m pouring sweat. My office gets super hot this time of year!
Last night, we went to the wine stand. I got a few photos… We talked to Hannah, our American neighbor, who said she’s applied for German citizenship for herself and her kids. Her partner is a veteran, so it’s a bit more complicated for her to switch nationalities. I really can’t blame them, given how the United States is going right now. Hannah speaks fluent German and has many local friends. I think it’s a good decision for her to just stay here. Wish we could do that.
Below are a few obligatory photos. It was nice last night. Not too crowded, and there was a lovely breeze. I got a few photos of Bill in his new Guinness t-shirt. The Germans running the wine stand joked with him about it– “We have no Guinness here!”
In two weeks, the mattress in the featured photo will be headed to a German dump somewhere, along with other stuff we want to get rid of. Amazingly, Bill forgot to add a few items, including the aforementioned air conditioner. I would have had Amazon take it, but the specific model of air conditioner I bought didn’t offer that service, for some reason. Maybe we can get the other air conditioner to work somewhat and use it in Noyzi’s room…
Weirdly enough, even as saggy as it is, I sleep better on that old mattress than I do on most hotel mattresses. Hopefully, the new one will be an improvement. I’m tired of sleeping in the valley.
Bill and I were supposed to go to the first night of the annual Rheingau Wine Festival on Friday evening. His company had reserved a tent for employees and their families. We usually go to that gathering and have a good time. But this year, Bill decided he’d rather hang out at home with me instead of being crowded, hot, and breathing second hand smoke. We usually go to this particular festival on our own, on our preferred Sunday afternoons, when it’s usually a lot less crowded.
So, that’s what we did today… We had beautiful, sunny, relatively cool and breezy weather. The lovely weather made it even nicer to visit this yearly event, which always seems to herald the onset of the fall season for me. I know we have about a month to go before summer is officially over, but years of living in Germany has taught me that in about a month, it’s possible jackets will be necessary once again. On the other hand, I have noticed that things are warmer now than they were in 2007, when Bill and I moved to Germany together with the Army.
Anyway, I don’t have much of anything to report on things that happened today, but I did get some photos and a few recordings…
The first thing we did was go to the WC, where a very cheery Klofrau (toilet lady) was taking one euro per person. She was kind of funny, so I didn’t mind giving her the money. At least the toilets were clean and stocked, right?
We started looking for a place with plenty of shady tables, so we could have something to eat. I finally spotted a good table near some live entertaininers– a guy from Ocean City, Maryland who sang and played keyboards and his German sax player. They were really good, and played music I loved. Bill went to get some bratwursts and pommes (fries), while I drank Riesling. I wish the food had been as good as the live entertainment was. But, the wines were all decent, so there was that.
I really enjoy Wiesbaden, if only because of the fests!
Just before the musicians were about to take their pause, a family sat at the table right behind us. I kept getting bumped by one of them, whose back was against mine. Then, someone from that table kicked rocks, and some wound up in my shoe. Next, a woman sat on the bench in front of me. She was nice enough not to block our view, but her husband then sat down and lit up a cigarette. It was allowed, of course, but pretty annoying. We decided to get up and move to the next booth, run by Barth Weingut, which is a local favorite of mine. When they saw that we were moving, the table muggers quickly moved to take our vacated spots.
Below are some more photos from the other booths we visited. I hope we’ll get to go back again, before the festival ends a week from today.
As for yesterday, we mostly spent it hanging out in the backyard, listening to music, drinking wine and beer, and tearing down the ivy on one of the fences. We didn’t quite finish the job, but now the yard looks both a little naked, and like a tornado hit it.
Bill loves the t-shirt. I ordered it for him a month ago, but it just got to us, along with a couple of others. This coming Saturday, we’ll finally be getting a new mattress, which means somehow hauling the 16 years old one out to be picked up. That will be fun.
I wish I had more fun things to report on… but it does look like I might be able to go somewhere with Bill soon. When the plans are in place, I’ll announce where.
For the past three weeks, Breckenheim has been having wine stands every Friday night. Usually, they only do it every other night. I didn’t go to the one two weeks ago, because Bill was in Romania. Last week, we decided not to go because of the weather. We decided to go last night, because we hadn’t attended a wine stand in so long– not since we went to Switzerland in late June!
It’s been raining a lot lately, and about two hours before the wine stand started, there was heavy rainfall and even some hail! So most of the wooden tables were a bit warped, because they got dumped on. We had to be careful putting our glasses down!
