Tag Archives: coffee

adventure, BeNeLux, Brussels, Champagne Bucket trips, Cologne

Pardon My French: Brussels and Paris 2026… (part one)

Well, hello out there in Internetland. Long time, no read. It’s been over two whole weeks since my last travel post. We didn’t even do anything special for St. Patrick’s Day this year… although since that’s the day we lost our sweet beagle, Arran (in 2023), March 17th is now sort of a “day of infamy”.

The good news is, Bill and I just got back from our latest trip, so this blog is about to “spring” back to life. Well, it’s good news if you like reading about other people’s vacations, I guess. For me, it gives me something to remember when I can’t do this kind of stuff anymore. As our world gets more complicated, that day could come sooner, rather than later.

If you follow my main blog, you might remember that we had a really hard time deciding where to go for this trip. In fact, I even “lost” a family member over planning this vacation. That’s a really stupid story– how I got publicly “disowned” by my cousin over our decision to go to Belgium and France– so I’ll spare you the details here. If you really want to read about it, follow the link. My main blog needs the love.

I think I wrote at least three posts about the ridiculous fight I had with my alcoholic cousin over planning our spring vacation. 🙄 Yes, I know it’s “personal business”, but sometimes people enjoy reading about that kind of shit. If you don’t, though, no worries. I’ll understand completely!

Anyway, on with my story about Brussels and Paris, 2026!

This trip to Brussels and Paris was decided by a “champagne bucket drawing”. Regular followers of my blog might know that many times, Bill and I decide on where to go for our vacations by drawing slips of paper from our champagne bucket.

For this trip, we had initially drawn Croatia, which would have been amazing! But I didn’t think we had enough time to do what I really want to do in Croatia. So, we drew again, and picked Belgium. I was cool with Belgium, because I always have a good time there. I remembered how much fun we had in Brussels, when we went there in 2008. I wanted to go back there for more beer, frites, and chocolate. We added Paris, because we also enjoyed that city, last time we went there in 2009.

Although we often drive when we take our European trips, for this one, we decided to go by train. The main reason we opted for trains this time is because driving in European capital cities can be a huge, expensive, pain in the ass. The trains in Europe are usually very efficient and comfortable, especially in first class. However, using trains can also be problematic, our personal story of which I’ll get to in the course of writing this series.

In any case, on the morning of Saturday, March 21st, Bill took our dogs, Noyzi and Charlie, to their favorite Hundepension. Then, that afternoon, we took a taxi to the Frankfurt Airport train station to catch a mid afternoon high speed Inter-City Express Train (ICE) to Brussels. The taxi driver remembered Bill from a previous booking. I think he’s a local guy! He wanted us to book him for a ride back to our house yesterday… and kept talking about how he could drive us to Brussels. After what happened yesterday, maybe we should have considered doing that. But again, I’ll get to that part of the story later.

The taxi driver dropped us at the Frankfurt Airport train station and, as usual, we were pretty early. So we stopped for a coffee break… something I very rarely do.

I had a caramel macchiato… first time for me, I think!
Bill’s cappuccino. It looked like a well spanked ass.
What, me worry?

The first time we went to Brussels, back in September 2008, Bill and I took an ICE train from Stuttgart to Cologne (Köln), then quickly caught a French/Belgian Thalys train from Cologne to Brussels. Thalys, as a brand, is now defunct; it’s since been merged with Eurostar, the folks responsible for the English Channel Tunnel (Chunnel).

Because we used Deutsche Bahn’s ICE train, we were able to take a train directly from the Frankfurt Airport station to the Brussels Nord station. Our convenient jaunt ran for just under three hours and included stops in Cologne, Aachen, and Liege before arriving at the Brussels Nord station at about 5:00 PM. Bill booked us first class seats at a four top table, with seats facing each other. He did that so that I would be assured of not having to ride backwards. My husband is remarkably considerate. 🤭

First class seat…
First class husband…

Below are some photos from the ride. It was a little bit rainy, and I was on the wrong side of the train for the best photos… I took these at the Cologne stop, which is where we were joined by a very tall man who was apparently a hacker. He kept looking at what I was doing on my iPad. I don’t know why the guy sat next to us. The car had plenty of empty seats, as well as a totally unclaimed “four top” at the front of the car. But he sat next to me and typed away while we made our way to Brussels.

I wish we’d gotten one of these “two tops”… He was too slow on the draw.
A European river cruise ship I am going to investigate.
Locks of love
Always a provider!

We have been to Cologne ourselves a couple of times. It’s a great city! I wouldn’t mind going back there someday, if the fates allow. It’s not a long trip from the Frankfurt Airport station, but it has a different feel… plus, I enjoy their local beer.

As we passed the Aachen station, I was feeling a little wistful. I’d actually considered booking a hotel in Aachen, because we’ve never been there, and I have heard it’s an interesting city. But it had been so long since we last left Germany for any reason, and I was eager to go somewhere that felt different. Although our last trip to Belgium was in the fall of 2024, our last trip to France was in March 2022! We were way overdue for a visit!

