Category Archives: Sundays

Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sundays

Our first visit to Restaurant Bootshaus Mainz…

In my last post, I complained about the neverending winter weather and advised that winter was free to scram as soon as possible. Well… ask and you shall receive! This weekend, we’ve had beautiful sunny days with mild temperatures in the 50s. Since it had been awhile since my last outing, Bill invited me out to lunch at the Restaurant Bootshaus Mainz today. He made a 1:00 reservation, which was a good idea. Although the restaurant wasn’t completely full during our visit, it did get busy!

We found a parking spot somewhat close to the Bootshaus. The place has free spots for guests and employees. It’s near a couple of tennis courts, as well as the majestic Rhine/Rhein River. When we arrived, we were told to sit at any two top table that was open. I chose one near the door, which faced the big windows that offered a view of the river.

Near the entrance of the restaurant…

The table where we sat had one chair facing away from the river, and a bench full of pillows facing toward it. I chose the bench, but had to do some maneuvering to sit comfortably, thanks to all the pillows! Seriously the bench was full of them, and some were pretty big.

An English speaking waiter brought us menus in English. We don’t require English menus, but it’s nice that they had them. A couple of items were not available, including the duck croquettes, which Bill had specifically mentioned when he told me we were going to dine at the Bootshaus. Oh well… now we have a reason to go back! But I would have wanted to go back, anyway, because the food was very good!

I started with sea scallops that came with a luscious carrot puree. Bill had the burrata with fresh tomatoes and crispy bread. The scallops were perfectly grilled and not at all bitter. Bill raved about the burrata, which I also tried. I only wished they’d brought me a spoon, so I could have gotten all of the carrot puree in my dish.

Next, Bill had Saltimbocca made of chicken breast and wrapped with prosciutto, with polenta, broccoli, and jus. I went with the rainbow trout, which was (mostly) deboned and served with beurre blanc, roasted potatoes and spinach with lots of garlic. I loved that the spinach was perfectly cooked and not mushy. That’s not always a feat that kitchens get right. We also had a bottle of locally produced Sylvaner and some sparkling water.

They did not give us bread, but that could be ordered a la carte. Personally, I’m glad they didn’t bring it out, because it would have put me over the edge of being uncomfortably full. They also didn’t serve an amuse bouche, which is also fine with me. The place has a very casual feel, although the food is certainly not what you’d expect to find in a casual restaurant.

My fish also came with beurre blanc– a lovely butter and white wine sauce for the trout.
Love the water glasses!

We had a long pause after we finished our main courses. At that point, the couple sitting at the table next to ours abruptly got up and moved to another table. It looked like they had finished eating, too. I wondered if they moved because we’re English speakers, but then I noticed the woman got up a few times and seemed to move stiffly. Bill said she’d been giving us a side eye, but for all we know, they wanted to free up that table for someone else. The table where they sat wasn’t set up for food. Anyway… I will assume they moved for benevolent reasons, and not because they resent us Yanks. 🤭 (of course, under the circumstances, I don’t know that I would blame them…)

For dessert, I had warm cheesecake with ice cream and candy apple cream. Bill had coconut semolina flummery with a pineapple sorbet and a mango ragout. Both desserts were delicious and not too much. However, the cheesecake was definitely served warm, rather than lukewarm. They did have a chocolate lava cake, but if you’ve been reading this blog, you already know how I feel about lava cakes. 🙄 Especially chocolate ones…

Two hours after lunch began, we were finished. The bill came to about 174 euros, before the tip. Bill paid with a credit card, and we made our way home. I might have taken a walk in the very pleasant weather, but I needed to pee, and this restaurant, unfortunately, requires a stout walk and climbing up two flights of stairs to get to the loo. After two trips, I decided I’d rather go at home. There is an elevator for those who can’t do the stairs.

Overall, we had a very nice time at the Bootshaus in Mainz. I think we’ll go back, provided we don’t get deported… 🤭 (I know… I shouldn’t laugh about that, but if I don’t laugh, I might cry…)

A few more photos… the restaurant is also close to the train tracks and the city park, where we attended the wine fest a few months ago. Keep in mind, although we live about twenty minutes away from Mainz, it’s in another state– Rhineland-Pfalz (or Palatinate, if you prefer).

