Last night, Bill and I attended the final wine stand of August 2026. We almost didn’t go, because Bill was supposed to have a late meeting. The weather was also a bit unpredictable. We had some much needed rain during the day, which also dropped the temperature a lot.
Bill got home at just before 6:00 PM, which is when the wine stands start. There were some clouds in the sky, but they had parted for sunlight. And we’re probably going to miss the next wine stand, because Bill has to go to Budapest, and I don’t go to them when he’s not home. So we decided to go, and in spite of a few side eyes and dirty looks from some of the elderly folks who attended, we had a nice time.
Below is a photo dump from last night. We didn’t end up talking to anyone for a significant length of time. But we did have some nice local wines from Weingut Faust, and enjoyed people watching. We also had sausages for dinner… which ended up not being enough for me, as I woke up pretty hungry this morning.
I focused on taking pictures of Bill… 😉
I had a Rindswurst– made of beef. Bill had a Bratwust– made of pork.We left at about 9:00 PM. Things were winding down.
We came back home and had a chat. I got a little depressed about the state of the world, and a string of losses. We lost Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, Jaye P. Morgan (of The Gong Show), and Shelley Fabares…
But I also lost an old friend/co-worker/classmate, who died unexpectedly. She wasn’t a close friend, and I hadn’t seen her in person in decades. I rarely interacted with her on Facebook. But she worked with me at my very first paying job. It turns out I had some thoughts about this sudden event, which came out last night.
I probably should have just taken a look at the pictures I got of Noyzi and Charlie the other day. I confess, in the top row of photos, they were looking like that because they were hoping I would share my lunch with them. In the bottom two, they were waiting for bedtime. Noyzi never lies on that blanket. It’s usually where Charlie sleeps until he can’t stand it anymore and jumps up on the bed.
At the very least, I’ve been able to help give these two dogs a good home… But sometimes, I do wonder what is the point of any of this. The dogs help me stay grounded, which is a good thing. Noyzi is currently parked behind my chair, as he likes to hang out there while I write blog posts. 🤭
It’s nice that the weather is changing… I enjoy the onset of autumn, if only because it means I can close the balcony door at night and stop getting eaten alive by mosquitos!
It’s been pretty hot and dry lately. Bill has been very busy at work, so we haven’t been out and about. Actually, this summer has been pretty devoid of outings. I think part of it is that we’re both getting older and more tired, and going places can be exhausting. Bill and I both got sick in May, and Bill is still coughing a lot from that.
However, if there’s one thing Breckenheim is good for, it’s local events. This weekend, we’re having the Dorfplatzfest, which is a yearly party held in our little village square. This year’s fest started last night, and we had wine, beer, food, and live entertainment. Dr. Konrad Blendinger, our neighbor and veterinarian, was performing with his band.
We have never seen Dr. Konrad Blendinger for vet services, because he mostly works with animals intended for breeding. His wife, who is also a vet, has seen our dogs, as have most of the vets employed at the practice. But since he’s our neighbor, he’s seen Noyzi and Charlie in the neighborhood. I think he admires Noyzi, who can’t be bred, but strikes an impressive pose.
Dr. Blendinger plays guitar and sings, and he’s even written an original song about Breckenheim. I didn’t hear his song about Breckenheim last night, but there were some pretty good covers of classic American songs.
Bill and I didn’t eat at the fest last night, but we did enjoy beer and wine, and good conversation with Germans. One person who sat with us was a man we met several weeks ago. He brought his dog on that first encounter, but left her at home last night. It was pretty hot and busy, and she probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the party as much as we did.
As we were talking, we learned that our new friend grew up in West Berlin. Since he’s Bill’s age, he was born there during the Cold War, when the city was walled in. He said it was like growing up in a prison. I’m sure it wasn’t quite that extreme, but I got point he was trying to make. It was hard to drive anywhere without encountering the Berlin Wall.
Unfortunately, his English skills aren’t quite as extensive as he would have liked, and our German skills are even less sufficient. So it wasn’t easy to get too far in depth about what it was like to grow up when Germany was divided, and Berlin was split into two sections. Our friend also told us that his mother, who had come from Poland, managed to escape to the West by sheer luck. She got on a train before she could be stopped by the guard who had told her that her papers weren’t in order.
I really value conversations with people who have lived through that bygone era in Germany and other countries that were once behind the Iron Curtain. I fear that kind of totalitarianism could one day affect the United States, if we aren’t careful.
