Baden-Württemberg, Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe, trip planning

Ten things I learned this time in BW and Czechia…

It’s time now for my customary “ten things I learned post”. Since this wasn’t our first time in the Czech Republic, I’ve already done a “ten things I learned” post for the country. Nevertheless, this most recent trip was very educational and entertaining on many levels. We really enjoyed ourselves, but we also learned a lot. Besides, people seem to like these summary posts better than my usual detailed postings. So here goes…

*Cesky Krumlov will take your breath away… especially if you climb the castle tower.*

10. Cesky Krumlov is well worth visiting for a day or two.

I mentioned that Bill and I visited Cesky Krumlov for a few hours back in 2009. I thought the town was really adorable then, and vowed to go back someday. This time, we stayed there for two nights. I think one full day in Cesky Krumlov is probably sufficient for most people, although we certainly could have enjoyed another full day there. I don’t know if I’ll go out of my way to return, but I wouldn’t object to it. It’s a beautiful town and well worth a stop if you’re in Czechia.

9. English is widely spoken in the tourist areas of Czechia.

On prior visits to Czechia, we noticed that it was helpful to speak some German. This time, we noticed that a whole lot of people are fluent in English. It’s not a given than they will be, but there’s a good chance that if you go to a touristy area, you don’t have to worry about a language barrier if you are an English speaker.

8. Brno is well worth a stop!

Of all the places we planned to visit when we were coming up with our itinerary, Brno intrigued me the most. I had read that it is an “up and coming” destination in Czechia. It’s not as handsome and charming as Prague is, but it’s definitely got its own vibe. And if you like caving, it’s a must visit destination, as there are several show caves there that are beautiful and worth seeing. I will never forget our visit to the Punkva Caves. I also noticed that Brno was not as heavily touristed as Prague and Cesky Krumlov. For that reason alone, it may be worth putting on your itinerary.

*Choosing to eat here put us in contact with a local…*

7. Someone may be watching you when you’re eating at the street food fest…

We certainly weren’t expecting to encounter an unhoused woman when we sat down to have lunch at a street food fest in Brno. But she did us a favor by eating our leftovers, and teaching us a thing or two about charity and not wasting food. And while I didn’t leave Brno with any artwork, I did leave with a memory and a great story. I doubt I’ll forget it anytime soon.

*Where we spotted a very determined nutria…*

6. Prague has surprising “wild kingdom” moments…

I don’t know if I’d ever heard of nutria (otherwise known as coypu) before I spotted one swimming in the Vltava River in Prague. At first, I thought maybe I was watching an otter or some kind of beaver, but I’m pretty sure I saw a nutria, an animal that has taken up residence in Prague and is apparently causing issues.

*Unusual tufa cave with cauliflower rock formations.*

5. If you’re near Lichtenstein Castle on the first Sunday of the warm months, you should visit Olgahöhle!

Again, this is a suggestion for those who like visiting caves. This cave is kind of special, and it’s only open on the first Sunday of the warm months. We happened to be able to visit by chance, and it was well worth the stop.

4. You can now purchase vignettes for Czechia online and there’s no longer a need for stickers.

This was a really welcome and convenient development for our trip. We were able to buy our vignette online, allowing us to use Czechia’s high speed highways. There was no need to put a sticker on the windshield. And the day before it expired, they helpfully sent a reminder email.

3. But the backroads are still in need of repair…

Our trip required some detours on secondary roads. A lot of them were in need of repair, thanks to potholes and other issues. On the other hand, they can take you to some great places, like the cool burger place we found because Bill needed to pee.

2. The people of Czechia are very warm and hospitable…

I can’t think of a single incident during our trip where we didn’t encounter very pleasant and warm people, especially in the hotels and restaurants. It definitely lent to the country’s charm and makes me want to go back again and again. This is also a great place for shopping, especially if you’re looking for art and unique toys.

The food, wine, and beer is very hearty… but if you want to, you can easily burn it off!

I was amazed anew by how rich and filling the food was on this trip. As heavy as German food can be, I think the Czechs have them beat! But I also found myself working hard, walking, climbing stairs, enjoying nature, and burning that fuel quite handily. Czech wine is pretty decent, by the way. I might not choose it over Italian wine, but it probably deserves a lot more attention than it gets. The beer is, of course, excellent and noticeably different from Germany’s beers.

So… that about does it for our most recent trip to BW and Czechia. We meant to see our dentist in Stuttgart and take in the sights in one of our favorite European countries. We missed the dentist, but sure made up for it with good times, new experiences, new friends, and fun. I hope if you’re inspired to visit the Czech Republic, you will take the plunge! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

caves, Sundays

Another weekend, another cave…

Hello travel blog fans! Bill and I arrived in beautiful Tübingen yesterday. I wrote a little bit about yesterday’s adventures in my main blog. There isn’t much to the post, though, other than a photo that will get shared here when I write up the whole story of this trip. I wanted to write about today right now, so I don’t forget anything. We’ve had an extraordinary day, and I don’t want to forget any details, so I’m going to write a fairly detailed post today.

We were trying to figure out how we wanted to spend our Sunday, since we had no plans for today. We thought about going to the Mineraltherme, which is one of our favorite places around here. But Bill was kind of lukewarm on the idea. Then I remembered last week, I looked up caves near this area for my post about the Kubach Crystal Cave in Hessen. I recalled that there was one cave we hadn’t been to called the Olgahöhle. Even though last week’s excursion was physically challenging for me, I was easily convinced that this was a cave we should see.

The Olgahöhle is kind of a special cave, because it is the longest tufastein cave in Germany, and the first German show cave to get electric lighting. Prior to the Olga Cave’s receiving electric lighting, there was only one other cave in the entire world that had electric lighting, the Kraushöhle in Austria. This cave was named after Queen Olga von Württemberg, and was found by Johann Ziegler during quarrying of tufa in 1874. Ten years later, it was turned into a show cave, which it remains today, albeit with limited showings.