Attendance last night was pretty decent, after the first hour. The temperature was decent; I wore pants instead of shorts. Bill ran into our neighbor, Pete, and spoke to him in German. He used the formal form of “you” with Pete, who corrected him and told him to use “Du”. I was explaining to Bill that “du” is also “you” in Armenian, and there is a “formal” usage there, as well. Only instead of “Sie”, one would say “Duk”. That may be the only thing Armenian and German have in common… Oh, and the word, “potato”, is pronounced “Kartoffel” in German and “kartofeel” in Armenian. And it’s “kartopchka” in Russian… Wonder why we English speakers call them “potatoes”…
Anyway, I got a few photos, so here they are. I’m not sure what we’ll do today. I spent this morning making a song parody that got blocked on YouTube, so I ended up putting it on my blog using VideoPress. Then, I fixed my beloved dark green purse, which I bought in Italy. Bill took it to a shoe repair guy, and he couldn’t fix it. Bill found the part that fell off the bag and I figured out to to repair the strap myself. It was as simple as screwing… (heh heh heh). Then I tuned three of our six guitars. I just replaced the strings on one of them.
We had a good time drinking wine and supporting the local clubs, then came home, listened to music, ate burgers, and made a video for Bill’s daughter, who is preparing for her latest baby’s arrival in a few months. She really has her hands full, but somehow manages to take care of everything with a smile and a good attitude. I wish I could be as cheerful about life as she is. Ah well. At least I can make snarky song parodies. If you want to see it, just click on the link to the main blog… or click here. Until I write a new post, it will be the latest one.
But surprisingly enough, that’s not why Bill and I visited there yesterday…
One might think Americans would be teeming in a town where famous fellow American, and the so-called “King of Rock n’ Roll”, Elvis Presley has such a strong connection. After all, this town has two intersections Elvis Presley inspired walk-don’t walk lights (since December 2018), an Elvis Presley Platz (completed in November 2014), and a statue of the man!
But no… we didn’t notice any American Elvis pilgrims during our brief visit to Friedberg. In fact, we weren’t even there for him, ourselves. I had heard of the German town where Presley is celebrated, and had meant to visit in years past. However, by the time we actually laid eyes on Friedberg, I had forgotten all about Elvis’s Army connection to my adopted “home” country for 13 years of my life. It wasn’t until we were driving into Friedberg that Bill mentioned Elvis and his stint living in Bad Nauheim, a nearby town where he’d rented a villa, so he could do his military service in Friedberg. It was during his German stint that he also met his wife, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.
Elvis inspired traffic lights…Who says Germans are always serious?
So what the hell were we doing in Friedberg, if not to worship “the King”?
A few days ago, someone in a Facebook group dedicated to the German state of Hessen posted some pictures of Adolfsturm, a medieval tower that dates from 1347. I love a good tower challenge, especially when the views at the top are particularly rewarding. Adolfsturm is also very charming, as is the castle complex where it is located.
We’d never been to Friedberg before, and it is the capital of the Wetteraukreis district of Hessen. And since we didn’t have anything better to do yesterday, and the weather was pretty much perfect– partly cloudy, breezy, and only about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, we decided it would be a good day to climb Adolfsturm and get some photos. Of course, there’d also be lunch and people watching.
Friedberg is maybe a 40 minute drive from where Bill and I live. From 1956 until 2007, it was the home of Ray Barracks, which was a U.S. Army installation and, indeed, where Elvis did his patriotic duty for America. One of Bill’s co-workers once lived and worked near Friedberg, before it was “BRAC’d” (a victim of base realignment and closure) in 2007. In fact, Ray Barracks closed a month before Bill and I arrived in Germany the first time, back in September 2007, when he was still serving in the Army.
So, given all of that, you’d think we would have visited this charming town before yesterday. Alas, yesterday was indeed our first time ever there, but hopefully, we will be able to go back, and I can get some photos of all of the Elvis Presley shit. After we climbed the tower, I had completely forgotten about Elvis, and wanted to get home and take a shower! 🚿
I think the pandemic really stifled our desire to get out and explore as much as we used to. We’re only just now getting our mojo back. I also don’t have as many readers as I once did, so that sort of takes away the self-imposed pressure I put on myself when we lived near Stuttgart.
Here’s the story of how our visit went…
Bill and I left our house at a little after 11:00 AM. In the car, we had a deep discussion about our time in Germany thus far. As I lamented about how our previous rental experience vastly contrasts with our current one, and how disappointing it was that we had to leave the Stuttgart area on a sour note, we noticed an idiot driving a car with a full horse trailer cut off at least two cars with Dutch license plates.