Train tracks!
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Hessen, Hofheim, Sundays

Die Scheuer is now open on Sundays, so we paid a visit today…

Last night, Bill was looking for places to eat and he noticed that one of our favorite restaurants, Die Scheuer, in Hofheim, was going to be open. I’m not sure why they have now decided to open on Sundays, but it was good news for us. We’ve been to this place a few times and enjoyed several good meals there, but we tend to go out on Sundays. Until now, with the exception of Easter last year, they were closed on Sundays.

Bill made a 1:00 PM reservation, and we just got back from a lovely two hour repast. From start to finish, it was excellent! When we walked in, we were immediately greeted by the proprietor and a very cute little dog. They knew who we were, and escorted us upstairs to the very charming wooden dining room, with Eckbank Gruppes all over the place. I love the Eckbank Gruppes, because I don’t have to worry that my ass is going to be squashed. 😆

I ordered a glass of Champagne– again, perhaps too many Trek Trendy videos– and Bill had a non-alcoholic Inge (ginger) cocktail as aperitifs, while we decided on what to have for lunch… We also ordered sparkling water, and they brought out fresh bread with butter. Bill decided to use the olive oil and salt on the table, instead…

Nice bubbles… for 18 euros!

There were a couple of specials available, which were explained to us in English. One was a smoked salmon roulade, which was there in place of a tuna appetizer they’d run out of. The others were the catch of the day (loup de mer) and duck.

I decided to have a lovely pea foam soup with smoked trout, followed by the duck, which came with gravy, warm cabbage slaw, and a potato knoedel. Bill went for the smoked salmon special and braised beef cheeks with truffled mushrooms, celery puree, dehydrated carrots, and herb spaetzle. We also ordered a bottle of red wine from the Pfalz…

The food was excellent, and we were on our best behavior. A woman and a young man who might have been her son were sitting near us. I suspect they might have overheard and understood us talking about the strange and difficult times we’re in… Maybe they were somewhat relieved, as I told Bill I think it’s time we got rid of the electoral college and had more candidates to choose from when it comes to our presidential elections. Or maybe they were just very polite.

We were trying not to be loud, and I don’t think we were. But as they left, the woman smiled warmly and said “goodbye.” I responded with “Auf Wiedersehen!”, and she beamed at me! I do get the sense that a lot of Germans seem relieved when they run into Americans and they aren’t obvious fans of the felon.

For dessert, we were both undecided, and let the coin tell us what to have. I ended up with the Kaffee Grande, which was a shot of espresso with mini versions of the the desserts. Bill went for the mandarin “frischkase” tart with mandarin ice cream. I think I would have had that, if not for the coin toss.

This was a brilliant dessert. I got to try everything for two euros more than if I’d just had the cheese tart.
This was my second choice.

All told, the lunch came to about 235 euros or so. Bill tipped like an American (40 euros 😳), which I think made the waiter very happy. When we left, he had a huge grin on his face. 😆 I don’t think it was just because he was glad to be taking a break and getting rid of the Americans. We were pretty low maintenance… ordered everything as it was on the menu, and didn’t complain. The dog said goodbye to us, too.

I really like Die Scheuer. I hope we’ll soon have a chance to go back there. We definitely need to visit Hofheim more often. It’s an adorable town! I don’t know why the restaurant is now open on Sundays. I hope it’s not due to money problems. That place is a real gem in Hofheim!

I don’t think I’ll need to eat again until tomorrow, but I did bring home a few leftovers, just in case I get hungry later. These are the times when I’m very grateful for good plumbing.

Anyway, I always highly recommend Die Scheuer. If you’re near Hofheim and looking for a nice place to dine, it’s a good bet. I recommend making reservations and bringing a credit card or a good amount of cash. It’s definitely not a cheap place to eat, but I think it’s well worth what you spend there.

