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Chasing lakes and waterfalls in Aus-cro-slo-aus… part thirteen

Our last full day of our trip was probably our most touristy-vacation-esque of our trip. We went to Salzburg and walked around, taking in the sights. Once again, I regret not buying any art, since we passed a few galleries which were closed by the time we departed in the late afternoon. Salzburg is a beautiful city, with lots going on, and a lot of photogenic scenery. We mainly walked around, but we also visited St. Peter’s Abbey and, after Bill lit a candle for his late father, who was a Catholic, we had a very expensive but delicious lunch at Peter, one of the restaurants in St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, which was founded in 803 AD. We didn’t know anything about the restaurant when we visited, but it turned out to be a very successful stop.

Below are some photos from our walk around the city before lunch…

  • We decided to skip the Salzburger Dom, since we’d seen it before.
  • Last time we were in Salzburg, there were many Friesian horses… Not this time.
  • This guy was walking on air.
  • Buskers are pretty common near the Dom. Last time, we ran into a choir of Russian soldiers who made me cry.
  • St. Peter’s Abbey…
  • It’s been a year since Bill lost his father. He was not able to attend the funeral.

Peter is right next to the Abbey. They were decorating it for Christmas and, I have to admit, I was drawn in by how beautiful the restaurant was looking with the Christmas lights, trees, and ornaments. It turned out they have good food, too… for a price. But we didn’t mind, as it was a really nice meal and the only “fancy” one we had on our trip. In fact, we didn’t spend much money on food at all, most days. I wish it showed on my body, but I guess I’d have to give up booze for that to happen…

  • The outdoor area of the restaurant.
  • The entrance.
  • Handy menu.
  • Bill wanted to order a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but they were out of what he wanted.
  • This was a nice substitute, at 120 euros! That was 20 euros more than the other bottle that they didn’t have.
  • I had a small pickled salmon starter with quinoa and radishes.
  • Bill had burrata with sweet cherry tomatoes.
  • For my main course, I had roasted duck breast with orange sauce and potatoes.
  • Bill had venison with potato dumplings and pureed celery.
  • And dessert for me was a dark chocolate cream.
  • Bill had a lemon meringue tart.
  • Another shot of the dessert.

Peter gets mixed reviews. Some people think it’s an overpriced tourist trap. Personally, I enjoyed it, except for the pop music on the sound system, which didn’t seem to go with the food. Also, we were surprised when we came into the restaurant and the hostess told us we didn’t have to wear masks if we were vaccinated. We weren’t upset about it… just surprised. The restaurant was pretty busy and was doing a brisk business. I had originally wanted to get steak there, but they sold it by the gram and it started at 350 grams, which was way too much food for me. Maybe if Bill and I could have split it. We were happy with what we had, though. The duck was delicious, and Bill always enjoys venison whenever he can get it, since I don’t usually eat it myself. Our bill was about 250 euros, but it was money well spent.

After lunch, we walked around the cemetery, taking notice of how beautiful and ornate the graves were. Some of them had actual well-tended gardens on them. I haven’t even mentioned Mozart, who is everywhere in Salzburg, since it’s where he was born.

And as we came out of the cemetery, we found the Wasserrad, a long running source of power…

It was at about this time that we decided to pick up a few souvenirs, mostly for Bill’s co-workers, who bring us stuff on their travels. I also got a new beer stein for my collection. I now have two from Germany, two from Austria, and one from Switzerland. I tried to talk Bill into getting a hat, like the ones we saw in The Sound of Music. He turned me down.

  • Bill didn’t want one of those hats.
  • I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen anyone playing one of these life size chess games.
  • We have one in our Dorfplatz, but I’ve never seen anyone using it.
  • This young lady, Valentina Marshinoskaya, was playing lovely music, so we bought one of her CDs.

And finally, we decided to visit the Stieglbrau, a restaurant affiliated with the brewery. It also has a Biergarten/Winter solarium for those of us who just come to drink, as Bill and I did… I think it was worth visiting for the views alone! Last time we were in Salzburg, back in May 2012, the restaurant wasn’t open. I don’t remember why.

  • I enjoyed this beer… Bill had an IPA, and I had a Hefeweizen… and a Naturtueb.
  • A Stolperstein (stumbling stone) commemorating a Holocaust victim.
  • Salzburg is so pretty!

Bill ducked in to a little gourmet shop to get some Stiegl beer, some deer and antelope sausage, and a new beer mug for me. I was really feeling the urge to shop, since so many places in Croatia and Slovenia were closed.

The sun was sinking as we went back to the garage to get the car. Austrians are so civilized, they had a very clean WC there, which I needed to visit. Unfortunately, I almost walked into the men’s room… a couple of locals laughed about that! Then, on the very short drive back to Ray’s house, we were stopped at a light, and some mean spirited jackass on a bike and carrying a skateboard knocked on the window. When I looked up, he shot me the middle finger while wearing a most hateful expression on his face, which is illegal in Germany and, my German friend Susanne says, is also illegal in Austria. Needless to say, I quickly fired back, and hope he fell off his bike and neutered himself. I don’t know why he flipped us– or really, me– off. I had nothing to do with any traffic offenses, since I was sitting in the passenger seat, minding my own business. Asshole.

We decided to relax on our last night on vacation, though if I’m honest, I was really ready to go home. After awhile, it gets tiresome living out of a bag. I also really missed the dogs. So, although we had a good day in Salzburg and could have seen a lot more, I was ready to go back to normal living.

Stay tuned for the last post in this series, part fourteen.

