Last night, after it rained, we decided to go down to the Dorfplatz for the first night of our Breckenheimer Wine Fest. It was actually a pretty good time. There was a good cover band playing, and several local wineries were in attendance. There was also food, and lots of people bonding over many years of friendship. Below are a few photos I took yesterday on Noyzi’s walk. They were setting up the Dorfplatz. It was raining.
I got the usual photos and a video, but also another reminder that there are lots of Americans in this area. Sitting at the table next to us was a group of Americans and their children. They were a bit loud, and as usual, Bill and I were passive aggressively murmuring among ourselves about how Americans don’t seem to realize how efficiently their voices carry.
I decided to give my German friends a thrill on Facebook. I wrote “Americans are very loud” in German. I probably didn’t write it properly, though. I immediately got a warning from Facebook that my post was still up, but other posts similar to it had been removed due to “hate speech”. Wow… really? So I took it down and reposted my comment in English. No issues there.
Last night was yet another example of how different life is in Breckenheim as opposed to Jettingen. We have a lot of social activities in our little town, most of which revolves around wine. Jettingen didn’t really have a lot of these kinds of social things, although there were restaurants there we occasionally visited. Tommi’s Bistro, which closed the year we left, used to be a great place to go for steak and live entertainment. The guy who owned Tommi’s moved to a new location in nearby Nagold, which did have a lot of fests. I loved Nagold, but we couldn’t walk there easily. Here, we can just walk down the hill and be at the party.
It’s not a great video, but we did enjoy the band. I love this about Germany. There’s always something to celebrate.
We indulged in a few glasses of wine, then came home and had dinner. I’m sure we’ll go to the fest today, too, if only because it’s so easy to just go down the hill and hang out. They’ll have a different band playing. I should probably quit enjoying wine so much, given my digestive issues of late… but hell, you only live once. These are some pictures of the fun before it got busy. It got pretty crowded after a couple of hours.
When the place started filling up, we gave the table over to the group of young Germans who sat with us. They were really nice and didn’t smoke us out of our table! I did kind of pay for last night this morning… not gonna lie. I’m probably getting too old to drink like a college student.
I think there are a shitload of people here, about to embark on a cruise. I noticed that the Viking Mars cruise ship was parked at the port all day. I don’t know if the huge influx of people who showed up at our hotel today are from that cruise. I suspect they could be. Anyway, it’s kind of interesting to be here, because I noticed that even the Norwegians sound a lot like Americans, right down to the accent, and the lack of situational awareness in public spaces. People from the USA are LOUD!!! I think a lot of Norwegians are, too, so they kind of fit in.
I was a loud American too, before I moved to Germany. Bill and I have learned not to be so loud when we’re in public. It helps us blend in more and keep a low profile. Plus, Germans tend to hand out disapproving glares very freely if one behaves inappropriately. 😉
Anyway, after this afternoon’s adventures, I was pretty tired. I came back to the room and took an almost two hour nap, complete with dreams. Bill took a much shorter nap. Then, afterward, we went out to dinner. Our hotel actually offers “free” dinner and an afternoon snack, but the huge influx of people made us think it might be too crowded. So we went to Big Horn Steakhouse, a chain restaurant in Norway. The food was okay and the service was basically friendly, but the waiter was, in some ways, kind of inattentive. We sat for a long time with dirty plates in front of us as we tried to enjoy our wine.
I thought I might like to have dessert, but I figure that I’ll be eating a lot of that very soon. Tomorrow is my birthday, so there will be sweets… then on the 23rd, we join the Regent Splendor, and there will be lots of sweets… So, it’s no biggie that we decided to skip it tonight. In fact, based on my current body line, I’d say I could skip desserts until I’m dead! But of course I won’t be doing that!
Here are some photos from our dinner. I opted for ribs because I figured I’d be eating steak and fish on the boat (and probably here, until we get to Stockholm). Bill had a steak. It wasn’t as good as the one I had in Oslo a couple of nights ago. You can also see a horrifying ad for a nearby restaurant. Horrifying for me, anyway, since I am a mycophobe… The last photo is of the hotel lobby. It’s nice, especially when you’re waiting for hordes of people to use the one elevator to get to their rooms…
The sun is out this afternoon, and temperatures are kind of pleasant outside today. Arran missed yesterday’s walk because it was yucky outside and I was waiting for a package that never arrived. The package still hasn’t arrived yet, but I couldn’t miss the chance for some fresh air and exercise. Walks are also when Arran does his business best, otherwise we run the risk of him going in inappropriate places at inappropriate times.
