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.

Hessen, Saturday night

Our first dinner at Landhaus Diedert…

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.*

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.*

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!

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?*

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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Welcome back to Stuttgart… part 4– “Eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche”, Elton John, and STAUgart HELL!!!

Saturday was the day we’d been waiting for. Ever since I bought the tickets to see Elton John in February 2018, I anticipated finally getting to see him for the first… and likely the last… time ever. We spent Saturday morning relaxing and recovering from the Fest. Then we had lunch at the nearby Vereinsgaststätte TSV 07 Stuttgart, which I had wanted to try because I noticed on other visits that it always smelled good near the restaurant. The signage around the club also indicated that it was “eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche” (a really Schwabish kitchen). Although I can’t say I’m a devout fan of Schwabish cuisine, I wanted to see if there was truth in advertising.

See? It even says on the sign that it’s a really Schwabish kitchen.

Corona? Really?

The Gasthaus was fairly busy when we got there, which I always take as a good sign. Curiously, I noticed a large beer fridge full of Coronas– Mexican beer that goes well with lime slices. Although Corona is prevalent enough in the United States, it’s not that often that I see it in German Gasthauses. We took a seat in the dining room and the English speaking waitress brought us a Weizen for me, and an Apple Schorle for Bill. For lunch, Bill had a small turkey schnitzel with pommes. I decided to have asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce.

I don’t know why this trip was so heavy on asparagus. I do like it, but I prefer the green asparagus to the white. To me, it’s got more flavor. I don’t usually want to center a whole meal around asparagus, either, although once May is over, so is asparagus season. Nevertheless, here’s the photographic evidence of the source of my stinky pee.

Gosh, he’s cute.

Bill’s salad was the traditional kind, with potato salad on the bottom. I’m sure they serve it like that up here in Hesse, although to be honest, we haven’t been frequenting Gasthauses lately.

A little turkey schnitzel with fries. I liked that it came with ketchup or mayo and that you could choose pork, veal, or turkey. I also liked that you could order a small. I can never finish schnitzels, which is why I rarely order them. Bill liked his. I probably should have gotten one, too.

My asparagus with Hollandaise and a “Fladl” (crepe). It’s a very “beige” dish. I couldn’t eat all of the asparagus, but I gave it a good try.

When we got back to the hotel, there was a saxophone player named Sebastian Lilienthal playing. Waldhotel was having an open house and I guess his music was part of the festivities. I thought his playing was technically good, although it lacked a certain sense of soul. He seemed to prefer hits of the 1980s. Having looked him up, I can see why. He’s just a few years older than I am, so that music was no doubt part of his personal soundtrack. I did get a kick out of his rendition of “Boogie Wonderland” by The Emotions and Earth, Wind, & Fire. It’s not a song I would have expected to hear played solo on the saxophone.

Sebastian was playing to no one at this point, since no one was sitting outside. It was chilly and rainy outside. He was later driven inside by a sudden hailstorm. At one point, he reminded me a little of Squidward.

Sorry… but he really did.

The hotel staff set out some very tempting looking treats.

I’m really glad we had a piece of Black Forest Cake, especially given what happened on our way to the concert. This is one of my favorite German desserts!

The concert tickets I bought came with a parking pass and vouchers for a buffet with an open bar for two hours before the show started. Although we don’t usually drive to concerts due to the hell of getting in and out of the parking lots, we decided to drive this time, since we had the parking pass. It’s a mistake I won’t be repeating.

We left the hotel at about 4:45pm, figuring that would give us plenty of time to get to the venue and get something to eat. One thing that usually happens to us at concerts is that we miss dinner. It’s not that I can’t afford to miss a meal… it’s just that I get really “hangry” when I’m hungry. So we thought we’d be safe. We were about 900 meters from the concert venue when the Stuttgart police suddenly decided to close the road leading to the Hans Schleyer Arena. I mean, it happened literally a car ahead of us. He put traffic cones up and people were having to make U turns into oncoming traffic, which seemed really dangerous to me. And the cop was very rude when Bill asked how he was supposed to get to the parking area. I was tempted to use bad language, but remembered that insulting the cops can lead to huge fines. So I zipped it… and so did Bill, who also felt like cussing.

