Tag Archives: Breckenheim

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Our little Adventmarkt!

A year ago, Bill and I spent December 1st moving into what was our new home in Wiesbaden. He was recovering from cleaning our old house in Jettingen, which turned out to be a complete waste of time, since our former landlady was determined to find and charge us for every little defect, whether or not we were responsible for it. In retrospect, I wish we had just broom swept the place, as required by our lease, and been done with it. Trying to clean that house to her impossible standards was a waste of energy that took away from the energy we needed to set up our new home.

Anyway, because we were in the process of moving, we never did make it down the hill to Breckenheim’s adorable little Adventmarkt, which goes on for just one day every year. They had it last night, so we went down for a couple of glasses of Gluhwein. I got some pictures. Most of the booths were for food and mulled wine, as far as I could tell. They had waffles, crepes, and I could see the Breckenheimer bikers were selling brats off the grill. They were the ones who threw the awesome rock festival over the summer.

I love how community minded Breckenheim is. This is a community that does a lot of neighborhood events and I can see that the neighbors are friendly and social and like to do stuff together. I experienced this a lot less when we lived in the Stuttgart area. They had events, but they weren’t necessarily neighborhood events. It was also a lot harder to meet people down there because it seemed like the general mood was more reserved. I did make friends in the Stuttgart area, but it usually took more time. A lot of times, our dogs facilitated the meetings, too.

  • The church was all lit up. Maybe we should have gone to the service.
  • This is Sammy…
  • His little shirt reads “Security”. Indeed, he was acting the part!
  • The
  • many adorable
  • faces
  • of Bill!
  • Someone’s Santa hiding in a crevice.
  • Lots of pretty lights in our neighborhood.
  • It was a well attended event.
  • I’m glad we didn’t miss it in 2019!

The lady who owned the dog, Sammy, was also working the Gluhwein stand. She noticed Bill’s German accent wasn’t native and quickly figured out we are English speakers. It turned out she lived in the United States for awhile and worked for Seagram, the beverage company. She came out and had a lovely chat with us on topics ranging from The Rolling Stones to Donald Trump. I found myself apologizing for our president, who is not popular over here for obvious reasons. But Germans have a laugh about that, since Trump’s origins in Kallstadt are not far from where we’re living now. Some of Trump’s poor extended relatives in Germany have been treated badly because he’s a distant relative.

Our new acquaintance from last night had plenty of opinions about American politics, which she expressed in excellent English, as well as a funny story about visiting the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky and being shocked that it was in a dry town. We chuckled and told her that Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee is also in a dry town, and that folks who live there have to bring in their booze from a neighboring town that doesn’t ban alcohol.

When we told our new acquaintance we used to live in Swabia, she had a good laugh about the dialect, which even a lot of Germans don’t understand, and the stereotypes about people from Stuttgart. She said they are very good at business, since they’re very detail oriented and hate to spend money. I suppose I can agree with that, although I don’t know that being that way always leads to good business sense. Sometimes, both of those qualities are alienating and can get in the way of business. The trick is knowing when to be that way and when to lighten up and go with the flow. Sometimes a person can be “penny wise and pound foolish”.

Sammy, the dog, was incredibly adorable. His owner told us that he doesn’t like little kids and she worries that he’ll bite them. I noticed Sammy started barking whenever kids ran past him, but he was utterly charmed by the two fluffy furball puppies another family brought. I wish I had Arran with me, but he’s at the Hundepension Birkenhof today, because Bill and I have to go to Landstuhl and spend the night. Bill is having routine tests done at the hospital and I am the designated driver, because he will be under the influence of sedatives. God help us. At least we have a Volvo!

We headed back to the house when it became clear that my kidneys are in good working order. I suppose we could have gone back to the festivities and hung around for the appearance of Santa… Maybe if we’re still here next year, we’ll do that, if it’s not too cold. Last night’s weather was chilly, but not too unpleasant, but you never know in Germany. A few years ago, we had snow on December 1st. But then, that was down in Stuttgart, where things can be chillier in more ways than one!