I didn’t take pictures of the Aachen or Liege stations, because I didn’t see anything worth photographing from the train. However, both cities are places I hope to visit someday.

We arrived in Brussels right on time, and made our way out of the Nord station to find a taxi to our hotel, Le Fleur de Ville. This hotel happened to be a block away from The Dominican, the hotel we stayed in when we visited Brussels in 2008. I remember really liking The Dominican, which is a former abbey turned into a “design hotel”. I also remember watching Barack Obama and John McCain debating on the television in our suite… Wow… those were the days!

We stayed here for Labor Day weekend in 2008.

I decided not to book The Dominican again, though, because I wanted to try a different place. Hotel Le Fleur fit the bill nicely, although we didn’t get the greatest first impression. The hotel itself is in a very beautiful building: according to it’s official Web site– it was once the “Caisse Générale d’Epargne et de Retraite, an 1850s national savings bank.” But when we arrived in the late afternoon of March 21st, we found the front desk completely unmanned. We waited several minutes before two swarthy men in suits arrived to check us in. Unfortunately, one of them also really needed a breath mint. Sorry… I know that’s kind of a rude observation, but it did make an impression.

I booked us in a room they called The Beyaert Suite, which was on the fourth floor. It was a very large and well appointed room. Below are some photos from the hotel lobby and our suite, which offered everything but a great view. The window was too high up to see out of, but that was okay. We weren’t in a particularly scenic area, anyway.

Bill was excited by these books.

We were very happy with the room, although it wasn’t cheap. I think for four nights, we paid roughly 2,000 euros, which I’ll admit is a lot of money. But that’s still not as much as what we paid in Paris. I’ll get to that part later. 😬

I know some people would be shocked by the price of the hotel lodging. We certainly didn’t need such a grand room. But when I go on vacation, especially now that I’m well into my 50s, I like to spoil myself a bit. We’ve spent many years staying in inexpensive places, so I figure we deserve a splurge now and then. We also really needed a proper vacation, since our most recent travels were for specific things like visiting our dentist, getting Bill into the Jung Institute, and traveling places for Bill’s work. Our last pleasure trip was in June 2025… which I know is more recent than a lot of people’s most recent pleasure trip has been.

Anyway, enough disclaimers and explanations from me. I do want to state for the record, though, that there are cheaper rooms at this property. And it is a very lovely hotel, convenient to Brussel’s most popular tourist sites.

After we got settled in our extravagant room at the hotel, we went for a walk around The Grand Place, and got some dinner. That story is going to be a lengthy one, so I’ll put that in part two.

Standard
Baden-Württemberg, Luxury, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Horben to Wiesbaden: Time to go home to Hessen!

Tuesday morning eventually arrived, and it was time to pack up and go home. I can’t say I was sad to be going. As much fun as we had in Horben, I was missing Noyzi and my bed, which has a foam topper on it and is easier on my back. The weather had also taken a turn for the worse. It was raining outside, and the temperature had dropped about twenty degrees, at least on the Fahrenheit scale.

We were ready to go back to our normal lives in Hessen, but if we had stayed another night, it probably would have been a spa day for us. I regret not having a massage while we were at Luisenhöhe, if only so I could enjoy that wonderfully aromatic vanilla scented fragrance they used there. But that gives us a reason to go back sometime, if the opportunity ever arises.

Bill loaded up the car while I put on my face. Then we went down to breakfast and enjoyed one last innovative meal. I really enjoyed the staff at Luisenhöhe. Most of the people working there truly seemed to enjoy their work, especially those working in the kitchen. The equipment is state of the art, and the head chef truly is a genius. Or maybe I just don’t get out enough.

Below are some photos from our final breakfast, served once again by the smiling waitress who took care of us the previous four mornings. The night before, Bill had spoken to the bartender about the Chemex filtered coffee system they had in the bar. He wanted to try it, but unfortunately, the barista said it wasn’t possible. I don’t know if it was because he didn’t know how, or because they didn’t have the available equipment. We did learn, however, that coffee drinks are included in the price during breakfast. The barista brought us a couple of Americanos for our trouble. I wish I had thought to ask them where they get their coffee. It was really good.

We had a “sausage salad”, that I suspect was made from the goat pastrami we had in the previous night’s dinner. There was goat yogurt with granola, pears with pistachio nuts, wonderfully fresh brioches, milk rice, fresh fruit, and a poached egg on spinach…

Since we had already packed the car, all that was left to do was check out. So, with slightly heavy hearts, we headed to the reception and tallied up the damage. Four nights at the Luisenhöhe, with the optional dinner board, wine every night, tips, and multiple visits to the bar, set us back 3,400 euros ($3,700). Yes, it was expensive, and in some ways, I think it was a bit overpriced. I think the room rate was too high, but I think the food was worth every euro cent.

