I’m interrupting my Italy series for a quick photo dump of pictures from this week. We have some photos from our weekly market on Thursday. Bill and I picked up a few items for dinner, including chicken shawarma sandwiches from a new Syrian vendor we’d never seen before. The guy spoke English, was very friendly, and seemed delighted to talk to Bill about Doha, Qatar. As for the rest of the people at the market, they seemed to be giving us the side-eye more than usual. My guess it’s because they know we’re Americans and Trump is a major league asshole… Oh, and there’s also a photo of me in a Guinness hat Bill got at the drink market.
Charlie is glad to be home.
And then today, we went on post so I could buy makeup. Afterwards, I was feeling hungry, so we went into Wiesbaden and had lunch at the Ratskeller Biergarten. There, I had a Haxn Salad and a Hefeweizen. Bill had Tafelspitz (beef with horseradish sauce) and a Dunkel. Nice to see people and dogs out and about, flowers blooming, and open outdoor spaces! Our IKEA also set up a Swedish Easter decoration!
A few days ago, Bill asked me what I’d like him to cook for Thanksgiving. Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t often want to do a big Thanksgiving meal. It takes us forever to eat all of the food, and we lack both the storage facilities and large oven to cook a whole turkey.
Although Bill and I both like to cook, I thought about what cooking a large meal would entail, and I said, “Why don’t we just go out to eat?” Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in Germany, so this was a perfectly reasonable suggestion. Bill agreed, and booked us a table at Die Scheuer, a restaurant in the nearby town of Hofheim am Taunus. We had eaten at this fabulous place just once before, because it’s often packed. After yesterday’s lunch, I can see why. The restaurant itself is fairly small and cozy, and the food and service are both very good.
Bill and I seemed to amuse an older German couple who sat near us and heard us speaking English. Who knows what they were thinking? But they were very friendly and polite, and wished us a good appetite as we enjoyed starters and main courses. I would have been up for dessert, but we were the last ones there at the end of the lunch service. They let out a couple of very sweet, friendly dogs while we finished our wine. And then we decided to just stop by the little Christmas food kiosk “village” near the Chinon Center (a mall where we usually park).
As for what we ate… I started with fried scallops with pumpkin puree. Bill had a spring roll made with goose. Then for our mains, I had Viennese fried chicken with homemade fries and lime Schmand. Bill had smoked duck with red cabbage and a dumpling. I was originally going to have the duck myself, but then I saw the chicken and decided it would probably please me more. I was right, although Bill loved the duck dish! I would have been pleased with it, too. Our wine was Kunstler Spätburgunder– pinot noir– which went very well with both dishes. The chicken was served extremely hot, and was moist and crispy. I found myself wishing I was better at frying chicken… but then, that’s a food I’d do well to eat less of.
It would have been nice to have had dessert, but at least we had beautiful weather, and it made walking to the temporary ice skating rink a real pleasure. We decided to share some red Glühwein (German mulled wine) while we watched people be festive.
After we got home, we decided to go down to the weekly market to see if there was any food there we wanted to buy. It was rather lightly populated yesterday, as there weren’t many vendors. But we did enjoy some wine and I got a photo of the Christmas tree they put up every year. I believe this weekend, there will also be a one night Advent Market. That’s always a fun event in Breckenheim. Christmas is always magical in Germany!
In spite of my gloomy feelings about the state of the world, I couldn’t help but enjoy Thanksgiving yesterday. It’s always a blessing to be with Bill. We had a very a peaceful, pleasant, lovely Thanksgiving. I hope we can visit Die Scheuer again. What a great restaurant! Next time, we’ll get there earlier.
Last night, while Bill and I were processing the afternoon spent with our neighbors, drinking beer at our little Oktoberfest, we decided we’d like to go out to lunch today. Bill went looking for appropriate lunch venues, and finally decided it was time for us to go to one of our favorite places, Landhaus Diedert. We’ve been to this restaurant numerous times. It’s always a pleasure, as the food and service are top notch, and the restaurant itself feels like someone’s beautiful home. It is, indeed, also a hotel, although it doesn’t feel like a hotel. It was originally a Kloster.