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Hessen, Sundays

Wiesbaden City Fest 2025…

Yesterday, after spending Saturday at home, working on chores and stuff, Bill and I decided to attend Wiesbaden’s City Fest. We mostly decided to go to the fest because the weather was sunny and somewhat warm. I remembered attending it in 2019, but thanks to COVID and trips out of Wiesbaden in the following years after 2019, we never got a chance to visit again.

Yesterday, the festival was very well attended, with lots and lots of crowds. It took awhile to find a parking spot, and Bill was very grateful he had cameras on the Volvo. But we got out and walked around the fest for awhile. The main part of it was over by Wiesbaden’s artificial lake, and it included many of the same exhibits I remembered from 2019.

They had goats, sheep, cows, and ponies giving pony rides. There were a couple of groups providing live entertainment, and plenty of food stands, although there weren’t many places to sit down. It was also wall to wall people, without the walls!

I got some photos, although my phone was about dead…

I remember these from the last time we went to this festival.

I have to admit, we didn’t stay very long at the City Fest, because there were so many people there that it was hard to walk freely. There was also a lot of shrieking! Many kids were freaking out! It was still nice to see the exhibits, smell the food, and enjoy the farm animals. We even saw a lady from our village there. She smiled and said hello. And I saw a charming scene, as two women were walking with an elderly lady on the sidewalk, only to be met by a gentleman, who took the place of one of the women and gallantly offered the elderly lady his arm. It was heartwarming to watch him help her to their car, which he had helpfully brought up from the parking garage for her.

Bill and I crossed the street as the strains to “You’re Gonna Miss My Loving” by Lou Rawls played for a fashion show, complete with runway/catwalk. It was then that I realized that it was a “shopping Sunday”, meaning that some stores were open for business. No wonder the city was so crowded.

In the Marktplatz, there were more food stalls and a big stage was set up for a band. Although there was more space there, it was still crowded and low on seating. I also noticed that in front of the Marktkirche, there was a huge hole excavated. I’m not sure what is going on there, but it looks like major construction that might mess up future festivals until it’s fixed.

We decided to have lunch at the Les Deux Messieurs, a chain French bakery/cafe near the Marktplatz. It was nice out, so we sat outside. I kind of regretted that after a few minutes, because it was chilly and breezy. We had the same problem the first time we dined there a few months. Nevertheless, we both had quiche– Atlantique for Bill, and Lorraine for me, with side salads and beer. And then for dessert, I had a chocolate eclair, and Bill had a chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream and berries. It was a nice lunch! Next time, I’ll bring a sweater.

After lunch, we decided to go home and hang out with the dogs. The French late lunch was enough to tide us over until this morning. I’m glad we went to the City Fest, and grateful to live in a place where these events take place, and they are reasonably safe and fun for the whole family, even if parking and seating are in short supply!

On Wednesday of this week, we’ll be packing up to go to Switzerland again. I’m looking forward to the change of scenery. Bill will be having two more interviews for the C.G. Jung Institute, as he tries to gain admission to the program. I’m pretty sure Bill is a shoo in for admittance to the Jung Institute, but I could be wrong. So I hope for the best… and you can expect that next week, I’ll be writing all about it!

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Sundays

A lovely Sunday afternoon enjoying Wein am Stadtpark in Mainz!

As I was writing yesterday’s post, Bill came into my office and asked if I wanted to go out and do something. We quickly decided to visit the Wein am Stadtpark festival in Mainz. We have been to that fest before, but I think it was a few years ago. I know we went in 2019, but then the pandemic came, and we usually travel for Labor Day weekend, which is when the event usually happens. Last year, for instance, we were in Iceland.

Wein am Stadtpark usually occurs during the last weekend of August and the first weekend of September. They don’t run it during the week. I’m not sure if they take all of the food trucks and such out during the week. Seems like that would be impractical, since there are people from all sorts of wineries there.

