Tag Archives: farms

Hofheim, Sundays

Noyzi makes a new human friend at the Birkenhof Hofladen’s Bembelschänke…

Yesterday, Bill was supposed to Skype with his mom. He didn’t do it, because I complained to him that I wanted to go out and do something on Saturday. And yet, we didn’t end up going anywhere yesterday… it was hot and muggy, and nothing was appealing.

Today was different. It was hot and muggy today, but we decided we wanted to go out, anyway. The Birkenhof Hofladen has a 24 hour fridge that people can buy produce from. They also have a Biergarten called the Bembelschänke, which is a really nice venue for drinking beer, eating pretzels, and pondering life. It’s a dog friendly place, so Noyzi came with us. Boy did he have fun! A Bembel, by the way, is a pottery wine pitcher found in these parts. This is German wine country, after all.

When we arrived at the cornfield, we walked Noyzi toward the entrance, where we were promptly greeted by a gorgeous dog who obviously lived at the farm. I think he might have been a “Swissy”. He was very much “Johnny on the spot” when we arrived, meeting us at the gate, and checking out Noyzi with his hackles raised. Noyzi, of course, just wanted to play.

The lady of the farm came out and claimed her dog, whom she said was two years old. She yelled at him to sit and he ignored her the first couple of times before he complied. He and Noyzi traded a couple more sniffs, then parted company as she took him inside.

Bill and I chose a shady spot in the Biergarten, which wasn’t very crowded at all. We ordered a couple of beers– an amber for him, and a weizen for me. Noyzi was nervous, but he eventually calmed down a bit as we enjoyed a “cheese bread” plate for Bill, and Spundekäs with a pretzel for me. I was impressed by how beautifully the food was presented.

The Bembelschänke offers a variety of beverages– wines, beers, soft drinks, and non alcoholic juices. I was actually really tempted by the lemonade, which looked very refreshing. The food choices are somewhat limited to snacks, but that’s okay. After you enjoy a round or two, you can visit the 24 hour fridge and load up on farm fresh goodies. I took a video for Bill’s daughter. She’s never had a chance to live abroad.

A little about what’s available…

As we were finishing up our second round, the lady of the farm came over with a big bowl of water for Noyzi. I could tell she was a bit smitten by him. I think the feeling was mutual, as he went right over to her and gave her a snuggle. I was glad to see him so comfortable with someone he doesn’t live with 24/7. Noyzi really likes women, and he’s come such a long way from the scared pooch he was in 2020, when we first brought him home from Kosovo. He was very well behaved at the Biergarten, aside from taking a little while to settle down. I think if we go back, we’ll be welcomed warmly… especially by Noyzi’s new friend.

One of the young waitresses said, when she saw Noyzi, “Mein Herz.” Or something to that effect. The lady of the farm said he was very “Hübsch”. It was clear that he made a very good impression. I do love my beagles, but I’ve got to admit that Noyzi the street dog sure is better behaved and easier on most levels. He works very hard not to offend, and he mostly succeeds.

Anyway, we were very proud of him. It was a hot, but lovely, afternoon. The mood at the Biergarten was perfect– not too busy and very warm and welcoming. I hope we can do it again soon. And the bonus is, we scored some nice goodies for home!

Below are some photos…

Corn is growing all over the farm!
Cheese and bread for Bill.
Love this!
We brought home some jams, eggs, wurst, and mountain cheese for Bill.
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A beautiful afternoon in Wiesbaden, preparing for our vacation!

We had beautiful weather in Wiesbaden yesterday, which was great, since it was Saturday. Bill wanted to visit the ADAC office downtown to pick up a vignette for Switzerland. I’ve written a few times about the vignette system that many European countries use to help pay for their high speed roads.

Some countries, like France and Italy, use tolls. Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, among other countries, use “vignettes”, which are stickers one can buy at gas stations near borders, at ADAC, via mail order, or at the borders themselves, that entitle a person to drive on the roads. Swiss vignettes are unique in that they’re good for about fourteen months at a time, if you time it right. You can buy the vignette for the following year in the late fall– say late 2021– and it remains valid until the end of January 2023. But we didn’t buy our vignette at the end of last year, since we haven’t been in Switzerland since last summer.