Seriously… my mind was blown at just about every meal. It was very healthy and fresh, and there were so many interesting combinations of ingredients that I never would have expected. Everything was beautifully presented, and the staff seemed to really enjoy their jobs. The setting for the hotel is exquisite, with flowering trees, green hills, and when there’s no Sahara dust, blue skies. I bet it’s stunning there in the autumn. I hope I can find out firsthand, even if I do think the room was slightly too “spendy”. I’m sure they need to charge a lot, though, as I read it cost about $60 million to build the hotel, which is very cutting edge. It’s powered by geothermal means and has a green roof.

The receptionist thanked us for staying, gave us a couple of bottles of sparkling water, and a tin of the hotel’s special tea as a parting gift. We headed down to the parking garage one last time. Then we were on our way home. I took a few more photos as we left the beautiful Freiburg region. I do hope to be back someday soon. As you can see in the photos, the weather did change a bit…

We got home in the early afternoon, after a completely uneventful drive north. I started doing laundry, and at about 5:00, Bill went to get Noyzi. I wasn’t there for the reunion, but Bill said he was delighted to be picked up after a few days hanging out with his canine friends at the Tierpension Birkenhof.

I don’t know what we’ll do this year for a big vacation. We usually go away for a week or two. This year, we’re expecting a new canine family member, who will be joining us from Kosovo at some point in the near future. We had been talking about visiting Iceland, but then we heard about the volcanos erupting. I have been getting some tempting offers from Hebridean Island Cruises, which I have to say is probably my favorite cruise line. I just wish they went to places other than the UK. But I do have my eye on a cruise in Ireland that I might decide to book. We’ll see.

Actually, Bill and I have been talking about doing more short trips, but on a regular basis. We used to do that a lot when we had less money and time to travel. It would definitely help keep my travel blog more interesting. But that plan remains up in the air for now.

Anyway, that about does it for my series on Horben and the wonderful Luisenhöhe. I do hope the hotel is a success, as I’m sure it will be. We really enjoyed ourselves. I hope we’ll be back again. Stay tuned for my usual “ten things I learned” post.

Standard
Uncategorized

Turning 50 in Antwerp… part seven

At last it was Monday, June 20th… the big day. It was still cloudy and chilly in Antwerp, although it wasn’t like that in Germany. We went down to breakfast, where I was presented with a beautiful strawberry mascarpone tart and champagne. Bill also gave me a birthday card, which for once, wasn’t mushy. Bill and I managed to finish half of the tart; the rest was kept in the fridge for us. The hotel manager was very friendly, telling us about an upcoming trip she had planned to Africa. It sounded very exciting and exotic. I’m still not ready to brave airports, thanks to COVID-19, but I love to hear about other people’s trips to distant lands. Maybe we’ll get back into that at some point, if the fates allow.

Strawberry tart!
A trifecta of birthday beverages.

After breakfast, we took another walk to the old town, this time to do some shopping. Whenever we travel, Bill likes to pick up little gifts for his grandchildren and his younger daughter. So we visited a tiny chocolatier near the church and bought a bunch of stuff. Bill picked up a pallet, incorrectly assuming it was a basket for putting stuff in. The shopkeeper laughed and explained the pallets were for the chocolates, and he was the first person who thought they were shopping baskets! We also bought some magnets, one of which I dropped and broke as I pulled it off the display. Bill paid for it anyway, and the cashier thanked him for being honest. I love being married to such a mensch.

Three adorable beagles!
Not for holding your stuff when you shop…
Hee hee hee.

We took the chocolate back to the hotel, since it’s June and the weather can get hot and sticky. The proprietor was kind enough to pack our goodies in an insulated bag. The gifts we got for my husband’s daughter are not meltable, but we did pick up some chocolates for home because, well, chocolate makes life worth living.

We walked around some more before stopping by a coffee store, where we found several pounds of coffees from different African countries. I still miss my Peet’s coffee, but it’s fun to try new beans from different producers. I also saw a magazine shop advertising “tasty and delicious” American candy, which seemed kind of crazy to me, given that we were in Belgium, where the very best chocolate in the world is made. We eventually went in there looking to see if they had an English version of A Dog of Flanders story. I had seen a cute children’s book in Flemish and thought it would be a great gift for Bill’s grandkids. Unfortunately, we were unlucky in our search, even on Amazon.

The beagles again!
Shrimp Croquettes! Yum!
Bill liked his dish. Too many ‘shrooms.
We sat under this tree.
Charming alley. You could forget you were in Antwerp.

When it was time for lunch, we walked around a lot looking for the “right” place. One guy at a touristy looking Italian place tried to get us to come in, promising extra mushrooms. I turned to Bill and said, “Did he just say what I thought he said?” Bill answered affirmatively… and I said, “That’s the best way to get me NOT to come into a restaurant!”