I’ve mentioned a lot that I have a special bond with Armenia. Well, in Armenia, many buildings are made of tufa, which is the very same type of stone that makes up the Olga Cave. Unlike many caves near it, the Olga Cave is not made of limestone. It’s also a primary cave, making it rare.

The Olga Cave is staffed by clubs, and it’s only possible to visit with a guide. Consequently, it has very limited opening hours. Usually, it can be visited on the first Sunday of every month from March until November, or by special appointment. It costs 3 euros per adult to visit, and group rates are available. Since today happens to be the first Sunday of the month, we decided we had to visit it. So we took off for Lichtenstein-Honau, which happens to be where the gorgeous Lichtenstein Castle is. We visited the castle in September 2016, but when we were at the cave today, I looked up and saw it from a new perspective. I wasn’t expecting that!

*Schloss Lichtenstein from another perspective!*

Our tour was with a large group of German teenagers. Compared to last week, it was a very easy cave to explore, with only one big flight of stairs. The tour was only about a half hour or so, and the guide didn’t know we were Americans until the very end. But it was okay, because the lady who sold Bill the tickets gave him a binder with information in English. I got a lot of photos!

After our tour, we headed up to the castle, thinking we could score some lunch there. We weren’t the only ones with that idea, though… and there was absolutely no parking to be found, whatsoever. So we decided to go to the nearby Nebelhöhle Cave… another place we’ve visited in the past. On our way there, we ran into a shepherd moving a huge flock of sheep and lambs across the road. I got a few photos and video clips, which I will share later, once I’ve had a chance to edit the video.

We managed to find a spot at the cave, then walked down to the outdoor restaurant, which seems to specialize in Maultaschen. I was going to have that today, but they gave Bill some with mushrooms and hunter (mushroom) sauce all over it! So I had tuna salad, and Bill ate the Maultaschen.

The place was quite crowded, which is natural, given how very beautiful the weather is today. Twice, we were joined by German couples. The first couple was obviously very curious about us, but didn’t seem to speak much English. Bill told them we were “on holiday”. But the second couple, who brought with them their adorable border collie, turned out to speak English very well… and we had a great visit with them! They were also from Wiesbaden, although they live in Augsburg now.

I ended up sharing the name of the blog with them, and they laughed. After I explained my history, they totally understood why I would call myself The Overeducated Housewife. I ended up writing the blog name on a dental floss sample package! Then they were surprised by the spelling of “traveling”. They didn’t realize we have different spellings from British English for certain words in the US.

We had such a beautiful day today… even though I decided I didn’t want to explore the other cave. It was just as much fun to sit and people watch, joke about tuna salad, and talk to the very friendly folks who live in Augsburg and visit Sonnenbuehl, which is where the husband works. His wife said that he works there and has a flat, so they came to enjoy the German Reunification Holiday weekend.

It’s days like today that really make me appreciate my good fortune all the more. It is a real treat to get to live in this country. And having a reason to come down here every six months makes me all the gladder that we kept our Stuttgart area dentist. It’s also a treat to be in this beautiful city again. We have really missed our old stomping grounds!

Below are a few photos from today. I will add more next week, when I write the series for this trip.

caves

The Kubach Crystal Cave… and lunch at La Fonte!

If you’re among the few folks who have been following this blog for all of the years Bill and I have been in Germany (this time, anyway), you might remember that I am a big fan of caving. In a way, it’s probably in my blood. Both of my parents come from the mountains of Virginia, and there are caves there. I remember visiting a couple of wild caves when I was in high school and being really impressed by the experience. My uncles also used to run Natural Bridge and its accompanying hotel, before it became a state park. Natural Bridge has caverns, which were always pretty amazing to visit.

Since we’ve been in Europe, I’ve had the chance to visit several different cave systems. Most of them have been in Baden-Württemberg, where we’ve spent six of our almost 21 years of marriage. Today, we visited our very first Hessian cave, the Kubach Crystal Cave (Kubacher Kristallhöhle) in the rustic hamlet of Weilburg, which is about an hour’s drive from our home near Wiesbaden.

I’ve been wanting to visit this cave for a couple of years, but COVID put a damper on our ability and desire to go anywhere– especially anywhere I’d have to wear a mask and exert a lot of physical effort. And then I just kinda got lazy. Caves are generally pretty challenging to explore, since they often require climbing up and down steep steps or ladders.

I had visions of our experience at the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle a few years ago. This cave is the deepest show cave in Germany, but it’s exhausting to visit, especially if you’re a fatass housewife like me. It requires sure footedness and stamina, as well as a strong heart and lungs. I did it in June 2017, but I think it would be harder for me to visit today. I’m older, fatter, and not as fit as I was then… which is pretty sad, I know.

I didn’t think the Kubacher Crystal Cave would be as intense as the Tiefenhöhle was, and it wasn’t. That doesn’t mean it was easy… but it was doable for me. Maybe I can convince some of my Germany local visitors to give it a whirl. It’s not the easiest or most exciting cave I’ve ever visited, but it’s well worth an hour of your time. And if you do happen to wipe out, you can rest assured that help will get to you somewhat quickly.

The guided tours– in German, of course– are required. You also have to wear a helmet, because there is a section of the cave that is a tight squeeze with a low ceiling. Being 5’2″, I didn’t have to duck much, but taller people may be challenged. And I did notice that quite a few of the helmets were pretty scratched, which indicated that many people have hit their heads in the Kubach Cave. We did not have helmets or tour guides when we visited the Tiefenhöhle.

Kubacher Crystal Cave is one of a few show caves in Hesse, which is less mountainous than points south are. They call it a “crystal cave”, but I think that’s a bit of a misnomer. This particular cave is not full of stalactites or stalagmites. It’s a huge hole under the earth with cavernous rooms, but lots of limestone and some other elements, like silver, amethyst, and many unique rock formations.

We arrived at the cave at about noon, which was just after the tour before us departed. Bill went to buy tickets– ten euros per person, plus a one euro charge for taking photos. We had to wait about an hour before it was our turn to go on the tour. There used to be a restaurant at the cave, but it’s now closed. I passed the time by drinking a Coke, purchased from a vending machine on site, and peeing a lot. We also wandered around the outside rock formation museum and the inside museum, which showed the history of the cave. Again, it was all in German.