It wasn’t very busy at the restaurant today. Some people ahead of us pulled into the parking lot and we parked next to them. And then we were seated at the table next to theirs on one side, and another couple with an adorable terrier on the other side. The people we parked next to had main courses and left rather quickly, but the other couple shut down lunch service with us. Bill and I had a very sumptuous two hour feast. I doubt I’ll need anything else until tomorrow morning.
We started with aperitifs– a non alcoholic rose for Bill, which tasted like Christmas punch. I had a prosecco based cocktail that smelled of fresh oranges. We enjoyed fresh bread with the drinks as we decided on what we would have for lunch.
One of the soups wasn’t ready to serve yet, which was no big deal. I had my eye on the Wachtel (quail), while Bill had a salad with Pfefferlingen mushrooms and bacon. For our main courses, I had salmon with ricotta filled tortellinis, while Bill had deer saltimbocca… I really enjoyed both of my dishes, but Bill’s deer was so tender and delicious. I don’t usually eat venison myself, but I think I would have enjoyed what he had, with its chestnut puree. Have a look!
I had quail with a salad… This was delicious, and a bit pricey!Bill’s salad.Salmon with tortellini for me…Bill enjoys fresh, tender venison with Brussels sprouts and chestnut mash…
I couldn’t finish my salmon, so I asked for it to be packed. I wanted dessert. While we were waiting for it, we struck up a conversation with the couple next to us. They had an adorable, well-behaved little dog. It turned out their dog, a four year old named Archie, was very friendly and cute. We showed them pictures of Charlie and Noyzi while we waited for dessert. Chocolate ganache with sour cream ice cream and berries for me, and flambeed pineapple with coconut ice cream, watermelon, and mango puree for Bill… All the while, we bonded with the couple next to us. I love how dogs are such great ice breakers in Germany.
The chocolate ganache is off the chain!I say that, even though it was a lava cake.Bill enjoys a tropically inspired dessert with fruit and ice cream.Archie!
As usual, the food, service, and ambiance at Landhaus Diedert were outstanding. We have yet to have a bad time there, or a disappointing meal. It’s such a pleasure and a treat to get to spend time with my favorite person in a place with such great food.
I love the fireplace!
Naturally, I highly recommend Landhaus Diedert. And you can see more of their excellent dishes in this blog, if you do a search. If you’re in Wiesbaden or its surroundings, you should stop by for a fabulous meal.
Bill came home from the United States on Wednesday. He has to leave again for Stuttgart tomorrow. However, he was around this weekend, and we were able to attend Breckenheim’s annual Dorfplatzfest, which is a fun event that celebrates our little suburb of Wiesbaden. Since we didn’t have anything else to do, we went to the Fest on Friday and Saturday nights.
The first night, there was live music provided by a local band featuring none other than our neighbor, Dr. Blendinger, the veterinarian who, along with his veterinarian wife, owns the veterinary clinic where we take our dogs. Dr. Blendinger is also a singer-songwriter and guitar player. He wrote a song about Breckenheim, which he sings every year. There’s a snippet of it in the video below.
I’m kind of glad we don’t live closer to the Dorfplatz. It’s probably annoying when there’s a Fest and you don’t feel like a party…
There were brats being fried on the grill, as well as a wine stand, and a stand for beer drinkers and teetotalers. Yesterday, there were even a couple of bumper cars for the kids! I was surprised to see that!
We enjoyed yesterday more than Friday night, because we ran into an American couple who were housesitting for another American couple we know who are on vacation. It was fun chatting with Americans, especially since this is their first time in Europe. We brought Noyzi and Charlie with us yesterday, mainly because they blocked the door and wouldn’t let us go without them. Noyzi gets nervous at events, but he also loves going to them, and meeting new people. Charlie had no problem at all fitting in and was charming everybody he met!
Below are some photos from the event. We were blessed with decent weather, although we did have a few rain clouds last night. Next weekend, Wiesbaden Wine Week starts. That will be a lot of fun!