Another older man, whose name I didn’t catch, talked to Bill for a long time about traveling in the United States. He knew Gaby and Boris, a older German couple who don’t speak much English, but seem to like Bill and me. I wonder if it’s because we always get to the fests early and score a table. No one wants to sit with us, because we’re Americans, so they’re pretty much guaranteed a place to sit. 😁 I’m kidding, of course. They’re very nice folks, and we always enjoy practicing our crappy German skills with them. And yes, I know I should be fluent by now.
Bill wore a t-shirt I bought for him last year. There’s a picture of Socrates on it, and the quote “Meh… good enough” on it. Under the picture of the philosopher, it says “Mediocrates”. Another acquaintance asked Bill about the shirt, and he explained. I had totally forgotten that I bought him that shirt.
Below are some photos from last night…
He’s the best… and I am a crone.We sat by the grape vine, and got accosted by wasps!
I don’t think we meant to stay as long as we did. It really was fun, though, and it continues today, starting at 2 o’clock. However, it’s raining right now, so I’m not sure if or when we’ll attend. My liver might appreciate a break. Below are a couple of photos I took of my neighbor’s flowers this week. Sadly, they both now badly wilted because of the hot, dry weather.
The only other thing that happened this week was some random older guy dressed in white banged on the door. I had just gotten out of the shower and wasn’t dressed. I opened the door, and he started speaking rapid fire German. I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand you. I have to go.” Then I shut the door. I think I heard him cursing.
I always feel bad doing that, but people who randomly bang on the door are usually wanting to sell something, begging, casing, or otherwise being pests. I don’t like being rude to people, but if I’m at home, minding my own business, and the visitor doesn’t have an appointment to see me, I also don’t feel obligated to interact. Still, it goes against my raising to be so abrupt.
Anyway… we’ll see if we go to the fest today. We might decide to hole up at home and enjoy the rain. We really need it!
Featured photo is of a few items Bill picked up from the Apotheke for his “juicy cough”…
It’s a hot, sunny Saturday here in Germany. Bill is struggling with a really nasty cough. Remember last month when he brought home a virus from Spain that made us both sick? Well, I eventually got over my sickness. Bill initially seemed to get over his, but was left with a lingering cough that has since gotten worse.
He has a doctor’s appointment on Monday. I told him to get one, and he was not able to get one with his regular American “GP” at Landstuhl until August. He decided to seek one with the same German ear, nose, and throat practice he visited months ago, when he had his ears cleaned out. 🤢
On Friday, he also visited the neighborhood “Apotheke”, which is Germany’s version of a pharmacy. Here, drugs are sold exclusively in apothecaries, rather than in grocery stores. The guy who runs our local drug store loaded him up with 40 euros worth of items, some of which are naturopathic. I noticed that Bill got some Bronchipret, which I took last year. One of its active ingredients is thyme, which is well-known for helping with “chesty coughs”.
I took Bronchipret when I got sick with a really nasty respiratory virus. I didn’t find it to be extremely effective, but it did help soothe me until my body was able to fight off the sickness. It also didn’t taste horrible.
Poor Bill has been waking up repeatedly at night, needing to cough a lot. The cough is very loud and productive, but he’s still not able to clear his lungs as much as he needs to, so he can’t rest well. I’m sure the ENT will tell him to “get with his GP”, but he needs help now. Maybe they will give him a prescription. Hopefully, he won’t be treated as poorly as I was, two years ago, when I saw a specialist. But then, he’s a man… so he’ll probably get better care.
Being sick sucks. It especially sucks in the summer, when you live in a house that doesn’t have central air conditioning, and it’s hot as Hell outside. It’s not actually that hot today, but it’s definitely getting warm again. That will mean my ankles are going to blow up.
I wish I could enjoy summer more. I do miss Lake Zürich now.
Monday, I expect to get a brand new desktop computer, so that may help me make content a bit more efficiently. And on Thursday, we expect our new fridge to get here, so we can stop traipsing down to the basement to get food. Things are progressing. I do need to go to AAFES and order new glasses, too. I expect to buy my first pair of bifocals. Edited to add: just after I wrote this post, we went to AAFES in Wiesbaden and I ordered my new glasses.
SIGH…
Bill did have a birthday the other day. We celebrated with a snazzy birthday song I sang for him in a YouTube video. I thought maybe we’d go do something this weekend, but I think he’s feeling too poorly. Hopefully, he’ll be feeling better next weekend.