The lady who sold us the tickets did not speak English, but the guide did. I don’t think she knew we were Americans until the end of the tour, as I was dragging my ass up the stairs. She was very kind and patient, telling me she’d much rather I go slow than have an “Unfall” (accident).

We were climbing a long passage of steps when she told me that I’d be “screwed” if I wiped out there, since the paramedics would have to carry me up the steps. She further explained that if I were to drop in the bottom of the cave, they could get me out without paramedics needing to carry me. I guess they have a secret exit or something. Anyway, none of that was necessary. I did some heavy breathing, but recovered quite quickly. I had a nice lather of sweat in my hair, thanks to the helmet and my sweater, and then came a very pleasant rush of endorphins.

Our group was pretty small, with a young family (a couple with two young kids), another couple, and an older woman who, like me, was not keen to face plant while climbing up and down the 456 steps, about 70 meters under the earth. There is a sign at the cashier’s desk advising that anyone with serious heart related health problems forgo visiting the cave. It is a fairly strenuous climb. I noticed our guide was pretty fit, though not as obviously athletic as I would expect someone who climbs up and down the steps a lot would be. She also didn’t wear a helmet. I guess it was because she knows where to duck, and the helmet does kind of obstruct your vision somewhat.

One thing I have learned from visiting other caves in Germany is that it’s good to wear pants, good shoes with excellent traction, and bring a light jacket. Gloves may also be useful, as you will hopefully be using the handrail and it gets wet and slippery. I left my purse in the car, since I didn’t want to have to cart it up and down with me on the steps… been there and done THAT! It was a good decision.

There’s plenty of free parking, and I’d say that if you have children who are reasonably fit and listen well, this is a fairly child friendly place to visit. There’s an outdoor museum, where you can look at rock formations, and an indoor museum explaining the cave’s history and how it came to be discovered and opened to paying visitors. This cave was rediscovered in 1974 and opened to the public in 1981. It is the highest show cave in Germany, as it has a ceiling height of 30 meters.

Another thing that makes this cave special is the presence of “cave coral”. From the site www.showcaves.com:

The cave has two spots with extraordinary speleothems, a strange and rare speleothem called bulbous calcite or cave coral. The first location is right at the entrance in the first chamber of the cave. The walls are covered by cave coral, somtimes spottet with other minerals. Here is the 50 cm borehole and the small group of stalagmites which was discovered first and is actually the only dripstone formation in the cave. The second area is a narrow passage in the middle of the cave, with even more beautiful cave coral which is filling holes and cracks and rather difficult to spot. We recommend to walk slow, look up and back to discover the hidden minerals. This is actually one of the main sights of this cave.

Below are some photos from our excursion today. The first batch are from the grounds, museum, and outdoor area with rock formations. The second batch are from the tour itself. And the third and fourth batches are from the drive and our delightful lunch at La Fonte. I think it was time well spent!

The ladies restroom was nice. It had a Dyson faucet and hand dryer. Bill said the stalls in the men’s room were locked, so if you need to poop, you have to ask for the key. Same for the baby changing room. The ladies room had no such restrictions. There was also no Klofrau. Sometimes it pays to be female. 😉

I was surprised to find that the way back out of the cave is different than the way down. Both going up and going down are challenging. I expect to be a little sore tomorrow. But at least there weren’t any ambulances necessary today.

We drove through lovely Bad Camberg to get to and from the Crystal Cave. We’ll have to come back and visit the town and other attractions nearby. There’s a castle and a Wildpark calling our names. I think we also passed some kind of stone mason’s park or something. See the photos with the carved animals. The property had a fence with little dragons on top of it.

Once we were finished visiting the cave, we made our way back home with a stop at our local Sportsverein restaurant, La Fonte. There, we refueled with a three course late lunch that will keep us going until tomorrow. It had been quite awhile since our last visit to La Fonte, so I was surprised to see how our village’s new school is coming along. They will be tearing down the one that is located near where we live. I heard it was going to be turned into apartments. Bummer. But at least the school looks nice. La Fonte is always a pleasure. Lunch was about 65 euros before the tip.

*Field Salad for Bill. Pumpkin soup for me.*

I’m going to wrap up today’s post and join Bill for our nightly happy hours… I’m glad we made the effort to go to the cave today. And I’m even more glad that I didn’t pass out on the way out of the cave! I guess I’m not as big of a fatass as I feared. Maybe that means I can climb the tower in Cesky Krumlov when we visit at the end of the month!

Sundays

A weekend of honey dos…

I mentioned in my main blog that we didn’t really do much this weekend in terms of “travel.” Bill and I have a big, expensive, Nordic trip scheduled for next month that has eaten up a lot of our disposable income. We also have a U.S. holiday coming up this weekend during which we’re hoping to do a few day trips from the Wiesbaden area. Plus, we had some chores that needed to be done in the backyard.

I had been contemplating planning a dog friendly trip for the holiday weekend, but then I realized how much we’re spending to visit Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Denmark next month. Then I remembered that we were denied the opportunity to see a lot of our local environs due to the COVID pandemic.

There are quite a few somewhat local places I’d like to visit, and Bill has some leave time he needs to take, anyway. So he’s going to take a few days off this week and next and we’re going to try to explore. He also needs to go see Dr. Blair again for a tooth repair, so that might get done this week or next. It sucks getting old! ETA: as I’m writing this, Bill says he has an appointment for tomorrow at 2:15PM. Guess he’ll take the ICE train. I think it takes about an hour to go from Frankfurt to Stuttgart on the train.

As for what we did this weekend… well, we tried Galliano liqueur for the first time and Bill made us a round of Harvey Wallbangers. It’s not a bad cocktail, but I probably wouldn’t order it at a bar. Maybe I’ll try one on Regent Splendor next month. 😉 Ours were missing cocktail cherries, because we didn’t have any on hand. Bill also shaved his beard and left tiny hairs all over the bathroom. I cleaned that up.