Breckenheim has a great mayor!Brats!Bumper cars!Noyzi and Charlie were having a blast.
I also swabbed Charlie’s mouth for an Embark DNA test. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s got anything in him besides Eastern European Village Dog, like Noyzi.
He sure is CUTE!
I will try to hang in there this week, while Bill is gone again. When he comes back, we can plan in earnest for our long anticipated trip to Iceland at the end of the month! I like August better already.
Yesterday morning, we added a new family member to our household. Our new street dog, Charlie, flew from Pristina, Kosovo to join us here in Germany. So far, he’s fitting in beautifully, and getting reacquainted with Noyzi, our sweet, gentle, relatively giant rescue dog, who is also from Kosovo.
Noyzi and Charlie are both about six years old. They were both rescued in 2018, when they were puppies, by our friend Meg, an American who has rescued many street dogs in Kosovo. When we took in Noyzi in 2020, Charlie was also supposed to find a new home in Germany. However, his home fell through, and he spent the next few years in limbo, being cared for by a foster family in Kosovo. Kosovo, like a lot of Eastern European and Balkan countries, has a pretty big problem with street dogs.
A couple of years ago, when Meg visited Noyzi at our home, she told me about Charlie. At the time, we still had Arran, our very devoted and extremely jealous beagle mix, who was having trouble adjusting to Noyzi’s presence after we’d lost Arran’s buddy, Zane, to lymphoma. I remember when Meg first told me about Charlie, and I had this feeling we were going to end up adopting him. But, at the time, Arran was still very much with us, and he would NOT have appreciated another dog coming to live with us at that time.
We lost Arran to lymphoma on St. Patrick’s Day, 2023. In the past, we’ve been quick to adopt new dogs after we’ve lost one. But it’s harder for Americans to adopt pets in Germany, thanks to shelters not trusting us to take them with us when we leave. Now, of course Bill and I would not consider abandoning any of our animals in a shelter unless there was an extremely good reason and no other feasible alternative. I would actually say never— but I’ve learned it’s best never to say never. However, not every American who lives in Germany is as dedicated to their pets as we are, so the rest of us get a bad rep.
I do want to write a quick word about this issue. Sometimes people who work with the US military or government do have to re-home their pets due to situations beyond their control. Sometimes they have to move to places where it’s impossible to bring their pets with them. And sometimes it’s simply much too expensive to move the animals. The costs can suddenly change, as can the rules for shipping pets. Shit happens. But because so many Americans have ditched pets at pet shelters in the military areas of Germany, Americans are often discriminated against when they try to adopt from German shelters. I know there are exceptions, though… especially when Americans can get a German to vouch for them. And I also know there are Germans who would vouch for Bill and me.
In any case, although we knew we wanted to adopt another dog eventually, we weren’t in a hurry. Losing Arran left a big hole in our hearts. But then last fall, Meg asked me if we would be interested in adopting Charlie, who was still waiting for a home. I asked Bill, and he quickly said yes. So the process of moving him to Germany began. I knew Noyzi wouldn’t mind it if Charlie came to live with us. He loves other dogs!
Bringing a dog to Germany from Kosovo isn’t a matter of simply putting them on a plane. They have to have a special blood test before they can come, and there’s a waiting period. Then there are the actual logistics of the move, which involve traveling through several countries by car, or flying on a plane. When we adopted Noyzi, we met Meg in Slovenia. That was quite an adventure, as she was bringing other dogs who would be adopted by Americans. You can read about that saga by clicking here.
Charlie had already taken and passed the blood test back in 2020, but because so much time had passed, he had to have another test done. And then we had to coordinate logistics for getting him here. At first, we thought we might have him by April, but that didn’t happen. The weeks went by, and I wondered when we were going to be able to meet Charlie. Not that his foster family minded, as they were very attached to Charlie. Now that he’s home with us, I can see how they got so attached. He really is adorable!