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Spotted on today’s walk around Breckenheim…

It’s amazing what you miss when you don’t pay attention. I recently started taking my dogs on a different walking route. It’s not ideal for dogwalking, since it requires passing through our narrow streeted village, but it does allow us to avoid the busy main drag for at least part of our walk.

Usually, when I’m walking through our village, I’m focused on keeping the dogs out of the street. Our old village has a lot of traffic, especially considering how small it is. Consequently, I don’t always pay attention to the small stuff I could be stumbling across on our daily strolls. Today, I happened to get hung up at a driveway due to a small traffic jam. An Asian couple were maneuvering their large station wagon out of a gated entrance to our narrow street. They happened to intercept an annoyed looking German guy in his van. This was further complicated by a yellow German Post truck coming in the other direction.

I halted the dogs so the three vehicles could get around each other in the tight space. Then I noticed five bronze plaques on the ground. Here’s the second of two pictures I took of them.

Who are these people?

I determined by their names that they were likely a Jewish family and had once lived in Breckenheim. I discerned that they left Breckenheim for the United States. Judging by the dates, I could see that they were driven out of our town due to Nazism.

I just looked up these plaques online and found them listed. According to the plaques pictured above, they all left for the United States, but according to the Wikipedia article I linked (in German– Chrome is your friend), Rosa Kahn actually died in a place called Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute in a town that was once called Sayn, but is now known as Bendorf. Judging by my cursory search, Bendorf is located not far from here– it appears to be near Koblenz. Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute was a Jewish owned nursing home that was expressly for Jewish people who suffered from “nervousness” and “mental illness”.

Established in 1869, Jacoby’s Nursing and Care Institute ran until 1942, which is also supposedly when Rosa Kahn died. In 1938, all but three non-Jewish workers had to be fired. From 1940, the hospital was part of the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, but it was originally intended for Jewish people who suffered due to people who were ignorant about their beliefs.

Meier Jacoby, a local merchant who started the institute, justified building it, writing “I had often heard that nervous people who grew up in strict Jewish homes reluctantly enjoyed kosher food, that they probably refuse to eat such food or that they believe they have sinned by eating the food that they are teased by less educated patients and guards, especially because of their beliefs, etc. – circumstances that must certainly adversely affect the nervous and mental patients.” Jacoby took in some patients and hired a doctor to oversee their care. Until Nazism took over Germany, it was a good place for Jewish people who needed psychiatric care.

The Jacoby family were themselves able to emigrate to Uruguay via the Soviet Union and Japan. The main building of the hospital was demolished in the 1960s, but a couple of buildings still remain standing in Bendorf, including the ballroom and the synagogue. Sadly, it appears that toward the end of its existence, the nursing home was used to concentrate Jews for deportation to extermination camps. Between March and November 1942, 573 people were sent to camps in the East, while between 1940-1942, 142 people were too sick to travel and died at the hospital. Those who died at the hospital were buried on the grounds, but had no marker for their graves until the late 1980s.

Once the patients were deported, the hospital was used as a hospital for military troops, then as a replacement for the Koblenz hospital that was damaged in the war. In March 1945, the hospital was briefly taken over by American troops, and then in July 1945, French troops took possession. From 1951 until 1997, the site was a boarding school. Since 1999, it’s been a Catholic run nursing home for people with disabilities.

On November 17, 2002, incidentally the day after my wedding, a memorial was erected to honor the 573 people who were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there. Additionally, a plaque with all of the names of the people who died is hanging in the Wintergarten in the facility.

Isn’t it amazing when one story leads to another? I found out all about this simply by stopping and noticing five little plaques on a driveway that I pass all the time while I’m walking my dogs. Maybe some weekend soon, Bill and I can take a day trip to Bendorf and have a look around.

I highly recommend reading this detailed account of the Jacoby Nursing and Care Institute on Bendorf’s official page. The site is available in English, or you can use Google Chrome (2025– the page is no longer working).

Edited to add: my German friend found more information about the Khan family and it turns out Rosa Kahn did manage to escape. She and her husband celebrated their 50th anniversary in New York on February 22, 1943. Breckenheim was a Jewish community for many years before Hitler came to power. Perhaps another woman from the neighborhood died at the nursing home. Wikipedia is not always the end all, be all of information, but at least I learned something new.