This was just the beginning. If we had left about five minutes earlier, we would have avoided this mess. At one point, I was wondering if we were going to make it, since traffic was at a standstill. We were about 600 meters from the parking lot, but it still took an hour.

Traffic was a nightmare, of course, as we and everyone behind us was forced to change directions. The GPS rerouted us to the road that ran past the Wasen grounds. It took about an hour to work our way down the street congested with festgoers. It was absolutely infuriating, although even if we’d taken a cab or the U-bahn, it would have been an ordeal to get to the venue. By the time we parked the car, it was already 6:30pm and the concert was due to start at 7:00. So we decided to just find our seats.

The view from where I was sitting.

The concert was, of course, completely sold out. I didn’t see a single open seat in the arena. Elton put on a great show and played for about two and a half hours, straight. I really enjoyed the concert, especially since John Jorgenson was in the band. About ten years ago, I used to review albums for a public relations firm out of Nashville. They sent me a couple of Jorgenson’s albums to review. He was filling in for Elton John’s regular guitar player, Davey Johnstone, who is taking a break due to back problems.

The band was stellar and we had pretty good seats in Block Twelve. The songs were each paired with an audio/visual presentation, which I guess is the trend with some artists. I remember Diana Krall did something similar with her concert in Stuttgart a few years ago. The videos were kind of interesting, but they were also a bit distracting. I found myself watching the videos instead of Elton, whose piano was on some kind of track that moved him around the stage. I remember being surprised when I turned my attention back to him on the stage and seeing him in a different place than where he was at the beginning of the song.

After a particularly exciting song, the house lights would go up so we could all see each other. There were several exciting songs, so we got to see each other a lot. It was a huge, appreciative crowd. I was sitting next to a German guy who was really into the show. He was dancing in his seat.

Toward the end of the show, Elton said that in 1990, he decided that he didn’t like how he was living his life and decided to make a change. He got off drugs and alcohol and, two years later, decided to start a foundation to fight AIDS. Maybe a lot of younger people don’t realize what a scourge AIDS was for people in the 80s and 90s, but I plainly remember how many people– truly amazing, gifted people like Ryan White, Freddie Mercury, and Rock Hudson– died of the disease when I was coming of age. I appreciated Elton’s comments about how now, no one has to die of AIDS.

Speaking as someone who remembers thinking of HIV infection as an automatic death sentence, I was really impressed by Elton’s speech, as well as his explanation as to why he’s retiring from the road. He got everyone excited when he said we all need to come together– especially England and the rest of Europe. He said, and I quote, “We don’t need fucking BREXIT!” The Germans all roared their approval. I was kind of relieved that he didn’t bring up Donald Trump, although that was probably another thought people were having. Personally, I don’t think we need fucking Donald Trump, either.

Ray Cooper… he’s a madman on the drums! I also enjoyed watching Nigel Olsson, another one of Elton’s longtime band members. He kept mugging for the camera. It was adorable!

Goodbye, Elton…

It looked almost like he was ascending into Heaven. I hope that’s not on the horizon…

Taking a bow.

Before we knew it, the show was over. But, because we were tightly packed into our seats, neither Bill nor I had the chance to pee before the end. Of course, because the arena was packed with people, most of whom also needed to pee, we didn’t get a chance to go before we exited the building. We were kind of swept out of the venue into the rain. Then, once we got in the car, stomachs rumbling because we didn’t have time to eat, the real fun started. It legitimately took over an hour just to get out of the parking lot. There was no sense of queueing and plenty of people were acting like totally inconsiderate assholes behind the wheel. I did a lot of swearing… I won’t lie.

This was hell. However, I did see a few amusing scenes of young people staggering after spending too much time at the Fest. One person even left a full cup of beer tucked into someone’s windshield wiper.