Meg finally decided to go to Kosovo this month, although her plans for how to get Charlie to Germany were kind of fluid. Would she be driving or flying? She worried about the temperatures, as it’s not safe to fly animals in very hot weather unless the airline has temperature control in the cargo hold. Lufthansa is usually pretty good about this, as are other European airlines.
Then there were our schedules to consider. Bill left this morning to go to Texas and Utah and he’ll be gone for ten days. We have plans to go on vacation at the end of August-early September. We wanted time to break in Charlie and allow the people at our Hundepension to meet him. And then there’s just the reality that dogs don’t live as long as most people do, and time was getting away from us. So Meg decided that she would fly Charlie to us yesterday, since she has plans to go home to the United States for vacation.
Meg booked an early flight from Pristina to Vienna, then onward to Frankfurt on Austrian Airlines. I remember when she sent the itinerary, and I was a little skeptical that she’d be able to make the layover, which was only 35 minutes. If she hadn’t had Charlie, yes… it would probably be possible. But he had to go through security again once they landed in Vienna. Then there was the big IT Windows screwup that affected air travel everywhere.
Charlie about to be loaded on his flight to Frankfurt from Vienna…
Fortunately, Austrian Airlines did a great job in getting Meg and Charlie on the next flight, which arrived in Frankfurt yesterday morning a few minutes early. But they didn’t get Meg’s bags on the plane, and then they had to wait for the cargo folks to get Charlie to the baggage area. That took over an hour. But finally, they showed up, and there was our sweet new rescue dog, sitting quietly in his kennel. We loaded him in the kennel in our car, drove home, and prepared to introduce him to Noyzi.
It was interesting to wait for Meg in the arrivals hall. We saw a lot of stories in action. The cutest one involved a little girl with a rainbow painted on her forehead. She held a sign that read “Hallo Papi.” When her Papi finally showed up, she ran to him and he swept her up in an embraced, then kissed her mother. It was so sweet to watch!
I also watched a dog reunite with a man who must have been her favorite person. He came into the arrivals hall, arms outstretched, and she ran to him, showered him with kisses, and then greeted everyone else in their party. Then the whole group left the airport with great joy among them. I think if you need a pickmeup, hanging out in an arrivals hall could be an interesting pastime.
Anyway, back to Charlie’s arrival home. We think he and Noyzi will co-exist nicely. Noyzi is kind of a loner, and he spends a lot of time in his “bedroom”, which is also our entertainment room. But he likes other dogs, and doesn’t seem to be the jealous type, as Arran was. Noyzi is the biggest dog we’ve ever had, while Charlie is the smallest! They look like Rocky and Bullwinkle! Charlie also has hind dew claws. We’ve never had a dog with those before, either.
He’s got dew claws on all four legs!
When we got Charlie home, I called Noyzi down from his room to go outside. We brought Charlie out to the yard, only letting him out of the kennel when Noyzi was there to meet him. They touched noses, sniffed butts, and Charlie went around to inspect his new surroundings. He was definitely a lot less nervous than Noyzi was when we brought him home in 2020! He was delighted to meet all of us, and very quickly made himself at home.
As I write this, he’s sleeping on the rug behind me. He’s learned to go up and down the stairs, marked a few things in the house, and slept in a bed with his foster dad’s shirt on it. After I finish this post, we’ll take our first walk around the neighborhood. I have a feeling he’s going to charm a lot of people, because he’s got such a sweet, sunny personality. It almost feels like Zane and Arran are both visiting us through Charlie.
Noyzi doesn’t seem bothered by Charlie. The two of them almost had a play session last night, although I think Noyzi might be dealing with a slight case of arthritis. He’s been slightly gimpy lately until his joints warm up.
Below are some of the best photos from yesterday.
So far, Charlie seems very happy to be in Germany. He’s been through some tough trials. There’s a scar on his back from when he was a tiny puppy. Two girls found him and begged Meg to save him. Meg has told me she thought someone had tried to kill Charlie when he was a puppy. Charlie somehow survived, in spite of that person’s cruel efforts to end his life. Obviously he was meant to be here.