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Our neighborhood wine gathering…

Last night, our community had another one of its wine stands.  It seemed like there was a different crowd last night as they were selling a locally produced wine.  The first one we tried was called Breckenheim Riesling, which is made right near our neighborhood.

Bill enjoys his first vino… It was made in our town.

The vintner came around with this flyer for his next event.  

As usual, we were joined by more locals… older folks who didn’t know English.  It’s good for me to get out and talk to the locals in my badly fractured German.  I may still sound like a simpleton when I speak German, but listening to others speak it helps me understand more.  It’s even better practice for Bill, who does speak some German.  Last night, we sat with a man from Frankfurt.  He wore a t-shirt from Norway and said that he speaks Norwegian.  He showed us pictures from his latest fishing trip there.  I can’t imagine having this experience in the Stuttgart area.  Down there, it seemed like it took much longer to get to know people.

Another event coming up soon.

Last night’s price list.  We didn’t have any cheese for the pretzels, though.  I was disappointed.  The wines were good… even the red.  I typically like German whites more than reds.

This was an apple Sekt.  We had the rose.  I really enjoyed it.  In fact, I liked it enough that Bill bought a bottle for home.  It had kind of a cherry essence.

The wine stand was well attended last night… standing room only.  We made an arriving couple smile when we gave up our seats to go home for dinner.

 

One thing I really like about the wine stand is that it brings out the community.  It’s nice to see so many people saying hello and being friendly with each other.  I get the sense many of these people have known each other for a long time.  It’s quite a contrast with Baden-Württemberg, where I found people to be more reserved and chilly, even among locals.

Our local church.  This is another thing I like about Germany in general.  They have local churches like this one.  It’s very communal.  Every day, I hear the bells.

This bee decided to take a sip from my glass.  It’s illegal to kill bees in Germany, so I was happy to let it drink and move on.

The other direction.  I’ve started walking the dogs this way, even though the sidewalks are very narrow and the traffic is formidable.

 

The next wine stand is in two weeks, but we will be in Scotland.

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Jettingen who? New discoveries in nature and more Breckenheimer rock n’ roll!

Last night turned out to be unexpectedly awesome.  After we came home from Idstein, we decided to hang out with the dogs for awhile.  Then, at about 6:00pm, the Breckenheimer Bikers were back to continue their fest.  I asked Bill if he wanted to go.  He said “sure”, so we walked to the area where they had set up their booths and tables.  The weather was better, so there were a lot more people.  It looked like they had different food, too.

Then Bill wanted to see if there was anything going on at the Dorfplatz, which is where they always have the wine stands every other Friday night.  Nothing was going on there, but we decided to keep walking.  I’m ashamed to say that in seven months of living in this town, I haven’t explored it much.  I don’t know why.  When I was younger, I’d always walk around my new neighborhoods to make new discoveries.  I usually have the dogs with me, though, and our new town doesn’t have very good sidewalks, since it’s very densely populated.  I guess I figured the area was too congested for them, making it hard to dodge cars.

We walked down Dorfgasse, which is the main drag, passed the antiques dealer, a Kurheil practitioner, a pension, a bakery, an architect, and a druggist with a gynecologist’s office attached to it.  Aside from the bakery and the druggist, I had no idea the other stuff was even there.  We also passed a bunch of guys sitting in their garage, drinking beer, and having a party.

Then we saw a country road on the edge of the neighborhood.  Yes… Breckenheim is on the edge of the country, and we discovered a large park where we can take walks with the dogs.  Perhaps my days of walking them in the poo and dildo infested fields near the Autobahn and the Rewe are over.  Here are some photos from our walk.

This looks familiar… our old town of Jettingen had a similar sign asking people to pick up their dogs’ crap.

Turns out there’s a pretty big walking area, complete with orchards.

There’s even a woods!

 

After a few minutes of walking, we came across a small paddock where a group of ponies were enjoying some hay.  I call them ponies, but they might have been miniature horses.  I mean, they’d be ponies because of their height alone, but they had the more delicate features of horses, with a lighter bone structure. I don’t have much experience with minis, although I have plenty of experience with ponies.  Whatever they officially were, I was delighted to see them!  I spent most of my childhood around horses and even used to have my own pony.  It’s been too many years since I last had a horse in my life.  They are wonderful company.  I even miss their wonderful aroma.