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On a mission in Wiesbaden…

Bill invited me to lunch today in Wiesbaden. Our original plan was to stop by the ADAC store and get a vignette for Switzerland. Then we’d go have lunch somewhere. As we were headed into town, Bill said if the ADAC store had a line, he’d just get the toll sticker at the border. But when we got there, the ADAC store was closed. So, I guess we’ll just get the sticker at the border. Our mission a failure, we decided to walk around a bit more… It’s always a pleasure to walk around in Wiesbaden. It’s such a quaint, lovely city.

Interesting anti-mask sticker that seems to reference The Matrix– red pill or blue.
The church was looking lovely today… and someone was playing “Musetta’s Waltz”, a Puccini aria I know well and used to sing.
The neighborhood near the ADAC office. Wiesbaden is a beautiful city with lots of money.
“Musetta’s Waltz”… sounds like it was being played by someone…

The market was still going on, so I got a few photos, and we stopped by a music shop so Bill could ask about getting our guitars set up properly. We’ve only been playing them for a year, right? Well, we have five of them, and none have been set up. So we’re going to try to do that at some point soon. It’s on the list. We need to take Arran in for a checkup, too, and a doggy dental. There’s always something that needs to be done.

More photos from our lunchtime stroll…

The market was in full swing.
Pretty flowers…
The city was alive.
Lots of lovely produce. Wish we’d brought a shopping bag.
Buying music?
Or flowers…
I didn’t go in, because I figured I’d get GAS. 😉
This is a pretty damned cool ukulele, though…
The train was running, too. It was packed. Everyone wore a mask.

Today we stopped by La Cantinetta for lunch. We haven’t been there in awhile, but it is a favorite Italian place for me. I like the food, even if it’s kind of in Wiesbaden’s “restaurant row”. We encountered our usual buskers– same guys we ran into two weeks ago at Scotch N’ Soda, which is right next to La Cantinetta. Maybe we should have found a new place today, but it was kind of crowded and I didn’t feel like hunting. Besides, I do like this restaurant. The waiters are charming and professional, and the food is always beautifully presented.

I had Tagliata Manzio– sliced roast beef with roasted rosemary potatoes, rucola, and Parmesan cheese. Bill had a Parma pizza, half of which he brought home. It had buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, Parma ham, and rucola. I was kind of tempted by the pizza, too, but I can never finish pizzas here. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of Barolo, a nice red wine from Italy, and listened to more live music from the buskers.

The people sitting at the next table had to deal with cars going in and out of the parking garage situated near us. I chose the table where we sat because I didn’t want to sit in the sun. I went light on the sunscreen today. But the downside was being close to the garage, where well-heeled people driving Audis, BMWs, and even a Jaguar were going in and out. I think I would hate to live in that building, always dodging diners when I want to drive out of the garage. I have to admit the location is nice, otherwise. It’s a lovely neighborhood on Restaurant Row. Based on the cars, it’s probably a pretty fancy place to call home. The guy in the Jaguar actually brushed up against a bench at Scotch N’ Soda, though. We also saw a fairly new looking Porsche. Germans sure do love their expensive rides!

I got a kick out of the description for Saltimbocca– sage in whine wine sauce!
Love these buskers… The sax player is very charismatic.
They’re all pros, but I especially like watching the bass player. He relies entirely by muscle memory. I wish I could do that with my guitar.
Nice looking pizza.
You won’t find it at Domino’s or Pizza Hut.
Tagliata Manzo. I won’t need anything else tonight!
Interesting that there’s a picture of a church on this cigarette machine. I guess that’s where you end up if you smoke… but then, don’t we all?

As you can see, the recent floods that have affected Germany and Belgium aren’t a problem in Wiesbaden. We are a couple of hours’ drive away from that area. I know the local emergency crews are helping in the Eifel Region, where the flooding was especially bad. A year ago, we visited the Eifel for a long weekend. It doesn’t look like Meerfeld got flooding, but several places nearby did. The news is just terrible– many people have died, been injured, or lost everything. Some animals have also died, including a couple of horses that got caught in the flooding. It’s strange, because although we did get rain last week, it wasn’t especially unusual or heavy where we live.

We have had beautiful weather today and yesterday. In fact, it was actually a bit chilly last night. This year’s July has been pretty mild. Hope it holds next month… or even just next week, when we finally visit Zurich and Kusnacht for the first time. I look forward to writing about travel again!

Gosh, he’s cute. I think I’ll keep him.

Total damage for today’s lunch was about 75 euros. We should have had a bottle of wine, since we ended up having four glasses between us. I think it would have saved us some money and time, since the wait staff was a bit weeded today. But we had a great time, nonetheless. Wiesbaden is so beautiful, and it’s so nice to be able to go downtown again.

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Wiesbaden is ALIVE again!

In celebration of our fully vaccinated and certified status, Bill and I decided to visit Wiesbaden yesterday. It was my first visit to the downtown in almost a year. I hated the COVID-19 rules so much that I just stayed home, where I could do my own thing without having to worry about confrontations, dirty looks, or judgments from other people. I realize that attitude was probably prompted by news articles and social media posts I was reading on the Internet about how things are in the United States. I read so many accounts of people getting into altercations about COVID-19 that it just turned me off of interacting with other people. So, visiting Wiesbaden was kind of a big deal. I guess our Heidelberg visit last weekend was a reminder to me that life is still going on where we live, too.

I took some photos of what was happening in Wiesbaden yesterday, as well as our visit to Scotch N’ Soda, an Irish pub and popular American hangout. We stopped in for lunch and got treated to a little concert by buskers… guys I’ve seen before in the city. They rove around town with their instruments. One guy has an upright bass violin. We saw him lugging it around before he met his buddies for their session. I was so happy to see and hear them that I tipped ten euros. One of them rewarded me with “twinkling eyes” (he squinted and smiled affectionately– I used to see this in Armenia all the time) and a hearty “Danke schoen!”

