Yesterday, Bill and I decided to venture out to Darmstadt. We wanted to visit a drink market Bill had heard rave reviews about from his colleagues. He was told the place was on several levels and offered many different beers, wines, liquors, and mixers from around the world. It turned out Maruhn Welt Der Getränke isn’t quite that amazing, but it’s still a very nice drink market.

When we lived in the Stuttgart area, we used to somewhat regularly visit Heinrich’s Super Getränke-Markt 3000 in Kornwestheim (near Ludwigsburg). I was always impressed by the excellent beer selection offered at that store, and hoped Maruhn’s drink market would be similarly excellent. Having visited Maruhn’s drink market yesterday, I can now say that in some ways, I liked it better than Heinrich’s. In other ways, I think Heinrich’s is better.

Heinrich’s has a superior beer selection. It has more beers from more places from around the world. It has better parking, offers somewhat more snacks for sale, and is next to a regular supermarket. The parking garage has a public restroom, which would have come in handy yesterday, after I finished off a bottle of water.

However, Maruhn’s has a free wine tasting section, a bar, and has much nicer displays. Maruhn’s offers many more liquors, some of which are very precious and expensive. I don’t remember seeing a lot of liquor at Heinrich’s. They also have drinkware, barware, and Bembels (pottery wine pitchers). I really liked the music they were playing in the store, too, which may seem like a minor thing, but to a musical person like me, it’s quite important. I don’t think I ever heard music at Heinrich’s, which seems a lot more “no frills”, to me.

We picked up a couple of bottles of wine and some exotic beers– mostly from Scotland and Iceland– as well as some German beers. It’s been a long time since I last had beer that didn’t originate somewhere in Bavaria and taste like every other beer of that type in Germany. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE German beers. But as an American, I have gotten a taste for more exotic suds and styles that aren’t typically offered by German breweries. I used to order beer from a store in France called Saveur-Biere, but that gets kind of pricey in a hurry. Maybe I should order more, though.

Here are some photos from Maruhn’s… I think we’ll be back.

Our visit to the “world of drinks” was brief. As we were checking out, the cashier rattled off something to me in German and I was caught unawares. Bill asked her to repeat herself and she asked in German if we spoke German. Bill said in German that we only speak a little. So, she easily switched to English and asked if we needed another box for our brews. *Sigh*… Americans need to get on the bilingual train.

Noyzi was very happy to see us when we got home. I was pretty tired, though, because I hadn’t slept well the night before and woke up early. I took a nap, enjoying the perfect “sleeping weather” temperatures and sunshine we have this week. Then, afterwards, we decided to go to the wine stand, where Noyzi was on his best behavior. We made another video for Bill’s daughter, showing her the local snack delicacy that was offered last night– Spundekäs– which I’ve written about before in this blog. It’s typically served with pretzels– either hard or soft. Bill’s daughter likes learning about food, so this is one way to bond.

Below are some photos from the wine stand, and a quick video I sent to Bill’s daughter about the local snack… which we enjoyed “ohne Musik” (no raw onions on top, which make people fart– hence, the “music”). Noyzi, by the way, was better behaved than ever before! He saw his friend, the truffle hunting dog named Billy, who is much smaller than he is, and he charmed some of the locals. I wish I had a sweet, gentle, friendly disposition like Noyzi’s. It might get me further in life.

An explanation of Spundekäs

Just before we called it a night and went home to watch the excellent 2008 movie, In Bruges, again, I looked up and noticed a man admiring Noyzi. It was local veterinarian Dr. Blendinger, the man who, with his veterinarian wife, owns the vet practice where we’ve taken Arran, Zane, and Noyzi. I had never spoken to him before, although I have seen him at his clinic, which is very close to Breckenheim. Dr. and Dr. Blendinger are actually our neighbors. Their property is adjacent to our landlord’s, and our landlord lives next door to us.

When I saw him noticing Noyzi, I blurted out, “Dr. Blendinger?”

He smiled in recognition, and I said with a laugh, “We go to your vet clinic! And I know you’re a musician, too, because I’ve seen your videos!”

We had a brief chat and he invited us to the pop choir concert in July. It’s going to be held at the church.

I love this about our village of Breckenheim. People are so friendly and social! If we’re home when the concert happens, we’ll definitely make a point of attending.

Well… I have been summoned to breakfast, so I guess I’ll end this post. Enjoy your Saturday!