This morning, a golden retriever, belonging to a neighbor we have not met, was running amok in our neighborhood. The dog was not wearing a collar, and according to our next door neighbor, regularly jumps over the fence surrounding its neighbor’s yard, and visits our cul-de-sac. I hope the dog stays far away from the Autobahn.
We had absolutely gorgeous weather last night, so Bill and I decided to go to the wine stand. It was our first one in a long while. We were sick in mid June, and then we were in Switzerland. I think the one before our sickness we missed because Bill was in Spain, and I hadn’t wanted to attend the wine stand alone.
We sat in the corner, where we usually sit, waiting for people to show up for the event. Bill got me a Riesling, and himself a Graubürgunder. I think the stand was hosted by a local winery.
Below are some photos I took. We talked to our American neighbors, and I told one of them about my Peace Corps experience in Armenia. She said she’d always wanted to join the Peace Corps, but feared it might not be possible, because her partner is in the military. I explained that military members can join, as long as they aren’t involved in intel… and even if they are, I believe that after some time, they can join if they wish. I actually think the two of them would be great Volunteers, if they were ever inclined to join. But, of course, that all depends on if Trump ruins the Peace Corps with one of his horrific policies.
We also met a man who had a beautiful dog named Stella. Stella is an Australian Shepherd and Border Collie mix. She was very friendly to us. I think I won her over with many butt scratches.
The sausages they were selling actually looked really good last night. We probably should have had one.
Sweet Stella!I love what they did with this bottle.
It was nice to go to the wine stand again, even if I did have to pee like a racehorse at the end. I think tomorrow, there’s going to be a flea market, and the wine stand will be open again.
Hopefully, this week, there won’t be any fires to put out. I think Bill has bought some ribs for our modest July 4th celebration, here at home. I don’t see it as celebrating America’s birthday so much as having a reason to cook some awesome ribs. 😋
It’s crazy that it was so hot last week, and today, it’s just 80 degrees. Last night, it was 76, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I’d love to see this weather stick around, if only because maybe my ankles will stop being so swollen.
The featured photo is just one of many majestic sunset pictures I took on this trip to Switzerland.
On Sunday morning, June 21st, we went back down to Jack’s Brasserie for breakfast. Philippe, the cool waiter, served us a hearty meal. I decided to have Belgian waffles that day, and a side of bacon. I don’t remember what Bill had… I think it might have been scrambled eggs. If it had been something interesting, I would have taken a photo!
The waffle was a rare treat!
After breakfast, we bid farewell to Philippe, picked up our luggage in our room, and headed down to the front desk to check out. As we were leaving the Schweizerhof, the receptionist gave us Bern Bears, little cakes that taste like almond and vanilla, which I guess is a thing in Bern.
The bears came in handy during the week, because I don’t like eating in restaurants alone. The breakfasts at the newly renovated restaurant the Sonne Seehotel were so huge that I really didn’t need to eat lunch. But small snacks were handy for tiding me over until dinner.
Cute and yummy!
Then, Bill and I headed the short way to the Bern train station. We didn’t know it when we arrived in the rain on Friday, but the train station is literally just across the street from the hotel. We had read it was that close, but came out of the wrong side of the station to see it for ourselves.
We had first class tickets for a brief journey from Bern to Zürich Hauptbahnhof. I think it took about an hour. The train was a bit older than the Deutsche Bahn train we took on the way down to Switzerland and back to Germany. I amused myself by taking pictures, especially of the really chill Labrador Retriever in the front row. And I also took a few other photos, reminding me of how pretty Switzerland is.
We arrived in Zürich at a little after 1:00 PM. Then we got on a regional train that would take us to Küsnacht. I think that train ride lasted maybe twenty minutes or so. It was pretty painless.
The Romantik Sonne Seehotel is also VERY close to the train station, although maybe not as close as the Schweizerhof is. To get to it, you have to walk down a hill and under a bridge, once you get off the train platform. Thankfully, there was an elevator there. I don’t even think the Bern station had an elevator for our platform. We had to walk up a ramp.
The lady who checked us in at the Sonne Hotel informed us that our room, which turned out to be 410, was not ready for us when we arrived. Since it was lunch time, we decided to try out the hotel’s brand new restaurant, Pavilion. We were told it just opened last week. As of this week, they were just starting to serve breakfast. It was interesting to see how the service evolved over the course of the week.
The gentleman who served us lunch bore a striking resemblance to Prince William, Britain’s Prince of Wales. We later found out that he’s from Mannheim, though, and he’s likely a bit younger than William is. We decided to go all out for lunch and then, maybe, have some snacks at dinner time if we were hungry.