The hotel’s parking lot was full when we arrived at about 11:00pm. The show had let out at about 9:30pm, but it took us 90 minutes to get back. The kitchen was closed, of course. We hadn’t expected it to be open, although we could see others who had gone to the show and got back before us were eating. I guess they had the same problem we did. The bartender was sympathetic, though, and loaded us up on red wine and peanuts.

When we got back to the room, we found it completely set up for bedtime. The housekeeper left us more tea and cookies, closed all the blinds, and turned down the bed. That was very nice and left us with a good impression.

Hessen

Another lazy lunch at Little Italy…

I’ve been having some issues with my lower back this weekend. I think it’s due to the sudden cold snap we’re experiencing. I have a feeling I’m a little arthritic down there and, when the weather gets chilly, I have more pain.

Anyway, although I really wanted to visit the Kaiser-Friedrich Therme, which is a historic (and nude) Irish-Roman spa here in Wiesbaden, Bill had some more to do with his latest batch of home brew. So I took a nap with Arran and then we went into town to have a late lunch at Little Italy. I’ve come to really enjoy this Italian eatery downtown; since October, we’ve been there four times. Each time, we’ve been really impressed by how good the food is and the professional level of service.

I know I’ve reviewed Little Italy three times already, but I also know I have a few readers who come just to look at pictures of food. So, to oblige those readers, here’s a look at today’s wonderful meal.

It’s asparagus season in Germany, so I decided to start with an asparagus cream soup with basil oil and a sea scallop. I love soups, especially when the weather is chilly. It’s unusually chilly today, so this was a nice way to start the meal. It was also delicious, with its mild flavor and creamy texture. I’d love to make this at home.

Bill had the carpaccio, with beef and Parmesan cheese. I did have a chance to taste this. It was very fresh and tasty, if you’re into that sort of thing. I don’t really love carpaccio, though, because raw meat, even if it’s thinly sliced, kind of weirds me out. He liked it, though, and finished the whole thing.

See how happy he is? I cracked another joke to get this smile.

Next came our main courses. I went with the paccheri, which is a type of pasta that is supposed to be shaped like a very large tube. It tasted homemade and was served with a creamy asparagus and pancetta flavored sauce. This was very satisfying, reasonably priced, and not too much.

Bill had veal with a side of white asparagus and Hollandaise sauce. I try not to eat veal, although I like how it tastes. He said this was excellent. I did try the asparagus and Hollandaise sauce, which was, of course, excellent. He especially appreciated that the sauce came on the side.

We took a few minutes to finish our Montepulciano and San Pellegrino, then decided to finish off lunch with dessert.

I had the divine tiramisu, which the owner has told me is the “best in the city”. Of course he’d say that, although I believe him when he makes that claim. This was sinfully creamy and light, served with a side of mangoes and pears and some blackberry compote.

Bill had panna cotta. We both learned to like panna cotta during our first Germany tour together in Stuttgart, from 2007-09. We love the way they do it at Little Italy, because it’s very creamy, instead of firm and gelatinous. His dessert was similarly decked out with blackberry compote and mangoes and pears. It was not too much, either.

The total bill for today’s marvelous lunch was about 125 euros, which is a lot, even for us. However, it was another leisurely and sumptuous meal, which we kind of live for when we can’t travel. I’m definitely itching for a real trip somewhere soon, although we will be visiting Stuttgart next weekend. Stuttgart, of course, feels like home by now. Hopefully, we won’t have any veterinary surprises this week, so we can enjoy Elton John’s final tour.

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Vienna, Austria Part 6… Art and Aussies!

After we walked around Vienna, Bill and I went back to the Albertina Museum. I like art well enough, but Bill really likes it and is fascinated by graphic depictions of history. I find art museums kind of tiring, but I always learn something when I visit them. The Albertina had a Picasso exhibit that I thought would be interesting. The Albertina was very busy on Saturday and we spent a couple of hours strolling through its many halls of art. I snuck a few photos.

These three are paintings by Picasso…

Here’s one by Claude Monet. There was also an interesting Degas exhibit. I don’t know much about art, but I do remember seeing some of Degas’ paintings in Glasgow, Scotland when we visited a couple of years ago.