We finally noticed a mysterious looking door next to another big restaurant that appeared to cater to tourists. The people going into the door were obviously more local than we were, and I saw a tour group being told about this strange alleyway we encountered… where we also found a fabulous “secret” restaurant called ‘t Hofke. Somehow, we had stumbled upon the oldest alley in Antwerp, which is very well hidden and easy to miss if your eyes aren’t open. I love to explore alleys and alcoves, so that’s probably why we found ourselves there on my birthday, enjoying excellent shrimp croquettes for me and Thai inspired chicken pasta for Bill. I noticed everyone in the place was local, which is usually a good sign. And, once again, it appeared to be a family/couple run place, with food that was made with love and care, rather than a mind for profits. Bill’s only complaint was that we asked for water that we never received, and the charge showed up on the bill.

We chose our table because of this.
Cheers!
I was having a “gray birthday”… as my old riding coach suggested.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to drop off our second round of shopping and have a short rest. Then, as the afternoon continued, we found ourselves at Wijn Bar Bette, a little outdoor cafe run by an obviously gay friendly proprietor who had many local friends. Since it was my birthday, we decided to split a bottle of prosecco and people watch for awhile, which is always a treat. You never know what you’ll see… and that particular location was nice, because it was shady and unhurried. I really liked the relaxed ambiance and the obvious friendship the proprietor had with some of the locals. However, based on Trip Advisor reviews, we got lucky… apparently, a lot of people have gotten bad service at this place.

Finally, it was time for dinner, so we walked around to find the right place and eventually ended up at De Peerdestal. This place was obviously meant for meat lovers, as they had several different types of steaks and meat dishes available. They also served horsemeat and lobster. I like lobster, but we ended up sitting near the lobster tank. Seeing the doomed lobsters in there with rubber bands on their claws made me think of Leon the Lobster on YouTube (a guy rescued a lobster from the grocery store and turned him into a pet). I realize that it’s not much better to eat cow, but at least I didn’t have to see it before it died.

My steak… it wasn’t bad.
Those frites, though!
Bill was happy with his Irish beef.
Chianti Classico!
Loved the torch.
A colonel… sorbet with a shot of vodka.
Bill had one with limoncello.
This plea was from 2021.

The waiter was curious about where we were from and what we were doing in Antwerp. I casually mentioned that we are Americans who live in Germany and we came to Belgium to celebrate my birthday. I should not have been surprised when dessert was brought out with a mini flamethrower. 😉 They also played a birthday song over the soundsystem, so everyone clapped. It turned out the husband of an American couple sitting near us was also having a birthday. I’m not sure if he told the waiter. Someone celebrating an anniversary got the same flaming dessert and a recorded rendition of “Love and Marriage” by Frank Sinatra. All in all, it was a pleasant celebration! The restaurant was cute and comfortable, though very heavy on meat choices and a bit touristy. However, service was friendly and kind, and the food was good.

In the next part, we head home.

Standard
Uncategorized

Sweet and sour coffee…

This morning, my husband Bill left to spend the next 18 days working in another location.  As is his habit before he goes on business trips, he stocked up the groceries for me.  Yes, I know that’s crazy… he takes very good care of me.  He enjoys it and I enjoy it.

Bill noticed that the sugar was getting low.  He forgot to buy sugar at the commissary, so he went to our neighborhood Rewe to pick some up for me.  You would think this would be an easy task.  How hard is it to buy sugar?  Well, as it turns out, in Germany, it can be a real challenge, just as buying flour is a challenge for some, and buying chicken can be a downright disaster.  We have lived in Germany for a good while now… over four years this time, two years last time, plus Bill was in Bavaria in the 1980s.  But sometimes, we still make rookie mistakes.

Bill bought what he thought was sugar for baking cakes.  He put the sugar in the canister, apparently not noticing its “odd” appearance.  Then, this morning before he left to go TDY, he fixed me my usual cup of coffee.  At first, I didn’t really notice anything amiss.  But as I got closer to the bottom of the cup, I started to notice that the coffee tasted… strange.  I noticed some white stuff was clumped to the bottom, and some had floated to the top.  I thought maybe our half and half was getting old, or something.  The clumpy white stuff on the bottom of the cup reminded me of the Cremora non-dairy creamer my parents used to use in their cheap Maxwell House sludge.

I asked Bill what kind of coffee we were drinking.  He said it was Peets’ wonderful Haraz blend.  I was dismayed by that, since the Haraz is one of my favorites and the coffee just didn’t taste right.  It tasted sour to me.

It looks and tastes… strange.  It also doesn’t blend well.

Bill argued with me about the sugar, even after he pulled out a spoonful of it to show me.  It didn’t look like everyday granulated sugar.  Annoyed, he found half of a box of sugar cubes and directed me to use those.  What I will probably do is just go to the Rewe myself and buy the right sugar.  I am still capable of that much.

No… this is not the right sugar.