Below are some photos from that delightful first meal. I had a wonderful starter called “Scampi” (shrimp, lobster, roe, avocado, and a delightful sauce, surrounded by endive. Bill had melon and prosciutto. For our main courses, I went for the Perlhühn (Guinea fowl), while Bill had “crispy fish”— hake. Naturally, there was also Swiss wine, sparkling water, and fresh bread.
The “Scampi” was absolutely delightful!I really liked the Perlhühn, too, which came with paella broth, Rosini pasta, rocket, and stuffed pointed peppers.
For dessert, I decided to stick with the cooling theme. I had a scoop of lemon sorbet with champagne, candied lemons, and verbena. Bill had a blackberry tart with sour cream ice cream. I really enjoyed the sorbet, on such a HOT day! But it wasn’t even the hottest day of the week.
When we were finished with lunch (about 300 Swiss Francs! ), we went up to our room. I booked and prepaid for a junior suite, which is the class of room we stayed in last fall. This time, we got the room above the one we were in last time.
It was a very “cool” room… but it was also a very hot room. Like most buildings in Switzerland, the Sonne Hotel does not have air conditioning, and rudimentary science knowledge will remind you that heat rises. The room also doesn’t have the large windows that room 310 has. They did provide a fan, though, and the views were still awesome, in spite of the heat.
The stairs you see above lead into the room. The other suites are also located halfway between floors. To get to room 310 or 210, you have to up or go down half a flight of stairs. To get to the bedroom part of 410, you have to navigate these stylish glass steps. Thankfully, neither of us fell down the steps, although I did hit my head on the ceiling/floor as I was going down one time. Obviously, that room would not be a good choice for anyone with mobility issues.
This room has a closet, a mini bar, a desk, TV, phone, and high ceilings that remind you that the hotel is OLD. We were in the top of the tower that overlooks the lake. The bathroom is open, but it has a stall for the toilet and an enclosed, walk in shower, as well as a bath tub. The bed was comfortable, except for the heat.
Lunch and travel left us tired and needing to digest. We laid down on the bed, and soon I fell asleep. I woke myself up snoring a couple of times! But I was probably out for an hour or two before lunch was properly dealt with by my digestive system.
After I woke up from my nap, we immediately decided to strip down and put on our bathing suits. After being in Bern and longing to swim in the river, I was more than ready to brave the lake. It was awesome! The water was cold, but not freezing. The only difficulty we had was entering the lake without slipping on the rocks or stepping on something sharp. I soon got good at that… I think the direct lakeside access is one of the things I loved most about the Sonne Seehotel.
I think Bill found the water chillier than I did. He complained of “shrinkage”… 🤣 He only managed one swim, but I spent many hours by the lake. For that reason, the rest of this series will probably be briefer, because sitting by the lake, swimming, reading, and writing, was pretty much all I did all week!
Oh… and I did a lot of eating and drinking… We did stop by the hotel’s newly renovated Biergarten, too. We enjoyed some fries and beer, along with guitar music by a very talented guy who came by every night, playing for spare change. I did also get a few enchanting sunset photos.
So… that about does it for June 21st. I’ll be back tomorrow to continue this series about how I got older, and Bill got wiser, in dear old Switzerland. Watch this space!
Featured photo is of the Aare River mist near the restaurant where we had lunch.
Here’s the promised second part to my birthday post, for those who are interested. I know there are at least a couple of folks reading, so I will continue onward.
After our disappointing look at the Bear Pit, which denied us any views of bears, we decided to continue our walk along the Aare River. That turned out to be a good decision. As one leaves the Bear Pit area, there’s a beautiful shady trail right next to the river. Once we walked under the trees, the temperature dropped noticeably, and there were lovely views of the river.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I totally could have gone swimming. I wished I had worn a bathing suit under my clothes, because the water was very inviting. I saw a lot of people who were enjoying the swift current while riding on tubes or little inflatable boats. Some people swam.
Below are a few artsy photos…
Bill and I chatted as we walked, and we stopped at the convenient benches along the way. We were in no hurry, and just wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of the water, and the waterfall at the end of the trail.
As we got closer to the end of the trail, we noticed a little island in the water. There were also a couple of restaurants where I was sure cold beer awaited. But first, I wanted to put my feet in the water, so I did… and it felt so good! Luckily, I was wearing my Keen sandals, which are great for walking in rivers where there are a lot of rocks.
Not great photos of me, but I was definitely happy… I love a good swimming hole.