As we approached Friedberg, we passed a rest area with a curious looking observation tower. Then I noticed that from the tower on the side of the Autobahn, one can easily see Frankfurt’s familiar skyline, the only one of its kind in Germany. Someday, we’ll have to stop there and take pictures while Bill gets gas for the car.
As we drove into Friedberg, Bill mentioned Elvis, and I looked him up on my phone. I was still reading about him when we pulled into a mostly empty parking garage, and walked toward the main drag… Below are some photos from the walk into the happening part of town. I love the house in the first picture. It’s so cute!
As we got closer to the Stadtkirche Friedberg, I noticed an unhoused person sleeping under a thick red cover, sheltered by the church’s facade. I guess if one must be homeless, the church is a good place to find some rest. The Stadtkirche Friedberg dates from the mid 13th century. It is the only surviving church of Friedberg’s seven medieval churches. I was immediately impressed by its beauty, and of course, I took lots of pictures!
After a brief visit to Friedberg’s marvelous city church, we started walking down the main drag toward the Castle of Friedberg’s grounds. But first, we decided to have lunch. We stopped at a charming German restaurant called Die Dunkel. It was such a nice day, everybody was sitting outside. Bill went in and asked, in German, for two places, and the bartender, who appeared to be of Indian descent and, as it turned out, spoke perfect English, misunderstood and thought he was ordering beer. She brought out the unordered Pils beers, and we were momentarily confused, but I said, “Never mind. We’ll drink them.” Problem solved!
Bill and I both had salads. His had falafel in it, while mine had grilled chicken breast. And, of course, we drank beer and people watched. One guy had on a t-shirt Bill liked. It looked like the Walt Disney logo, but actually said “Malt Whiskey”. He laughed and pointed it out to me. I turned around, and the guy noticed us noticing. He smiled and showed it off, then bowed. We had a good laugh at that! Friedberg seems to be a place where people are friendly and relatively happy. I also noticed a lot of Muslims there, which isn’t a statement on anything other than the town seems to enjoy a diverse community.
At one point, a young couple with a baby sat next to us. I was enjoying watching their teamwork handling the baby, who looked like perhaps she was about 6 or 7 months old. She was quiet and content, playing with a spoon, while her parents ate. Then her mom breastfed her at the table. No one batted an eye. In fact, Bill didn’t even notice. Isn’t it nice that women in Germany can feed their babies without getting the side-eye from chauvinistic jerks who can’t understand that breasts serve a function other than turning them on?
I liked Die Dunkel. The service was friendly; the food was good; the beer was cold; and I noticed a lot of locals were enjoying each other’s company there. It seems like the kind of place where friends can meet up for a drink and then hang out… and that’s actually what I noticed some people doing. The main drag has lots of trees and is very pleasant. It reminded me a little of when Bill and I used to live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, back when we first got married. Friedberg is actually prettier, though.
A pop up cocktail stand!The beers we didn’t order, but drank anyway…
After lunch, we walked to the castle grounds. There’s a large, impressive gate there, as well as what used to be a moat. Behind the gate there is a gymnasium (school for smart teenagers who plan to attend university), the castle itself, St. George Fountain, and of course, Adolfsturm. Friedberg Castle dates from the 12th century, and has a long, rich history. According to its official Web site:
With its 3.9 hectares, Friedberg Castle is one of the larger castle complexes in Germany. But it is not only the extent of its grounds, which have retained the closed character of a medieval fortified complex, that makes it stand out. For many centuries, it also occupied an exceptional legal position.
From the 12th century until 1806, the castle, which had been built before 1180 to protect the Wetterau, was the centre of a unique Burgraviate. From 1431 onwards, it was the only castle with a small territory subject to the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire alone; its cooperative constitution was another special feature.
I don’t think it’s possible to tour the castle itself, but St. George Fountain is in front of it, and the tower is a short walk away. And as we approached Adolfsturm, I paused to take a few photos. It really is a pretty tower, and it only costs 2 euros (1 euro for children under 6) to climb it. It’s open from 2-6 PM on weekends and holidays, from the beginning of April until the end of October.
Somehow, I didn’t manage to get photos of the Friedberg Castle itself! I was too fixated on the tower, which dates from 1347, and had its turrets added in the late 19th century.