On the way out of the house, Arran and I ran into our landlady. We don’t talk to her very often because her husband handles most of the business with us. We learned from the landlord that his wife’s brother built the house we’re living in. Our landlord then joked that he gets called “slumlord” a lot, but Bill told him this is the nicest house we’ve ever lived in. I think I agree with him. We’ve lived in a few houses we’ve enjoyed for various reasons, but overall, I think this one is in the best shape. The only place I absolutely hated in all ways was our apartment in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was the true epitome of a dump, along with inconsiderate neighbors, high crime, and shitty infrastructure. For that dump, we paid about $900 a month in 2003. By contrast, the house we’re in now is the most expensive of any we’ve ever lived in. But, for the most part, it’s completely worth it… and not just because it’s a nice house, but because we are treated respectfully, like adults with the right to privacy. It’s also a very comfortable home with many nice amenities and no one freaking out over dog hair in the doorway.
One nice thing about our current landlords is that they don’t mind dogs. Arran went over to say hello to the landlady. She gave him a pat and asked about Zane. I told her that he’d died. I’m sure they were wondering, but probably didn’t know how to bring it up. I mentioned that maybe we’d have a new dog after the holidays. She nodded in agreement, which makes me feel good. A few weeks ago, one of our elderly neighbors asked about Zane, and remarked that the dogs are like our children. That’s definitely true in our case. I was kind of happy that he’d asked, since I never know how the neighbors feel about our dogs. It seems like they’re well liked in this neighborhood. Obviously, Zane has been missed, and not just by Bill and me.
So we did our usual loop, and on our way through the messy field by the Rewe, I noticed an older lady coming down the hill with a little Yorkie. The Yorkie was off lead, which usually makes me nervous, since you never know how dogs will act when they first meet each other. The little dog came running up to Arran, who was whining and shrieking, trying to make contact. The lady smiled at me as our dogs sniffed. Her little dog was so cute, dodging, barking at Arran, yet curious and wanting to sniff my hand. I said to the dog, “Hello… aren’t you cute?”
Then the lady laughed and said, “You’re American?”
“Yes!” I responded, with a giggle.
“Me too!” she laughed.
We shared another awkward moment, then said goodbye. What are the odds?
I’ve heard there are a number of Americans here in Breckenheim. I know there’s a little hotel and there are a couple of Air BnBs here, too, where people have stayed until they find housing. This was the first time I’ve bumped into an American while walking the dog near my home in any of the three places in Germany I’ve lived so far. Or maybe I have run into them, but because I pass for German and so do a lot of other Americans, I just didn’t know it.
Anyway, it was kind of a funny encounter. Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime. I hope so, since I think Arran and her dog may be buddies now. I love how our dogs serve as such excellent canine ambassadors. I’ve met a lot of nice people in Germany thanks to my dogs.
Today also happens to be the seventh anniversary of losing MacGregor, who was Arran’s predecessor. MacGregor was such a wonderful dog. He was best friends with Bill, who was probably the only man he ever liked. I can’t believe it’s been seven years already since we lost him. Time flies!
MacGregor, posing on our well-loved loveseat at our very first German house… Our first German house was almost as beautiful as the one we’re in now. We lost MacGregor in Raleigh, North Carolina seven years ago today. Canine cancer sucks!
You’d think a person like me would me chomping at the bit to attend a “streetfood fiesta” coupled with music. I am a food lover, and it shows. And I also both love and create music. This should have seemed like an event of my dreams.
Well, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t that excited about it. It was in my Facebook alerts and, because Bill is my husband, he noticed it on my Facebook feed. He asked me if I wanted to go. To be truthful, I was kind of thinking I might like to stay in and enjoy the day. Yes, it’s been hot in Unterjettingen lately, but the forecast was calling for rain. I don’t like getting caught in the rain.
The Afrika Fest was also going on in Böblingen and will also be tomorrow. We went to it last year and enjoyed ourselves. I was thinking it would be good to see the Sindelfingen Streetfood Fiesta, if only because it would be different. This event, by the way, will also be happening tomorrow in downtown Sindelfingen. You can enjoy food from food trucks, lots of craft beers, and plenty of live music. To be honest, as much as I enjoyed last year’s Afrika Fest in Böblingen, given a choice between the two events, I’d pick Sindelfingen’s event. But then, I really like food, beer, and music. I also know that there will be an Afrika Fest in Tübingen. We attended in 2016 and had a great time. Pretty soon, the 2018 fest will be on, affording us to enjoy African cuisine and buy African products.