It contains pectin and other ingredients for making jams, jellies, and relishes.  You shouldn’t put it in coffee… especially exquisite reserve coffees.

Before he left, Bill brought me the bag and broke the news.  He had bought me sugar intended for making jams.  This is not the first time Bill has messed up my coffee.  In fact, very recently, he ruined my second cup of coffee by stirring it with a spoon he’d just used to mix ricotta cheese and fish oil for our dogs.  The tiny bit of fish oil residue left a very pervasive and disgusting taste…  Maybe I should put it on my food as a diet aid.

The simple solution, of course, would be for me to mix my own coffee or start drinking it black.  And I will be mixing my own coffee for most of March, since I will be without my love.  He likes taking care of me, though, and does an excellent job of it.  And he usually mixes my sugar and cream better than I do.  When I make my coffee, I only put in one spoon of sugar because I want to be disciplined, even though I prefer two spoons.  Bill always gives me two spoons.

Anyway, I’m sharing this cute story for my readers in Germany who shop on the economy.  When you’re buying staples, take a minute to make sure you get the right stuff.  Sweet and sour coffee is not so good.

Standard
Uncategorized

Vegan chocolate… and more coffee from Peet’s!

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about the high cost of importing coffee to Germany due to the Kaffeesteuer.  That particular post was very popular.  Despite my assurances that I don’t really like most of the German brands of coffee I’ve tried, many readers tried to sway me to another brand.  I really don’t mind paying a little more to get my Peet’s.  I wrote that post for people like me, who are missing a certain brand of coffee from the States.

Well, on November 23 of this year, I decided to order more coffee.  It was shipped on November 26th and arrived today.  Bill and I were pleasantly surprised by how quickly our package got through customs.  I was very surprised when we got our coffee today.  Because this shipment was a bit more expensive than the last one, I was expecting more customs fees and taxes.  To my great surprise, the “zoll” was significantly less today– 28,58 as opposed to the over 40 euros we paid last time.  I think it’s because this time, the package came through Saarbrücken instead of Stuttgart.  It looked to me like we weren’t charged the 19% value added tax.

We probably won’t need more coffee until the spring, but it’s interesting to note that the taxes and fees can be different according to who processes the package.  I’m looking forward to trying the new flavors as well as my old favorites that I ordered this time.

Speaking of new flavors, Bill went to the Real today to pick up a few things.  He brought home a couple of vegan Ritter Sport bars for me to try.  Since I’ve been slacking on the blog lately, I thought I’d write a post about these new products.  The Ritter Sports we got today are pictured below.

Ritter Sport vegan dark chocolate.  The purple one includes hazelnuts and amaranth.  The green packaged one includes quinoa and almonds.

 

I don’t usually eat vegan stuff, especially when it comes to chocolate.  I like milk in my chocolate!  But for the sake of a blog post, I’ll give these a try…

First, the hazelnut and amaranth…

Notice the dark color…

And the amaranth and hazelnuts.

 

The dark chocolate, hazelnut, and amaranth variety is very tasty.  The chocolate is rich and semi-sweet, but not bitter.  The amaranth provides a nice crispy texture that plays nicely with the hazelnuts.  It doesn’t make me stop missing milk chocolate, but this is a very nice treat!  I don’t usually like hazelnuts that much, either!

Next, the almonds and quinoa…

Looks pretty similar to the other bar.  This ought to be interesting, since quinoa has kind of a bitter aftertaste to me.

Here goes…

 

Again, the chocolate is rich, smooth, and semi-sweet.  I prefer almonds to hazelnuts, so I like the satisfying crunch and toasty flavor of the nuts.  The quinoa seems to provide a crispy quality, but otherwise doesn’t seem to provide a lot of flavor.  Again, a nice treat.

I think I like the almonds and quinoa better than the hazelnuts and amaranth.  Both of these bars are nice for your discerning vegan friends.  I recommend them, but still prefer a plain old Alpine milk chocolate bar!  Look for these new chocolate bars at your favorite vendor.

Standard
Uncategorized

Wine bar! And our very first visit to the Block House…

Yesterday, Bill and I visited the dentist in downtown Stuttgart for our biannual cleanings.  As is our habit, after we visited the dentist, we hung around downtown for dinner.  I was unusually stressed yesterday, but the truth is, for months I’d been wanting to try a certain wine bar near the Markthalle.  Die Weinhandlung Kreis is a small wine shop, but you can also go there to taste wines and enjoy snacks.  We’d passed by the place so many times and I wanted to go in to see what it was about, but every time I paused by the door, Bill convinced me to move onward.  Yesterday, I was determined to finally try the place.  And frankly, after my dental cleaning and the huge Stau that preceded it, I was in need of a soothing red for my jangled nerves!