To access the tower, you pay the guy minding the “Kasse”, then climb up some steps that lead to just below the midpoint of the tower. When you enter the tower itself, you will see a barred door that has a sign that reads “Verlies” (which means “dungeon” in German– specifically a cell in a tower or castle). After we climbed the tower, we saw that people went down to the bottom of it, but neither Bill nor I wanted to go down to investigate, because it would mean climbing back up, and we were already getting sore! I figured there would be other people’s photos on the Internet, and I was right about that. Another reason why we skipped the dungeon was because I really needed to pee. There is a free toilet on the backside of the tower. It’s not the cleanest, but it was a most welcome sight after our climb!
The parking garage had a free toilet, as it’s part of the “Nette Toilette” program.
Anyway, here are some photos from our climb, which really wasn’t too bad at all. It was a lot less terrifying than the Cathedral Tower in Vilnius was. I am less sore today, too. The tower is about 54 meters high, and offers two open vantage points. There are a couple of enclosed floors where the weapons used to be aimed. You can stop for a rest there on your way up.
The Frankfurter skyline!The indoor windows have screens on them, but there are two areas where you can step outside and get unobstructed photos.
When we got to the first outdoor observation area, I was impressed with the view. I looked up at the steep ladders going higher and wondered if I needed to bother with them. Bill and I debated for a couple of minutes, and then I said, “Well, if we don’t go up there, we might regret it. And if we do, then we’ll never have to climb this particular tower again!” So, we went for it, and the view was worth it. At the top, there are signs showing how far away certain landmarks are, that, on a clear day, are easily visible from the tower.
We decided to walk through the lovely castle grounds to make our way back to the car. We stopped for a moment to take in the views and admire the beautiful wildflowers. The park around the tower has rules: Dogs, alcoholic beverages, and grilling is NOT allowed. And if the weather is inclement, the park may have reduced hours or be closed.
Someone lives at the tower!
On the way out of town, Bill was stopped by some guy who was looking for Western Union services. He said in his best German that we were “Auslanders”. I got a kick out of the sign at a beer bar, which I wouldn’t have minded stopping at, if we’d had the time…
That cute house again!
We got back to the car, and I gratefully reached for my purse, which I’d left inside. I badly needed some Carmex for my lips, which were drying out. As we drove out of Friedberg, we passed the church and what appeared to be a minor fender bender. A distressed looking woman was shaking her head while a young female cop wrote a ticket. A young male cop was smiling as he leaned by the window of the vehicle ahead of the distressed woman’s van. It looked like a very minor accident, but the woman was obviously upset, nonetheless.
Just past where the fender bender took place…
And then, Bill turned left on the main drag, and I finally saw the Elvis Presley traffic lights and an information panel about Elvis! I realized we should have extended our stay by a half hour or so, so I could have gotten some photos. Oh well. Now, we have a reason to return to this very pleasant town, so close to where we live!
Below is a video about Elvis in Friedberg. It’s in German, but you can see the “Elvis Presley Platz”.
The King lives on in Friedberg… and helps save lives.
Bill got home from Romania yesterday afternoon. His flight was delayed, but it wasn’t too terribly late. Still, he didn’t get home until about 6:00 PM. He was fussing about what to have for dinner, and I suggested that maybe we should go out to lunch at Landhaus Diedert today. He agreed, and we had a nice vegetable and hummus dinner washed down with beer.
Our reservation was at 1:00 PM. We dressed up a bit, although Landhaus Diedert is a pretty casual place. The food and service are excellent, but you can come as you are. In the summer, this is especially fine, because chances are good you’ll be sitting out in their beautiful Biergarten, which has huge mature oak trees that offer plenty of shade. We parked on the road behind the restaurant, although we could have scored a spot in their parking lot.
I was very appreciative of the comfortable chairs in their Garten, along with the umbrella. Last time we ate outside at Landhaus Diedert, we were at a table that didn’t have an umbrella. After a round of aperitifs– a house cocktail for me, and alcohol free prosecco for Bill– we ordered. Bill got bottles of red wine and sparkling water. We watched a waiter train a new staff member on how to do wine service. I remembered when I first had to serve wine at a table. The guy did a good job teaching his colleague.
Then, after a short pause, as we drank our delightful Italian red wine, we had dessert. I had what they call a “quick dessert”, which was chocolate creme brulee and a cup of coffee or espresso (in my case, an Americano with sugar), and Bill a cherry Clafouti with marinated cherries and cherry sorbet.
As usual, everything was delicious, and the service was laid back and professional. We’ve never had a bad experience at Landhaus Diedert. It’s always a pleasure to go there and have really good food, even if maybe it was a little heavy for summertime.
