Tag Archives: German lifestyle

German lifestyle, Hessen, markets

A rare weekly market rendezvous…

Bill took the day off of work today. Our dog, Noyzi, needed some blood work done, and it was going to take a few hours. So, rather than come and go at work, or task me with the job of taking him, Bill stayed home. We did some boring housework, which you can read about on my main blog.

While Bill was at the vet’s, he ran into our neighbor, the veterinarian who owns the practice where we take our dogs. He immediately recognized Noyzi and gave him a pat. Sadly, Bill happened to be there as a family was saying goodbye to a much beloved family member. We lost our dogs, Zane and Arran, here. In fact, Zane’s anniversary is coming up on the 31st. 🕯️ I’m sending warm thoughts to that family. It’s so hard to say goodbye.

It was hard for Charlie to say goodbye to Bill and Noyzi; that’s for sure! He was really upset at being left home with me. He cried, barked, and stayed in the foyer, waiting for them to come back. However, unlike Noyzi, Charlie doesn’t like car rides, and he hates the vet. I think he got the better end of the deal. Noyzi wasn’t thrilled to be at the vet’s today! But he did get a treat.

One unexpected thing that happened today is that I ended up ordering a new steam mop. The one I bought in late 2018, when we were fixing to move from Baden-Württemberg, seems to have bit the dust. It started to heat up, as usual, and then just kind of died. It didn’t die all of the way, mind you. The little green power light was on, and I could feel the electrics trying to heat up. But it just never got there.

I got tired of waiting for our old mop to try to heat up, and broke out the Tineco wet vacuum I bought a few years ago. I cleaned the floors with that. It does do a good job. But I still like having a lighter, less cumbersome steam mop for upstairs. So I ordered one from Paris that will probably get to me in a few days.

Then, after all of that stuff was done, we decided to go to the weekly market in our village. It just started up again after a brief summer pause.

I love the weekly market. One can purchase deli meats and cheeses, fresh breads, fresh vegetables, Middle Eastern goodies, and wine… The ice cream man also comes with his goodies. He has a good sense of humor, speaks English, and offers delicious ice creams. I think he gets a kick out of us, because when we first met him several weeks ago, we said we were hiding out in Germany.

Bill bought some cold cuts and cheeses from a Tyrolean farmer’s market seller. They had a nice conversation in English and German. An older gent asked us if we were British. We told them we’re American. I was flattered that it wasn’t obvious, in spite of my profane t-shirt…

Look carefully. I should probably buy another one.

We also bought a kilo of plums from the fruits and vegetables vendor. We would have bought bread, but the guy was busy, and Bill has an appointment with his Jungian analyst today. So we had some wine and ice cream from the friendly vendor…

As we were enjoying the low key weekly market, which the city manager attended, I was thinking about how lucky we are to live here. People around here mostly know us, but even the ones who don’t are very nice.

The Metzgerei vendor asked if we were new, because he’d never seen us before. I think he’s different from the folks who used to come. We said we weren’t. He kind of good-naturedly ribbed Bill for his attempts at German, then sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, when he heard that I’m from Virginia. Of course, Virginia is NOT West Virginia… but that’s okay. It’s a great song. Besides, Bill Danoff, who mostly wrote that song, had not been to West Virginia when he wrote it. The song was actually inspired by drives in Maryland. Germans love it, though. Who wouldn’t love Germanic John Denver’s beautiful tenor voice?

Another elderly gent asked if we were Brits. We said no, we’re American. Bill told him where we live, and he said, “Please come back.”

I did notice that the weekly market seemed a bit sparse… but that might be because it’s August, and people tend to vacation in August. Also, they host it during working hours. It’s hard to go to the market when one doesn’t leave work until an hour before the market closes. But I guess the people who run it sell their wares at bigger markets on weekends, and no one wants to be hanging out on a town square during the dinner hour.

We also saw our old neighbor, Daniel, who stopped to pick up some vegetables. Daniel moved to a smaller, cheaper place following his divorce. He’s a very nice guy. We miss having him near, but it was nice to see him today.

Anyway… I do love our little village, and I’m grateful that we get to live here. We were very lucky, because this was the last house we toured when we were looking, and it popped up the day before we were heading back to Jettingen, back in November 2018, having come up here to look for a place to live. I suspect we were the only ones to tour it when it came up, and you’re damned right we snapped it up quickly. It’s been a GREAT place to live… both in terms of the house, and the town.

Below are a few photos from today.

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Celebrations, German lifestyle, Hessen

Dorfplatzfest 2026…

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!

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