I had to get a shot of this…

I mainly go to art museums for Bill’s sake. I do like looking at art, but I find museums kind of overwhelming. I prefer natural history museums to paintings. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my dad built a second career framing artwork.

After the Albertina, it was time for lunch again. We wandered back to the area near St. Stephan’s cathedral and almost got hit by a horse and buggy. Actually, we weren’t in any real danger, but a guy yelled us in German to be careful anyway. At this point, we somehow ended up in a passageway. I never ignore alcoves or passageways when I visit cities because I find that’s where a lot of the coolest stuff is. At the end of the passageway, we found our restaurant for lunch. We promptly ordered a bottle of wine and I got some interesting shots of Bill…

A very nice Austrian red…

Our waiter was a very friendly and charming guy from Serbia who took good care of us… I enjoyed salmon with potatoes and asparagus, which is in season right now. Bill had chicken and asparagus. TripAdvisor says this restaurant sucks, but we enjoyed ourselves. The wait staff was very pleasant and the food was decent.

I took a photo of this lingerie shop, which was easy to see where we were sitting. I couldn’t get over the tag line, “Lingerie to kill for…”

Before we left, we tried the Sacher torte, which is famous in Vienna. It’s chocolate cake with apricot filling. There was a time when Bill wouldn’t eat apricots because it’s bad luck for tankers. Since he was a tanker in the Army, he respected the superstition. He doesn’t avoid them now. The torte was delicious! The prosecco was good too. I saw a lot of prosecco rather than champagne in Vienna.

After lunch, we strolled around another part of Vienna and ended up at the Danube. It was lucky we went there, since we planned a day trip to Bratislava for Sunday and we wanted to take the hydrofoil boats there instead of the train.

Greek church

I love little nooks like these…

Traditional wear!

A “beachy” area on the banks of the river.

By the time we were done walking around the river, I really needed to pee. We started heading back toward the city center. We found a public restroom, but only the men’s restroom was open. I really needed to go, so we ended up going to Billabong, which is an Australian restaurant with lots of Aussie beers and cuisine. We spent an enjoyable few hours there, drinking beer, listening to music, and glancing at the soccer games on the TVs.

A wall of brews…

Bill decides what’s next…

There’s a sign on the bar that says “Drinking with tipping is like sex without orgasm.”

Bill tried the kangaroo…

I had spare ribs. Bill ate kangaroo, which tasted a little like filet mignon to me.

Bikers passing as we enjoyed our suds and sustenance.

We headed back to the hotel somewhat earlier. Bill had some work he needed to get done. Unfortunately, the beer caught up with us and we went to sleep somewhat early.

anecdotes

Our Easter outing…

Like a lot of Americans, I was wondering what we’d be doing for Easter. Easter is a big weekend in Germany and a lot of places shut down on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Easter is always on Sunday anyway, so a lot of places would be closed regardless.

We didn’t go anywhere yesterday because the weather sucked. I didn’t even manage to get dressed and I spent most of the day drinking cocktails and playing Facebook games. I was determined to make up for that today. First off, I had Bill make reservations at the Waldheim Restaurant, since one of the family members who runs it was kind enough to tell us they’d be open on Easter and they were advertising asparagus, which is now in season. Next, I decided we needed to visit the Mineraltherme Boeblingen.

We had one o’clock reservations, so I got all gussied up…

I decided to look at the sun while I took the photo… Beats my usual pseudo-sexual look, right? Maybe not.

After beagle proofing the house, we headed toward Boeblingen. The Waldheim was doing a brisk business. We were seated in a small dining room with two other tables of Americans.

It was a little like sitting at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving, but we didn’t mind…

Bill sure looks spiffy in his new sweater. I may have to steal that from him.

We both had Weizenbocks… at first the waitress didn’t understand what Bill wanted, but soon all was clear.

The Waldheim Restaurant was offering a special menu for Easter and an asparagus menu, along with their regular fare. I had been jonesing for asparagus earlier this week, so I ordered it with pork medallions. It came with lots of Hollandaise Sauce and parsley potatoes.