Perhaps next week, we’ll manage a visit to our other favorite Wiesbaden Sunday lunch spot, Villa im Tal. We can always count on a warm welcome there.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying lunch at the Landhaus Diedert today… except for maybe one of the two kids who were in attendance. But the lovely thing about this restaurant is that it has a little playground for kids to play on while they wait for the food. The same child who protested a couple of times was enjoying the playground when we came in…
And as we were sitting there under the gorgeous oak trees, I couldn’t help thinking, once again, we are so blessed to get to live in Germany. I’ll always be grateful to the people of Germany for being more welcoming to strangers than my own homeland has been.
Anyway, as usual, I highly recommend Landhaus Diedert to anyone in the Wiesbaden area looking for a truly wonderful meal.
This weekend happens to be the weekend for Breckenheim’s annual wine fest. We were able to attend last night, and we had a great time listening to live music and trying wine from one of four vintners that were there. I got some photos and spent awhile talking to an American couple who had come to Germany to help one of our American neighbors with her kids. My neighbor’s spouse had to go back to the States, and she had to work, so an aunt and uncle came all the way from Massachusetts to help. They came over and introduced themselves.
I really enjoyed talking to both of them, but especially the wife. It turned out we had some things in common. We traded travel and waitressing stories, and we both expressed our chagrin at the current state of things in the USA. And she told me about how, when she was very young in the 1970s, she and a friend were camping in the Schwarzwald and wound up getting arrested because they were in an area where they weren’t supposed to be. And the cops, instead of kicking them off the property and issuing a fine, took them to the Stuttgart jail! She said they were really kind to them, and even gave them pillows and blankets, as well as tea!
I don’t know what Germany was like in the 70s, but I do know about the Black Forest. I would imagine there weren’t a lot of hotels open that could have taken them in, since it was presumably quite late. She said it seemed like the police were doing them a kindness by having them spend a night in jail. It was a great story, though. It ranks right up with my story about being trapped with my friend, Elaine, on the Georgia/Turkey border in 1996.
I’m sure I’ve written that story somewhere in the blog, but the short version is that Elaine and I arrived at the border too late and wound up having to spend the night in an office on the Turkish border, after the customs manager asked me if I’d go home with him. The next morning, we happened to catch the Greek bus back to Yerevan… it was a bus that went back and forth to Greece every two weeks to pick up goods, and it just happened to be there when we needed a ride back to Armenia. I think God was looking after us, because that story could have gone bad so easily!
Anyway, below are some photos and a video I took of the live entertainment, which was quite good. Please excuse my harmony! I was a little drunk. I love that we have these little celebrations in Germany, where people come together for wine and song. No one gets drunk or obnoxious, drives in a crowd, or brings weapons. People just have fun! The first photo was from earlier in the day, when they were setting up. The first night was very well attended, with lots of people making merry!
Several weeks ago, Bill and I visited the local hardware store for some stakes for his tomato plants. While we were there, we stopped by a strawberry shaped kiosk by Hof Birkenhöhe in the parking lot, where a lady was selling berries and wines. We bought a bottle of Fraisecco, a type of bubbly strawberry wine, and a semi street raspberry wine. We put the bottles in the fridge, waiting for the right day to try them.
There’s also another farm called Paul’s Bauernhof near us that sells strawberry wines and other delicious farm fresh products. I originally thought the Fraisecco had come from that farm, but I was mistaken.
Yesterday, we decided it was time to try the strawberry wine. We did that after we’d paid another visit to the hardware store to buy another umbrella for our backyard. Prior to yesterday, we just had one umbrella in the backyard, and it wasn’t quite doing the whole job of shading our patio. I’d have to move it as the sun moved, which isn’t easy, given the 100 pound granite stone it’s connected to. Even though the stone has wheels, it’s very hard to move.
We ended up getting a rectangular umbrella, rather than a traditional one. I think I like it better, because it’s longer and covers more area lengthwise…
Yes, that’s a slide!
I love MS Holz, the local hardware store. It’s so much nicer than Lowe’s or Home Depot… or even the Toom store we used to visit when we lived in Jettingen, down in BW. We spent a little over 300 euros yesterday. It was well worth the cost for the extra shade.
It took some doing to get the umbrella and stone into the Volvo. A big, strong male store employee helped us. He was concerned about what we were going to do when we got the stone back to our house. It was not a big deal, though. I was able to help Bill carry it to the backyard through our garage. Bill set up the new umbrella, then, before breaking out the strawberry Fraisecco, he took my Mini Cooper for a very quick drive.
Getting ready to set up the new umbrella.
