Tag Archives: charming

Baden-Württemberg, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… A little Asian food and pizza! (part five)

Featured image is of a mural under the old Rathaus in Waiblingen.

Friday was probably our least interesting day during our trip to Waiblingen. Bill had been under the impression that the long course he’d taken on Thursday morning was a single course being offered twice. He’d originally signed up for what he thought was the Friday class, but changed it to Thursday so we could hang out more together during the morning.

As it turned out, the class was in two, three hour parts– the first part on Thursday morning, and the second part on Friday. He’d also signed up for an afternoon and evening course, because before we’d planned our dental holiday, he was going to take a day off work and knock them out at home. He was thinking about blowing off the morning class, but I told him he should go ahead and complete it so he’d get full credit. So, Friday morning I spent more time writing in my blog, reading, and messing around with Facebook, while my scholarly husband did his schoolwork.

However, before class began, we had breakfast. On Friday, we visited the Cafe Tagblatt, an establishment with a prime location on the Marktplatz. This was one of the three choices we had for breakfast covered by the Bachofer, and it looked to me like it was a place much beloved by the locals. We chose it on Friday, because it opened at 8:00 AM, instead of 9:00 AM, as the third option did. According to its Web site, Cafe Tagblatt has been in Waiblingen since 1985… which doesn’t seem that long ago to me, but then, it’s hard for me to admit I’m in my 50s.

Cafe Tagblatt offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as seating outside. On the market days– Wednesday and Saturday– I noticed a lot of people enjoying a coffee and a cigarette in their outside area. We ate there twice during our Waiblingen trip, both times for breakfast. On Wednesday, we went for more substantial offerings. Bill had a plate with breads, fruits, cold cuts, and cheeses, while I had a Pfännle with eggs and bacon, and a side of toast. We both had fresh orange juice, and plenty of coffee.

This was a lot of food, and in fact, we went slightly over our allowance, probably because we both had a small cup of coffee. The eggs were more than I could eat, and slightly overdone. Bill really liked his dish, although again, it was a bit more than he needed. The service was friendly and professional, and I enjoyed the morning vibe. I can see why it’s a popular place for locals, especially on the weekend. We learned on Sunday, that if you want to have breakfast at Cafe Tagblatt, you’d better make a reservation!

Bill took his three our lecture, and then, grateful for some sunshine, we decided to take a walk around the town. We ended up having lunch at an Asian place called VU Asia Wok. I had noticed it on our first afternoon in Waiblingen, and figured Bill would like it. They had Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisine.

Bill went for a Vietnamese dish called Mien Xao Ga. He got his with chicken, but it was also offered with beef. I probably should have had what he had, but I opted for sweet and sour duck. Unfortunately, a lone mushroom slipped into my dish and kind of put me off. VU Asia Wok appeared to be a very popular lunch stop. It was almost full when we arrived.

At one point, what appeared to be the young son of the proprietor showed up. He looked to be about six or seven years old, or so. I noticed how he hung up his jacket and sat down at a table near us, where he immediately got started with his homework. He went upstairs to the family’s home before we were finished eating. I went up the stairs to use the ladies room, and the little boy helpfully turned on the light for me. Charmed, I said “Danke” to him. Then, when I was leaving, I said “Ciao.”

He responded with a cheery “Bye!” 🤭 He probably already speaks better English than I do.

Since the weather was holding for us, we took a walk, and I got a few more photos of Waiblingen on our way back to the Bachofer. We were too late for Bill to catch his lecture, which he was fine with, because he wasn’t all that keen on the guy presenting it…

I was kind of glad the tower wasn’t open, so I didn’t feel obligated to climb it.
Charming Greek Orthodox church!

Bill decided to take the evening lecture. It turned out the original lecturer had to cancel, probably because there was a lot of snow in Zürich that day. So, the guy who presented the earlier lecture that Bill skipped, filled in for the guy who had to cancel. Bill got his lecture with the “self-promoting” Klugscheisser, anyway. 😆 He sure made good use of his time on our dental break!

By the time Bill’s lecture was over, it was about 7:30 PM. The weather had turned crappy again. Neither of us felt like going out to eat. Bill decided to go get some wine and snacks from a grocery store, and he also picked up a pizza from a spot on the Marktplatz called Il Divo. He said it was a tiny place, full of Italians, and a rather eccentric looking proprietor. Too bad we didn’t get a chance to dine there, because the pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had in Germany. I didn’t get a picture of it, though… It looked like most salami pizzas, and was plenty for us!