Bill went to the local “bee bomb” vending machine and bought six more capsules of seeds. We planted them in some empty planters we had. With luck, they’ll sprout and bloom, and we’ll have pretty wildflowers that will also feed the bees. I’ve never particularly been a big fan of bees, but I know they are essential to life. I read some sad stories in summers passing about bees not having enough to eat. So I’m hoping we can do our part in helping them out. I already started some bee bombs a couple of weeks ago, and we have some pretty good sprouts already going now. If you look at the featured photo, you can see the capsules of seeds in the background.

I pulled some ivy vines down off our garage and gave the patio furniture another layer of teak oil. Bill charged up my car’s battery, which I’m sure will be dead in a month. I really need to drive my car more.

Bill gathered more old clothes for the bins by the grocery store. I need to do another round of that myself. I have tons of clothes that won’t fit in my dresser, and some others that won’t fit me. 🙂

I did more yardwork, though I can hardly call it work, since we have a robot to mow our tiny backyard. I do have to use the weed whacker, though. I didn’t do much yard work yesterday because it was Sunday. We aren’t supposed to make a lot of noise on Sundays. It probably would have been okay, though. Our neighborhood is pretty chill about that kind of stuff. I wouldn’t dare use power tools on Sunday in Baden-Württemberg. That would be sure to earn me a good tongue lashing from a neighbor or the Polizei. In Hessen, it’s probably cool.

I spent some time moving more of my massive music collection from my old computer to the new one. It’s a very tedious and annoying undertaking reminiscent of when I moved this blog from Blogspot to WordPress and had to reformat a bunch of old posts… some of which are still not properly formatted.

And we also enjoyed some barbecue… spareribs last night and chicken on Saturday. It was quite yummy!

I did think wistfully about going out somewhere fun, but I really have fun with Bill wherever we are. It’s so nice to have him home again. This will be a short work week for him, so I’m hoping to have some good content later this week. We won’t be doing the “honey do” stuff this weekend… although we might do the “honey do me” stuff. 😉

I’m kidding about that… sorta. 😀

I would like to do a dog friendly trip soon. Maybe we’ll do one to pick up a new friend for Noyzi… We’ll see what the future holds.

Hofheim

It’s party time because Bill is home!

Bill got home at about lunchtime yesterday. It was so nice to see his fuzzy face– he has grown a slight beard since last week. We went to the wine stand last night and talked to a few people. Noyzi came with us and was a little agitated, but every time we go to the wine stand, he’s a little less freaked out. He went up to our friend, Hannah, and gave her a very proper hello. She was delighted by how happy he was to see her.

We met a couple who just moved to Breckenheim, though they didn’t come from far away. We told them about how we used to live near Stuttgart and they said what a lot of Germans say when we tell them about our Stuttgart connection…

“That’s a very SPECIAL part of Germany…”

Indeed, it is. The dialect is different; people can be extremely tight with money; and they can be very anal retentive about Kehrwoche– that’s the communal routine of cleaning up common areas in a building or a neighborhood. Up here in Hessen, people seem to be a lot more laid back. It’s probably because this area is a lot more international.

We stayed at the wine stand for a little over an hour, but when it started to get crowded, we decided to move on. Below are a few photos… just a few, mind you. It wasn’t super exciting, although we did enjoy meeting the new folks, and appreciated that their English was excellent. The wife said she works at the airport and had a rare three day weekend! I mostly got photos of Bill’s hairy face, and Noyzi behaving himself.

Today, we decided to go to the Street Food Festival in nearby Hofheim. Those are always fun, and different towns have them on different weekends. Next weekend, we could probably find the same fest in a different place. Right now in Stuttgart, the big spring festival is happening. That’s definitely more fun and rowdy than the street food fest is, but we still had some live entertainment to cheer us, and lots of food from different places– from Ethiopia to Venezuela…

The band was kind of fun. They were playing songs from the 50s and 60s, mostly. Unfortunately, they had some issues with their sound. The mics were too close to the speakers, resulting in a very unpleasant tidal wave of feedback. You could easily watch people cringe as the metallic, electric shrieks emanated from the stage. But they eventually got the sound system straight, and they were better… entertaining, at least. Meanwhile, we enjoyed Venezuelan cheese empanadas, barbacoa pork tacos, and churros, washed down with pilsner. I got a few clips of the band, along with some “witty” commentary…

A very friendly elderly lady sat with us for a short while as we enjoyed “street food” to the American songs of 50s and 60s, interpreted by Germans. They also did a few in Spanish. I love how there are so many fun events in Germany… and we never have to worry about gun toting maniacs.

https://videopress.com/v/OTVSDIU4?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

As we were finishing our churros, I noticed the skies were getting cloudier and the wind was picking up. It was getting chilly, too. I told Bill I wanted to see if anything was going on by the Wine Chalet, in a nearby parking lot. The Wine Chalet is a permanent thing, but it’s outdoors, on the outskirts of where Hofheim has its weekly market on Saturdays. Sure enough, lots of people were enjoying wine, listening to a dreadlocked Black guy singing Sting songs. We decided to have some wine… or, I had wine, and Bill had sparkling grape juice. The guy was pretty good, even if he was basically doing karaoke.

Mid glass, we were asked to move the table to another area. Bill had to help the guy who made the request, who seemed to realize mid move that we were Americans. He thanked us in English, after speaking German the rest of the time. I don’t mind being taken for a local. I take it as a compliment.

We got home at just before 4:00pm, just in time to feed Noyzi. We stopped in the Edeka to pick up some wine, because I think we’ll enjoy the rest of the evening…

It’s great to have Bill home again. He really makes me smile, as you can see… For some reason, when I try to smile alone, I look completely deranged. With Bill, I only look half crazy. 😉

I dunno about that beard, though… We’ll see how long it survives.

art, Frankfurt, holidays, Sundays

Easter, Van Gogh Alive, and Omonia…

Howdy folks. Bill and I just got home from today’s outing. We planned it a few days ago, knowing that Saturday would be busy. I wanted Bill to fix the boundary wire for the robotic mower, because it’s definitely grass cutting season. We needed to get the outdoor furniture moved outside. And I bought a new Apple TV, so I could update the TV in our entertainment room with the old HomePod as a speaker. It actually took some time to get the new technology squared away. I had to reset the Apple TVs, run updates, and then configure everything. By the time all that stuff was done, it was mid afternoon and too late for an outing.