Below is a video that features the very refreshing water. The misty part in the video is where the restaurant was… I don’t know if it was part of the engineering or a natural feature of the river. My guess is that the misty part was manmade.
What an awesome river. I want to go back and swim in it.
After my quick walk in the river, we decided to have lunch. There appeared to be an events facility there, as well as a couple of restaurants. One was away from the river, and looked pretty traditional. The other was built on the river and had several venues to include a formal restaurant, a casual restaurant, and a self-serve Biergarten. We got a table for lunch at the Restaurant Terrasse Schwellenmätteli, and enjoyed some surprisingly good food.
Schneider Weisse is everywhere we’ve been!I had delicious spaghetti with a light cream sauce, tomatoes, and mussels. Bill had a vegetarian dish with lentils.I loved the cheese grater. I’m going to have to find one of these.A posing seagull…Gosh, he’s cute… at least to my eyes.
After lunch, we decided to walk back the way we came, mainly because the other side of the river was not shady and probably would have required climbing stairs. On the shady side by the Bear Pit, there is an elevator that will take visitors to the top of the trail. I need to exercise, but these days, I have to pace myself, especially in the heat of the summer. I ended up having to duck behind a bush to pee… it wasn’t easy, because there’s a steep hill by the trail. But I could easily see I wasn’t the only one who did it. Some people left behind napkins.
This sweet dog had the right idea.I brought home a rock from the river.
I was sorry to leave the cool river, but we needed to get back to the hotel and prepare for dinner at Zimmermania, a French restaurant Bill reserved a table at on the night of my birthday. So we headed back down the main drag, and got caught behind a lot of kids who had little situational awareness… along with their equally inattentive adult minders.
Thankful for the elevator.Check in for the Zollhaus, which I mentioned in yesterday’s post. It’s a little one room hotel by the Bear Park.We passed a sex shop that was selling pasta shaped like dicks…👀 Wow…I thought Bill’s daughter might like to see Swiss pastries, Bern style.
We enjoyed a short break in the hotel room, cooling off in the rare air conditioning which, while rather special in Switzerland, was still not quite chilly enough. Nevertheless, I pulled out a lightweight, navy blue, Merino wool dress I bought from Bergfreunde, a few years ago. I was dismayed to see a couple of tiny holes made by moths. 🙄 We have since invested in some “wasps” to eat the moths, but I’m still finding clothes that either need repair or retirement. The dress is still wearable, for now. I’ve worn it twice on this trip.
Then we walked through the crowds to Zimmermania, which was located on a quiet cobblestone street. Zimmermania is a well-regarded, but rather no frills establishment. Bill and I enjoyed the food, and probably could have been more casual. I was glad to see fish on the menu, since I was pretty tired of red meat by June 20th.
I had delightful salmon with spinach, as well as fregola sarda, a pasta from Sardinia I am going to have to find at home! Bill had filet of sole with potatoes allumettes…For dessert, I had a citrus tart, while Bill had flan caramel.Very lemony and refreshing!
After dinner, we walked back through the crowds reveling in the city fest. I got more photos…
In all, we walked over six miles on June 20th. I was a little tired and sore at the end of it, but delighted by the day. I definitely wish we could have enjoyed one more night in Bern. It’s a lovely city, and we didn’t see nearly enough of it. I hope we’ll have a chance to return someday… especially if there isn’t a city festival happening! Unfortunately, the noise kept me awake on the second night, too.
Oh well…
The next day, we headed to Küsnacht. I will continue with that part of the story in the next post.
In my last post, I wrote about an unfortunate encounter the dogs and I had with a pervert who is helping to build a new home on our street. That experience freaked me out a bit, and I hoped it was a “one off”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Yesterday, I walked Noyzi and Charlie again. It was a relatively pleasant day, although it was a bit cooler and more overcast than it was on Thursday. I was taking the dogs out later, because I got busy on a music project and had technical difficulties that delayed me. So, it was around 1:45 PM when the dogs took their walk yesterday. I was relieved to see several people working on the house yesterday when I passed it. There were even a couple of teenagers doing some work there.
My usual route takes me over a bridge that spans over a creek. I was happy to see the ducks in the creek, so I took a few photos. The ducks usually seem to come out more at this time of year, which results in some very nice photo opportunities.
As I passed the house again, on my way home, I looked up on the balcony, and there was that guy again. I wasn’t sure it was him at first, but he smiled at me and said “Hallo.” He had his pants up, much to my relief.