  • Politics… as we were leaving, this truck was parked in the walkplatz. A table was set up with Schwag, and there were cops everywhere. Looks like a rally!
  • I had forgotten how pretty Wiesbaden is.
  • It definitely has a posh vibe.
  • It’s as if God was shining down on us… the bells were ringing, too.
  • The outdoor seating areas were full of people dining out.
  • The market was shutting down. I wished we were earlier, so we could have gotten some produce.
  • Signs of life and happiness everywhere.
  • Yes, we’re open!
  • Restaurant row was hopping! It was a little too crowded for me, though, despite the plexiglass barriers put up to hamper the spread of germs.
  • Bill checks out the bar menu at Scotch N’ Soda.
  • I thought about the MO FO burger, until I realized how huge it is… hence the hefty price tag.
  • Buskers!
  • That steakhouse also has good food.
  • I had spare ribs. Had to take some home.
  • The ribs came with mashed potatoes and salad. Bill had to help.
  • He had fish n’ chips, which were excellent.
  • This is so Wiesbaden…
  • There’s a lot of money here.
  • It’s not uncommon to see many ladies who lunch, dressed to the nines and driving hot cars.
  • Yeah… it fucked my year!
  • A classic European version of the brown squirrel who kindly posed for me. American squirrels don’t look this cute. I think think the squirrel approved of our fun yesterday.

As we were enjoying beer and lunch at Scotch N’ Soda, the buskers played “my song”. It’s not my song in that I love it– although I do. It’s my song because I’ve sung it so many times that the lyrics are burned on my brain and I can’t mess it up. I’m the same way with Patsy Cline’s version of “Crazy”. I don’t actually do those songs very often anymore, because I’ve done them so many times. But people who know me and know my songs, know those are perennial favorites from way back!

Another one of our funny experiences in a Biergarten.

On our way out of Wiesbaden, a young woman with a child asked me in German if I had two ten cent pieces for a twenty cent piece. I was surprised when I understood her without having to think too hard about it. I guess seven years in Germany is finally rubbing off on me. 😉

I think we may head out again today… take my Mini Cooper convertible, which has suffered mightily from disuse during the pandemic. We had to replace the battery two or three times because it went dead from lack of driving. Finally, we bought a battery charger and an air pump for the tires, which also were going flat from temperature changes and lack of use. Normally, during the summer months, we use my car all the time!

I would like to drive to the Rhein– maybe to Eltville or Bacharach. I’m not sure how successful that would be, though, because Die Salzbachtalbrücke, which is a bridge on A66 is falling apart and will have to be blown up soon, because it can’t be repaired. That means a traffic nightmare for the next fourteen months or so, or at least that’s what the paper estimates. I’m pretty sure we usually go over that to get to those areas… and there are other places we haven’t been recently that need our attention. Maybe we’ll hit Hofheim today, instead. We’ll see… it’s just so nice to finally have the option to go out and be relatively free to be normal.

Wiesbaden was almost back to normal yesterday. They didn’t even do contact tracing at Scotch N’ Soda yesterday… no need to use the Luca app for checking in, like we did in Heidelberg last weekend. I hope the trend continues, although everybody is a bit worried about the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

I think now it’s time to plan for a vacation… and a trip to Stuttgart for dental hygiene purposes.

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Strasbourg’s annual wine extravaganza! Part four

Saturday morning, we woke up after a nice night at the hotel. After a hearty breakfast that included a generous portion of scrambled eggs, we drove into Strasbourg on a mission to buy beer. I had heard the city had some really nice beer shops. Not that Germany doesn’t also have places to buy beer– they do! But Germans are very proud of their beer, so it’s not as easy to find suds from other countries. When we lived near Stuttgart, we used to visit Heinrich’s 3000, a huge beverage market near Ludwigsburg, where one could find beer from all over the place. But we haven’t yet found anywhere similar near Wiesbaden.

Bill was a bit worried about driving into the city, but it turned out fine. He made his way to the Gutenberg Garage, which is located right in the heart of the old town. It was fortunate that we got there somewhat early. Strasbourg was alive with activity on Saturday, complete with a sort of mini carnival with rides. The only thing I didn’t see, that I usually see in French cities, was a carousel. I’m sure one exists somewhere in Strasbourg.

  • Carnival lite!
  • Have some churros!
  • This busker was singing in Japanese and playing a traditional instrument.

We Googled and found that Strasbourg has three beer shops that would have what we were hunting for, so Bill grabbed his trusty Rewe bag and we headed out… but not before I made a pit stop. A lot of garages in France have public toilets, and Gutenberg is no exception. Unfortunately, it’s also no exception to my personal habit of catching people urinating. Seriously, this happens to me all the time, and not just in Europe, where public urination is common. I either see someone peeing outside, often just feet away from me, or I inadvertently open a door that wasn’t locked and catch the occupant mid stream. Believe me, it’s not something I aspire to do. I wish people would lock the door, but maybe they worry about being stuck in the toilet. I don’t know.

Anyway, I managed to see a toddler’s bare behind as his mother was tending to him. Then, while I was waiting, a man and another child joined what was apparently a party in the loo. It took a long time before they’d all done their business and came trooping out, all smiles. It turned out they were German speakers who also spoke French. The mom apologetically said, “Toute le familie” to me with a laugh. Okay, I admit it was pretty funny, even if they did hog the ladies room for about twenty minutes.

After I took care of my personal business, Bill and I headed toward the Strasbourg Cathedral. We figured we’d be loaded down with beer, so it was better to stop in there first. It was the first time I had ever been in the cathedral in Strasbourg and, I must say, it was absolutely beautiful. It’s probably one of the most breathtaking cathedrals I’ve seen yet, and I’ve seen a lot of them. I think the organ was what got me. Bill got choked up, just like he always does. Here are some photos.