I did get a couple of shots from our room, as the weather got yucky again…

I wish we’d felt more like venturing out, but I find that as I’m getting older, I don’t always want to go out at night– especially when the weather is cold and wet, and it’s well into the dinner hours in Europe. Besides, we had big dinner plans for Saturday night. More on that in the next post!

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adventure, art, house hunting

Hello Vipiteno… long time, no see! (part eight)

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts (and videos), I first discovered the formerly Austrian and currently Italian town, Vipiteno/Sterzing, back in June 2009. I went on a bus trip out of the Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. They advertised a day trip to Italy in Vipiteno and Bolzano. I went for it.

I remember that week spending every day on a tour somewhere with other military spouses and their families. On that particular day, I was seated next to a very hostile man who seemed angry that I existed. I guess he was mad that he had to sit next to me, instead of with his wife. That’s why you should get to the bus early, so you can stake out your territory.

In any case, I enjoyed both Bolzano and Vipiteno in June 2009. Bill and I went to Bolzano in August 2020. And now, we have enjoyed Vipiteno together. Below are a few Vipiteno pictures from my first trip. I remember our group was herded to a purse shop there. I bought a leather bag that I used for some time before it was time to replace it. We also visited a very old church that dated from the 14th century and is famous for its frescoes. I don’t know why I didn’t post more pictures. Bill and I didn’t have a chance to go there during our visit together.

Chiesa di Santo Spirito a Vipiteno

On Saturday, March 15th, we woke up to snowy skies, which later turned to rain. We enjoyed a good breakfast at Hotel Erna– cold cuts, cheeses, breads, fruits and vegetables, and these incredible rolls that were shaped liked crescents. They had a sweet filling and toasted almonds on top, and they were served warm. They were so good!

It was raining during our visit to the town, which literally put a damper on things. Luckily, there are many shops in Vipiteno. It’s a great place to buy things. And, indeed, we did buy lots of gifts for the grandchildren and stuff for ourselves. Bill also insisted on buying me an umbrella. Aside from that, I took a lot of photos, and availed myself of the very welcome free public restroom near the tourism office. I am relieved to report that it was also pretty clean!

The tower is pretty much the main attraction!

Vipiteno is also where I purchased my latest prop… I bought a middle finger paperweight. I feel pretty sure I will get my money out of using it. I even made a video about it.

I made this video for my friend, Dave, and to show off the new toy I bought in Vipiteno!

We bought toys and delectables for ourselves and the kids, then went searching for lunch. The town has many pizzerias, and a few places that appeared to offer cuisine that is more for the Austrian/German palate. We ended up at a pizzeria ourselves, a place called Ristorante Bellavita. It looked like they were doing some cosmetic work on the outside of the place, which isn’t on the main drag.

We sat down at the back of the restaurant and both decided to have pizzas. Bellavita offers some special ones. Mine was called Aline, and had Brie, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, bacon, and oregano. Bill’s was a white pizza that had pork bellies, mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto. He managed to finish his, but I only got through half of mine. Then, for dessert, I had Blanco profiteroles, which were chocolate filled and covered with whipped cream! We took the rest of my leftover pizza with us, but Bill ended up eating it.

I see the this particular restaurant doesn’t get the best ratings, but we definitely enjoyed our lunch there. Service was good; prices were reasonable; and we felt comfortable. Also, the pizzas were interesting and delicious!

After a bit more walking around, we realized the weather was getting worse. It was colder and wetter, and frankly, it wasn’t fun hanging around outside in it. So we decided to stop by a Spar grocery store (Austrian chain) and pick up some more goodies for home and the kids. As much as we shopped in grocery stores, there are still some things I wish we’d bought.

After that, we headed back to the hotel, and I played with my new pink hand. I also took selfies, and then a long nap… When I woke up, someone on YouTube had left me a comment on one of my best videos, advising me to take it down because of the election results. Bill and I made a video response to that, and I got to put the new pink hand to good use.