Anyway, we had nice weather yesterday. It was partly cloudy and not super hot, so we decided to go. We parked at the shitty garage near the Römische Theater, then walked through a tunnel, which had train tracks running over it, and up a hill, which put us on the road to the city park. That’s my one complaint about this fest/market. It’s not very close to a parking garage, and to get to it, you have to walk uphill. Because we didn’t eat before we went, I was unusually winded when we climbed the steps up to the street. But I recovered soon enough, and we walked on a lovely forested path to the celebration.

I got lots of photos…

We kind of took it easy at the fest. Bill had a wine schorle (white wine with sparkling water) and grape juice. I had two glasses of white wine. We also had salmon wraps for lunch. They were really good! I don’t know why the salmon truck never comes to the Wiesbaden fests! Of course, they also had a truck devoted to mushrooms (eew).

The festival was very well attended with people of all ages. They had kid friendly activities and plenty of food, wine stands, and even a Biergarten. Bill and I were noticing how beautiful the park is and saying we need to go there sometime when there isn’t a fest. I’d like to go just to try the Biergarten, which is connected to a hotel there. The park also offers views of the Rhein/Rhine River, and it’s not far from St. Stephan’s church, which is where Marc Chagall’s beautiful blue windows are.

After we visited the park, we went home and enjoyed our backyard for a couple of hours. Bill is getting ready to fly to Lausanne for the night. He’ll be back tomorrow, and then we can plan our visit to Budapest.

I do appreciate the festivals here in Germany. They’re always celebrating something. And if I had to compare the Wein am Stadtpark to the Rheingauer Weinwoche, I think I’d prefer the Wein am Stadtpark market. I just wish the parking was a bit closer. The parking garage is usually pretty full; it’s not a nice garage; and getting to the park requires a steep walk uphill, which makes it harder for fatass housewives and people with mobility issues. 😉

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anecdotes, German lifestyle, Sundays

A weekend at home…

Although we had somewhat decent weather over the weekend, Bill and I decided to stay home and take care of a few chores. Or, actually, Bill did chores, and I made anti-Trump song parodies based on old songs by Blondie.

On Friday of this week, our old mattress, along with a freezer Bill bought from a former co-worker in Stuttgart, and a few other odds and ends, will be picked up and hauled somewhere. Since the freezer is tall, cumbersome, and heavy, Bill decided to disassemble the freezer as much as possible. He took off the door, and removed the drawers.

He also went out to buy more dog food, and while he was out, acquired a couple of large plastic bins. He put our Christmas stuff into the bins, and cleared out more junk that needs to be discarded or donated. Our basement looks a lot better now, and I look forward to having the space that will be made once we get rid of the freezer, which hasn’t worked since 2019.

Back in 2017, when we still lived near Stuttgart, I had suggested to Bill that maybe we should buy a stand alone freezer. That was because the house we lived in only had a tiny “dorm sized” fridge, with no freezer space to speak of. That fridge also barely worked, and though the landlady had presumably provided it, she accused us of DUMPING it on her when we moved out, and stealing our own fridge, which I purchased when we moved into that house. Anyway, instead of buying a new freezer, Bill decided to help out his buddy, an enthusiastic hunter, who was moving back to the States. He bought one of the three freezers the guy was unloading.

I was actually against that idea, since in my experience, used appliances don’t always work so well in the long run. We could also afford to get a new freezer, and I would have chosen a smaller freezer, in any case. But anyway, that freezer worked for a couple of years. It was a lot bigger than what we needed. And then, in 2019, it stopped functioning. It’s been taking up space in our basement ever since.

Aside from cleaning up the basement and dismantling the freezer, Bill also made homemade tomato sauce for pasta, which we’ll probably have tonight, and he brewed another batch of beer. It always amazes me how domestic my husband is, especially considering his background, and the fact that he actually has a wife who stays home. Some of the tomatoes were supplied by our landlord, who brought them over yesterday morning, while I was sitting on the toilet. It took me a moment to get to the door, and he was afraid he’d gotten me out of bed! Not quite! We also have a lot of cherry tomatoes from Bill’s gardening efforts over the summer.