  • As we walked around the cathedral, we heard an announcer address everyone and say, “Shhhh…” It’s supposed to be a silent place for prayer.
  • Another busker… playing The Godfather theme on his violin like a boss. I was hoping the Japanese busker would join in. He didn’t.

After we recovered from the sheer sensory delight of the cathedral, we headed down an alley and found ourselves at a well stocked by rather small beer shop. We spent some time finding brews from everywhere from Belgium to Cary, North Carolina! We bought as much as we thought we could haul back to the car without hurting ourselves.

  • The Beer Village!
  • Complete with models wearing corsets of beer caps.
  • It’s not a huge store…
  • but it has a nice, broad selection of suds!

After unloading our beer haul, we headed to a restaurant called Au Pigeon. This place doesn’t get great ratings, probably because it offers rather run of the mill Alsatian cuisine as opposed to anything really fancy or inventive. However, we had a wonderful time eating there. Service was friendly and we could tell that it’s a favorite of some locals. While we were waiting for our lunches, I watched one of the waitresses kiss about twelve guys French style– on both cheeks– as if she was in receiving line. The guys all sat at a big table obviously reserved for them and they ordered some wonderful smelling traditional dishes. It was so much fun to watch them enjoying the food and their fellowship. They laughed a lot, talked a lot, and made the restaurant feel very festive, which probably improved our experience. It felt like we were eating with locals, which I think we were. And we enjoyed our lunches, too…

  • Au Pigeon
  • Perfect weather! I waited for Bill to get some euros.
  • He’s so cute when it’s time for food.
  • I decided I needed a new wine pitcher and we bought one after we ate.
  • The quaint inside of the restaurant. It used to be a Winstub, so don’t go here for beer.
  • I had roasted duck leg with red cabbage and roasted potatoes. It had a brown gravy…
  • Bill had chicken with Riesling sauce. I’m glad I didn’t order it, because the sauce had mushrooms.
  • Dessert!
  • These guys had a good time… but I enjoyed watching the wait staff serve them. It smelled wonderful, too.
  • I had profiteroles and Bill had cheesecake.
  • Cute restaurant, despite its average ratings.
  • A parting shot of Strasbourg.

My duck leg was pretty good, although it was a little overdone. I was just glad the gravy wasn’t loaded with mushrooms, like Bill’s dish was. I guess some people really love their fungus. If I loved it too, my life would be so much easier. The service was pretty good, although I think it’s better if they know you there. I could see they were very warm and friendly to those they knew, but not to those they didn’t. I guess that makes sense, though, especially in a touristy area. I read in Trip Advisor that the restaurant is family owned and the grandfather does the cooking. Also, the lady who waited on us didn’t speak English, but she did speak German, so we had no problems. All in all, it was a nice lunch!

Dessert was excellent. I love profiteroles, and I paired mine with a little cognac. Yeah, it was extravagant, but cognac is always a treat. And when we were finished, it was time to head back to the hotel, drop off the car, and head to the expo where we could pick up some wines from all over France! More on that in the next installment!

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Volvo, Mark Knopfler, and East German adventures… part nine

Saturday was our last full day in Leipzig.  To be honest, I was feeling kind of ready to go home.  I always look forward to vacations, especially long ones that involve different cities and countries other than the ones that immediately border Germany.  But usually, after about a week, I start to feel tired of being away from home.  I miss my dogs.  I miss having access to my desktop computer, which is a lot easier to write on.  I miss making music.  I also miss having plenty of clean underwear, even though I usually pack enough to take care of me even if I were to hypothetically shit in them every day.

I have a bad habit of packing too much stuff I won’t wear.  For instance, this last trip, I packed two dresses in case we decided to go somewhere nice for dinner.  I packed jewelry, which I never bothered to wear.  I packed an extra bathing suit, which I might have used if I had gone to the pool at our Copenhagen hotel.  But I almost never go to the pool unless it means visiting an awesome spa, like at the Upper House.  Meanwhile, I should have packed more pants and a couple more long sleeved shirts.  I should have brought a sweater or a jacket, although I did bring a wrap.

Making matters worse was the fact that the gin and tonics I had the night before were reminding me I’m a long way from being 21.  And… somehow during the night, I got bitten by something.  I had three red, swollen blotches on my right leg.  They didn’t itch, but they were kind of painful.  Nevertheless, Bill and I took a walk and visited St. Peter’s Church, whose steeple I had seen in the distance.  It looked like a beautiful church.  We walked in the direction of the old building, which took us through a decidedly poorer neighborhood that was heavily littered with trash and large piles of feces that, I hope, came from dogs and not people.

The church was beautiful, but looked like it could use some work.  The interior looked a bit careworn, like maybe not enough tourists had come out to donate money.  It was a bit of a walk from the center of town.  But the windows were pretty, and I could see the skeleton of the building was very graceful and strong.  It looked like it had a good foundation.  When we arrived, it appeared that they were setting up for a concert.

Linoleum floor.  Had seen better days.

Interesting clouds.  Looks almost like a Monet painting.

Indeed, there was a concert going on.  Benjamin Britten is graduate level music.

I was impressed by this BARF market for dogs.  BARF is basically raw food that some dog owners swear by.  If my dogs didn’t have mast cell tumor issues, I might try it myself.

My leg was starting to hurt, as was my lower back.  We sat down on a bench near the St. Thomas Church, where Bach used to play his organ.  I took a picture of my bites and shared it with friends.  My German friend, Susanne, recommended that I go to an Apotheke (druggist) to see if they could give me something for the swelling and itching.  That was a very good recommendation.