Unfortunately, my car doesn’t get used much at all. We bought it in 2009, and it has less than 39,000 miles on it. I don’t drive much, and when I do, I usually take the Volvo, because it’s not in the garage. I did use the car a lot more often when we were in Jettingen, but even that wasn’t often enough. It is useful to have a second car, but most of the time, we don’t need it. However, it’s long paid off, and is fun to drive… when it’s running properly, that is. Right now, it appears that it needs a repair.
Bill said, as he came back outside to the yard, “I think it’s time to blow ‘Taps’ for the Mini.”
He described what happened during his very brief drive. It shook and the service engine came on. I looked up the “symptoms” and learned that the issue is most likely a faulty spark plug or ignition coil. So now, when we get back from Lithuania, he’s going to have to take the car to the mechanic and get it fixed. And then, perhaps we’ll look into buying another car. If we get another, maybe I’ll drive the Volvo and we’ll get Bill something nice for work. One reason I don’t use the Mini very often now, is because Noyzi won’t fit in the back seat. It’s too small. When we had Zane and Arran, I could fit both of them in the back, no problem. There’s no way I can get Noyzi in the tiny back seat of the Mini Cooper.
I do like the convertible– it’s a blast to drive and easy to park. But it’s not very practical for our needs now. It also has a stick shift, and I think I’m at an age at which I don’t want to mess with a manual transmission anymore. Besides, the stereo/sound system is obsolete.
Bill opened the Fraisecco, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had expected it to be sweet and cloying, but it was refreshingly dry, tasted of super fresh strawberries, and went down easy on a hot day. It also only has 8.8% ABV, which is a good thing for my liver. I’d buy it again. In fact, I wish we’d bought another bottle yesterday.
Maybe we’ll find some more when we get back from Lithuania. We’ll see. Actually, days after we get back from Lithuania, we’ll be heading for Switzerland for another 8 nights. So it might be July before we tend to these new issues.
Yesterday, Bill and I had an appointment to update our ID cards. We’re kind of cutting it to the wire, as our old IDs were due to expire June 25th. German authorities were taking awhile to update paperwork that allows us to stay in the country legally. Then, there was another person in Bill’s office who had to complete a procedure before we could get the IDs updated. Next week, we’re going to Lithuania, to be followed by yet another long planned trip to Switzerland…
Fortunately, everything came together, and Bill was able to pick me up and take me to the ID office yet again for new identification credentials. Had he not been able, he had another appointment for next week ready… but that would have REALLY cut it close. We also have to update our SOFA cards, which are basically the permits that allow us to be here legally.
The appointment was for 1:00 PM, and as usual, Bill got me there too early. It’s unusually chilly for June right now, and there’s nowhere to sit near where our appointment was, as the door leading to the waiting room was closed. We didn’t want to sit in the car, because that might signal that we’re about to vacate our parking spot and attract lurkers.
Bill and I went to Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts) and picked up six donuts for this morning’s breakfast. We haven’t been to a Dunkin’ in years. Although the donuts were tasty this morning, I’ve noticed a downturn in quality. But at least it was something different… a nice treat for today. Bill also showed me the concessions at Clay Kaserne, which is where he works. Aside from Subway and a couple of other fast food restaurants I’ve never seen before, there are also a couple of food trucks that looked pretty decent. I had already eaten lunch, so there was no need to visit them.
On the way off post… I guess a bunch of these are rolling into DC now.
Eventually, I spotted a picnic table on the other side of the road, so we went over there… and we actually found two picnic tables, but they were mostly covered with dried bird shit. One of the tables wasn’t as bad as the other, so we sat at that one until the wind grew too chilly. By then, it was close to 1:00 PM.
When we got back to the ID office, there were a bunch of people waiting at the door. Bill whispered with some disappointment that they were going to open right on time. “You expected anything different?” I asked.
It was lucky we had an appointment, because there were a bunch of people at the office, hoping to get in for an ID update. Most of them were walk-ins, and the lady who took care of us warned them that her co-worker was unavailable because of mandatory training. We ended up being the first ones called in, and the worker turned out to be very friendly and professional.
As we were filling out and signing paperwork, I noticed the “retiree spouse” military ID I carry, but don’t use over here, had expired in April. So I got that one updated, too. I would use that ID in the United States, if I’m ever there and need access to military facilities. They’ve gotten pretty strict about ID requirements. I had to show my passport and my Texas driver’s license, which is a “Real ID”. As I handed over my old IDs, which had my name on them, I realized how absurd and overkilling the requirements are these days, but God forbid an undocumented person get access to anything. SIGH…
Anyway, I’m glad that chore is now done. It took about an hour. I wonder how many of those folks who walked in got their business taken care of. Bill brought me home and I soon ended up taking a nice, long nap. Once the SOFA cards are updated, I can feel safer about leaving the country. Don’t want to end up like the people who have been detained in the USA right now.