Not surprisingly, the weather has gotten a lot cooler. That new air conditioner we bought last week is now becoming a lot less necessary, although we still use it at night, if only because the noise makes it easier to sleep. The new mattress is also an enormous improvement, although I’m finding that we need to break it in. Or maybe I need to get a new topper for it. Maybe next time Bill schedules a bulk trash pick up, we’ll get rid of the topper, along with the old sun umbrella in our garage, and maybe the air conditioner we replaced.

Bill also worked on lining up interviews for the C.G. Jung Institute. He has to go to Switzerland and have in person interviews with three analysts before he can complete the application process. Lining up the appointments hasn’t been easy, as two of the analysts are in Zürich, and one is in Lausanne. But he’s planning an overnight trip to Lausanne next week. Then, in October, he will travel to Zürich again for the other two appointments, as the analysts there have offices within walking distance of each other. I may go with him on the trip to Zürich, since it might also give me a chance to see Dr. Blair in Stuttgart and get my teeth cleaned. Bill has to pay for the interviews in Switzerland. But he’s so excited and interested in the program, that he’s willing to jump through the hoops.

The featured photo is of the rose bush in the backyard. It has a few blossoms. It’s been known to produce flowers until December, but this year, I think it will go dormant early. Our neighbor’s apple tree, which usually dumps apples all over the yard, is also pretty sparse in fruit production this year. That’s okay with me, since the apples that fall in the yard are usually eaten up by worms and such. There is no doubt about it, though… autumn is rapidly approaching.

Every German house we’ve lived in has had at least one rose bush– and they’ve all been different colors! Our first house had pink ones; second house had yellow ones; and here, we have red roses. The red ones are my favorites. I think this house might be my favorite, too, which makes sense, since it’s also the most expensive of the three!

This isn’t the most exciting post, I know… but on a more interesting note, Bill and I are going to Budapest, Hungary on September 7th, and we’ll be there until the 13th. So the travel blog will be waking up again soon.

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German lifestyle, Hessen, Sundays

One last visit to the Rheingau Wine Week…

The weather was so gorgeous yesterday afternoon, that Bill and I decided to go to Wiesbaden and enjoy the last day of the Rheingau Weinwoche. As I mentioned last weekend, Sunday is our favorite day to go to this fest. It’s usually more laid back and low key than on Friday nights or Saturdays. I’m not sure what the fest is like during the work week. Our usual parking garage was “besetzt” (full) when we arrived, so we parked at the Kurhaus, which had plenty of parking.

We enjoyed a snack and some wines… I had a little quiche with bacon and garlic, and Bill had cheese bread sticks. We listened to the strains of live music and some American guy in a Nickelback t-shirt proselytising to a multicultural group. It was kind of annoying, because there was a smoker in the group, and when she finished her cigarette, she put her dirty ashtray at the table next to ours.

The carillon player at the Marktkirche was rocking out on what sounded like a very interesting cover of “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. I love this about Germany… the churches are pretty secular.

This was a surprising music choice for a Sunday… I thought it was kind of cool, though.

We didn’t stay a long time at the fest. It was somewhat crowded, and Bill was not wanting to drink a lot of wine, since we drove. Still, it was a beautiful day with a perfect temperature– about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. I got a few more photos, just in case it turns out to be our last year getting to go to this particular festival…

We really have been fortunate to get to live here… Wiesbaden is a lovely place to live. Not that I didn’t enjoy Stuttgart, too… although the traffic was worse, and the local culture was a bit different.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do next weekend. There will probably be another wine fest somewhere close, or maybe we’ll visit another town. The possibilities are endless, and we really should get out more. Anyway, a new work week has started for Bill. Hopefully, it will be a productive one.

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Hessen, Sundays

A summer lunch date at Landhaus Diedert…

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.

I had a vegetarian pea and mint soup with ricotta filled raviolis. Bill had a smoked Forellen-lachs dish with cherry sorbet. Then, for lunch, I had fried chicken breast with parslied mashed potatoes and honey cherry tomatoes. Bill had Angus filet with parmesan crust, Béarnaise sauce, and green asparagus.