But we knew Sunday would be a good day for a day out on the town. Yes, it’s Easter, but restaurants and museums are open. Lately, I’ve been seeing lots of ads on Facebook for the Van Gogh Alive exhibit in Frankfurt. It started in January and will now run until early June. The ads were enticing. Then I read the reviews, which were pretty lukewarm.

Bill likes art, and the ads made the show seem exciting. So we bought two tickets for noon today– at about 25 euros a pop. I think the tickets were overpriced, BUT– we did have a good time and learned new things. And Bill got very emotional as he saw Vincent Van Gogh’s works in the show, projected on the walls with information about the artist’s tragic life and death, coupled with lovely classical music from Van Gogh’s era. There was also a (somewhat lame) sunflower room, which consisted of fake sunflowers, lights, and mirrors, which took about five minutes to see. And there was a “drawing room”, where they had easels and a YouTube video showing how to sketch Van Gogh’s bedroom in under two minutes. I didn’t try it myself, but I did observe others.

Our visit lasted 45 minutes. Maybe it would have lasted longer if we’d brought our own chairs, as some people wisely did! I would also recommend showing up a little after your appointment time. You can enter the exhibit anytime after your appointment time, and stay as long as you like. If you’re on time, you’ll be in a crowd. But if you show up later, you’ll have the first part of the exhibit to yourself! If I did it again, I’d come a few minutes late.

Below are some photos… As you can see, everything is in German and English!

Frankfurt’s TV tower, which has been off limits to visitors since 1999.

There is a public restroom in the exhibit, as well as baby changing and handicapped facilities. I was grateful for the restroom. I would also recommend using the train to get to the venue. Parking is at a premium, but there’s a train stop just outside the exhibit’s location.

Below are a few short videos to offer a look at how the show is… It’s pretty cool, but nothing earth shattering.

It’s an impressive show… especially if you can sit down.

A longer look.

We had 1:45 lunchtime reservations at an upscale Frankfurt Greek restaurant called Omonia Taverna. Bill found it on OpenTable.de. He ended up amending our reservation to 1:30, and found a parking spot on the street.

Omonia Taverna turned out to be a great place to spend the afternoon. The food was excellent; the staff was welcoming and didn’t rush us; and we had a very lovely Greek wine. Bill had lamb, and I had a Grill Teller. The waiter spoke English and offered English menus. We didn’t require either, but it was good to know they had them. There is a parking garage nearby, but it was closed yesterday. We found street parking, but it would have also been convenient to use the train.

Below are some more photos… I got some good ones of the Europaturm (Frankfurt’s TV tower, which no longer allows visitors. Every decent German city has a TV tower.). The Europaturm used to have a discoteque, but it’s been closed to the public since 1999, mainly for fire safety reasons. Recently, there was talk of reopening it, but so far, nothing has happened. Still, it makes for a striking sight in Frankfurt. Koln’s TV tower is also closed to the public– and has been since 1992. But, you can still see Stuttgart’s and Berlin’s TV towers, which I have…

We noticed that the staff was extremely hospitable at Omonia. Especially the proprietor, who was personally welcoming everyone in Greek. I didn’t know the word “Kalispera” before we ate at Omonia, but now I know it’s Greek for “Good day”. We similarly learned the Greek word “Yamas” from our friend, the “Mad Scientist” at Agais in Entringen, down in BW. We spent a good 90 minutes on a very leisurely Easter lunch, but we skipped dessert. The main courses were enough to fill us up… Maybe next time we’ll try a sweet ending.

The bill was about 104 euros. Bill tucked some euros in for a Trinkgeld (tip), and paid with his credit card. The waiter was so nice. He said come back anytime, with or without a reservation. I truly think we will. We had a great time, and the food was really nice. They also have an inviting outdoor area for when the weather is slightly better. I noticed a lot of locals there, and a lot of Greeks! It’s obviously a local gem!

Overall, Omonia Taverna, and Frankfurt in general, were excellent places to spend our Easter Sunday afternoon. I understand there’s also a Monet Alive exhibit. It was going on in Stuttgart when we were down there. It got worse reviews than the Van Gogh Alive exhibit did. What a pity. I like Claude Monet. I probably would still go see it if it shows up in Frankfurt, even though I think it’s overpriced. But I would bring a chair and spend a little more time watching the movie.

We need to spend more time in Frankfurt, anyway. There’s a lot to see there that we’ve missed, thanks to COVID-19. I’ll be looking for more ways to kill our weekends in Frankfurt and Mainz, which we’ve also sorely neglected since we moved to Wiesbaden.

Bill is now working on our US taxes… but I think I’ll go downstairs and bug him. That’s what I was born to do.

Baden-Württemberg

Ten things I learned on our latest trip to Stuttgart…

Since we used to live near Stuttgart, I wasn’t planning to write a “ten things I learned” post for our latest jaunt down there, but for some reason, I feel like writing a travel post today. Maybe it’s because I recently made a photo folder for my new computer, and it’s flashing some of my prettiest pictures, as opposed to every picture on my hard drive. A few photos from our latest visit to the Stuttgart area have been included in my photo folder.

So, to satisfy my itch to write about travel, and to maybe generate some new views, here are ten things I learned on our latest trip to Stuttgart. I do learn new things every time I travel, even when it’s to places I’ve been to many times!

10. The TV Tower (Fernsehturm) is closed on Mondays during the winter!

The Fernsehturm is located very close to the Wald Hotel. I’ve been up it twice, and although Bill doesn’t remember going up there with me, I’d swear he went on my second trip. We thought maybe we’d kill time last Monday and go up it again, but alas, it’s closed on Mondays! BUT– after April 1, you can visit on Mondays… until the winter season starts again in November.