So we went to Sindelfingen, parked at the Stern Center, and started walking into the familiar downtown area. The first thing I noticed was a lovely German lady singing a song I translated to “Dance with Me” in German. I was pretty proud of that, not that it was that hard. She had a great voice and I kind of wanted to get a table at a restaurant and listen to her and her acoustic guitar playing friend some more. But we kept walking and eventually ended up at a craft beer tent where there were a couple of Americans.
We heard the telltale accents and it wasn’t long before the wife and I were realizing we have a whole lot in common, even though I am way older than she is. She’s 30 and I’m 46, but we both lived in Northern Virginia for awhile. We were born in the same Hampton, Virginia hospital. She went to William & Mary for grad school and my sister got her undergrad there. I also did a lot of temp work there after I finished my degree at Longwood. And our husbands both work on Kelley Barracks… As we talked longer, we learned that we had even more in common. It was freaky!
Bill enjoys a new craft beer.
Then, I noticed she and her husband were updating their beers on Untappd, an app Bill and I both use. In fact, Bill had his Untappd baseball hat with him and was able to show it off. This was a beer loving couple, which Bill and I both are. I showed them some of our more interesting beer vacations and we had another round. We kept chatting and eventually moved on to a food truck…
These guys make some great craft beers.
More craft beers.
Bill got me a “crunchy box”, which included a couple of dumplings and what appeared to be homemade potato chips.
He was very pleased with himself.
But there was actually a lot to choose from. There were burgers, Polish goodies, Korean goodies, and barbecue interspersed with different musicians stationed throughout the route. Sadly, we didn’t get to see the whole thing… or maybe it’s not so sad, since we truly did make new friends.
There was even a truck that used a Camden, New Jersey schoolbus for dispensing its burgers.
This guy met us when we were tasting craft beers. He followed us and was very keen to share the moment, German style.
The whole time we were enjoying beers and food, we were getting acquainted with new people in our community. And, besides meeting new people, we also got to pee for free. This event has a public restroom truck that doesn’t cost anything to use and is surprisingly clean.
Homemade potato chips!
And craft beer…
And if you hit the Sindelfingen fest, you should hit this truck. There are good eats there.
Our drunk German friend again, who was very nice and harmless, although we didn’t understand everything he said. I did do some nonverbal bonding with the craft beer sales people, who were enjoying watching us communicate with him. He wasn’t a bad dancer, either.
See?
They have stuff for kids to do, too. Even a “bull” for those who think they can hack it.
I probably should have been more conscientious about recording the scenes, but we were having too much fun getting to know our new acquaintances and soaking up the atmosphere.
I don’t know what we’re going to do tomorrow, but I wouldn’t be averse to visiting this fiesta again… or maybe hitting the Afrika Fest. Having been to both, I can say that both are worth the stop, depending on what you want to do with your time. The lovely thing about Germany in the summer is that you are spoiled for choices when it comes to things to do. Someone is always having a fest if you haven’t already planned to see a park or another attraction.
If you didn’t get out today, I highly recommend making the attempt tomorrow. You never know. You might make new friends, too!
Saturday morning, I woke up with a red wine headache. After taking some Advil, drinking some fluids, and eating a little breakfast scored at the very closeby Edeka, I was ready to go see this famous town I’d heard and read so much about over the years. Since my purse strap broke, I decided to simply bring along a few bare necessities. I have to admit, it was weirdly liberating not to carry my big purse with me. I tend to overload it with all kinds of junk and it rarely gets cleaned out. That’s probably why the strap broke.
This tower is located very close to Anno 1499. You can climb the stairs and walk along the wall, which will pass the back of the house. You get a bird’s eye view of the little courtyard.
This archway is to the senior assisted living center where Anno 1499’s hostess works as a nurse. It’s just across the street from the rental house.
We walked just a short way down Spitalgasse when I spotted a shop that had a few nice looking men’s sportsjackets on display. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the jackets as being from Scotland. Since I am a sucker for all things Celtic, Bill and I decided to go inside the shop, where we were helped by its proprietor. I don’t know for certain, but I think he might have been a fellow American who now lives here in Germany with his wife and their kids. He certainly spoke like an American. The name of his shop, which he said he and his wife took over a couple of years ago, is Der Schottenladen.
Der Schottenladen… great Scottish goods in Germany!