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.

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Hessen, Sundays

Another relaxing lunch at Villa im Tal… until it came time to leave!

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.

For lunch, I started with the avocado and asparagus tartar, which came with pink grapefruit, pink peppercorns, and marinated watercress. Next, I had the grilled Anchorena Black Angus Roast Beef, which came with Béarnaise sauce and, roasted potatoes and asparagus.

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.

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memories, Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sundays

Another short visit to Bacharach… a special German town to me…

Yesterday, I was lamenting to Bill that I wanted to get out of the house for awhile, and remember why we moved to Germany in the first place. Unfortunately, I’ve reached a stage in my life in which I don’t really feel like going out as often as I used to. Part of the problem is that our house is very comfortable, making it harder to leave. Another issue is that I’m getting older and less impressed with things. And then there’s the weird weather for this time of year. It’s chilly and a bit overcast today, although we did see glimpses of the sun.

Originally, Bill suggested that we visit Mainz and go to the Gutenberg Museum, a place we have yet to see. Then he thought maybe we’d go to an Armenian/Greek restaurant downtown. But I like to save museums for when the weather is cold. I really kind of wanted to visit the Rhein River… or perhaps a waterfall or a cave. I was really in the mood to do something outside, in spite of the weather. I suggested Bacharach, a beautiful town on the river that also has the distinction of being the very first German town I ever visited.

Back in the summer of 1997, I was finishing my Peace Corps service in Armenia, planning for a month long Eurail trip. I read Europe Through the Back Door, by Rick Steves. He constantly mentioned how adorable Bacharach is. I was to be alone for that part of my trip, so I decided that once I got off the plane from Yerevan, I’d get on a train at the Frankfurt Airport and head for Bacharach for a couple of nights. When I finished my service in August of 1997, that is precisely what I did. When I landed in Frankfurt, I took a couple of trains to the beautiful riverside town of Bacharach. It was a great place to start that trip. I never dreamed I’d be back ever again, let alone live about 45 minutes away.

In late May 2014, just weeks before Bill finished his active duty Army career, we took a “Space A” hop from Baltimore to Germany. We spent most of our time in France, but then flew back to Frankfurt from Nice, and took a train to Landstuhl to work on getting our Space A flight back to the States. We weren’t able to get out the day we wanted to, so we had an extra day in Germany. I suggested that we visit Bacharach. Bill had never been before, and I remembered it to be a lovely town. So we went from Landstuhl… and it took a couple of hours to get there. The town was just as quaint and inviting as I remembered it.

Bill and I happened upon a Biergarten made of an old carousel. We stopped in for beer, and there were a bunch of drunk guys in there. It was Father’s Day, and they were all celebrating. When one of the men heard us talking, he asked if Bill was in the Army. Bill said he was, and the guy told us that American soldiers had saved his family from being stuck in East Germany. He got quite emotional and thanked Bill for his service. It was at around that time that I told Bill that I had a feeling that we were going to be moving back. Sure enough, six weeks later, we moved back to Stuttgart. The rest is, of course, history.

We also visited Bacharach in 2019, or thereabouts… around the time we moved to Wiesbaden. I had wanted to come back again after that visit, but we couldn’t do that easily because a bridge that connected Wiesbaden to the Rhein area was deliberately destroyed and rebuilt. It took a long time. And then, of course, we had the pandemic… and after that, we got out of the habit of enjoying weekend outings.

In any case, you can see photos and read about our previous visits. In 2014… and in 2019… I wrote this about my 1997 trip in 2013.

Below are some photos from today. The weather wasn’t the greatest, although we did stop by the Kleines Brauhaus at the Rhein Theater again. That’s become a tradition for us in Bacharach! It looks like they changed the canopy since we were there in 2019. Also, they don’t have wait service anymore. Now, it’s self-service, which is fine. We both had schnitzels and fries today. Bill had his with cream sauce. I see that the sun is now out, too… SIGH.

Where I stayed in 1997.