I’m glad we visited Vipiteno. It really is a charming town, even when the weather is bad. There’s good food and shopping, and it’s a nice place to spend a Saturday afternoon! For those who want to do more than shop, there’s also good skiing and hiking, as well as the train to lovely Bolzano, which is well worth a look. We might have gone there, if we hadn’t already been. I would probably rather stay in Bolzano, although the area around Vipiteno and Brennero is very charming. March was a good time to be there, too. I would imagine there are many crowds in season. I noticed lots of bus parking, and of course, my first time there was on a bus tour!

It kind of gives you a look at Hotel Erna, and the hand, which comes from Hong Kong, but was imported through The Netherlands.

And, as was our custom on this particular trip, we decided to stay in and watch movies as we wound down our trip. In the next post, I will describe the drive back to Germany, and that will end the blow by blow account of this trip. It will be followed by my usual “ten things I learned” post. Stay tuned!

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art, Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe, languages

Eating and shopping in Cesky Krumlov… part six of our 2023 Czech tour!

After a busy morning of visiting museums and climbing the Castle Tower, we were ready for some lunch. I wanted something other than heavy Czech fare, but I didn’t want pizza. We ended up at an Italian restaurant in the middle of town called Pizzeria Latran, which offered pasta dishes as well as pizzas. Looking back on it, I almost wish we had gotten a pizza there, as they looked and smelled great, and I was able to watch a female employee baking them in a wood fired oven that was visible from the dining room. But even when we share a single pizza, Bill and I usually don’t finish them in one sitting. Also, I don’t typically like the cheese used on most of the German pizzas I’ve tried here and I didn’t know if the same cheese would be used in Czechia.

I had a clandestine laugh at the very obviously American party near us. Two people in their party of four had ordered pizzas. When they were brought to their table, I heard one of them exclaim, “Oh, my STARS!” Ha ha ha… such an American thing to say. Naturally, she couldn’t finish the damned thing and had to take it with her!

Our waiter was a tall guy who spoke perfect English and looked a little over things. But I think we might have won him over, because we knew what we wanted and didn’t bother him for anything but more glasses of Montepulciano. 😉 I had a really nice Caserecce con Pollo e Salsa Creola– which was basically a pasta dish with chicken, smoked pancetta, tomato sauce, cream, and fresh orange juice. Bill had spaghetti carbonara. Both dishes were very satisfying and we took our time enjoying them over lovely Italian red wine and sparkling water. I was quite relaxed when we were finished with lunch sometime later.

After lunch we decided to wander around some more and buy a few souvenirs. Before we got too far away from the restaurant, my ears were enchanted by the sound of someone playing the banjo with impressive skill. I don’t like to video buskers directly, so I recorded the river as he played. I felt like I was home in hillbilly Virginia!

This guy was a great player! I wish he’d had a CD.

We rounded a corner and noticed an art gallery. One of my big goals for this particular road trip was finding some new art for our house. When we were in Germany the first time (07-09), we bought some art in Eastern Europe. But so far, during this stint, we haven’t been buying as much art for the house. I wanted to rectify that with this trip. So we went into the art gallery and started looking around… I saw a lot of the usual landscape paintings and modern interpretations. Then I rounded a corner and, sure enough, my eyes landed on a painting I had to have!

I wish I’d thought to take a photo of it before we bought it, as the proprietor rolled it up. We’re going to take it to Wiesbaden to get it framed, hopefully tomorrow, but possibly later. I saw another painting of a silvery winter scene in Cesky Krumlov that I couldn’t live without, so we bought both paintings. The winter scene painting came with a frame and is now hanging in my living room. When we get the other one framed, I will try to remember to share photos of both works of art. I think the proprietor was absolutely delighted. It was the end of her workday and we came in and bought two paintings without batting an eye.

We walked back to the room to put the paintings away and take a short rest, then we went out again. We bought chocolates from a chocolatier and stopped by another gallery, where we bought some handmade Czech toys for Bill’s grandchildren. The woman who helped us in that shop was Greek and she told us she speaks a bunch of languages. It turned out her German was better than her English, so Bill spoke German to her.

Outside a music shop. They were playing music I loved and I ended up Shazaming it and buying from iTunes.
Banjo guy is in this photo.
From a gallery where we didn’t purchase anything.
Where I bought a very cool painting featuring owls…
Chocolate and wine. My kind of place.
A hot air balloon appeared.
Lots of cute toys here.
Yum!