One bite of this and Bill could tell I was loving it. The asparagus was really excellent. Last time we were here, we didn’t get into asparagus, but we did enjoy it on a Space A trip to Germany and Austria in May 2012.

Bill had the special wild boar with spatzle, red cabbage, and some kind of berry sauce. The wild boar was succulent and excellent, but I think I liked my dish a little better. Cabbage does a number of me and makes me unpleasant to be around.

I catch Bill enjoying his meal…

We decided to order dessert. After careful consideration, I chose the Waldheim Eis, which was chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, and Eierlikor (egg liqueur). As you can see, Germans take their ice cream seriously and it was delivered with much fanfare.

This was very yummy, though… and the waitress said it is her favorite dessert…

The folks at the table next to us saw the desserts and noticed as I took a photo. When the waitress came back, one man at the table got all excited. He told the waitress he’d have what I was having. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize the ice cream had alcohol in it and was apparently sensitive to it for medical reasons. I watched him cringe as he tasted it. I felt kind of bad for him. He asked me what the liquor was and I told him. The waitress confirmed it. Maybe I should have warned him, but since we didn’t know each other, I figured it wasn’t my place.

Bill had the warm Vienna style apple strudel. It came with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.

The guy who had accidentally ingested alcohol came over to chat with us when it became obvious Bill knew some of the same people he did. He was very nice to talk to. Turns out he’s a chaplain and has only been in the area for a few months. He and his wife seemed to be enjoying themselves, though, along with several folks who appeared to be good friends. That’s one thing I love about living abroad. You often end up meeting more people because many Americans are here for the same reason and know a lot of the same people. You recognize people who are from where you’re from and you kind of bond.

I doubt what happened today would have happened in a place like San Antonio. I still know folks from my Peace Corps years in Armenia that I doubt I would have met if I hadn’t lived abroad at the same time they did. We just wouldn’t have run in the same circles.

Our total bill was 61 euros. That included two excellent lunches, three beers between us, and two desserts. The Waldheim Restaurant will be in Boeblingen until May 25th; then it will close until July as the owners relocate to a new place in Renningen.

The parking lot had mostly cleared out by the time we left. We even saw some snowflakes as we ate.

After lunch, we went to the Mineraltherme. Last time we visited was in 2007, when we were here last time. Bill and I really enjoyed going there during our first Germany tour, but never managed to go back after we found a house. I had been wanting to go back there for a long time, so Bill finally relented. Parking is free and plentiful. You should bring a towel and shower shoes if you want them.

On the way to the Mineraltherme…

For obvious reasons, I didn’t take a camera into the pool area. For 11 euros per adult, you get 2.5 hours in the Mineraltherme, which has several heated and unheated saltwater pools, a sauna, and a solarium. For the uninitiated, it can be a little tricky visiting for the first time. The signs are all in German, after all, as one would expect them to be. But they give you a watch-like disc that you wear on your wrist and that serves as a time keeper and lets you buy food and beverages without a wallet.

Bill always has a good time when we go anywhere there’s water, but he’s shy about his body. Of course, in Europe most people aren’t too shy about baring themselves. If I may be candid, I would also add that Bill’s body is definitely nothing out of the ordinary or anything to be ashamed of, especially compared to some of the people I saw today. We Americans should take a lesson from Germans and not be so shy and embarrassed about nudity. They honestly don’t care what you look like and frankly, it’s very liberating. One of these days, I’m going to brave public nudity… or at least try a textile free sauna!

We spent our whole time in the pools, watching people make out and a few brave souls getting into the cold water plunge pool. We saw one poor kid with a prodigiously bleeding nose. I felt very sorry for him, but at least he had someone helping him. I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m guessing it involved horseplay.

After a couple of hours of fun in the Mineraltherme, we emerged feeling very relaxed. It was a little tricky figuring out how to exit, but with help from a staffer, we were able to turn in the wrist bands and make our way home. I now feel like taking a nice long nap.

I have decided I need to go to the Mineraltherme much more often, even if it means I go by myself. I love that place. I need to book a massage, too. Germans really know how to relax. I just try not to think about how many people might have peed in the water.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

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