We have beautiful weather in Wiesbaden today. It was so pretty that Bill decided that he wanted to try out a Biergarten in nearby Mainz-Kastel. Mainz-Kastel is not the prettiest or most picturesque place I’ve ever seen, but it does have a nice Italian supermarket. Bill wanted to stop by there, too, and see if we could score some Italian goodies. We fired up the Mini, which badly needs to be driven, and headed off to our first stop, the Brauhaus-Castel Brewery (or Brauhaus, if you prefer). This restaurant offers hearty German (Bavarian) fare and lots of housemade beers. The kitchen stays open all day, so there are no worries about pauses. They have a nice sized parking lot with free parking, which even has a spot for charging your electric vehicle. There’s also a playground for your kids and a children’s menu!
Here are a few photos from our lunch, which was pretty good. I suspect Bill will be regular for the next few days, thanks to his barley covered schnitzel.
Catering truck… 
E-car outlet! 
Wonder if these were making me sneeze. 
Plenty of parking and kid friendly! 
Welcome! Get drunk if you wanna. 
Blurry bar shot… I took this before drinking. The inside of the restaurant is very nice. A few people were eating indoors. 
Goofy Bill reacts to my jokes. 
The Biergarten is spacious and there’s plenty of shade, which I appreciated. Inside is also really nice. 
I had a half chicken with fries. This was okay, although the chicken was a little dry. 
Bill had a Brew Master’s Schnitzel with roasted potatoes. The schnitzel was covered with barley. He’ll be dumping a lot tonight. 
I was puzzled by this dispenser in the ladies room… 
But I guess after eating Biergarten food, maybe a person needs more hygiene help. They don’t have bidets, so maybe this is the next best thing? Or so I assume… 
They helpfully remind you to wash your hands well, especially if you swabbed your ass. 
And even show you how. 
Afterwards, you can buy some condoms for later on… I like that they’re so focused on hygiene and safety. 
The back door… 
Another view of the spacious terrace and children’s play area. 
Coming events. You can’t see it well, but there’s brewing equipment on display, too. 
And they even have a Maypole!
Service was friendly and kind. Our server was indulgent at my pitiful attempts to speak German. I know, after seven years, I should be fluent. Shame on me. For those who don’t want to try to speak German, this place does seem to be very American friendly. I think the server spoke English, although he spoke German to us. I know he knew we were Auslanders, though.
All told, we spent 40 euros on food and beer… two half liter beers each for us. Bill had a Dunkel and an alcohol free Weizen. I had two Weizens. They also had other drinks and, of course, there was plenty of wine! It was a good time. We would go back. I’d like to go back just so I can get pictures of the huge sex shop next door. It has a slogan in English that says, “Sex up your life!” That’s something you probably wouldn’t necessarily see in most parts of the USA. On the other hand, I do remember passing Cafe Risque many times on the way through North Carolina as I traveled on I-95 from Virginia to South Carolina, and vice versa.
After lunch, we headed for the Celpro Italian market. That place was a real treat, and it was DEFINITELY very Italian. There’s also plenty of parking there, as well as lots of high quality Italian goodies.
I think this was supposed to keep too many people from coming inside… but it never did change from red, so we just went in. 
My favorite Italian tuna. Italian and Spanish tuna, by the way, is DELICIOUS. It ain’t no Chicken of the Sea. 
Naturally, there are many sauces and jellies… 
Cheeses and sausages. We got a big block of mozzarella. 
The deli counter is beautiful, with lots of Italian delicacies. 
And there are cookies and treats galore. 
Cakes and coffee… 
And we came home with wines and limencello. 
This is also a HUGE selling point. Parking is free and, at least today, there was plenty available.
It’s not a big supermarket and we didn’t linger long, because after being at the Biergarten, I really needed to pee. Alas, the supermarket doesn’t have a public restroom and secluded bushes are scarce. I did see a guy cleaning the parking lot, though. Very impressive! I am sure we’ll back for more. It’s not far from where we live. I love all the ethnic markets here in Germany. There’s always a sure bet you’ll find something fun and interesting in them, although maybe they aren’t as fun as the Mix Markts with the Russian and Eastern European products.
It’s nice to get out again, even though COVID cases are on the rise, even here. Mask mandates never went away here, though… Seriously, it’s nice to be in Germany during these weird times.
I don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow, but I would be up for another trip to both of our spots today. Not tomorrow, of course, but maybe sometime soon… before the weather turns back into shit.