I said a curt “Hallo” and hurried home. I took a shower, changed into something more comfortable, and ate lunch. As I was cleaning up the lunch dishes, I noticed the trash receptacles were stinky from salmon packaging Bill threw in there. So, even though the bins weren’t full, I decided to empty them. As I was walking back to the house, I looked up, and I saw that worker, once again, very confidently lower his pants while standing on the unfinished balcony.
My jaw dropped as, once again, I witnessed this man apparently urinating up there, his junk on full display for everyone to see. Across the street from our house is a home with a balcony. The male half of the couple living there was on the balcony putting up a shade. He was fixated on the shade, and apparently didn’t notice what was going on across the street.
I watched the worker for a minute or so. He was not at all in. a hurry or worried about who would see him. As I passed the house yesterday, I confirmed that anyone could see him standing there with his private parts hanging out. There is no solid barrier to block the view.
I looked outside again a little while later, to see if he was still exposing himself from the balcony. I didn’t see him then, but when I went out on our front balcony, I looked over to that house and took a photo. I looked down, and the guy was there by his car, looking up at me. I wonder if he thought I took a picture of him. I didn’t… but below, you can see what the balcony looks like from our house, and from just under it, where I saw the man’s genitals.
From my house’s front balcony. There is no barrier preventing anyone from seeing on the balcony.This was about where I was standing when I saw the man peeing. He was between the two far left pillars on the balcony. The scaffolding did not block the view.
I told Bill about what happened, and I’m considering filing a police report. I don’t want to invite trouble, but that house is right next to a school. There are kids and elderly people who live in this neighborhood. Above all, I DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS PERSON’S PRIVATE PARTS! It’s annoying, creepy, shocking, and disgusting. I shouldn’t have to tolerate that shit. It’s a CRIME.
We did have a good wine stand last night, even though it was a bit chilly. That very friendly elderly German couple joined us last night, and we tried to speak terrible German with them. I showed them some pictures from our wedding, and a few from my horsey days. The lady saw a photo of my mom and asked if that was my sister! I’ll have to tell her about that. It will make her day! I got a couple of photos of a plane passing, too… We’re right on the flight course to Frankfurt.
Today, I have plans to go on post, get an eye exam and a passport photo, and pick up a couple of items I need. Texas has told us we can renew my driver’s license by mail, since we’re still living out of state. That’s a relief, because I don’t want to have to go back to Texas just to update my license, and I don’t particularly want to trade my license for a German version. Let me just say, it was a real PITA to get a live person in Texas to tell us this was going to work. AI is a pox on customer service. But at least I’ll still be legal to drive after my birthday in June.
On the morning of Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Bill and I packed a couple of bags and some dog food for Noyzi and Charlie. We had plans to stop at the Birkenhof Tierpension to drop off the dogs. I had done some preliminary housework, so we could come back on Sunday to a somewhat clean house and freshly made bed.
Because it had been snowing on the days before our departure, there was a snow shovel on our front stoop. Noyzi and Charlie knew we were going somewhere. Noyzi was especially excited. He loves riding in the car, and he absolutely adores the staff at the Birkenhof. Still, he is almost always very respectful of the front door and doesn’t try to run outside anymore. He was so excited on Wednesday, though, that he forgot himself. Since the snow was melted, I reached out to grab the snow shovel, so I could put it away in the garage. Noyzi took the opportunity to dart outside, unsecured.
For a moment, Noyzi looked kind of drunk with freedom. He headed for our landlord’s house next door and looked around, obviously excited at being “free”. I knew that all he wanted was to be able to get in the back of the Volvo. I told Bill to open the car, and sure enough, Noyzi took a flying leap into the cargo space. I tossed Noyzi’s leash and harness to Bill, who got him “suited up” for the drive. I put Charlie’s harness on him, and Bill put him in the car.
I have to admit, I was little scared when Noyzi ran outside, only because we live so close to the Autobahn. Fortunately, he’s not a runner, and wasn’t interested in hunting or escaping us. He simply couldn’t wait to get in the car and head for his boarding facility! I’d say that’s a vote of confidence that he gets excellent care there. Indeed, he barked excitedly most of the drive to the Birkenhof, which is probably at least a half hour’s drive from where we live.
I normally take photos and videos of the boys before our trips, but I never got around to it this time. When we got to the Birkenhof, I let go of Noyzi’s leash. There’s a fenced in walkway to the office, so there was no risk in letting him go. He took off running for the office, straight to his favorite caregiver, Natascha. Charlie was also very excited to see her male counterpart, whose name I don’t yet know. I think Charlie likes men more than women, while Noyzi is very much a fan of the ladies… especially young, pretty ones, like Natascha!
