Tag Archives: Birkenhof Hofheim

Hessen, Sundays

Charlie’s first Biergarten visit!

On August 20, 2023, I wrote a blog post about how we took our Kosovar street dog, Noyzi, to the Birkenhof Hofladen’s Biergarten, the Bembelschänke. Noyzi had a great time during that visit. I was thinking we’d go back there more often this year, but we’ve been so busy that we never got around to it. Yesterday, the weather was warm and sunny, and we decided it was time to go back to the Biergarten. Charlie has now been with us for three weeks, and we wanted to see how he’d handle a car ride. We already know that Noyzi is always up for a road trip!

We arrived at the Bembelschänke at about 3:00 PM. The Biergarten had plenty of empty tables, so we chose one far from the crowd. I noticed the owners had put in a sprinkler/fountain that kids were playing with. It wasn’t there last year. Other than that, it was a comfortingly familiar place, as I recognized several of the wait staff who were there last year.

There was a large family in one corner of the Biergarten. They were having some kind of celebration, as they were singing a song together. This isn’t the first time Bill and I have stumbled across a celebration in a public place involving some of kind of performance. I found it charming!

Bill had a cheese plate, while I had wurst with farmer’s bread and a nice fresh salad. I don’t usually get that excited about wurst, but I really liked what they had… and I especially enjoyed the salad. I’ve noticed that cherry tomatoes in Germany are sweet and delicious– almost like candy! In the states, tomatoes taste kind of sour to me and I don’t enjoy eating them raw. But here, they are completely different and vastly superior. As someone who needs to eat more produce, I appreciate that tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce are so lovingly grown here.

The boys behaved pretty well, although Noyzi was barking a bit. Charlie was completely chilled out and at home. He’s going to be the kind of dog we can take anywhere. After we enjoyed some beer, we stopped by the Hofladen’s self-service fridge and picked up a couple of farm fresh items for home. You just pick out what you want and you’re on your honor to pay for it, although that particular Hofladen has security cameras.

Below are some photos…

Noyzi loves car rides!
This was really good!
The hall they have for parties.
A good venue for winter!
Charlie was exhausted after our visit to the Biergarten. He took a nap in our backyard.

Our visit to the Bembelschänke was an excellent way to cap off a memorable weekend in Germany. I hope we can do it again before fall arrives. But… actually, we’re going to be in Iceland very soon, so maybe our next visit will have to wait until 2025.

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Hofheim, Sundays

Noyzi makes a new human friend at the Birkenhof Hofladen’s Bembelschänke…

Yesterday, Bill was supposed to Skype with his mom. He didn’t do it, because I complained to him that I wanted to go out and do something on Saturday. And yet, we didn’t end up going anywhere yesterday… it was hot and muggy, and nothing was appealing.

Today was different. It was hot and muggy today, but we decided we wanted to go out, anyway. The Birkenhof Hofladen has a 24 hour fridge that people can buy produce from. They also have a Biergarten called the Bembelschänke, which is a really nice venue for drinking beer, eating pretzels, and pondering life. It’s a dog friendly place, so Noyzi came with us. Boy did he have fun! A Bembel, by the way, is a pottery wine pitcher found in these parts. This is German wine country, after all.

When we arrived at the cornfield, we walked Noyzi toward the entrance, where we were promptly greeted by a gorgeous dog who obviously lived at the farm. I think he might have been a “Swissy”. He was very much “Johnny on the spot” when we arrived, meeting us at the gate, and checking out Noyzi with his hackles raised. Noyzi, of course, just wanted to play.

The lady of the farm came out and claimed her dog, whom she said was two years old. She yelled at him to sit and he ignored her the first couple of times before he complied. He and Noyzi traded a couple more sniffs, then parted company as she took him inside.

Bill and I chose a shady spot in the Biergarten, which wasn’t very crowded at all. We ordered a couple of beers– an amber for him, and a weizen for me. Noyzi was nervous, but he eventually calmed down a bit as we enjoyed a “cheese bread” plate for Bill, and Spundekäs with a pretzel for me. I was impressed by how beautifully the food was presented.

The Bembelschänke offers a variety of beverages– wines, beers, soft drinks, and non alcoholic juices. I was actually really tempted by the lemonade, which looked very refreshing. The food choices are somewhat limited to snacks, but that’s okay. After you enjoy a round or two, you can visit the 24 hour fridge and load up on farm fresh goodies. I took a video for Bill’s daughter. She’s never had a chance to live abroad.