Die Weinhandlung Kreis near the Schillerplatz in downtown Stuttgart is a very small place, but they have wines and local spirits.  Yesterday, I noticed they were selling Chartreuse and Monkey 47 Gin, which is a gin made here in Baden Württemberg.  We discovered Monkey 47 Gin when we visited Hamburg in January 2015 and since then, we’ve enjoyed it ourselves.  My German sucks, but I can see from Die Weinhandlung Kreis’s Web site that this little wine bar is just one address affiliated with Die Weinhandlung Kreis.  They have a main shop in Stuttgart South, as well as an online store.  They even have a vineyard.  I can tell that Bill and I are going to have to get to know this business better.

Anyway, the lady who was running the shop yesterday wasn’t super friendly, but she was quick to get Bill and me a couple of large glasses of vino.  I tried a lovely Gigondas that was very nice in the late afternoon.  Bill had a Spanish red that had almost a menthol tinge to it.  It was very interesting.  They were playing cool jazzy music on vinyl in the cozy tasting room.  Had we not had plans to visit the Block House afterward, we might have tried a snack to go with the wine.  They had quite a few reds and whites available, as well as at least one sparkling wine.  We will definitely be back.

Ahh… red wine in the afternoon.  You can get a small or large glass.  I went with a large.

Bill sporting his new sporty goatee as he enjoys a red.  On the wall, you can see a list of what was available yesterday.  

Tiny bar.  Sorry this picture is a bit blurry.  I was trying not to be conspicuous.  Behind the turntable is a blurry list of snacks.  We ended up buying a bottle each of the reds we tried.  It’s worth mentioning that this wine bar takes credit cards– even the ones from America! 

 

I felt a bit more relaxed after the wine and my stomach told me it was time for dinner.  I had been wanting to try the Block House chain restaurant in Stuttgart for some time.  Now that I have, I can write a review.  Later, I will write a post detailing all of our local steakhouse experiences.

I saw this on the way to the Block House and thought it was nifty.  It was in front of a shoe store.  

I also noticed this coffee shop right next to the Block House location on Eberhardstraße.  They sell cups of coffee, but they also sell beans.  We may have to pay them a visit, so maybe I won’t need to spend 40 euros in duty taxes plus $40 in shipping for Peet’s again!

The first thing to know about the Block House is that there it’s a chain restaurant.  There are 47 Block House restaurants, 38 of which are in Germany.  Two of those 38 locations are in Stuttgart.  In that way, Block House is not unlike Maredo, another German steakhouse chain that has two locations in Stuttgart.  Curiously, the two Stuttgart area Maredo locations are practically within sight of each other.

The next thing to know about the Block House is that it runs all day.  There is no pause between lunch and dinner.  This is a very fine thing.  We were able to visit the restaurant yesterday before it got super busy.  Indeed, it was somewhat chill when we arrived at 5:00pm and was pretty full by the time we left a couple of hours later.

Bill anticipates a good hunk of meat.  He said the restaurant reminds him of an American place.  I agreed.  In fact, they were even playing early 80s pop music, which I kind of dug.

 

Block House is a very casual place.  We were invited to sit where we wanted.  When we sat down and the waiter realized we weren’t German, he asked if we needed menus in English.  Of course we said no!  Bill likes to show off his mad skills… which unfortunately, I am still trying to develop.

We started with a very nice bottle of Malbec, along with San Pellegrino.  I ordered the Hereford Rib Eye, while Bill went with a Filet.  Both dishes came with salads and Block House bread, as well as a potato or pommes.

 

As we were sitting there soaking up the atmosphere, Bill got a strange look on his face.  I asked him what was the matter, and then it became obvious.  The waiter put my salad in front of me and it was loaded with huge sliced mushrooms.  I took in a quick gasp of surprise and horror because I have a phobia of mushrooms.  Fortunately, Bill was kind enough to take them out of my salad.

 

Next time, I’ll know to tell them to hold the fungus!

The steaks were very good.  I was able to ask them to hold the sour cream and got butter instead.  I could have also had garlic butter.  My rib eye was about 250 grams and cooked to a perfect medium temperature.  The bread appeared to be a bun sliced, buttered, topped with garlic salt, and toasted.  It was pretty good, if not a bit generic.

Bill’s filet and sour cream covered potato.

 

We decided to have dessert.  It turned out to be a treat.  Those of you who love lava cakes will be happy to know you can get one at Block House.  I have an aversion to lava cakes, so I went with the New York Cheesecake, which came with a lovely warm blueberry sauce.

This was pretty damn delicious!  I am a sucker for cheesecake, even if I don’t eat cold, stinky cheese!

Bill had the Eis und Heiß, vanilla ice cream with a warm berry sauce.  He enjoyed it very much.

 

The bill came to about 82 euros before the tip.  While it wasn’t the best steak I’ve had in Stuttgart, I will say that we did enjoy our visit to Block House and would go again.  And now that I’ve finally tried the Block House, perhaps it’s time to write a comparison of all the steaks we’ve had here so far.  Stay tuned!

The outside of one of Stuttgart’s two Block House locations.