He was delighted!
I did get a very short video of Noyzi to send to his rescuer, Meg, who was worried when I posted on Facebook that Noyzi had given us a scare. As you can see, he was just fine, once he got to his “home away from home.” This is a dog who loves a little break– but when the vacation is over, he’s just as eager to come back home and park himself in his big bed in his own room. The proprietor of the Birkenhof, Ulrike, was there last night when Bill picked up the dogs. She is a BIG Noyzi fan. She even calls him “Schatz”!
Once the dogs were safe at the dog pension, we made our way southeast. It was an uneventful trip, and aside from stopping for gas and a piss, we didn’t even take a break. Waiblingen is about two hours’ drive, on a good day with no Staus. We didn’t run into any significant traffic on Wednesday, so we arrived in Waiblingen at about 1:00 PM, parking at the marketplace garage located just next to Marktplatz in Waiblingen, and very close to our hotel.
We couldn’t check in at the Bachofer until 2, so we walked around the town and got some first impressions. We also searched for a place to have lunch. We could have found one, if we’d tried harder. As it was, we decided to go to a place that only served breakfast and dinner. But, since we had dinner reservations at Bachofer, that was okay. Below are some photos of our first look at Waiblingen… Too bad the weather was so crappy.
And here are some photos from Wyn Kitchen and Bar, which had the distinction of being our first stop in Waiblingen. This place looks like it might offer good food, if you happen to be there when they’re serving something besides bar snacks. I did like the hot chocolate and cappuccino. They kept me going until dinner. 😉 Bill just had coffee and a glass of iced tea, because he’s on medication that can’t be mixed with dairy within certain hours of being taken. He sure looks great in the Alpa sweater from Finland I got him for Christmas.
Once we finished our beverages, we headed for Bachofer. It was a short walk from everything in the “inner city”. Waiblingen is a compact little town, with everything in the old town very close. When we walked into the restaurant portion of our lodging, I noticed immediately that it smelled really appetizing. I was excited about that, because we had dinner plans that night.
A smiling young man who reminded me a little of Freddie Mercury greeted us and checked us in. At the Bachofer, the nine rooms are all named after spices. We were assigned Kardamom, which was a 33 square meter double. Internet and breakfast are included in the rate. Below are some photos…
View from one of the windows.
The Bachofer is very generous with perks. They have a room stocked with snacks, coffee, tea, and simple breakfast staples that are included in the room rate. They also have an honor bar with beer and wine available for purchase. You just write down what you consumed and pay for it later. Every day, they gave us little bags of gummi bears and ear plugs. Thankfully, I never needed the ear plugs… at least not because of street noise. 😉 The bed was quite comfortable, although I never did get the huge rainfall shower hot enough for my liking. That’s a pity, because the shower was pretty nice. You can’t see it in the photo, but it lights up green in that room. I see from Bachofer’s Web site that other rooms have showers that light up in other colors.
We paid about 660 euros for four nights, which I thought was a good deal, especially since breakfast is included. Dinner at the Bachofer was about 400 euros, to put it in perspective. 😬. My only other complaint was that, for some reason, housekeeping didn’t leave an extra roll of toilet paper after the first day. Without getting too specific, I use a lot of toilet paper in the mornings. Bill went out and bought a couple of rolls. I guess the housekeeper noticed, because on Saturday, they left us three extra rolls! Oh… and it also seemed like one of the outlets in the room didn’t work properly. I had to move my computer to the other outlet, because it wouldn’t charge on the outlet near the desk.
Bill had a short lecture at the Jung Institute on Wednesday night, so we hunkered down in the room. The plan was for him to sit through the talk, and then at 8:00 PM, go down to the restaurant for dinner. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t want dinner so late. Or, at least Bill wouldn’t. I love him so much, but being married to Bill is like having a rooster for a husband! He is definitely an early riser who prefers to go to bed early. I guess I’ve adapted to that, too, although I still tend to read until about 11:00 PM and wake up with him at 5:00 AM.
I entertained myself while Bill took his class, then after freshening up a bit, we headed down to try out the Michelin starred Bachofer restaurant. Since there are a lot of photos, I will write about that in the next part. Stay tuned!
Today, I woke up to more snow. It’s much snowier down near Stuttgart, which is where Bill and I will be headed on Wednesday. But up here, I think we got maybe a little under two inches or so. It’s bitter cold outside and still pretty cloudy. I won’t be surprised if there’s more snow or a few flurries before the sun sets.