Below are a few signs for upcoming events in the neighborhood. We will be in Vilnius when these are going on…
The second part of our culinary inspired weekend occurred at Villa im Tal, one of our favorite local restaurants. We’ve been there a number of times over the past few years. In fact, we’ve been so many times that most of the staff recognize and warmly welcome us. Such was the case yesterday, when we were rewarded with a bright smile from one of the wait staff, who invited us to choose a table. I ended up picking the one we sat at the last time we visited, around the Christmas holidays.
I always enjoy going to Villa im Tal, because even though it’s just a few minutes’ drive from Wiesbaden’s city center, it’s located in a gorgeous wooded area near a natural spring. There’s plenty of parking, and it’s very quiet and peaceful there… most of the time, anyway. There are some people appearing to be of Middle Eastern origin who usually hang around the spring with plastic containers/jugs for collecting the water. I suspect they try to sell the jugs to people. They were there yesterday, but didn’t cause an issue when we arrived for our 1 PM reservation.
Right now, it’s asparagus season, so Villa im Tal has a “Spargel Karte” (asparagus menu). The asparagus actually comes from the fields near where we take our dogs for boarding (Greisheim). They also have their usual offerings, which change with the seasons. As we sat down in the comfortable chairs (nice and wide, and deep enough for my ass), we ordered aperitifs– refreshing house cocktails made with lime and mint. Bill got the non-alcoholic version. We also got our usual bottle of sparkling water.
Bill had South Tyrolean mountain ham with salted butter, gherkins, and horseradish flakes, followed by Iberico acorn-fed pork, Sicilian caponata, chorizo ​​and potato rösti. He ordered a bottle of primitivo from Puglia, Italy, which our server kindly poured into a special decanter made by Riedel. I looked it up when we got home. It’s called “Mamba”, which is a type of snake.
I was mostly enjoying the relaxing music, most of which were Brazilian covers of songs from the 1980s done by several different artists. I was so intrigued by the revamped Bossa Nova style covers of the songs that I later downloaded several albums, especially by Sarah Menescal. I had never heard of her before yesterday, but she’s now on my HomePod playlist. Some of her covers were of songs I never would have thought could be turned into Brazilian Bossa Nova music. I can’t say I necessarily love the songs, but I am amused that she turned them into something unexpected. I mean, she even covered a Guns n’ Roses song!
Wild…
As we were enjoying the excellent food and relaxed ambiance out in the woods, I remembered how I said on Saturday night that I thought maybe I liked Landhaus Diedert better than Villa im Tal… I think I might have changed my mind yesterday. But that might be because lunch was not very busy. It was Whit Sunday, after all. Today is Whit Monday.
For dessert, I had the Affogato al caffè, which was a scoop of house made bourbon vanilla ice cream served with a small pitcher of freshly brewed espresso. You pour the espresso over the ice cream. Bill had the Albi-Cup, which was a scoop of bourbon vanilla ice cream topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and served with a small pitcher of Styrian pumpkin seed oil.
When we were finished with our two hour lunch, the bill came to just over 200 euros. Bill paid for it with a credit card and gave our lovely server a tip in “Geld” (cash). A group sitting by one of the large windows walked out with their large, well-behaved, white male poodle. I wondered if Noyzi would ever calm down enough to join us at Villa im Tal.
Below are some photos:
Cool decanter!
I went outside to wait for Bill to finish using the restroom and took a look at the terrace, which is enclosed with what are probably electric walls and roof. This makes the space usable in the cold months. I took a picture of the rustic looking gazebos, where people dine when the weather is fine. We did have sun yesterday, but it was unusually chilly. Villa im Tal is also close to a horseback riding facility, which is always bittersweet for me to see. Horses were, at one time, my whole life! Unfortunately, I gave them up a long time ago, but I really miss having horses in my life.
A front shot of the Ring Church, which I shared photos of in yesterday’s post.
So then it was time to leave, and that large group of Middle Eastern appearing folks had congregated around the spring, which is very close to the parking lot at Villa im Tal. I noticed one grandmother looking woman with a little girl, who was excited about the horse I pictured above. One of the men had parked a very large van near the exit of the parking lot, which made it a tight squeeze to get our car through. Bill was reluctant to try to get through there, but one of the men was insisting it was possible. It was, but only with about an inch to spare. Bill was quite annoyed that these guys were loitering there, obstructing traffic, and commandeering the spring.