 

One of the mares had a colt by her side.  It looked like a couple of the others might also be expecting, although it’s a bit late in the year for that.  They might have just been fat.

They were very friendly, although I didn’t dare try to pet them.  I have a lot of experience with electric fences, too.  I’m glad we walked up this way, since my dogs go nuts when they see horses.  Now, if I try to walk them here, I’ll be forewarned.

The further we went down the road, the quieter and more bucolic the views were.  I was reminded of the more country areas where we’ve previously lived in Baden-Württemberg.  I’m really a country girl at heart, so finding out our new Hessian town has country scenes did my heart good.  The one thing I’ve been missing about Jettingen are the beautiful wooded areas where I could walk my dogs.  Now I’ve found Breckenheim’s version.

 

The church on the other side.  I think there’s a concert there today.  We might have to check it out.

 

On the way back to our neighborhood, we happened to pass by a tree as several birds of prey had engaged in what appeared to be a violent attack.  I grabbed my camera and tried to film them in action, but was just a little too late to capture the fight.  But then I saw something strange.  A bird was hanging upside down by one talon.  It hung there for an agonizing minute as we looked on, wondering if it was just stunned.  I filmed the bird and my German friend told me it was an Eichelhäher, otherwise known as an Eurasian Jay.  It bore a slight resemblance to our blue jays.  Just after I turned off the camera, the jay lost its desperate grip on the branch and dropped to the ground.  It was still alive when we left it, but I doubt for much longer.  I was a little sad about witnessing that scene, but unfortunately, it’s the way of nature.

By the time we got back to our street, the fest had exploded.  Most of the tables were full of people drinking beer, Sekt, Aperol spritzes, and Jack Daniels.  There were several bands, all of which were quite good.  Our landlord and his wife were there, having a good time.  I like them both, although I haven’t really spent much time talking to them.  Our new landlady doesn’t speak much English, but she’s always very friendly and seems happy to see us.  The landlord seems to like Bill, and he speaks more English– likewise, Bill speaks more German than I do.  We said hello and watched a few acts.  The landlord said they usually do this fest every year, although some years they’ve skipped it.  I’m glad we were around for it this year.

The bikers put on a hell of a party!  I remember Jettingen had events too, but none like this.  A lot of the fests in Jettingen were religious or agricultural.

Cheers!

I got video of a couple of them, which maybe I’ll turn into something I can share here.  I did think to take a few pictures, especially of an enthusiastic gentleman who danced to several well covered classic rock songs.  The group before the rock band consisted of four very talented men singing a cappella in surprisingly good harmony.  I am myself a singer, so I know how hard to can be to stay on pitch when you sing unaccompanied.  They did a really good job of it.  I was especially impressed by their version of “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”.  For some reason, Germans seem to love Scotland, just like I do…  I got some raw video, which I might turn into something sharable at some point.

This guy was dancing his ass off.

This dude sounded like a mix of Bon Scott and Meatloaf.  He was singing songs by Foreigner, Billy Idol, and Bob Seger, among others.  His female partner covered a Bryan Adams song and Pink.  They were surprisingly good.

They brought up a young girl… a family member, perhaps, who joined them on the Bryan Adams number, “I Need Somebody.”

This guy was awesome.  He was inspiring people to cut loose.

We went back home and Bill cooked burgers on the new grill.  The party went on down the street.  At about 10:45pm, they set off some fireworks– maybe a minute or two’s worth.  At about 11, the party was over.  All in all, from Idstein to party time, our Saturday was amazing.  I’m not sure what we’re going to do today, but we sure did have a great day yesterday!

Fireworks!

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Breckenheim bikers throw a good party!

Every time we move to a new place, I’m always intrigued by our neighborhoods.  Some places have been better than others.  This time around, we seem to have chosen a very social neighborhood.  Last week, we had the wine stand.  This week, we have a street fest that was capped off by a concert hosted by a bunch of bikers from our current hamlet, Breckenheim.