We passed by the little hotel/B&B where I stayed in 1997. I remember it was no frills, and I was asked to pay in advance, which I did in Deutsch Marks. A lot of people were walking around Bacharach today, but it wasn’t teeming with people, probably because the weather wasn’t that great. But it remained a lovely place to spend a few hours, watching river cruise ships pass by on the serene Rhein, and a cute little dog in a tiny carrier, hanging out with its people. I wouldn’t have minded having coffee and cake, or maybe some wine in another establishment… but I feared that if we sat down somewhere, we’d stay longer than we should. So we decided to head back after a couple of hours. It was long enough to remind us of why we wanted to move back here so many years ago.

I didn’t get any premonitions today… which I take as a positive sign. Bacharach remains a favorite German destination for me. We should visit more… In fact, we should go to more adorable German towns on the Rhein. I just have to get my ass off the couch or the bed and get to it.

Unfortunately, when we got home, I found out that the rivet securing the strap on my purse broke. I bought the purse in Florence back in 2022. It’s served me well, so I ordered another one from the same shop in a different color. Maybe we’ll get the strap fixed on the one I have now. It just needs a new rivet. I also need to clean out my bag!

Well, I think I’ll close this post and go enjoy the rest of the evening with Bill. Hope you had a lovely Sunday.

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Hessen, Sundays

A photo dump for the first week of April…

Bill has been in Norway all week, and I’ve been left to my own devices here in Germany. I’ve been keeping busy with random chores, making song parodies, and watching lots of YouTube videos, while I ponder and worry about the future. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that we had some beautiful weather this week. The temperatures are up; the sun is out; and I’ve been fighting the urge to drink wine on the terrace. This week, my liver has gotten a much needed break from booze.

I did take a few pictures this week, to show our lovely little town erupting into spring. Yesterday, I noticed they put up the Easter display in our Dorfplatz, just like they do every year. I may not be German, but I sure do enjoy living here. It’s nice and quiet, predictable, and civilized.

Charlie strikes a pose. He sure looks happy!
Easter is here!

I wish I had more to report. When Bill goes away, I just kind of hunker down and get through things. I did go to the Rewe yesterday to get some groceries. I had a big brainfart while standing in line. Everybody seemed to want to check out at the same time, and the lady in front of me wanted cigarettes, which required the cashier to fetch them.

When she brought them to the register, I guess they either weren’t what she wanted or were too expensive. So then the cashier had to take them back. Meanwhile, my blood sugar was in the toilet and I was getting irritable. I counted out some money, but didn’t realize that I had mistakenly counted a five euro bill as a twenty euro bill.

And the lady in front of me said something in German, so much to my shame, I blurted out “I’m American.”

She came back in perfect English with, “I hope you aren’t in a hurry.” (or something along those lines)…

By the time she left, I was all flustered, and the cashier was telling me that I needed to give her more money. Fortunately, I noticed the shortage and gave her the twenty I had originally meant to give her. And then, on the way out of the Rewe, which is about a ten minute walk from my house, but I had the car, there was a huge group of people on bikes to navigate.

The only other significant thing that happened this week is that the dogs got much needed dentals done. That was no big deal, except for when I needed to find a parking spot. Our vet has little parking, and everybody seemed to be collecting their pets at the same time. After I paid the 1100 euro ($1400) bill for Noyzi and Charlie, I took them home. Today also happens to be the fifth anniversary of the day I saw Noyzi’s photo for the first time and fell in love with him. It took about six months to bring him home from Kosovo.

Oh… and today, I learned how to refill the salt in our dishwasher. That was quite a life skill. Seriously, Bill always handles that task, so I didn’t know. I had to guess that was why the dishwasher wouldn’t run. Below is a helpful video for those who are similarly questioning:

Let’s hear it for doing it yourself…

This week should be even more tranquil… although given what’s going on in US politics, maybe not. Ah well. Bill will be home on Saturday, and he’s taking the following Monday off. So maybe there will be something new to report then. As for today, I’m probably just going to hang out in the house…

I guess this post turned out to be more than I thought it would be.

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