We looked around some more for a watering hole but didn’t find anywhere that called out to us, so we headed back to our room. Bill bought a bottle of wine from the honesty bar at Monastery Garden and I reminded one of the workers there what a corkscrew is. It was pretty funny… she kept trying to call it a screwdriver! Bill told her it was a “wine tool”, and I said, “No, that’s a corkscrew!”

The lady laughed and said, “Yes, that’s it! Thank you!”

Sad how Europeans put Americans to shame when it comes to learning languages. I’d be hard pressed to identify a corkscrew in Czech!

We were set to leave the charming town of Cesky Krumlov the next morning, so we decided to get a good night’s rest. I hated to go, although you really can do a proper visit of Cesky Krumlov in a day or two. We didn’t see everything, though, so that means we can come back a third time. If we do, I wouldn’t hesitate to book Monastery Gardens again. Especially now that we know where P2 is.

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Uncategorized

Idyllic Idstein… a place to get your architectural fix!

I mentioned in my last post that there’s a lot going on in Wiesbaden this weekend.  Even so, we decided today to visit Idstein, an adorable little town just about ten miles north of where we live.  With 25,000 residents and a history that dates from 1102, this is a very charming little town with a past and a future.

I got the idea to visit Idstein from seeing an ad for it on Facebook.  Someone posted photos of the colorful buildings and the inside of the protestant church that stands near the center.  I’ve been missing half timbered buildings since our move north and Idstein has them, along with the Hexenturm (witch’s tower).  This weekend, they’re having a jazz festival that costs 15 euros a head to attend.  Prior to the festival’s beginning, there were numerous musical groups playing for free on small stages around the city.

Bill and I wandered around a bit, had some Greek food for lunch, and visited the beautiful church.  Here are a few photos.

A view showing the steeple of the protestant church, as well as some of the beautiful half timbered buildings.

 
 

Such charming architecture!  I especially loved the colors and intricate designs on the buildings.

 

The blue house next to the Rathaus is the Schiefes Haus– the crooked house.  It’s not a museum or anything; you have to admire it from the outside.  But it really is unique and cute.  

 

The Rathaus, complete with drummers on stage.

We saw a lot of residential areas that looked like this.  People were living in or running businesses out of these classic homes on cobbled streets.  I could learn to love Idstein.  It could be our “new Nagold”.  All it needs is a river, although the two does have two brooks that run on either side of it– the Wolfsbach on the east, and the Wörsbach on the west.

 

Witches’ Towers are not unusual.  They were often part of dungeons, particularly for women accused of practicing witchcraft.  Sometimes they were simply used as regular prisons.

The Hexenturm (Witches’ Tower)… we didn’t climb it because you have to pick up the key from the tourist office.  This tower is part of Idstein Castle and consists of 160 steps.  I needed fortification for that kind of punishment.

 

The back of the castle, just past the tower.  A band was playing “Zoot Suit Riot” by Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.  I was reminded of Thursday night karaoke at The Library in Williamsburg, Virginia.  I used to be a regular.

 

A photo of the castle, which is very striking.  It seemed especially fitting there was a toy store just under it.

 
 

In the tunnel passing under the castle.  

 
 

Need a midwife?  Idstein has you covered.

 

Picture postcard perfect!  There isn’t a lot to Idstein, but it has some nice shops, a weekend market, and a lot of events.  I could see us coming back again and again… at least until our next move.

After about forty-five minutes of walking around, I was pretty hungry.  We stopped at Greek and German eatery called Deustches Haus.  Today, they only offered outdoor seating.  That was fine, since the weather was so good.

It was a nice place to people watch.

I had the Grillteller, which was souvlaki, gyros, and bifteki with tzatziki and steak fries.  This was good, although I’ve had better Greek food.  I loved the frites, which were better than the standard skinny ones one finds here a lot.  It looked like they were offering a scaled down menu, with just a few choices.  If I had wanted German food, I could have had a schnitzel or a salmon filet.

 

Bill had souvlaki, which was curiously priced higher than my dish was.  I couldn’t finish mine, so Bill helped.  Total bill was 34 euros and there was no ouzo… but we enjoyed lunch very much.  It’s been too long since my last Greek food fix.

Nice view from near the restaurant.