I said this when we took in Noyzi… who by all rights should have died on the streets of Pristina. Imagine the odds that a dog from the streets of Kosovo would end up living with Americans in Germany! And yet, here they both are… living with Americans in Germany. Both of them have done what may have seemed truly impossible. I guess their story is a life lesson we can all learn.
Here’s a video of the experience so far…
A video of Charlie’s arrival to Germany from Kosovo!
I just took them on their first walk. They did fine together. Charlie will be one of the locals in no time!
We had a very low key Independence Day this year, because I had my very first colonoscopy this week. Those who are interested in knowing the story of that can click here. For the purposes of this post, I’ll just say that I’m glad it’s over, and the doctor didn’t find anything concerning. However, he has yet to address the reason I came to see him in the first place. He also started the procedure before I was unconscious. I’m a bit pissed off about that, along with some other issues going on right now.
Anyway, I started the week doing the bowel prep, then I had the procedure, and the days following were spent recovering from the shock of it. Bill had to work on Wednesday, although he took Tuesday off to make sure I went to the appointment and drive me home afterwards. Actually, I could have driven myself, because they used Propofol to knock me out, and it didn’t leave me groggy at all. It even said on the paperwork I could drive home if I wanted. I never drive, though, unless I have a specific reason.
Thursday, Bill was off work, so we went to the weekly market. We brought Noyzi with us, too, since it was early in the day and he likes to go to the market. It’s good practice for him to learn how to behave in public. There weren’t that many people at the market, nor did they have a lot on offer. The vegetable guys weren’t there, nor was the fish monger. The Metzgerei truck came, as did the ice cream, bread, and Mediterranean Feinkost guys. The wine stand was also open.
We had a couple of glasses of local wines and enjoyed the sunshine. Noyzi said hello to a couple of dogs who also came. Basically, that was it. I did hear some fireworks going off from the post. We live maybe ten minutes from there. We also heard from the lady who is having us rescue another Kosovar dog. What we know now is that it’s been delayed again. But that’s okay. We’re not in a rush.
Yesterday, it was kind of chilly and cloudy, but I decided to take some pictures of the creek in our village. I remember thinking to myself, as someone who has lived in Germany for a long time now, that a person can get used to their environs and miss the really neat stuff. We have a couple of interesting old houses in the Dorfplatz that I know I’d miss if I lived in one of the many cookie cutter neighborhoods in the United States. I think the purple flowers were what attracted me and caused me to take these photos, in spite of the clouds… I’d like to live near the creek. I enjoy the sound of rushing water… except for when I have to pee.
My German friend says the historic house in the featured photo looks like an old schoolhouse. She looked up our village and learned that it was, in fact, built by a teacher and is known as the teacher’s house called Villa Breckenheim. It’s right by the creek.
Bill has been in contact with the tour operator in Iceland. I think we’re close to booking, my health issues notwithstanding. I feel like fucking off of the doctor’s visits and just living life until I just collapse somewhere. What’s the point? I feel like it’s all just going to hell, anyway. But at least I live in a pretty German village.
My update on our upcoming travel plans is… currently, we don’t have any!
There are a number of issues that are preventing us from making summer travel plans in 2024. The first one, and the most annoying one, is that once again, our Hund Pension is not answering the phone or email. This has happened before. They had issues with their phone system. I’m not sure if that’s the problem now, but it’s made planning travel impossible. I’m disappointed, too, because Memorial Day is coming up and we were hoping to get away.
The second issue is that we are expecting to bring a new dog into our home. Like Noyzi, this dog, name of Charlie, is from Kosovo. Noyzi and Charlie actually knew each other when Noyzi lived down there. Charlie has to travel to Germany, though, and that has been a trick to arrange. He might be up here next month. Perhaps it will even be in time for my birthday. We’ll see. But we want to make sure we’re here when he finally arrives. Then, once he gets here, he’s going to need some time to get used to us and settle in.