When we go to a place that requires a vignette, Bill will usually get it ahead of time at ADAC. This also gave us a reason to go into town and have lunch. Wiesbaden was alive with people yesterday, folks enjoying the sun, running last minute errands before Easter, and just having a good time. Wiesbaden is so festive, especially at this time of year. I especially love the buskers– guys playing songs on guitar like “Ev’ry Rose Has its Thorn” (which I hated when it was popular) and guys playing “La Vie en Rose” on the accordion, which is a lot more European.

The weekend market was in full swing. I thought about doing some browsing, but then remembered that we’ll be going away soon. So instead of buying stuff, we just looked and I took some photos. Every time I start to think that living in Europe is getting too inconvenient, I’m reminded of why I love living over here. There’s always something going on, especially in a pretty, vibrant town like Wiesbaden.

I was planning to find us a nice place to eat lunch, but we ended up at Five Guys! Why go to Five Guys when we could have gone to any number of other places? Well, it was getting close to 2:00pm, which is when a lot of restaurants stop lunch service. Five Guys is quick and the restaurant was not busy. It had also been awhile since our last visit. I noticed that this week, even fewer people were wearing masks, although some folks were still abiding by the recently dropped COVID-19 rules. Five Guys still has the plastic barriers up around its booths, which I figure they’ll keep from now on, in case the rules come back… which they probably eventually will.

After lunch, we decided to go back to the Market Square and have a glass of wine as we watched the weekend market shut down. Below are a few photos from our day. After we were finished in Wiesbaden, we came back to home, stopping by a nearby Hofladen for some eggs for today’s Easter breakfast.

The farm has a little shack where you can pick up what you need and pay on your honor. I love that about Germany. We don’t have as many farms up here, as we did in Jettingen. This one is very close to our home in Breckenheim.

Near ADAC. I like this street.
Travel bureau.
This looks safe.
I remember when there was a line out the door.
Not bad every once in awhile.
Piano…
BW has Biergartens. Wiesbaden has wine stands.
Support for Ukraine is everywhere.
Daisies.
Bill self serves.
They had slim pickin’s yesterday.
Fresh asparagus and strawberries.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday… and if you celebrate Easter, I hope it’s a joyous celebration. I plan to finish my puzzle and read. Sounds like a usual day!

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Farm Fresh Too…

A couple of months ago, when we tried and failed to adopt a dog, I joined a bunch of local Facebook groups. My purpose for joining was to spread the word about the dog we tried to adopt who escaped from his pet transport taxi driver and later got hit and killed by a car on the Autobahn. Well… now we’re waiting on another dog to join our family in a few months, but I’m still a member of the groups I joined when we were frantically trying to recover the one who got away.

As a fortunate consequence of joining the local Facebook groups, I’m starting to learn about stuff in the area that I never knew about. One place that came on my radar is the Birkenhof Hofheim, which is a farm that offers fresh produce as well as a 24/7 refrigerator where one can purchase fresh food. Germany is wonderful about making fresh food available at relatively affordable prices. Although there don’t seem to be quite as many farms up here near Frankfurt as there were near Stuttgart, they do exist if you look.

Our last home, in Jettingen in Baden-Württemberg, was near several farms. I wrote about our first experience shopping at the farms a few years ago. Up here in Breckenheim, we’re not as close to so many farms, since it’s a more industrialized area. Still, at this time of year– smack dab in the middle of “Spargel (asparagus) season”, there are plenty of stands selling strawberries, blueberries, and all sorts of other delicious produce.

Thanks to the pandemic, the Birkenhof Hofheim isn’t fully open until May 29th. Under normal circumstances, the farm offers fresh delights that can be served at a table. They also have fun activities for kids. When the farm opens up again, special rules will have to be followed– masks worn when using the toilet and everyone has to provide contact information in case someone gets sick and you have to be notified. After three or four weeks, they discard the information.