Ow…

This place was near the main drag and it was obviously open.  When we went in, it was empty.  The young guy behind the counter took one look at my leg and said, “What happened to you?” in perfect English.  I explained that something bit me.  He fixed me up in a jiffy.


I left with antihistamine drops and cortizone cream.  I didn’t know the drops were antihistamines until after I took them… and then started drinking wine with lunch.  Still, I was impressed, because he got me some water and measured the dose for me in the pharmacy, like I was a kid.  And while we were in there, the place filled up.

We decided to have lunch at Cafe Madrid, since someone in the Facebook wine group recommended it.  Spanish food sounded good to us.  I thought maybe we’d have tapas, but I was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices.  I ended up having a pork filet and Bill had a shrimp salad.

So colorful.  My only complaint was that the vegetables included mushrooms.  I wish I had known…  The potatoes were very good.  They were heavily salted and served Canarian style, which seemed to mean they came with a very flavorful, garlicky green sauce.  The pork was Iberico and not bad.  It came with a port wine sauce.

 

Bill enjoyed his huge shrimp and avocado salad… and he was happy to eat the mushrooms that came with my dish. 

Lots of choices.  If we ever go back to Leipzig and eat here, we’ll be sure to get the tapas.

 

I got a kick out of the “peeing bull” in the restaurant.

As we were finishing lunch, I told Bill that I needed to lie down.  Wine and antihistamines equals nap time.  Sure enough, that’s what I did for three hours.  When I woke up, my leg looked like this.

Much better.  It’s not quite totally healed yet.  There’s still a little pain, but there’s no itching and the redness and swelling are gone.  I just hope that wasn’t caused by bedbugs and I especially hope we didn’t bring them into our house.

 

But the next morning, Bill found this under his pillow.  It was crushed and dead, but clearly some kind of insect.  He never got bitten and those were my only bites.  Still, it kind of gives one the willies.  I was very impressed by the help I got at the Apotheke, though.  That guy took great care of me.

We went to Morrison’s Traditional Irish Pub, where we were served by hardworking Germans who were busy, but willing to take care of us.  The food was good, and the service was better.  They brought out the wrong order, but were quick to correct the mistake with a smile and a good attitude.

Bill had fish & chips…  The chips were especially good.  I stole several of them.

I had a duck salad.  I don’t usually go for salad, and this was probably a better choice than what I was hoping to have at another restaurant.  It was very good, and reasonably priced.  We were happy to reward the much better staff with a good tip.

Gay pride!  Leipzig is full of it.  We saw lots of gay pride flags during our visit.

 

We were about to go back into the hotel when I heard what sounded like a man on trumpet playing David Soul’s “Don’t Give Up On Us, Baby.”  It turned out he was playing a flugelhorn and the song was “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John.  The guy playing piano was excellent.  I could tell he was influenced by Elton John.  After that number, he did a solo rendition of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All”.

Cool looking show.  Toilet paper always gets my attention.

 

After we listened to a couple of songs, we went back to the hotel and had a nightcap, then went to bed.  The next morning, after breakfast, we decided to check out and head home.  Bill discreetly spoke to the reception about the critter we found under his pillow that might have been the culprit for my welts.  We didn’t ask for anything, just wanted to alert them to a potential problem and give them a chance to check the room before someone else gets bitten and raises hell.  I’m still praying that wasn’t a bedbug and none of its friends stowed away in the luggage.

The guy who handled our bags was very funny.  He spoke fluent English and said he’d lived in Chicago fifteen years ago.  He wondered why we’d choose to live in Germany.  Is he kidding?  As we were dishing about Mark Knopfler, he confidentially mentioned that his hotel was where the rock stars like to stay.  I’ll keep that in mind.

The drive home was uneventful and pleasant.  It took maybe four hours or so, not counting breaks.  Bill dropped me off and went to the commissary to buy food while I did laundry and started this blog series.  Then he went to get Zane and Arran, who were definitely glad to be home.  I’m always so glad and relieved to see my dogs, but they always need a good brushing.  They don’t get petted as much when they get boarded and need to shed.

Next month, we’ll take another big trip… another whisky cruise in Scotland.  This time, we’re starting in Invergordon and sailing over the top of Scotland to Oban.  I am praying I don’t get norovirus.  Stay tuned.

All in all, this was a very fun trip.  It lived up to our expectations and, in some ways, really exceeded them.  I’m so glad we were able to combine our trip to get our new car with our trip to see Mark Knopfler.  A lot of really cool things happened during our week of travel… it was almost surreal how much cool stuff happened.  And yeah, I got bitten and we ran into an asshole at a bar, but we saw a rock star and traveled in style.  And nobody died…  I’d say it was a big success overall.  Thanks for joining me on my odyssey.

Leipzig is a really lovely city with an unusual vibe.

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Frankfurt, holidays

Easter in Frankfurt!

We were blessed, once again, with incredible weather.  The skies were sunny; the air was warm and breezy; and the Autobahn beckoned us to drive to Frankfurt.  We were considering going to the Dippemess, but Bill wasn’t keen on trying to deal with the train.  The station most convenient for getting to the area of Frankfurt where the Dippemess is going on is in Hofheim am Taunus.

We started off our Easter with Ebelskiver– Swedish filled pancakes!  That’s the closest we got to Easter eggs today.

We decided to visit Frankfurt’s old town, which we missed the last time we went there.  Last time we were in Frankfurt, it was late December and the weather was pretty dismal.  It turns out we weren’t far from the old town that time, but it was cold and yucky outside, so we didn’t explore the way we should have.  Frankfurt was pretty badly damaged by air strikes in World War II, so there aren’t too many really old buildings there.  Instead, there are many skyscrapers.  It’s the land of banks.  Below are some pictures I took today.