9. If you’ve already seen the Blautopf, and you liked looking at the deep blue water, you might also want to visit Brenztopf (Brenzursprung)!

I’m grateful that we were able to come back to Germany, if only because when we were living here the first time, I had never heard of Blautopf, let alone Brenztopf. These are very beautiful ponds in the cavernous areas near Ulm. Blautopf is in Blaubeuren, which is an obviously touristy town and has more facilities. It might be the “better” of the two ponds, given a choice. A visit to Blautopf can be paired with a trip to the Tiefenhöhle (Germany’s deepest show cave open to the public– also open after April 1), in nearby Laichingen.

However, Brenztopf, in Königsbronn, also shouldn’t be missed, for those who like looking at mysterious, beautiful, blue bodies of water. Below are photos from both places. The top three photos are from Blautopf, while the bottom three are from Brenztopf. Both places are probably best visited after April 1, for the “summer” season. On the other hand, if you visit before April 1, there are probably going to be fewer crowds to battle.

8. If you want to get the most out of a visit to Hohenzollern, you might want to wait until the “summer” season starts, on April 1.

It’s cheaper to visit Hohenzollern Castle in the “winter” season, because one can only see the grounds during that time. If you want to actually go into the castle and take a tour, you will need to wait for the warmer months. That is also when the Biergarten opens, although I can’t promise that an April visit will be any better weather wise than a March visit would be. If you’re short on money, a “winter” visit might be better. Tickets are significantly cheaper during the cold months.

*Hohenzollern is beautiful in any season.*

7. Taking the bus to Hohenzollern is so worth the money!

I mentioned in my post about Hohenzollern that Bill and I have had the experience of walking up the path to the castle. It’s definitely not for the weak. If you have any physical problems, or you’re just old and out of shape like we are, you might want to spring for the shuttle bus. Just sayin’.

6. Obviously, we need to schedule our dentist appointments AFTER April 1…

You’d think that after so many years of living in Germany, and near Stuttgart in particular, I’d already know this… But then, Bill is the one who schedules these things.

5. Besigheim is a very cute town, especially if you like German wines!

I never would have known about Besigheim if I hadn’t started following Facebook tip groups by Germans, for Germans. I wish we’d taken the time to shop for wines when we visited, but we were both eager to get to the hotel. As it was, we were still stuck in Stuttgart’s famous Staus.

4. Heidenheim is also well worth exploring, although it’s a bit of a hike from Stuttgart.

Now that we’ve seen it, maybe we’ll go back and see Schloss Hellenstein, which overlooks the town and has two museums. The castle dates from the 12th century, although the original version was almost completely destroyed in a fire back in 1530. Right next to the Schloss is a nature park, which has a bird of prey station and serves as home to many wildlife species.

3. It pays to check out restaurants thoroughly when you’re hungry.

When we visited Heidenheim, we wandered around a bit, trying to find a place for lunch. The first restaurant I spotted, La Strada, is where we ended up enjoying a lovely lunch. But we almost missed it, because although there was a menu board outside, the window next to the menu board made it look like the restaurant was deserted. All we had to do was go up a flight of stairs to find the entrance! The “deserted” room on the first floor was just another dining room that wasn’t open for lunch.

2. Always plan for a pause.

We were under the impression that La Strada had a warm kitchen throughout the day on Saturday. However, that turned out not to be the case… Our waiter was eager for us to finish up so he could take a break before the dinner shift. Not that we blame him at all for that!

1. We still haven’t seen everything.

In spite of living in the Stuttgart area for a total of six years– the longest we’ve spent living in any place throughout our 20 year marriage– we still haven’t seen everything there is to see. Although Dr. Blair (our dentist) kids us, we love visiting Stuttgart and going on excursions. I always try to plan for at least a couple of outings to places that are new to us. In the future, maybe we’ll finally visit Kirchheim Unter Teck, the Porsche Museum, or the palace in Ludwigsburg.

There are also places that deserve a second or third look, like Hohenzollern and the TV Tower. Stuttgart looks different during the different seasons, or when the weather changes. I like living in Wiesbaden, and we definitely need to explore more up here, but every time I visit Stuttgart, I’m reminded of just how many things there are to do down there. I always enjoy visiting!

Overall

I often compare Stuttgart and Wiesbaden, since we’ve lived in both places. I get a lot of hits from people in the United States on my posts that compare the two places. I know this is because the two US military installations offer similar job opportunities. I want to reiterate that I’ve really enjoyed both areas, although Stuttgart remains more familiar to me, because we lived there longer, and didn’t spend two years in lockdown there. Our most recent trip was yet another reminder of how appealing both areas are, for differing reasons. But really, you can’t go wrong in either place, and on this trip, I was reminded yet again how lucky we are to be able to have and enjoy these experiences in Germany.

So… if you’re a German reading this, allow me to say “Danke sehr!” for being so welcoming and allowing us to get acquainted with your beautiful, interesting, and just plain amazing homeland! Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe next time we visit, I’ll pick a place to the east of Stuttgart to base us, so we can see even more of the places we haven’t seen yet. I’ve got until early October to make plans!

Baden-Württemberg, Sundays

Stuttgart, Germany… it’s as lovely as ever in the springtime… part four

Sunday morning, we woke up to more wind and rain. Naturally, that made me decide it was perfect weather for visiting Hohenzollern Castle. Actually, we took some time to decide where to go. I checked the Ausflugstipps für Baden-Württemberg Facebook page again, and saw a couple of possibilities. But I don’t think we felt like driving too far afield, and Hohenzollern is not that far from Stuttgart. It’s near a town called Hechingen, which is just south of Tübingen, a really cool college town Bill and I know very well.

We had been to Hohenzollern before, back in the spring of 2008. Bill’s coworkers at the time had recommended it, so we went there and were mightily impressed by the castle’s beauty and imposing presence on top of a mountain. I remember on that trip, we stopped at the cheesy tourist restaurant near the castle. It was obviously intended for busses, as there was a large parking lot that could accommodate them. On that 2008 trip, we ate some pretty terrible German style Mexican food, served in virtual “troughs”. Well, it probably wasn’t as bad as I remember it, but it was definitely missing something in the translation.