The club members all had these vests.  Most of them were very personalized.  As you can see, this group was celebrating their 20th anniversary!

If we’d wanted to, we could have just sat out on one of our balconies.  The bikers had a band and were selling brats, brotchen, beer, and Jack Daniels.  I loved that they all had matching leather vests with their names on them.  I got the sense that during the work week, they were all working conventional jobs.  On the weekend, look out!  They were born to be wild!

We stayed at the fest for a couple of hours and listened to the band’s first set.  Here are a few pictures.

The view from our balcony.

 
We had a little bit of rain, but the locals were prepared.  They put up a tent and, with some teamwork, were able to put it over about half of the tables.

A plane on the way to Frankfurt, no doubt.  We live about twenty minutes away.

Bill was in a festive mood.  He likes a good Friday night fest, even though he knew he needed to stay sharp because we finally got the VIN for our new car and he had to call the bank about arranging the loan.

 

Drinks were flowing…  They even had four dispensers for Jack Daniels.  I guess that’s a biker thing.  I used to like Jack Daniels a lot.  When I used to fox hunt, the master of the hounds would pass around a flask full of the stuff.  I didn’t drink it then, because I was just a teenager.  I don’t drink it much now, but when I was in college, I was a fan.

The brats were grilling.

Lots of people were socializing.  This looked like a very friendly group.  I like that there are so many clubs in Germany, one for every possible interest.

 

This was dinner.  It was very good!  I don’t usually go for brats at these events, but I think the bikers put me in the mood.

The band was also pretty swell.  They were playing all manner of hits, from well-known pop songs in English to German songs.  One lady sang a well-known Adele song; another covered Amy Winehouse.  They were quite competent and even had a sax player!

 
The crowd was into it.
 

I tried one of the Jack and Cokes.  It was a lot sweeter than I remembered it, and not just because of the cola.  This one was a double…  I’m feeling it this morning.

 

They had lots and lots of Jack Daniels.  I didn’t know Tennessee Sour Mash whiskey was so popular here.

 

After awhile, we decided to go home so Bill could attend to his loan business and I could play him a new song I discovered yesterday.  I think there will be a lot of activity choices for us this weekend… lots of fests are going on right now.  We’re definitely spoiled for choice!

 

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Winestand #3

We finally had nice weather for our local wine stand, which happens every other week and is run by a different club each time.  We missed the last one because we were in Stuttgart, but managed to make it last night.  It was better attended than the others we’ve been to, probably because the sun was out for a little while and the temperatures were warmer.

Sorta sunny?  I like the town church.

 

Because more people attended last night, we were quickly joined by a group of elderly neighbors who did not speak much English.  Bill and I both had a chance to speak a little bit of German and our neighbors graciously accommodated us.  It was a lot of fun.  I really like the wine stand tradition up here in German wine country.

An obligatory shot of Bill before it got too busy.  People came in droves with a few minutes of this shot.

Even the dogs were having a good time.

It’s all wine, all the time.  Not a beer in sight!

At some point, I dropped my phone and the back of it got cracked.  I think Bill was dismayed.  He’s going to find me a cover for it.

As things were winding down…

We had a nice time last night.  I think we may have made a few new friends, too.  Maybe I’ll even manage to learn a bit more German.

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Communal wine drinking, take two…

Last night, there was another wine stand in our village.  Although it rained all day, the precipitation stopped by the late afternoon.  Even if it hadn’t stopped, the little “Festplatz” in our village has umbrellas over the tables, and, anyway, many Germans don’t believe in bad weather, just bad clothing.  The weather was warmer than it was two weeks ago, which was nice.

Bill and I stopped in for a couple of glasses.  Here are a few photos.

We got there early enough to get a table.  Once again, it wasn’t until the place filled up that anyone sat with us.  We felt a little like lepers, but I’m sure the locals will come around.  They were selling pretzels and “Fleischkaese” sandwiches last night.  Fleischkaese is basically German style meatloaf, although it reminds me a bit of very high quality Spam.  We stuck with wine.

It’s election time, so there were lots of political posters.

It got pretty busy after about an hour.  I enjoyed watching people mingle.  It’s obviously a lot of the folks in this village are friends, some of whom have been here awhile.  I saw lots of hugging, kissing, and heard plenty of laughter among familiar people.  It was nice to be among such community and people with genuine regard for each other.