 

This is the end of my restaurant review.  Stop reading if you have delicate sensibilities about sex.

On the way back to the car, we passed Dr. Mueller’s Sex Shop.  I have never actually been inside the place, but this particular chain store has the distinction of being one of my most vivid memories of my first visit to Germany in 1997.  I came here on the way home from Yerevan, Armenia and two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  The Frankfurt Airport, at that time, had a couple of Dr. Mueller’s locations within it.  I remember being shocked as I passed it.  So, in honor of that memory, I decided to snap a few photos of the location in downtown Stuttgart.  Maybe someday, we’ll venture inside.

Looks pretty tasteful to me.

 

Tune in next time for whatever crap I discover next.

Standard
Uncategorized

The high price of importing coffee to Germany…

A couple of years ago, when Bill and I first moved back to Germany, I blogged about Germany’s dreaded Kaffeesteuer (coffee tax).  Roasted coffee beans imported to Germany is subject to a tax, which is why we get those handy ration cards for use at the PX and commissary.

I’ll be honest.  When Bill and I lived in Germany the first time, we used to get coffee sent to us through the APO.  It’s illegal to get coffee that way, but everyone did it.  Besides, even though we had ration cards that included coffee, I don’t remember ever actually hearing about the rule against having coffee mailed through APO.  I honestly think I was ignorant during those years.  We had no Facebook groups back then.  In any case, we were never busted, even though the post office officials could easily smell the beans.

I’ve heard that people still get coffee through the APO, despite reports that customs was cracking down on coffee smuggling.  I decided not to risk ordering coffee through APO because I didn’t want to get in trouble.  For the past couple of years, Bill and I have been getting by on the coffee we’ve been able to find here in Germany.  I really don’t like a lot of the local stuff.  I’m not wild about Starbucks, either.  I drink it only because that’s what’s closest to what I like.  I happen to be a diehard Peet’s fan, despite other people’s efforts to convert me to other brands.

Interestingly enough, Peet’s used to supply Starbucks with coffee beans when Starbucks was in its infancy.  Now, Starbucks is way more popular than Peet’s is.  I remain partial to Peet’s coffee. In our two years here, I’ve really missed having it readily available.  When we were in the States, I would order it directly from the company and it would arrive freshly roasted and smelling heavenly.  I even had a subscription.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally decided I wanted my Peet’s, dammit!  They had a special reserve roasting from Kenya that I wanted to order.  Since I was going to the trouble of ordering coffee from the States and figured there would be a hassle in getting it, along with a hefty duty to pay, I decided to order six pounds.  I actually placed the order a few days before it was sent to me because the items I wanted were roasted after I ordered them.  Postage for this order was $40.  I got an $8 discount on shipping because I ordered more than $100 worth of product.

Today is August 19, 2016.  It took my parcel nine days to get to me from California to Germany.  The actual trip to Germany didn’t take that long.  My coffee left the USA on August 12th and landed in Frankfurt the next day.  From there, another six days passed as my coffee was sent down here to Stuttgart and processed through customs.  I’ve been watching the package’s progress for days, wondering what would happen when it finally got to me.

Would it come to my doorstep?  Would we have to pick it up in a customs office or at the post office?  I was also a little worried because we’re going out of town this weekend.  I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the delivery if it was actually brought to the door…  

 

A couple of years ago, I ordered a sweater that came to me through German mail.  I ended up having to pay about 20 euros to customs.  I wasn’t prepared when the courier came to my door, so I had to call DHL and arrange for another delivery.  It was kind of nervewracking.  This time, I was determined to be prepared.  I’ve had cash for the anticipated duties sitting in my kitchen all week, even though we had no idea how much they would be.

Bill originally thought it would cost about 9 euros.  I figured it would be a lot more than that.  Turns out, I was right.  The coffee arrived today.  I spotted the mail guy carrying a big box and figured it was for me.  Once again, I was right.  I opened the door and he pointed to the green tag on the box.  That was the price of the duty.  This coffee smells heavenly, but goodness, it wasn’t cheap to get it here…

On that slip of paper is how much I had to pay to take possession of my package…

 

I definitely think it’s time for a cup of coffee, though.  And now that I know the process, I’d do it again.  Good thing I don’t have any kids in college!

Standard
Uncategorized

President’s Day Weekend in Regensburg… Part 4

After our beer soused lunch, Bill and I made our way to Regensburg’s beautiful cathedral, Dom St. Peter.  This gothic cathedral is absolutely breathtaking.  It’s twin spires are easily spotted from anywhere in the city and made for a great landmark to getting back to our hotel.  Aside from that, it’s just a really amazing creation that dates back to the 1300s.  Neither being Catholic nor particularly religious, I mostly like to go into cathedrals to see the architecture and the invariably amazing pipe organs.  Bill, on the other hand, usually wells up with tears when he enters these incredibly intricate buildings erected in God’s honor.