After lunch, we went into the Unionskirche, which dates from the 17th century, but was very recently refurbished. 

The inside of this church is astonishing, with its many paintings of Christ.

It kind of puts the Frankfurt Cathedral to shame, even though it’s much smaller.

The beautiful ceiling above the altar.  

I think if I went to church here, I’d spend the whole time looking at all of the art.  It really is beautiful and the pictures don’t do it justice.  The paintings are an unusual feature in a protestant church.  

A Klofrau was sitting near the WC truck.  Idstein also has a public toilet that is prominently and permanently stationed.  Very civilized indeed!

Right after an ice cream break.

Another big event coming up in Idstein this summer.

 

I definitely see us coming back to Idstein.  There are other things to do there that we missed today because we were distracted by the live music and other things going on.  It’s hard to believe this pretty little town is so close to us.  It reminded me a little of Esslingen, near Stuttgart, only it’s a lot smaller and there’s no river.

I would have liked to have stayed for some of the jazz concert, but we had to get back home for the dogs.  Next time, we’ll have to plan better so we can enjoy more of the live music.  Idstein is definitely going on my next “ten cute towns” of Germany list.  Stay tuned for the next rainy or cold day, which probably won’t be too far in the future.

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Bavaria, short breaks

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Part two– Eating Greek food and wearing Greek wine…

Friday night, after we checked into the amazing Anno 1499, Bill and I ventured out for dinner.  It was bitter cold and just a little ways into our stroll, the strap on my purse broke.  Oh well… as we passed the beautiful window displays in the stores on the main drag, I knew I’d be able to shop for a new one.  There were quite a few tour buses with many Asians aboard.  One was loading up as we strolled through the town, looking for a place to eat.  Just like Hallstatt in Austria, Rothenburg is obviously popular with Chinese and Japanese tour groups.  We ran into quite a lot of them over the weekend.

Christmas is big in Rothenburg… lots of Christmas shops are there.

Nighttime near the Markplatz.

Alice in Wonderland quote on a hotel door.

Another lovely window display…  this is a great town for anyone who likes window shopping!

We passed a Greek restaurant on our way toward the Marktplatz.  I had originally been wanting German food, but suddenly Greek food seemed more appealing.  Since I was freezing and annoyed by having to carry my purse rather than slinging it over my shoulder, we decided to turn around and try the Greek place.  It was called Kreta and located on Spitalgasse, the same street our rental house was located.  We arrived rather early, so there was only one other couple in the place when we sat down.

I ordered gyros with calamari and Bill had plain gyros, both of which came with salads.  As usual, we also ordered red wine and sparkling water.  This is where things went a bit awry.  Because Bill wanted two glasses of the same wine, the waiter suggested that we get a half liter, which came in a small pitcher.  Instead of putting the glasses down on the table and pouring the wine, our waiter chose to try to pour it while balancing the glasses on his tray.  Having waited tables before myself, I couldn’t help but think he was courting disaster. Sadly, I was right.

As the waiter poured the wine, the glasses pitched forward and fell onto the table, where one shattered, splashing red wine all over the place and spraying shards onto the table and carpet.  Fortunately the wine didn’t actually get on Bill or me– except maybe a few spare drops.  The waiter and the bartender cleaned up the mess with minimal help from Bill and me.  Meanwhile, our salads came out while the bartender went to get us more wine and new glasses.

A well deserved shot of ouzo after a disastrous first wine service attempt.

Nice salad, although I didn’t have much time to try it before our main courses were served.

My gyros and calamari with fries.  I could have had rice instead if I had wanted that.

Bill’s gyros.

The sign outside.

Greek pop music played and the waiter, who had a surprisingly decent voice, sang along.  We enjoyed the food, although no one else came in while we were eating.  It’s definitely low season in Rothenburg right now, though it wasn’t totally dead there.  A number of businesses had signs up indicating that they are going to be closed until mid March.  I wasn’t surprised because Ribeauville, France was the same way last year during MLK weekend.  This is when the hard working folks in touristy areas take a break.

We had a little more wine after dinner, then went back to the house and watched German TV before going to bed.  Since we don’t get German cable at our house, I always enjoy watching it when we travel, if only so I can note the differences (and inevitable similarities) in programming and advertising.  I slept very well Friday night!

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