A little about what’s available…

As we were finishing up our second round, the lady of the farm came over with a big bowl of water for Noyzi. I could tell she was a bit smitten by him. I think the feeling was mutual, as he went right over to her and gave her a snuggle. I was glad to see him so comfortable with someone he doesn’t live with 24/7. Noyzi really likes women, and he’s come such a long way from the scared pooch he was in 2020, when we first brought him home from Kosovo. He was very well behaved at the Biergarten, aside from taking a little while to settle down. I think if we go back, we’ll be welcomed warmly… especially by Noyzi’s new friend.

One of the young waitresses said, when she saw Noyzi, “Mein Herz.” Or something to that effect. The lady of the farm said he was very “Hübsch”. It was clear that he made a very good impression. I do love my beagles, but I’ve got to admit that Noyzi the street dog sure is better behaved and easier on most levels. He works very hard not to offend, and he mostly succeeds.

Anyway, we were very proud of him. It was a hot, but lovely, afternoon. The mood at the Biergarten was perfect– not too busy and very warm and welcoming. I hope we can do it again soon. And the bonus is, we scored some nice goodies for home!

Below are some photos…

Corn is growing all over the farm!
Cheese and bread for Bill.
Love this!
We brought home some jams, eggs, wurst, and mountain cheese for Bill.
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Farm Fresh Too…

A couple of months ago, when we tried and failed to adopt a dog, I joined a bunch of local Facebook groups. My purpose for joining was to spread the word about the dog we tried to adopt who escaped from his pet transport taxi driver and later got hit and killed by a car on the Autobahn. Well… now we’re waiting on another dog to join our family in a few months, but I’m still a member of the groups I joined when we were frantically trying to recover the one who got away.

As a fortunate consequence of joining the local Facebook groups, I’m starting to learn about stuff in the area that I never knew about. One place that came on my radar is the Birkenhof Hofheim, which is a farm that offers fresh produce as well as a 24/7 refrigerator where one can purchase fresh food. Germany is wonderful about making fresh food available at relatively affordable prices. Although there don’t seem to be quite as many farms up here near Frankfurt as there were near Stuttgart, they do exist if you look.

Our last home, in Jettingen in Baden-Württemberg, was near several farms. I wrote about our first experience shopping at the farms a few years ago. Up here in Breckenheim, we’re not as close to so many farms, since it’s a more industrialized area. Still, at this time of year– smack dab in the middle of “Spargel (asparagus) season”, there are plenty of stands selling strawberries, blueberries, and all sorts of other delicious produce.

Thanks to the pandemic, the Birkenhof Hofheim isn’t fully open until May 29th. Under normal circumstances, the farm offers fresh delights that can be served at a table. They also have fun activities for kids. When the farm opens up again, special rules will have to be followed– masks worn when using the toilet and everyone has to provide contact information in case someone gets sick and you have to be notified. After three or four weeks, they discard the information.

I was happy enough to get out for a little while today and get some photos… as well as some farm fresh treats for our table at home. They had everything from corn cobs and charcoal for your grill to milk, flour, and eggs. There was paper and a pen for tallying up the cost of your goods, all of which were clearly priced. They had bags for packing your stuff, and a money box for you to put your cash. The whole thing is secured by cameras, so don’t think of taking anything without paying. We bought about 21 euros worth of stuff.

Lots of awards!
The little self-service shop…
The fridge is available 24/7 and has a lot of useful stuff.
We bought some strawberries, cheese, butter, apple juice, and blueberries.
We have a gas grill, though.
Soon, people will be able to have some cheese and fruit at the farm…
And ice cream, too. But proper social distancing measures must be followed.
A common sight in wine country.
Nice place!

This trip was also handy because it turns out the farm is very close to the Tierklinik Hofheim, which our former vet in Herrenberg (near Stuttgart) says is one of the best veterinary hospitals in Germany. When Zane was having his first issues with mast cell cancer, the vet down there was telling me about this clinic and how she could refer us there if need be. I remember looking it up and thinking it was so far away. Little did I know, we’d eventually be living about twenty minutes away. So now I kind of know where it is, in case I have to take Arran or our next dog there sometime.

It was nice to get out of the house… only the third time since March! I’m getting braver. We’ll definitely be back to the Birkenhof Hofheim for more fresh treats soon! I love visiting the farms and am glad to find one up here near Frankfurt, the only German city with lots of skyscrapers.

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