Today was the first day since the fall I could drop the top on my Mini.  I caught a little girl smiling at us as we rounded the bend.  My car is ten years old, but it’s still cute when the top is down…  Some people might say that about me, too.

Frankfurt on the horizon.

Near the train station.

Frankfurt is like Stuttgart on steroids.  It’s a very busy place, and it seemed like everyone was there today.

Our first glimpse of the Dom… that tower is 95 meters tall…

It costs three euros for adults to climb the torturous 328 steps to the observation platform.  It’s 1,50 for kids.

These two ladies were among many wandering musicians we heard today.  They played beautifully!  One thing I love about Europe is the preponderance of wonderful musicians who share their gifts on the streets.

On the other side of the fountain, there’s a wine bar.

The old town was happening…

 

More musicians… they were good, too, although they played the classics with a bit more tempo than I’m used to…

Pretzel anyone?

Down by the river.  This was prettier from 66 meters up.

 

Much to my shame, I consented to having lunch at Five Guys.  I really wanted to go somewhere more authentic, but every place was really crowded.  For once, Five Guys wasn’t, so we decided to treat ourselves to a rare American style burger.

 

Bill went in to get the food while I waited outside.  An ambulance pulled up with its lights going…

 

Suddenly, around the corner came an old man wearing a heavy coat and carrying a bottle of beer.  He was yelling at the ambulance attendants.  I didn’t understand what he was saying, mainly because I could barely hear him…  I could tell by his body language that he was agitated about something.  The ambulance attendants seemed amused.  They smiled, but didn’t say anything to the old man.

A Five Guys staffer came out to sweep.  He looked at me; I looked at him, then turned to face the ambulance, since the old guy had come around near the front of Five Guys.  Turning to look at the ambulance guys meant I wasn’t staring at him as he continued to yell in German, looking and sounding very stern.

Finally, after a couple more parting shots, the guy stalked off angrily.  I did notice a lot of homeless people and beggars today.  A woman hit us up for money while we ate lunch.  Bill and I have both had bad experiences with wandering people in other European cities.  His bad experience was in Seville, while mine was in Athens.

I’m sad to say the burgers were kind of disappointing.  They weren’t very hot and the pickles were a touch too sweet.  But they were still better than a lot of burgers I’ve had in Germany.  The fries were great, and the beer was a Brooklyn Lager, a nice change from the usual Weizen.

 

After lunch, we wandered back toward the Dom, passing through the old town again.  We passed one of the homeless people who had been hanging around Five Guys.  The guy was a Spanish speaker and someone was kind enough to slip him a cup of fries.  But just as we were about to pass him, another homeless guy jumped in front of the other guy and appeared to demand his pommes.  I was tempted to see what was about to transpire, but thought better of it.  Gawking isn’t nice.  Still, it’s always interesting to see real life human drama in person.

We had to tip this lady…

She was making this dog out of what appeared to be sand.  

It was incredible.  The dog actually looked real.

We did a little window shopping.  A few stores were even open today, though it’s Easter Sunday.

 

We found ourselves in front of the tower again.  It was right next to our parking garage.  I looked at the sign and asked Bill if he wanted to climb up.  I’m usually cussing at myself when I do these climbs up narrow spiral towers, but then I enjoy the views so much that I forgive myself… until it’s time to climb down again.  The Frankfurter Dom Turm is a very challenging climb indeed.  I think it took about ten very difficult minutes to get to the top, breathless, sweaty, sore, and rewarded with incredible views…

I zoomed in to get a shot of the TV tower.  Seems like every German city has one.  Still, as high up as this cathedral tower is, it’s still not as high as the Thyssenkrupp elevator testing tower in Rottweil.  That’s the highest observation deck in Germany.  You can read about our visit there by clicking here.  And thankfully, when you visit the testing tower, you can take an elevator.

A whole lot of sweating, swearing, panting, and praying went into these photos.  I will probably be nearly paralyzed in the morning.  But we had amazing weather and as long as I’m physically able, I’m going to do these things.  Hey, I probably burned off my Five Guys lunch, at least.

A quick round around the tower and we went back down.  That was tough in a different way.  You have to be careful not to faceplant.

 

The stairs pretty much look like this all the way down.  It makes passing a rather intimate experience.  No wonder they charge more for adults.  Pro-tip: If you make this climb, especially if it’s warm outside, please for the love of all that’s holy, wear DEODORANT.  Trust me.

 

We came; we saw; we conquered.  And we never have to do it again!

 

We went into the church, which is rather plain by cathedral standards.  This cathedral, officially known as the Imperial Cathedral of Bartholomew was completed in 1550.  It was renovated in the 1990s and is also undergoing some work today.

This sign explains in English and German what happened to Frankfurt on March 22, 1944, when World War II was raging.  The British Royal Air Force did a number on the city, sending a lot of old, beautiful buildings into flames.  The cathedral was also badly damaged and was rebuilt in the 1950s.  The inside of the cathedral is pretty workmanlike as a result.  The cathedral was also burned in a fire back in 1867.  

 

But the organ is pretty awesome.

Look carefully. You can see the people.  That’s where we climbed to this afternoon.

It really was worth the effort, even though I can feel my muscles stiffening already.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home to the dogs, who were no doubt wondering where their dinners were.  It’s nice to live close to Frankfurt, although I’m glad we don’t actually live in the city itself.  It’s very busy!  Still, it’s different from Wiesbaden and Mainz and, dare I say it?  Stuttgart…

On the way out of Frankfurt, we got behind a Segway tour.  

 

So long, Frankfurt.  Time for me to have a beer in my backyard, enjoying my new garden furniture and watching the flowers grow.  God bless Spring… and happy Easter to all.

