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Beautiful Biergarten (and wine stand) weather!

Ahhh… I love September in Germany. The first time we lived here, it was from September 2007 until September 2009. We were in the Stuttgart area. I remember flying over here from Virginia, where it was still hotter than four hells, a warning from a former neighbor still in my head. She’d told me it would be much cooler in Germany. Sure enough, I soon found myself on Panzer Kaserne, at AAFES, buying a cheap suede jacket that made in China. It lasted five years before I tossed it out in Glasgow, Scotland, because it had a big rip in it.

Seven years ago, we moved into our second German home, located in lovely Unterjettingen. I still remember the smell of fermenting apples and the sight of the trees gently turning gold as the month progressed. And now, here we are in Wiesbaden, where the weather is just PERFECT. It was about 80 degrees today, with lots of sunshine and a cool breeze, promising that very soon, the weather would be more like it is in Germany the rest of the year. 😉 Although, I have to admit that global warming has changed things here, even since 2007.

Anyway… I might have been tempted to vegetate and drink in the back yard. Bill decided he wanted to go out. So at about 12:30, we dog proofed the house and set off for Wiesbaden. Bill wanted to check out the park behind the Kurhaus. I don’t know how we’ve missed it for the past almost three years we’ve lived here, but we have. Today, we discovered a lovely oasis, where paddle boats can be rented, picnics and sunbathing can be enjoyed, and beer can be consumed at the 1907 Lounge, a Biergarten that is affiliated with Benner’s Bistronomie, where we had lunch a few weeks ago.

Below are many photos from today’s outing. I think they mostly speak for themselves!

  • Saturday… big day for weddings and wedding photo shoots!
  • Lovely garden in the park.
  • There’s a small lake behind the Kurhaus…
  • You can rent boats or watch the ducks.
  • The Kurhaus was handy for having a bathroom…
  • The 1907 Lounge/Biergarten.
  • The menu. We had burgers, but we probably should have had snacks, instead.
  • Kid friendly!
  • There’s even a bubble blower!
  • We arrived at a good time. I was enjoying the music, which was quirky jazz and blues.
  • Self-service dining. Bill had a vegan “beyond burger”. I had a regular beef burger. Both were very messy, but not bad. I’ve had better.
  • I probably should have worn gloves! Glad they came with handy wipes.
  • Unusual bride…
  • This was the first time we had ever been in the historic Kurhaus.
  • The ceiling and stained glass is very impressive.
  • No wonder we saw so many brides and grooms. They were getting their pictures taken.
  • And if you want to gamble, you can do that too. Just be sure to be dressed in “smart casual” attire.
  • There’s also an amphitheater.
  • The park is so pretty and peaceful, but it’s not very big. I felt like I was back at the Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina.
  • There’s a WC, too. Handy knowledge for next time we’re in the city and I have to pee.
  • A shady spot.
  • I am always surprised by the squirrels.
  • There are no gray ones here.
  • They all look like this fellow, or have black fur.
  • There’s also a little creek.
  • Lots of families were enjoying the sun as we left the park for the main square.
  • We thought about getting ice cream, but wound up at a wine stand.
  • Self-service here, too. The area was crawling with police. We heard what sounded like a band warming up.
  • Ice cream probably would have been better.
  • I love this time of year. Wiesbaden is so beautiful.
  • I think the Arcade came straight from 1983.

It was getting close to 4:00pm, which is when Arran and Noyzi eat their dinner. I was loving the weather, but not the cigarette smoke. Also, because Wiesbaden’s COVID cases are on the rise, new restrictions are in place. Everybody has to show that they’ve been vaccinated, tested negative, or recovered from the virus. Of course, medical masks are required, too. They’re a bummer, but people cooperate.

That’s one thing I like about Germany. Nobody enjoys wearing masks, but people do it without causing a ruckus. And, when the threat is no longer, they won’t require masks anymore. Nobody pretends they’re more or less virtuous for complying with the health measures. The masks aren’t political, nor are the vaccines. People accept that this is about health, not politics, and there’s a minimum of fuss. I expect that if and when the pandemic peters out, Germans will enjoy being mask free if they want to be. But until then, people simply do what they’re supposed to do, mostly without getting violent or obnoxious. It helps to have a lot of cops around, of course… and here, the cops are generally not belligerent or violent unless they have to be.

On many levels, I’m so glad we’ve been able to be over here for this particular time in history. I will always be grateful to Germany for being kind to us Americans who don’t want to raise hell and just want to get through this crisis with our lives and health intact.

I’m glad we went out. It’s nice to see Germany functioning again, and people out and about. It would be a crime to miss this wonderful weather. I’m sure we’ll do something similar tomorrow.

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Hessen

Lunch at Benner’s Bistronomie and the last day of Wiesbaden’s Wine Fest!

We didn’t go anywhere on Saturday. I got kind of a late start and, by the time I was finished with my Saturday chores, it was already about 1:00pm. The sky was dark, and rain was promising to fall, so despite Bill’s desire to venture out, I demurred. Since we stayed in on Saturday, I agreed to go out yesterday. Bill made reservations at Benner’s Bistronomie, located in Wiesbaden’s grand Kurhaus.