Naturally, my pictures don’t do justice to the sheer awesomeness of Regensburg’s cathedral.  It truly is a mesmerizing place.

Two more shots of the outside, taken on Sunday when the sun was shining…

 

As we took our leave, Bill crossed himself like the good Catholic he used to be.  I spotted emotional tears in his eyes and suggested we go have coffee and cake.  We don’t usually do that, but again, the weather was pretty crappy.  Besides, I love pastries.  We went to a little konditorei across the street from our hotel.  They were doing a good business.  A prized table overlooking the street opened up just as we arrived and a very pleasant waitress invited us to take it.

 

We each had a slice of cheesecake with peaches.  I had an Irish coffee and Bill had regular coffee.  We watched the world go by from the window above the parking lot…

The outside of the konditorei.

 

One thing I love about German desserts is that they’re usually lighter and not as sweet as American desserts.  I know that probably doesn’t translate to fewer calories, though.

We went back to the hotel for a rest after our afternoon coffee and cake break.  And when I say rest, I mean rest…  We ended up drawing the blinds and taking a two or three hour nap.

Standard
anecdotes

Coffee talk…

An interesting question comes up from time to time for those of us who live in Germany courtesy of the American government.  Why aren’t we allowed to have coffee shipped to us via APO?

Well, lemme tell you, when Bill and I lived here from 2007-09, we didn’t know about the coffee rule and we used to have Peet’s coffee sent to us all the time.  I know it’s coffee you can get in the grocery store, but we’d have it mailed right after a roasting.  More than once, the post office people commented on the heavenly aroma.  Not once did they ever mention the ban on having coffee shipped.

In the five years since then, they’ve apparently gotten a lot stricter about coffee coming through APO.  I haven’t tried to order coffee from the States, but I have heard that people have lost their APO mail privileges for having coffee mailed to them.  I have also heard that some people do it anyway and haven’t had any problems.  Knowing how great Peet’s smells, I’m not going to risk it.  That still begs the question, though.  Why is it a problem for APO users to buy coffee through the mail?

First of all, the rules…

Host nation custom regulations prohibit the importation of medication, vitamins and nutritional supplements through the Military Postal Service, in unaccompanied baggage and household goods.

The rule also applies to alcoholic beverages, animals, plants, cheese and cheese products, cigarettes and other tobacco products, coffee and coffee products, meat and meat products, and milk and milk products.

All incoming and outgoing mail is subject to inspection by German customs officials, and violators may be subject to fines and penalties.

For more information, see Army Regulation 550-175, U.S. Forces Customs Controls in Germany, or call the Stuttgart Customs officer at 431-2731/civ. 07031-15-2731.

I imagine the ban on cheeses, milk, meat, and plants have to do with agricultural risks.  The medications, vitamins, booze and supplements rules have to do with legal risks.  I’m not going to expend the effort right now to find out for sure.  When it comes to coffee, though, it’s all about money.

There is a coffee tax in Germany.

It’s called the Kaffeesteuer.  When you buy coffee in a German store, the tax is included in the price.  When you buy it in the commissary, at AAFES or in the Class VI, you have to present a ration card so they can make sure you aren’t buying up a bunch of it and selling it to host country nationals.  If you have coffee sent to you, you avoid both the Kaffeesteur and the rationing and that’s a no no.

The link I provided above offers a simple explanation of the tax, which has been collected since Germany was Prussia.  I’m sure the coffee tax is useful, since it surely provides revenue.  For those of us Yanks who have a favorite type of coffee, the tax is kind of a pain in the butt.  I wouldn’t mind paying the tax if it meant I could have my Peet’s.

I know other people think Germany has an equivalent to Peet’s coffee (or any other brand Americans like), but I sure haven’t found it yet.  I hate to keep buying coffee that doesn’t cut it for me.  Starbucks, which used to buy Peet’s coffee in its earliest days, just doesn’t thrill me, though I could probably live with their Pike Place blend.  On the other hand, I am not a coffee fiend anyway.  My husband is the one who is passionate about his coffee.  With me, it’s more of a case of only liking what I like, not that I can’t live without a good cup of joe every day.

I did find an interesting Web site that sells raw coffee beans in Germany and other EU countries.  You buy the beans and roast them yourself.  Given that my husband enjoys this kind of a project, I may try ordering from Rohebohnen.de just to see if it’s worth the effort.  According to their site, it’s not too hard to roast your own beans and it’s even less expensive to do so, since you don’t have to pay the Kaffeesteuer for raw beans.  Keep in mind that if you do choose to home roast, you can only do so for your private use.  No buying the beans, coming up with a great flavor, and selling it to your American friends!  And you’ll need a grinder, of course.  We recently bought a good one from Amazon.de.

Click here for an explanation of the home coffee roasting process…  It looks pretty easy, actually.  Maybe I’ll do it just to give myself something new to do.  Will have to update once I pull the trigger.

Standard