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Lunch at Primo Ristorante X Vineria and fine food shopping in downtown Stuttgart…

This weekend, we decided to spend our Saturday afternoon in downtown Stuttgart.  There were several reasons why we opted for the city.  One was an annoying monthly visitor that necessitated proximity to a ladies room.  One was the high chance of thunderstorms that clearly struck while we were gone.  And one was the fact that my car needs new tires and one tire has a slow leak.  Bill’s car has squeaky brakes that need to be fixed.  We didn’t want to chance the Black Forest today.

I’m glad we went to Stuttgart, even though it’s a crowded, busy city.  I’ve kind of been wanting to go downtown for awhile.  Actually, I need a date night at a really nice restaurant, but that’s what my upcoming birthday is for… hint hint (not that I need to hint to Bill).  We parked the car in a big garage near our dentist’s downtown office and went searching for lunch.

On the way there, we passed these buskers.  One was playing accordion and the other was passionately playing violin with so much emotion that I got very verklempt.  I have a weakness for street musicians, especially when they’re good.  These two went straight to my heart.  Unfortunately, they weren’t selling any CDs.  Bill wasn’t the only one to slip them some euros.

This guy was also a skillful busker who was selling CDs, but panpipes don’t do it for me…  We passed another guy playing acoustic guitar and another playing flute.  I really enjoy talented musicians playing in city squares.

 

We headed off the main drag in Stuttgart and suddenly I noticed a heavenly aroma.  I have mentioned in this blog before that I typically trust my nose when I stop at a restaurant.  It smelled of garlic, grilled, fresh bread, and exotic spices.  That aroma, along with a lovely smile from a striking young woman led me to pick Primo Ristorante X Vineria.  We took a two top under the outdoor canopy and checked out the menu, which was helpfully offered in Italian, German, and English.

Bill poses for the camera after ordering glasses of white wine and our usual big bottle of Spruedel.  Our wine and water came with fresh bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  I had a glass of Lugana Ottella, while Bill had Pinot Bianco Moritz DOC.

 

I was sitting in a good spot for people watching.  I thought it was fun hanging out in the food court at AAFES and watching the people walk by.  This place was even more fascinating, as people from all walks of life and different countries passed, sometimes with a significant other or a child and sometimes with a four legged friend.  I was especially enjoying the fashion show.  I saw quite an array of fashion statements, including one woman who was wearing a t-shirt with pictures of hamburgers over her breasts.  I saw another well muscled man wearing a tank top bearing the 7Eleven logo and a pair of cut off jeans shorts.

Bill decided to have the Panzirotti, which was basically ravioli stuffed with cheese and porcini mushrooms.  I went with Tagliolini with scallops and a turmeric lime sauce.

Bill’s dish was extremely pungent.  Some might say it was fragrant.  If you like the smell of mushrooms, it probably smelled heavenly.  I don’t like the smell of mushrooms, but Bill loves everything about the cursed things.  He said this dish was delicious… just the right size and delightfully earthy.  I took his word for it. 

I much preferred my day glow colored scallops and pasta.  The scallops were slightly bitter, but the lime and turmeric sauce kind of set off the bitterness.  And again, this was just the right size.

 

Our waitress asked us where we’re from.  We explained that we’re Americans who live locally.  She seemed impressed by that news and wondered why we’d want to live in Germany.  She was genuinely surprised when we told her how long we’ve been here and that it was our second time.  She might have wondered why our German is so bad, too.  I noticed she spoke German and English like an expert.

Next, she told us she’s from Iraq and was waiting to get her German passport so she’ll be allowed to visit the United States.  She told us she hopes to visit within the next year.  I was very impressed by how warm, friendly, and genuine our server was.  It was her warm, welcoming smile that made me want to sit down in the first place.

The weather was still nice after we finished lunch and an entertaining Spanish family sat down.  We could tell they knew the owner, just based on the affectionate way they greeted him.  Then I heard them switch from rapid fire Spanish to perfect German.  I really need to get back to my language lessons.

I decided to have a glass of primitivo, while Bill had an espresso.  I didn’t look at the wine list before I ordered this, but I was so impressed by it, that Bill went in to find out the brand.  Our waitress told us that everyone loves that primitivo.  It was just slightly effervescent.  Looking at the menu now, I see it was Primitivo di Manduria

 

When we left, our waitress bid us a very fond farewell and even taught us a new phrase in Arabic.  Perhaps we’ll see her again.  I would visit Primo another time.  We enjoyed lunch there.

 

Our waitress gave us truly excellent service and it was a real pleasure to sit in her section.  I thought she was Italian when we sat down, but then when I looked at her face, I could tell she was Middle Eastern.  She had beautiful, thick black hair and topaz colored eyes that matched her bronze skin tone.  Aside from being a very attractive young woman, she was also extremely kind and hospitable.  I hope she can visit the United States and she’s treated well there… at least as well as she treated us today.  We really enjoyed talking to her.

After a couple of hours at Primo, we decided to head toward Feinkost Böhm, which is a very expensive and fancy grocery store in downtown Stuttgart that offers everything from fresh sushi to housemade desserts.  But before we made it to the Feinkost, we stopped by the Markthalle.  I always love going into the Markthalle because it has such a festive atmosphere and one can find all kinds of foods there.

Fresh meats, fresh breads, fresh fruits and vegetables…

Lots of wines…

Beautiful produce!

Sausages and cheeses…

We bought Italian cherries, although they had them from Germany and Spain, too.  And we bought limes, in case I get in the mood for a margarita.

 

We also bought a couple of large, dry-aged, rib-eye steaks, which Bill will be cooking sous vide style and then grilling later.

Fresh fish in the Feinkost.  It smelled delicious.