This time, we skipped the tourist trap and drove up to the large parking lot near the castle. Bill used the free WC, and bought our tickets. As of April 1, summer tickets will be available, which means the museum will be open. But, when we visited on March 26th, it was still considered “winter”, which meant we could only visit the grounds. Our tickets were seven euros each. Summer tickets are 22 euros, but include entry to the museum. I seem to remember that when we visited the first time– also in early spring– we had a choice of getting a ticket for just the grounds or one that included the museum/tour. Since we were financially poorer, and didn’t speak German and/or understood a lot less back then, we got the cheap tickets and stuck to the grounds. Now, we would opt for the museum/tour tickets.

One other thing we did differently this time was choosing NOT to walk up the steep path to the castle. This time, we took the shuttle bus, which was seven euros round trip. I gotta say, after having had the mountain goat like experience of climbing the hill, the shuttle bus is so worth it. Especially when the weather is as crazy as it was on March 26th. Bill and I are probably still capable of walking up the mountain, but I remembered it to be pretty exhausting when I was 35 years old. I’m 50 now, and only have so many spoons. 😉

The weather on top of Hohenzollern can be pretty wild. I remember writing about our visit in 2008 and advising visitors to make sure to bring a jacket, unless it’s just the dead of summer… and even then, it’s not a bad idea to have one. I don’t think I brought a jacket during our first visit, and I got pretty cold. This time, I was better dressed, but we experienced quite an array of weather conditions during our visit– everything from rain to wind to sun… and it was noticeably chillier up there, too.

I’m pretty sure our visit in 2008 must have happened in April, because I distinctly remember having a beer in the Biergarten, which wasn’t open during our most recent visit. We did visit the restaurant in the castle and had a nice lunch. I had very hearty Maultaschen, while Bill had the veggie bowl, which was attractive, but kind of bland. I liked my dish a lot, but I didn’t really need food again for the rest of the day! 😉

The current incarnation of Hohenzollern is the third. The castle as it is now was built in the 19th century, so it’s pretty modern as castles go. However, there’s been a castle on Mount Hohenzollern since the 11th century. It’s currently privately owned by the House of Hohenzollern, “with two-thirds belonging to the Brandenburg-Prussian branch, and the balance to the Swabian branch.” Family members still occasionally stay in the castle, with each branch flying their respective flags whenever either is there.

I would like to go back to Hohenzollern again sometime and visit the museum. I actually like this castle more than the much touted and unfinished Neuschwanstein, built by Mad King Ludwig. Hohenzollern is beautiful, and offers impressive views of the surrounding terrain. I’m not sure, but I think Bill and I could even spot the elevator test tower near Rottweil, which we visited in 2018.

I was surprised to see a number of people bringing their dogs to the castle. It’s totally allowed, as long as the dogs stay on their leashes. I’m guessing they walked up the mountain, too. I know I’m no paragon of fitness, but that walk up the mountain is not for slouches. I seem to remember there was a sign after the first stretch near a bus stop, for those who changed their minds and wanted the bus. But maybe they just walked along the road, which takes longer, but isn’t as steep. I remember we walked down the road when we came back down from the castle in 2008. In 2023, we were happy to take the bus.

Here are some photos…

The below photos were taken in 2008. Check out the difference! I kind of wish I’d brought my digital camera. It looks to me like cameras rather than phones produce pictures that look less computer generated.

We went to the gift shop on the way out of the castle, because I saw some souvenirs I thought Bill’s grandchildren might like. We bought a wooden sword and shield for the eldest, a fairy tale princess dress for the middle, and a stuffed hedgehog for the baby. I had to laugh when I noticed the princess dress was made in Canada. It’s now going to be shipped to Utah. I also bought a new jigsaw puzzle for myself.

After our visit to the castle, we decided to drive to Tübingen, as it’s always a good time. However, when we got to our usual parking garage, it was closed! It looked like they were renovating it. So we decided to go to Panzer for. a pee break and to see if the rug guy was there. I wanted to buy a new rug to replace the one Arran repeatedly used as a toilet.

We were in luck! The rug guy was there– but he didn’t have the rug I wanted to replace. We chose a different one. As the guy was folding it up for us, I said “I think we might need the bigger version of that rug.” Bill said he thought I was mistaken… Well, it turned out I was right, so the new rug went in the dining room instead of the living room. But, the rug guy said he was coming to Wiesbaden in three weeks, so maybe we’ll try again then.

We also ran into one of Bill’s old work colleagues from Stuttgart. And… while we were rug shopping, Mother Nature treated us to a nice hail storm! March weather in Germany is absolutely batshit nuts!

After we bought our new rug, which is currently clashing in the dining room, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed another evening of libations. I ended up having a chicken Caesar salad for dinner. Bill had a cheese course. We tried several local wines, too… Below are some miscellaneous iPad photos I took, starting with breakfast. Our poor waitress forgot to put in our orders for egg dishes! Luckily, they were worth the wait. All in all, I’d say Sunday was a great day.

Baden-Württemberg

Stuttgart, Germany… it’s as lovely as ever in the springtime… part two

On Friday, March 24, Bill and I made our way down to a very familiar city. We were both relieved to be on our way. The lead up to this trip had been very stressful, as our dog, Arran, was suffering from lymphoma, and we were very worried about the prospect of boarding him. He’d been physically healthy enough until the evening of March 16, when he suddenly had what appeared to be a stroke.

On the morning of the 17th, it was pretty clear that Arran was fixing to make his way to the Rainbow Bridge. We helped him on his way. While it was very sad to say goodbye to Arran, the timing of his passing was kind of fortuitous. It meant we wouldn’t be worried about him all weekend, as we were in the fall, when we visited Hotel Bareiss just after he was diagnosed with cancer.