It’s not so often that I go crazy shopping in retail stores anymore. Like so many other people, I tend to buy a lot of stuff online. But it wasn’t long at all before I found myself fingering a beautiful wool sweater. I didn’t actually need a new sweater, but I am a sucker for certain shades of blue. I also picked up a handmade purse made by an artisan in Aberdeen, and a pair of earrings (again, not something I needed, but simply couldn’t resist). The proprietor turned out to be interesting to talk to. He said he goes to Scotland at least once a year. His small shop was crammed with authentic fashions, bottles of whisky, kilts, and lovely gifts. Almost everything was on sale, too! Although it was a little weird to be buying Scottish stuff in Germany, I have to say I enjoyed that shop very much. Bill also tried on a few jackets, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any in his size. Maybe next time.
Scottish loot from Der Schottenladen in Rothenburg.
We decided to take my new duds back to Anno 1499, even though the proprietor kindly offered to hold them for us. Afterwards, we walked back toward the Marktplatz. I happened to notice something that looked promising– a view of some sort. We turned down an alleyway and within seconds of encountered a lovely pastoral view, we were joined by a huge group of Chinese tourists who seemed to have a distinct herd mentality. They all kind of crowded in and didn’t seem to want to yield so Bill and I could get out of the group.
Once we got to the Marktplatz, we hung a right and walked down another busy street full of cute shops. We walked until we encountered what was probably the eastern edge of the impressive wall that surrounds Rothenburg. You are allowed to climb the steps and walk the wall. It costs nothing and offers some great views of the city, as well as the names of people who donated to the cause.
Every time I see this town advertised, I see the famous building to the right. It’s now a brewery. We didn’t have a chance to stop in. Maybe next time.
I managed to take a few pictures before we were enveloped by a large tour group…
Bill looks amused…
As I sneak a shot of the big group of tourists who overwhelmed us…
Here are a few more scenes from Rothenburg on Saturday. I could have spent a couple of days just checking out the cute businesses everywhere.
A view from on the wall. It’s covered and protected from winds coming from outside of the town.
I imagine these people donated money to repair or restore the wall…
This is the courtyard in the house we rented. Too bad the weather didn’t lend itself to sitting out there with a beer.
We followed the wall all the way to the tower that appears first in this post. That was the one located just outside of our rental house, Anno 1499.
You can’t come to Rothenburg and not notice a local specialty pastry called “Schneeballen”. There are a number of Konditoreis that make these. We picked up a couple of mini versions of them so we could try them.
Schneeballen (snowballs). Speciality in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
After we walked the wall, it was time for lunch. I was wanting German food for some reason, so we decided to stop in at Roter Hahn, which is also a hotel. The restaurant is kind of quaint, with stereotypically charming Bavarian decor. As soon as we sat down, it became obvious that we were not the only Americans in the place. A couple of American ladies, also evidently living here in Germany, were at the next booth having lunch. One of them apparently never learned about using her indoor voice.
In the course of an hour, I learned all about the house she owns in San Antonio, her decorative preferences, how much the house cost, her favorite San Antonio communities, her husband’s nursing job at Ramstein, her many travels in Europe, and her request to split the check, which was apparently denied. Seriously, people, I don’t mean to be bitchy, but please have a little situational awareness when you go out to eat. Voices can carry. Besides being rude, that kind of inconsideration for other people can put you at risk by making you conspicuous to those who are up to no good (like obnoxious bloggers, America haters, or petty thieves). On the other hand, we did move here from San Antonio, so in a way, hearing about that town was kind of nostalgic.
Bill listens to the American ladies who lunch talking about their design choices…
I decided to have my pork knuckle. It tasted okay, but I paid for it later…
And a little potato salad on the side… more than I could eat.
Bill went with the Frankish sausages. They were very good and came with fresh bread and sauerkraut. I think I liked his sausages better than my Schweinshaxe, which was a bit overdone and tough.
We split a “Schneeball” for dessert. Unlike the local pastry, this was simply vanilla ice cream with a cookie topping, forest fruits, and a little whipped cream.
I had an okay impression of Roter Hahn until I got up to use the restroom. The ladies room reeked of stale urine, which I found very off putting. I had to go into the hotel lobby to get to the bathroom and it smelled of stale cigarette smoke. Also, when we asked for a box for my inevitable leftovers, the waitress acted like it was an imposition. When she brought it to us, she said it was the last one they had (and this is my problem?). I don’t think I’d eat at Roter Hahn again, especially since we apparently missed the best restaurants in the city.
The outside of Roter Hahn. Directly across the street is the Criminal Museum, which we visited on Sunday.