And the third issue is that I am finally– after 14 years– planning to see a doctor. I’ve been having some issues with my stomach for quite some time and I’m finally going to get the issue evaluated. I know some people think that’s crazy, especially since I have a background in healthcare. But the fact that I have a healthcare background is one reason why I have been dragging my feet on going. I hate dealing with doctors with a fiery passion… and because I have a tendency to struggle with depression, I get apathetic about life.
The doctor I’m planning to see is a local gastroenterologist… so that should be an intriguing experience for me. Bill has been to some German doctors. This will be my first. I suspect he will want to do some tests that will cause my anxiety levels to go off the charts. I suppose I’ll do what he suggests, if it means my stomach will stop cramping my style. That way, I can enjoy traveling again. Maybe it will help me get my voice back to normal, too.
Anyway, that will happen next month, and depending what the problem is, it could mean I’ll be busy with other stuff this summer. I have a feeling I might end up having surgery. Hopefully, I’m wrong. The upside is, I can write about the experiences here. I’m sure some people will be interested. I know people love reading about our nude spa experiences. 😉
We still have hopes of going to Iceland this year. That was planned for the fall. I hope to go to Spain, too, although maybe not until after the summer ends. I just hope the Hund pension picks up the phone, soon. Otherwise, we might have to go back to finding dog friendly pensions. I would rather not do that, since Noyzi is so big. On the other hand, he’s a good traveler, and doesn’t make as much noise as Zane and Arran did.
Although the weather warmed up a lot this week, we had a pretty nasty storm on Thursday night that cooled everything down again. I wasn’t sure if Bill and I were going to want to go to the wine stand last night, because the weather was still kind of iffy. But, as the afternoon wore on, the temperature went up, and the sun sort of peeked out again. Bill and I decided at the last minute that Noyzi would be joining us at the wine stand.
I know a lot of Americans have a hard time grasping why anyone would want to take their dog anywhere public. Or, at least that’s the impression I got on a recent social media post, during which I got shamed for admitting that we take Noyzi out sometimes. Here in Germany, it’s a normal thing to take your dog with you, especially if the event is outdoors. Noyzi does get nervous in new situations, but it’s good for him to be exposed to other people, dogs, sights, and sounds. It helps him become a better canine citizen.
Besides, he’s a great ice breaker. Germans seem to love him. And really, what is NOT to love about this dog? He’s very charming in every way. 😉 And he’s obviously very comfortable in this environment, especially when he’s in his bed.
Before we went to the wine stand, Noyzi took a very deep nap… An hour later, he was up, and we took our walk past the crazy creek! Lots of rain has made it run very high.
We got the wine stand at a little bit past six o’clock. At first, Noyzi was a bit nervous. He hasn’t been in public in awhile. They also just added a book schrank to the Dorfplatz, which he had never seen before. When a boy opened it to retrieve a book, Noyzi was very startled by the sound and the sight. Bill took him over to check it out, and after that, it wasn’t so scary to him anymore.
After about 45 minutes or so, a couple of locals came over to say hello to Noyzi. He was a little timid at first, but quickly warmed up. It’s amazing to see how much he really loves people and wants to be friendly. There was a time when he was petrified of men. Now, after the briefest hesitation, he wags his tail and eagerly says hello. He also loves Bill now, and begs him for belly rubs every night when Bill comes home from work. I’m still the queen bee, though, and he listens to me a lot better than he does Bill.
I got a few photos of last night’s festivities. They aren’t super exciting shots, but we did have a really good time. Breckenheim is such a friendly town, and people are very social. That’s probably why the photos aren’t that exciting. We were too busy chatting.
Noyzi was shedding even more than usual last night, so he got a bath this morning. I don’t know what we’ll do today. The weather is a bit overcast, but it’s not super hot outside. Maybe we’ll go to a Biergarten or something. Noyzi would love that.
We ran into our neighbor on the way home. She’d asked me earlier if I’d ever heard of a Texas seasoning sauce called Dale’s. I hadn’t… but I said I’d asked Bill. When I found it listed on Amazon, I decided to order some. I told her we’d hook her up. It’s a good way to keep neighbor relations healthy. She mostly talks to us when she wants American products… but as long as it keeps the peace, it’s not a big deal.