Bill looks darling.  I played him my latest recording… a new song I just learned yesterday morning.  I think it doubled as a mating call.  I’ll need to polish it a bit, but I think it’s a keeper… just like he is.

He bought that Sekt for me, but wanted to try it.  It was very tasty, as was the red wine that had an essence of fresh strawberries.  This was actually our second round.

And this was our first.  I had a semi sweet white, while he had more Riesling.  It’s hard to believe we didn’t drink German wines when we came here the first time.  There are some definite good ones.  You just need to pick the right grape varietal.

We would have stayed longer, but we both needed to pee.  Although toilets were available at the local community center, it’s so close to our house that it’s just as easy to go home.  Going home means arousing the dogs.  We have a big day today, anyway, because we’re going to Kaiserslautern to test drive cars.  So it was an early night, but an amusing one.  I’m glad we chose to move to Breckenheim.  Hope we can stay awhile.

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Community bonding…

Our new town, Breckenheim, has a charming habit of having a wine stand every other week.  We missed the first one two weeks ago, but caught today’s, which started at 6:00pm.  For some reason, the weather is really chilly today… like, it’s colder than a witch’s tit.  I actually wore the new wool sweater I bought from Aran Sweater Market last month, when I was enduring a fit of loneliness and self-pity.  I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to wear it before the winter of 2019…  I was wrong.  It’s freakin’ cold outside tonight.  We only lasted for an hour and a half and had just two glasses of wine.

Here are some photos from our local gathering.  I get the sense that we’ll know more of these people by summer’s end.

Our local church.  Eventually, I will go inside and take photos like a tourist.  I love that it’s so charming.

 

I took this before we left.  I thought the sweater would be enough, but I had to wear my other wool cardigan because it was so cold.  It’s like one of God’s little jokes.  I need a little sunshine in my life.

We scored a table.  I noticed others coveting our table.  It took over an hour before anyone asked us if they could sit down.  Just before they asked, I told Bill that in BW, someone would have asked awhile ago.

Good turnout… and this was actually before the rush hit.

My husband… in another life, he was a Scottish (or Irish) fisherman.

A shot of our “village”.  It’s a culture shock, because our other German neighborhoods were more rural.  We live a block up from here.

A pano shot, for the extra curious.

Right when things got started.  Our tiny town square.

We never did find it, but I bet by September, we’ll know where to go.

Don’t you think it’s time he changed his profile pic?  I do.

The most elaborate Easter tree I’ve seen.

Bill’s reaction to my filthy sense of humor.  I think we were on our second glass of wine.

A map of our town.  We are not near Stuttgart anymore.

Crown him with many crowns.

I noticed a few people noticing us.  The guy selling wine was brave enough to ask Bill where we’re from.  He mentioned the other American who lives in Breckenheim, on the other side of the village.  I think there might be fewer Americans in this town than in Jettingen, where we lived most recently when we were near Stuttgart.  But this town also has an Air BnB that is apparently popular with Americans.  Both times, when we lived near Stuttgart, we were in somewhat rural areas.  Where we are now is probably somewhat rural for Wiesbaden, but not for Stuttgart.  I am from Virginia, and I often liken it as a move to Northern Virginia as opposed to a move to Richmond.

Still… in some ways, I am liking Wiesbaden a lot.  In others, it’s a little hard to get used to.  One thing I can be grateful for, though, is that this area has some great veterinary talent.  Our former vets in Herrenberg alerted me to the fantastic Tierfklinik Hofheim, which is supposedly among the best in Germany.  We live only about twenty minutes from there now, which was not the case when the Herrenberg vet mentioned this facility to me.  And my German friend, Susanne, who lives near Stuttgart, alerted me to the fact that the vet we’re probably going to use permanently (and have already used once) does IVF for dogs.  He once even went to Dubai to inseminate a dog there with sperm from Australia.

It’s definitely a different world up here.  I look forward to getting to know it better.  Today, Frankfurt’s spring fair begins.  We’ll have to check it out and try some Frankfurt green sauce.