Benner’s is in the location that used to house a restaurant called Lambertus. We ate at Lambertus in April of 2019. I remember liking the place, especially since the inside of the Kurhaus is historic and beautiful. I didn’t know Lambertus had ceased operations, but we were game to try the new tenant in the old world European building. I’ll say one thing for Wiesbaden; it sure is a pretty town! There’s a lot of graceful architecture and grandiosity, especially downtown. It’s what some Americans might call “fancy”.

Our reservations were for 2:30pm. We made them for later because yesterday was also the last day of a wine festival in Wiesbaden we’ve been trying to get to. We were going to hit the wine fest last week, but I was inconvenienced by a certain monthly visitor and didn’t feel like going anywhere.

Like Saturday, it appeared that we might be in for some rain. When we approached Benner’s, there were a few people sitting outside. The server who spoke to us in unmasked German advised that we might want to eat inside because it would be more “gemütlichkeit” (pleasant, cozy). Noticing the heavy dark, grey clouds, we agreed– as she reminded us to wear masks. We put them on and went inside; no one asked to see proof of vaccines or anything, not that I was expecting them to do that. So far, we haven’t run into anyone who cares if we’ve had the shot(s).

I’ll state right away that our lunch was excellent. The food was very good. The service was friendly, if not a little bit absent-minded. We had to remind the server to bring us sparkling water. We also happened to be there at the time when a lot of people were wanting coffee and cake. Having waited tables myself, I know that the coffee and cake orders can be more work for less money! Anyway, here are some photos from yesterday’s repast!

Threatening clouds!
Benner’s bar… and a sign about COVID-19 rules.
I opted not to “pimp my meal.” I think truffles are overrated.
The inside of the restaurant before the coffee and cake crowd showed up.
My darling husband.
The Schinken (ham) was exquisite and melted in the mouth! I don’t usually like it that much, but I definitely loved what they had at Benner’s. It was a “gift” from the kitchen. Bill liked the truffle butter, but I was grateful for the plain.
I started with tempura coated prawns with mangoes, chili mayo, and what tasted like a peanut soy dressing,
Bill had a big plate of beef carpaccio. We really should have shared one starter; they were pretty big.
I had dorade filets on risotto. In the English menu, this was called “sea bream”, but I thought bream was turbot. Anyway, it was excellent. I couldn’t finish it.
Bill had vegetarian bucatini with lemon and greens. His dish was also substantial and he brought half home.
We had no room for dessert… and we were eager to hit the wine fest!

After paying with a credit card and tipping in cash, we headed out to the wine festival. Much to our surprise, there was security there, but it seemed that they really just wanted to make sure everyone was registering with Luca or Corona Warn, the two contract tracing apps being used in Germany right now. I definitely like Corona Warn best of all the apps, since it does more– holds my vaccine certificates (which again weren’t checked) and allows me to scan the QR code for contact tracing. It’s also in English. Luca just does contact tracing. I also have Cov Pass, but it’s not as user friendly for Americans, since it’s in German.

Below are some photos from the wine fest. They had one tent that was serving food, and several wine tents. We only visited one, and I tried several different vinos…

It was still cloudy and drizzly when we approached.
A young guy was cleaning the rain off the benches and putting up umbrellas.
We decided to sit under the roof of the Colonnades.
Pretty soon, this place was hopping.
Nice wine, although I liked what I had at the Hofheim Wine Market last week somewhat more.
This couple seemed amused by my jovial mood. They inspired me to try the Sekt!
Always a provider.
Cheers!
The sun came out after another shower.
Bill gets me a rose.
This was probably my favorite of the three I tried.
By the time we left, the weather was positively glorious!
It was a kid friendly event, too.
Live entertainment was setting up as we were leaving. We noticed our spot was quickly claimed.
I was grateful a public restroom was opened for us… and I didn’t even have to pay to use it.
Wiesbaden was looking better on our way out!

Although we got rained on and it was actually a bit chilly outside, especially for August, we had a really nice time at the fest. I was reminded of how much I’ve missed these kinds of events since the pandemic started. Things are definitely not normal here, but they’re much more normal than they were a year ago. I’m grateful for that… yesterday was definitely a morale booster!

We have plans to go to the Black Forest at the end of the month. We will visit Stuttgart to see our dentist, then spend four nights in a beautiful spa resort in Baiersbronn, about 30 or 40 minutes from where we used to live. As much pain as we went through in our last house, I am glad we lived there. It gave us the chance to explore the Black Forest on many day trips– we completely missed that experience the first time we lived in Germany! And now that we don’t live so close, we have an excuse to vacation down there. Maybe that’s one gift of COVID life… if not for the pandemic, we’d be wanting to go farther afield, and we’d still be missing the closer gems available to us right here in Germany.

I don’t know if we’ll get around to taking a “big” vacation this year. If we don’t, I’m happy to keep enjoying long weekends in places that aren’t too far away from us. Especially if the weather stays agreeable.

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