March 24th was a rainy and chilly day. Noyzi was delighted to get to go to the Tierpension Birkenhof, though. He hadn’t been there since the fall, when we last went to see Dr. Blair. In November, we had our 20th wedding anniversary holiday, in Ribeauville, France. We took the dogs with us for that trip. For this trip, we needed to board Noyzi. I booked the Wald Hotel’s suite, and though the hotel is very dog friendly, the specific room we were staying in wasn’t, as it is carpeted. Luckily, Noyzi LOVES the hundepension. Arran used to like going there, but as he got older, he made it clear that he’d rather be with us. It was good that he didn’t have to endure a last stay there.

I got a video of Noyzi on his way to the “dog hotel”. He absolutely loves going there– as you can see! I was surprised to see that they’d done some renovation since we were last there, too. But Noyzi also likes coming home. Bill is going to go get him in an hour.

Noyzi is joyfully reunited with his beloved human friend, Natasha, at the Birkenhof.

Once the dog was dropped off, we continued our journey south. I had suggested to Bill that we should stop for lunch in the town of Besigheim, a hamlet known for its wines. It’s just north of Ludwigsburg, a city in the Stuttgart area we used to visit all the time. We had never been to Besigheim before, but I decided it would make for a nice stop when I saw someone share photos of it in a local Facebook group. We didn’t have the best weather, but I did find the municipality to be very charming indeed. Better yet, it had plenty of cheap parking, and a garage that had a public restroom, which Bill really needed. 😉

*Spotted at a rest stop… I should have bought the top sign.*

I managed to get some photos, and then we had lunch at a historic restaurant on the main drag called Ratsstüble Besigheim. It appeared to be a local favorite, and we did have a nice lunch there. I think the waitress was kind of curious about us. Overall, we liked the lunch, although my fish was a little burnt on one side. Bill loved his salad, though.

I don’t think they get a lot of Americans in Besigheim, although I could be mistaken. My German friend says that one of Barack Obama’s forebears was born in that town in 1729. These days, it looks like it’s mostly known for being a place to buy lovely local wines. I’d like to go back, as I noticed a nice looking hotel, a wine bar, and some inviting looking shops. They also had several restaurants that were intriguing, and an Italian Feinkost (gourmet shop).

I would have liked to have stayed in Besigheim longer, but it was getting later in the afternoon and we were worried about traffic. It turns out we were right to be worried. Getting into Stuttgart via Heilbronn and state roads was a bit of a nutroll. There was tons of construction, as usual, as well as the annoying traffic patterns one often encounters in Stuttgart. But, after taking our usual route back today, we can say with all honesty, the Autobahn isn’t a whole lot better. 😉 There is a reason they call it “STAUgart.

We arrived at Wald Hotel in the late afternoon, and were welcomed by a young man who half-heartedly offered to help us with our bags. I was more impressed the last time we visited the Wald Hotel, and stayed in the Junior Suite (which is a better room, in my opinion). That was in May 2019. But anyway, I got photos of the Suite, too… and I don’t think I need to book it again. It was nice enough, but I liked the Junior Suite more, and it costs less. I actually like the rainfall showers better in the newer Superior Rooms. They’re awesome, and have mood lighting. The “suites” are lovely marble, but they don’t have rainfall capacity or mood lighting. I also think the beds in the Superior rooms are more comfortable.

I see in my review of the Junior Suite (502/500) in May 2019, I mentioned a “mysterious stairway”. I think I figured out that it leads to the Suite (501), as the two can be booked to accommodate a family of up to six people. There’s also a little bedroom in the Suite complex (500) that probably gets used for kids.

We also got a free round of drinks in the bar because I am an Expedia gold member and booked through them. Wald Hotel used to have a really cool bartender named Angelo who worked there, but he retired not so long ago. The current bartender was very good too, although Angelo was an old pro, and it really showed. I’m sure the current barkeep will eventually become legendary in her own right.

We decided to eat dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, Finch, so we had our free round at the bar and the bartender beamed when Bill tipped her on the “free drinks”.

It does appear that Wald Hotel is doing things a little differently now. It used to be they offered free drinks in the minibar. Now it looks like the minibar is no longer “free”. Still, we were glad to be back. We got to bed at a reasonable hour and slept mostly well. The mattress was very firm, which we’re not used to, but that could be because I just put a foam topper on our bed.

Saturday, we made new discoveries, which I will write about in part three tomorrow.

Baden-Württemberg, blog news

Hello from Stuttgart!

Here’s a quick post to say hello from our old stomping grounds, Stuttgart, Germany. We got here Friday and will be coming home on Tuesday. I expect to write several posts about this trip, which has turned out to be surprisingly productive so far. We’ve visited a couple of new places, as well as one we haven’t seen since 2008.

The weather has been positively crazy, which is totally normal in March. Today, we’ve seen rain, wind, sunshine, and HAIL! It’s possible there could be snow tomorrow, though I doubt it will stick.

We have to see our dentist in the afternoon. He’ll be repairing things for both Bill and me, and we’ll get cleanings… and then, when we get home on Tuesday, we’ll fetch Noyzi and start planning our next big adventure, which will likely be somewhere totally different. I might even get on an airplane again.

Even though we’re in Stuttgart, this trip is pretty pricey for us. But today, we scored a new carpet for the living room, which desperately needs it after Arran’s many clandestine toilet runs. It doesn’t match the other two carpets, but the rug guy says he’ll be up in Wiesbaden in three weeks. Maybe we’ll just redo the whole living room.

I’ve also noticed a lot of businesses coming and going down here… and a lot more road construction. It’s weird to see the changes.

Anyway, I’m not quite ready to start blogging yet. But I do have a lot to write about… Here’s a short list, so I don’t forget:

Bill mistaking a Muslim woman in dark coat with a hood and a white headscarf as a nun.
The “Familie von Trapp” and the private concert/birthday party we crashed.
Arran is everywhere…
“You don’t need to put a bow on that load…”
Wein fur Eins…

Stuttgart will always have a piece of my heart, in spite of some of the things that happened when we lived here. It’s a beautiful place, with good people, delicious food, and gorgeous scenery. So, watch this space for the new series. Maybe I’ll start it tomorrow, but definitely Tuesday it will commence, if I’m not in the hospital or somewhere else like that. We’ll see.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Baden-Württemberg