I don’t have much travel stuff to write about today, although if I were feeling more ambitious and hopeful, I might write about some other travel related topics. For example, I could write about some of my favorite YouTube creators, who inspire me to look into fancy trips in Europe. A couple of the people I watch regularly are somewhat annoying, but they do go to some interesting places.
Lately, thanks to videos I’ve watched, I’ve been thinking I’d like to visit Finland and do a proper visit up there. I don’t really love freezing cold weather, but I do like coziness and snow… if I can be inside by a fireplace with some wine, that is. 🤣 I’d also settle for a hot tub.
It’s also hard to think about traveling when our government is so screwed up, and people are protesting, fighting, and literally dying in my homeland. It’s not lost on me that Americans aren’t all that popular right now, mainly due to the “dictator” in the White House. Listen, y’all… my disdain for him is about his shittiness as a human being, rather than conservative politics as a whole. He’s not a conservative. He’s a fascist. And he’s making things worse for EVERYONE, except maybe his billionaire “buddies”… who aren’t even his buddies.
People like that don’t really have friends, do they? They just worship money. Money is no substitute for real human connections, love, and freedom. Personally, I think the vast majority of super rich people are hollow inside. They don’t have normal relationships. They don’t live happy lives. They can’t trust people to love them, because people simply want to use them and take what they have. And so, I think they’re very lonely folks, who crave what money can’t buy for them. If you think about it, it’s pretty sad.
Bill is coming home early today, because he’s going to start his very first course at the Jung Institute. The online class he’s taking today will run for five hours. He plans to take a couple more while we’re on our visit to Waiblingen, which starts on Wednesday.
Anyway, I wish I had an interesting trip to write about today, but I don’t. However, I will soon be adding content to this blog, because during our trip to Waiblingen, we have reserved tables at two very nice restaurants, which we booked on OpenTable.de.
I’m sure there will be other places we’ll try, since we’re staying down there until Sunday. Yeah, it seems weird to stay in Waiblingen for four nights, when we could just go see the dentist in a day… but I think it will be fun to go there and hang out in our old stomping grounds. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another chance to live near Stuttgart, but it will always occupy a spot in my heart.
So… please stay tuned for my Waiblingen series, such as it will be. After that, who knows where the road will lead. I can pretty much guarantee that we will be in Switzerland again this year at some point, if we don’t have to leave the continent because of Donald Trump.
Until my next post, bis spater…
Here are a few photos I took of our cozy German house this past week… Bill made homemade scones (by Nigella Lawson) and hot tea for breakfast yesterday, along with a soft boiled egg, a little sausage, and fresh orange juice. The dogs approved!
Also, I sent off a ballot request, so I can vote in the Texas primaries. I don’t know how much good it will do, but it’s something, at least.
Here’s a video and photo dump from New Year’s Eve 2025/New Year’s Day 2026. We got a new neighbor last month, and I think he might have influenced our other neighbors to set off a shitload of fireworks. We usually get a pretty good show on New Year’s Eve, but last night was beyond the pale. This was my 14th New Year’s Eve in Germany, and I’d rank it as one of the wildest yet!
This is kind of long, but it was hard to choose a segment to feature. It was a little scary at one point. The fire was pretty close to the house!
The dogs were a little scared at first, especially Charlie, who clung to us all night. By the end of the evening, they were used to the noise and realized it wasn’t going to hurt them. The fireworks went on for about an hour, allowing us to go to bed at about 1:00 AM. Bill was getting perturbed, because they were setting stuff off pretty close to our house and car.
A bit blurry… zoomed in image of all the ambulances at the top of the hill.
We had fondue for dinner last night– something we don’t do that often. Today, Bill made cheese souffles for breakfast, and he’s using the sous vide to cook a pork shoulder for dinner. We listened to music and talked, and had a good time. You can see Charlie is in his jacket. I thought it might work like a Thundershirt to calm him down. We later took it off, because we didn’t want him to get too warm.
I used to like to go out for New Year’s Eve, but now I like staying home, so I don’t have to put on a bra. We went through some sparkling wine, and tried a couple of cocktails. It was a nice evening. Of course, now I’m going to have to take down all the Christmas stuff. Maybe this weekend, that will get done.
Hope you have a very Happy New Year, and a successful 2026! I’m grateful we survived last night without any house fires or injuries! And I’m glad the dogs managed to chill out. They even went potty before things got really nuts!
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