I was happy enough to get out for a little while today and get some photos… as well as some farm fresh treats for our table at home. They had everything from corn cobs and charcoal for your grill to milk, flour, and eggs. There was paper and a pen for tallying up the cost of your goods, all of which were clearly priced. They had bags for packing your stuff, and a money box for you to put your cash. The whole thing is secured by cameras, so don’t think of taking anything without paying. We bought about 21 euros worth of stuff.

Lots of awards!
The little self-service shop…
The fridge is available 24/7 and has a lot of useful stuff.
We bought some strawberries, cheese, butter, apple juice, and blueberries.
We have a gas grill, though.
Soon, people will be able to have some cheese and fruit at the farm…
And ice cream, too. But proper social distancing measures must be followed.
A common sight in wine country.
Nice place!

This trip was also handy because it turns out the farm is very close to the Tierklinik Hofheim, which our former vet in Herrenberg (near Stuttgart) says is one of the best veterinary hospitals in Germany. When Zane was having his first issues with mast cell cancer, the vet down there was telling me about this clinic and how she could refer us there if need be. I remember looking it up and thinking it was so far away. Little did I know, we’d eventually be living about twenty minutes away. So now I kind of know where it is, in case I have to take Arran or our next dog there sometime.

It was nice to get out of the house… only the third time since March! I’m getting braver. We’ll definitely be back to the Birkenhof Hofheim for more fresh treats soon! I love visiting the farms and am glad to find one up here near Frankfurt, the only German city with lots of skyscrapers.

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Farm fresh!

A lot of folks like to live close to the big city, where restaurants, shopping, and night life are plentiful.  Bill and I are big fans of country living.  We like wide open spaces, peace and quiet, and beautiful views.  Another benefit to living outside of the city is the availability of excellent local produce.  We have the good fortune of living near several farms, many of which sell fresh milk, eggs, and vegetables.  Today, we decided to stop by a couple of farms to see how self serve shopping at farms works.

I almost wish I liked carving jack o’ lanterns.

If you’ve spent any time in Germany, you have no doubt seen the self service fields where you can cut your own flowers or buy a pumpkin.  The self serve farms are no different.  Our first stop was at a farm where eggs, onions, and potatoes are consistently offered.  Right now, they’re also selling lots of pumpkins and other gourds!

Pumpkins!

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the pretty landscape.  Our house is within walking distance, though we brought the car.

 

I was surprised by how many people pulled up while we were checking out the goods.  This particular farm just had a little room with stuff on the shelves.  You’re on your honor to pay the self serve cash box (Kasse).

We bought eggs, an onion, and a big bag of potatoes.  The eggs, by the way, have not been subjected to the egg wash that American eggs get.  Therefore, there is no need to refrigerate them as we would in the USA.  They are shelf stable until mid November.

Grand total– five euros and forty cents.

Potatoes!  We’ll be set for awhile.

They always have eggs, potatoes, and onions, as well as other items when they are in season.  I noticed they had carrots, garlic, and a big leek on offer today. 

It helps to bring your own bag.

This farm also has a flower field where you can score sunflowers or other flowers. 

 

Next, we went to another farm where one can purchase fresh, ice cold, raw milk 24/7.  We had a glass bottle from another trip to the machine in town (where the milk is pasteurized).  Bill ran our bottle through the dishwasher so it would be nice and sterile.

Truth in advertising.  No need to ever go without milk because you can get it 24/7 here.  

But if we had needed to, we could have purchased a bottle at the farm.  A liter of raw milk costs a euro.  We will boil it before we drink it.

 

Bill buys raw milk and lentils from vending machines.  Edited to add: a German friend says we should take care to make sure the lentils are free of stones before we eat them.

This farm was also selling lots of pumpkins and squash. 

 

We decided to go into town to see what was being sold at the vending machine on the main drag.  This machine sells pasteurized milk, noodles, lentils, apple juice, and potatoes.

We decided to get some lentils.  On the way home, I spotted another vending machine that Bill had never noticed.  We didn’t check it out,because it looked like it might be low on products.

Our haul today.  We spent 11,40 euros.

 

We don’t do farm shopping nearly as often as we should.  I think now that we’ve done it today, we will do it a lot more often.  I feel good about supporting the local economy and I know we’re getting excellent products.  Better yet, now I know vending machines aren’t just for candy and soda anymore.

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