 

We picked up a couple of bottles of wine at the Feinkost and a little dessert.  We may not be at the Army Ball tonight, but I think we’ll still have a nice evening.  If we’d wanted to, we could have eaten at the Feinkost, which has a lovely restaurant now offering outdoor seating, as well as a sushi bar.  No, it’s not exactly cheap to shop there, but sometimes it’s great for a morale boosting treat.

The Feinkost even has an outdoor champagne bar…  God, I love living in Europe!

All in all, we had a really nice afternoon downtown.  We need to visit Stuttgart more often, if only so I can burst into tears when I hear a particularly talented street musician play.  On our way back to the garage, an acoustic guitar player had taken over the corner where the violinist and accordion player had been.  He was doing a mean version of “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel.

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Fancy in Annecy… Our first visit to the “big city”… part four

Friday morning, we woke up to a few clouds and a nice buffet breakfast.  Breakfast at Hotel Les Grillons runs from 8:00am until 10:00am.  Make a note of that time if you decide to book there.  Bill didn’t.  More on that later.  Friday morning, we were perfectly contented to sleep in a little.

Friday night’s dinner menu.

 

Friday morning’s buffet breakfast.  It was the same each day.

The buffet breakfast offers ham, cheese, a variety of breads for toast or just jam and butter.  There’s fresh fruit, fresh pancakes, and yogurt…  and there’s also an egg boiler.  I mention this, because I’ve only ever seen these things in France.  In the fall of 2014, right around the time Bill and I moved back to Germany, we visited Colmar, France.  We stayed in a nice, family run hotel in a suburb called Bischwihr.  That hotel also boasted a wonderful restaurant and an included breakfast.

Somehow during that October 2014 visit, I didn’t realize that the eggs sitting in front of the boiling water were for people to boil to their hearts’ content.  I took an egg and found it raw.

Hotel Les Grillons had a similar set up.  They had thoughtfully provided a timetable for cooking the eggs as well as actual egg timers.  Bill decided to cook a couple of eggs.  However, he failed to realize the water wasn’t boiling.  I think he thought the longer times suggested by the sign in front of the machine meant that the eggs were intended to cook at a lower temperature.  Leave it to my husband to think of sous vide cooking when he’s boiling eggs.  He brought the eggs to the table and, sure enough, they were almost raw.  Another guest, similarly burned by the non boiling water, thought to turn up the heat.  The next day, Bill managed to cook a perfect egg for me… and a less perfect one for him, since he doesn’t like them soft.

We headed into Annecy and parked by the port, where a bunch of boats were waiting for eager tourists to take on a lake tour.  I was really tempted to go on a tour.  I was especially tempted by the big Bateaux ship that does lunch and dinner cruises…  We did one in London and had a decent time.  On the other hand, I remembered that those ships kind of force you to be a captive audience and the food quality can be really good or very poor.  Also, there is a lot of nickel and diming, which I hate.  So I told Bill I’d rather walk around the city.

I managed to get some nice shots of Annecy in action…

I was excited to see a number of signs in English.

The water in Lake Annecy is said to be extremely clean, even if I did see some signs of obvious pollution.

If you want to tour the lake by boat, you have plenty of options… and not just in Annecy.

We visited Annecy on Friday and Sunday; both days they had a big market.

They also had paddle boats.  The guys running the boats were very enthusiastic, although the clouds made me less enthusiastic.  There’s also a beach area not far from the boats where one can swim, lie in the sun, or wade.

I loved the canopy of trees.

This is the big lunch/dinner cruise ship.  We thought about doing it for lunch yesterday, but they were fully booked.

This is the area where most tourists were congregating.

The Bastille…  which I learned means jail.  There’s a restaurant named La Bastille located nearby that gets horrible reviews.

If you like good food…

Stroll through here…  if you can.

It was very obnoxious yesterday.  I’m glad I got pictures on Friday, when it was less congested.

I wished I could buy some stuff.  

Huge meringues!

After we passed through the throng of people shopping for food, we wandered the city some more.  A couple of women approached us and tried to speak to us, but seemed scared off when we told them we don’t speak French.  We happened to notice the Jehovah’s Witnesses had set up a rather prominent display near the boats.  I wondered if they were with them.  The two women didn’t seem to be friends.  We often get stopped by people, though.  I guess we look friendly.

Canals in Annecy.

And flowers…

A pig, that people obviously tried to sit on at one time.

A sax player.

And a CBD oil/telecom store.  Guess they were branching out.

Obligatory church pictures.

At around this point, it was definitely time for lunch.

I was tempted by this ice cream stand…

Instead, we stopped at Milton Pub, which was like an oasis of peace.  They were playing really good music and offered some excellent beers.  I see they only get three stars on Trip Advisor.  What a shame.  We enjoyed our visit.

I had a very large Kwak.

Bill had charcuterie.

I had fish and chips.

And another beer…  at one point, they played music from Bizet’s Carmen and the waitresses laughed because I was dancing to it in my seat.  What can I say?  I am a frustrated musician at heart.

Nice terrace area, but not when the market is going.

One of Bill’s buddies asked for wine.  We went shopping.

No touchy!

I’m not sure what this was about. 

We stopped in for more bottles of wine to bring home.

Then we ran across this harpist, who was entertaining these kids.  

She was very kindly letting them look at her instrument.  I got Bill to buy one of her CDs.  It turns out her name is Jessica Browning and she’s from… Memphis.  ðŸ˜€  Bill’s dad lives near Memphis.  And she has a Web site, too.  I love to buy music from buskers.

I enjoyed a gelato and watched the water while Bill chatted with her.

And this guy, too.

Dramatic skies on the way back to the hotel.

This was the last of the clouds during our visit!

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