Last night, I told Bill I wanted to go to the weekly market. We hadn’t been in a long time, and I was thinking I’d like to see if the Metzgerei from Mainz that usually attends had any interesting looking cold cuts. Originally I wanted Bill to go down there by himself, but he asked me to go with him. So I put on some warm clothes (it’s still pretty cold here) and walked down there with him.
We left Noyzi at home, because I didn’t want him to run into that jackass who swatted at him last year. I didn’t see him there last night, but there were several dogs. Maybe it was better that we didn’t bring Noyzi, because although he’s very sweet and friendly, he does get excited when he sees other dogs. There might be a wine stand tonight. If there is, and we attend, maybe he can go to that. He does love the wine stands.
We ended up buying some very heavy bread, fresh asparagus and tomatoes, and several kinds of cold cuts. Then we decided to have a glass of wine. Bill actually hadn’t wanted to, because he had an online appointment with his Jungian therapist. But I live for wine in the Dorfplatz… so we had one, and then our landlord showed up and we hung out with him for an hour. He bought us another round of wine. His wife later joined us. I was reminded, yet again, why we really like Breckenheim and living up here in Wiesbaden. People are very friendly, especially for Germans. 😉 But maybe that’s because my first experiences living in Germany were in Swabia.
Below are a few photos. I wish I’d gotten one of a dog we saw on our way back up the hill. He looked just like his owner, complete with mustache! Both dog and owner seemed very friendly. I would have liked to have talked to them, but Bill was in a hurry.
This dog was such a sweetheart.
I love that we can just walk down the hill from our house every Thursday and buy fresh food. Then afterwards, we can have some wine and hang out with the locals. Maybe things have changed in the United States, but I don’t remember ever being able to do this with ease back home. And it’s so nice to have landlords who are also really good neighbors.
Featured photo is of the only trees around us now…
This morning, Bill and I were roused out of bed by Noyzi, the Kosovar wonder pup. We fed him, ate breakfast, and took down all the Christmas decorations. It took a couple of hours to get everything taken down and packed away until next year. I took the opportunity to run the vacuum in the basement, which I rarely do. Bill’s mom is coming to visit us in early February, and the basement is where our guest room is.
Because Bill’s mom is coming to Germany to see us, we’re thinking about taking a short trip during her visit. This is something we usually do when she visits. In December 2017, we went to Berlin with her. In January 2020, we took her to Alsace, in France. When she visited us in the summer of 2009, we took her to Oberstaufen, a mountain resort area in Bavaria, where we proceeded to take a day trip to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, which eventually turned into an overnight odyssey when we got trapped in Italy.
I have a few places in mind for this year’s trip. One place I would like to visit is Bamberg, which is a really cool looking beer town in Bavaria. I’d also like to go to Freiburg, which is a city near the borders with France and Switzerland. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is also a good bet, as it’s a beautiful Alpine town with lots to do. On the other hand, we like to get out of Germany when we can.
I found this somewhere on the Internet… if it’s yours and you want me to remove it, drop me a comment.
Bill is grocery shopping right now, because he has to leave town on business tomorrow. When he gets back, we’ll probably make a decision about where we’ll go, if we can book Noyzi at the Hundepension. I doubt it’ll be a problem, since it won’t be a holiday week. I’d be all for taking him with us, but he takes up the whole back end of the car, and we’ll need that space for luggage. Besides, Noyzi loves going to the Hundepension. It’s a chance for him to play with other dogs. This will probably be his last time going there alone, since we’re planning to take in one of his Kosovar buddies from back in the day in March or so…
My German friend says we should save Freiburg for the spring or summer. She’s from Frieburg, so her advice is probably spot on. We’ll probably end up going to Bamberg… but I need to think about it some more. This is a good opportunity to see another German town we’ve been meaning to see since 2014 or so… but it’s also a good chance to visit somewhere else. We’ll see. Hopefully, COVID won’t mess anything up. I have heard that cases are on the rise.
Time to haul out the champagne bucket again… Or maybe we’ll just stay here and do day trips.
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