We thought about visiting the Criminal Museum, which is across the street and is open daily from 1:00pm until 4:00pm during the off season. Unfortunately, lunch was sitting kind of heavy on my stomach. It was also kind of cloudy outside, which makes me feel like hibernating. So we made our way back to the house, with a few stops on the way…
First, we went inside this sign shop because I had to have the sign directly over the Corn Flakes sign. It says in German, “In Heaven, there is no beer. That’s why we drink it here.”
Next, we stopped at a bakery to get some Schneeballen and a piece of cake, which I still need to eat.
After we bought our pastries, we stopped at a wine shop and bought some locally produced wines as well as a pretty stoneware wine pitcher. Right after we bought the wine, we were treated to a surprise performance by a group of Cuban drummers. I took a video.
They have the beats down…
Finally, we stopped to pick up some local beer. I am drinking one right now. Not bad!
That about did it for Saturday’s adventures. Unfortunately, the heavy lunch made me feel kind of bloated and icky and I didn’t eat or really drink anything for the rest of the day. Fortunately, I was much better on Sunday and we had a great sunny day. More on that in my next post.
Last night, Bill and I decided to go to Taverne bei Dimi’s for our Friday night Greek fix. It turned out to be an interesting evening, mainly because there were more English speakers than Germans there. In fact, we noticed one German couple sitting between our table and a large table of Germans and at least one Brit. Everyone was speaking English.
The waitress was one I hadn’t seen before. She seemed to be German and was very pleasant. Dimi was happy to see us, too, and offered a wave as he served lots of food.
Bill and I decided to have something different and ordered a sampler platter for two…
We got two of these beautiful farmer’s salads. I was enjoying filling up on the vegetables until I got an unusually hot pepper! I could have used some yogurt!
This was our platter. It came with Dimi’s yummy fries, bifteki, souvlaki, gyros, and pork steaks, as well as plenty of t’zatziki. We managed less than half and brought the rest home. This was a pretty good deal, too. For two people, it was 27 euros.
While we were eating, an older black gentleman and his son and daughter arrived. I knew he was an American immediately because he wore a wedding ring on his left hand. He sat down with the group of Germans and their British friend, but I noticed he kept looking over at us. He eventually came over and introduced himself. It turns out he and his family live in Oberjettingen. His wife is German and he is a government civilian who wished to become a contractor because he’s about to be rotated out of Germany.
So he and Bill talked and it turned out he was trying to score an interview with Bill’s company. Bill, being a “pay it forward” kind of guy, promised to talk to his boss. I’m kind of a big believer in fateful encounters. As I mentioned last week, I have a knack for running into people I used to know. I also have a knack for doing things that end up benefitting others.
When I was in the Peace Corps, I helped out a beautiful young Armenian woman who was hoping to go to college in the United States. I didn’t know her, but had noticed she had posted an ad in the Peace Corps office looking for people who had attended certain private east coast colleges. She needed to be interviewed by alums in order to be accepted. I happened to know a couple of people who had gone to the colleges she was interested in attending, so I took her number and passed it on to my friends. They both talked to her and were very impressed. She ended up getting a full scholarship to Bowdoin College. She also got accepted to Hamilton College, which was the other school she wanted to attend.
I know about this because I ended up meeting her one night while visiting another friend. She was dating an American teenager who was the son of a professor who worked for the US Department of Agriculture. When she found out what I’d done, she thanked me profusely. The Peace Corps does attract a lot of graduates of small, private, liberal arts colleges, but the odds there would be two local alums available in Yerevan was pretty slim. Fortunately, someone noticed her ad and knew two people who could help her.
I am certainly not responsible for her success. She was a very bright and engaging young woman who impressed my friends, who were alums. All I did was help set the conditions for her success. I’m thinking that maybe Bill can do the same thing for the man we met last night. I think it’s a good way to foster positive karma. I don’t know how my Armenian acquaintance’s story ended. I’d like to think she enjoyed four years at a very exclusive school. But I didn’t even know her well enough to be able to Facebook stalk her. I only remember her first name.
Anyway, this guy we met last night has very good reasons for wanting to stay in Germany. His son is in high school and plays football. If they have to move, it’ll be to Fort Polk, Louisiana. Granted, I haven’t been to Fort Polk, but I have heard it’s not exactly the greatest place to be. And if you are a civilian, there’s no telling how long the government will keep you in an assignment stateside.
So, I’m hoping things work out for our new friend. In any case, it’s nice to know we aren’t totally alone out here on the edge of the Black Forest.
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