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Our local haunt… the Alt Breckenheimer Stübchen

This place is within stumbling distance of our house.

 

SADLY, THIS ESTABLISHMENT HAS CLOSED. 

In both of our old stomping grounds near Stuttgart, we weren’t that close to places to eat.  In Unterjettingen, we had Tommi’s Bistro, which was a great steak place with limited hours, and Zum Schiff, which was a Swabian place, also with rather limited hours and menu choices.  In Pfäffingen, we had a really campy American place called Buffalo Bill’s that served scary versions of American food.  It closed sometime during our five year hiatus from Germany, and is now a casino.

One of the things I like about our new home is that it’s very close to a really cute German restaurant.  The Alt Breckenheimer Stübchen is not even a three minute walk from our house, and it’s super cute and charming.  Because we’d heard that it gets crowded on Friday nights, we made reservations at 7:00pm.  It’s a good thing we did, because they were busy last night and the restaurant is pretty small.  I loved the cozy bar area, though, and could see myself tipping a few beers there.  They also have an outdoor area that will be nice when the weather is better.

Last night’s specials presented on a chalk board.

We went with menu choices, which mostly consisted of German staples like schnitzels, steaks, and sausages.

The people sitting at the table next to ours seemed rather curious about us.  I caught the man staring a couple of times as Bill and I chose our schnitzels, both of which came with the salad pictured below.

We were seated in a sunken area with just a few tables.  I took the opportunity to get a shot of the bar, which looked really inviting.

Bill had a schnitzel with green peppercorn sauce.  It was pretty good.  I usually don’t get sauces on my schnitzels because I never finish them as it is, but I might make an exception for this one.  I also liked the “homefries” that came with his dish.

I went with a plain old Wiener Schnitzel, complete with crinkled fries.  It was good, although I have yet to run into a place with a bad schnitzel.  It seems to be the kind of thing that is hard to mess up… if you’re German, anyway.  I’ve never tried to make one myself.

 

I caught the couple sitting next to us staring again, so I smiled and said, “Hallo!”, which seemed to take them off guard.  Sometimes, I can be a little forward, especially when I’ve been drinking.

Service was very friendly and professional and the wait staff graciously boxed up our leftovers for us.  I don’t know how parking is for this particular restaurant, since we can easily walk to it.  There is street parking on our side of the street, but it’s usually fairly full.  On the other side of the block is the main drag through our little town.  I noticed a couple of parking spots on that side.  Free WiFi is offered to guests and Tuesday is their Ruhetag.  Otherwise, they’re open from 5:00pm until midnight every day.

And here’s a picture of the little church whose steeple so often shows up in pictures I take from one of our balconies.

I definitely see us becoming regulars at the Alt Breckenheimer Stübchen.  It seems to be a local gem.  I’m not sure what we’re doing today, although I’m sure it will involve spending money.

Maybe we’ll have pretty skies here, too.

The little restaurant near our house certainly does make us feel welcome!

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The last night of 2018…

Here’s a quick post with photos from last night’s fireworks.  It was quite an impressive show.  Because our new house has two balconies, it was easy to see everything.  Some people were setting off fireworks right outside our front door.  It wasn’t quite as impressive as our old village, Pfäffingen, was.  New Year’s Eve there was like Armageddon.  But it was a little better than Jettingen was, probably because we were close to the action…

I got a lot more pictures, but a lot of them were unusable because they were blurry or uninteresting.  It’s strange how I have better luck with my iPhone than my regular camera with all its fancy settings. Anyway, we had about a half hour of intense fireworks, then the neighborhood was quiet again.  I swear, in our first German town, people were setting off fireworks most of the night!

 

My dogs were mostly oblivious to the action.  Unlike our dearly departed MacGregor, who would be terrified when the fireworks started, Zane and Arran were totally chill.  Zane tucked himself into bed and Arran hung out with us and watched the show.

Hopefully 2019 will be full of new adventures.  I have some big ideas for the Wiesbaden edition of my travel blog!  I hope you’ll follow along… but only if you’re interested.  I suspect there will be many trips to the Rhein in our future… and the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, all of which are now easily accessible to us in our new town.

Happy New Year to all!
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