But, as we were driving away, I told him to relax and not let those stupid guys ruin what was a very lovely lunch. I’m not sure what they are doing at that place. It looks to me like they’ve unofficially taken it upon themselves to hang out there and harass people into buying their plastic jugs. As long as we were able to get out of there without an accident, I guess no harm was done. Too bad they can’t be arsed to be more considerate, though.
Overall, it was a very nice afternoon. Of course we’ll be back.
If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might know that Landhaus Diedert, a beautiful restaurant in a former Kloster, is a relatively frequent setting for elegant Sunday lunches. Over the past few years, this restaurant on the outskirts of Wiesbaden, has become a favorite place for Bill and me to enjoy German style comfort food. Service is always professional and usually very friendly.
A couple of nights ago, just after Bill returned from his latest business trip, I suggested that we go out and do something this weekend. But we couldn’t decide where we wanted to go… Did we want to visit one of our favorite places, Villa im Tal? Or perhaps Little Italy, in downtown Wiesbaden. Or Landhaus Diedert, which never disappoints? Our answer was dinner at Landhaus Diedert on Saturday night, and lunch today at Villa im Tal. It’s currently “Spargel” (asparagus) season, so both restaurants have a special “Spargel Karte” on their menus.
Below are some photos from the walk in. We parked on a street a block from the restaurant/hotel, because they were busy last night! They have a lovely play area for kids, and when the weather is good, a beautiful outdoor sitting area under huge oak trees.
Bill and I have never had a bad experience at Landhaus Diedert, and last night was no exception. My asparagus soup with herbed ham, for instance, made me stop in my tracks with its burst of flavor. It was followed by Perlhuhn (guinea fowl) with sausage, asparagus, wild garlic gnocchi, and the zestiest cherry tomatoes I have ever tasted, along with a savory sauce. Bill had fried dorade (fish) with cauliflower, barley corn, and rhubarb. Then for dessert, there was chocolate cake with fruit and for him, and New York cheesecake with raspberries and pistachio ice cream for me. Bill’s dessert also came with ice cream, but it was an interesting flavor that neither of us could identify.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the sommelier, who noted our reservation and showed us to a table in the middle of the dining room. Almost every table was taken, with a couple of tables decorated with “Happy Birthday” candles.
The usual delicious fresh breads with butter and hummus.House cocktail for me… non-alcoholic sparkling wine for Bill.Isn’t he handsome?
I’m getting to an age at which three courses are a challenge. Not only do I not need the calories, but I find that it’s very hard to eat that much in one sitting. However, I didn’t want to miss the soups… and I’m glad I didn’t. It was hard to choose between the asparagus soup and the wild garlic soup… They also had a tomato soup that looked appealing.
I LOVED this soup… I’d love to learn how to make this and turn it into a meal.I liked Bill’s vegetarian wild garlic soup, too, but preferred the garlic. This also had a cheese ravioli in it. Local wine!
And then came the hearty main courses, which almost put us over the edge. I thought about taking some home, but by the time I got to that point, I only had a few bites left. So I finished… but it was a delicious challenge!
The lovely dining room…My dish, with guinea fowl, sausage, gnocchi, pickled tomatoes, and asparagus.Bill’s fried dorade with cauliflower, barley corn, pickled rhubarb, and Beurre Blanc.
Although we were full, we decided to have dessert… I know we probably shouldn’t have… but it’s hard to go out to such a nice place and not enjoy a sweet ending. I had the cheesecake, and Bill had the chocolate cake. I would have gone for the chocolate, except I’m not a fan of lava cakes.
Dark chocolate cake with an oatmeal cookie, pistachios, berries, and some kind of ice cream that was light orange. Maybe it was persimmon?My cheesecake came with pistachio ice cream and raspberries…
Dinner took about two hours and ran a couple hundred euros… but it was so nice to get out and have some really good food. On the way out of the restaurant, I took a few more photos of the Biergarten area.
And on the way home, I got a few pictures of Wiesbaden, which is such a gracious, posh, opulent city. I feel lucky to live here. Someday, we’ll visit the Ring Church so I can see what it looks like inside!
It’s great to have Bill home again, and I’m so glad we ventured out for dinner. Stay tuned for a post about Villa im Tal later, and lots more photos! This is quite the weekend for “Hessen Essen”.
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