Baden-Württemberg, short breaks, YouTube

A winter break in Waiblingen… Dinner at Bachofer! (part three)

Featured photo was my favorite of the courses we enjoyed at Bachofer.

One of the reasons I chose to book at Bachofer is because of their restaurant, which has a Michelin star. Bill is more interested in the Michelin distinction than I am. My tastes tend to be more boring than his are. But, I always aim to please Bill when I look for places to visit, and I knew he’d appreciate the Asian inspired cuisine at Bachofer. It was easy to reserve a table there on the OpenTable app, which is also a plus. I would highly recommend reserving if you are inspired to dine at Bachofer, as the restaurant seats just 45 people and there is room for only ten people at the bar. It’s a popular place, and they had a full house on a Wednesday night in January!

We enjoyed a nice booth by the front door, and I could hear some of the music on the sound system. I immediately recognized one instrumental that gets used a lot in YouTuber Trek Trendy’s luxury travel videos. 😉 I know not everyone knows who Trek Trendy is, and I’ll be honest, I find him pretty annoying (he obviously channels the late Robin Leach)… But I’ve seen a bunch of his travel videos, and he uses the same music in most of them. So I did have a chuckle when I heard one of his background music choices at Bachofer.

We were immediately offered the house aperitif, which we got gratis, because we were hotel guests. The wait staff also brought out wasabi nuts and regular nuts. On Wednesday night, the staff was pushing the restaurant’s tasting menu, which is up to eight courses. There is also an a la carte menu available, but we decided to have six courses with a wine pairing. For the most part, I liked the tasting menu fine, although there were a few little hiccups and one big offensive BELCH at the end of the service. I’ll get to that in a minute, though. First, here are a few preliminary photos…

I was a little surprised by the wasabi nuts. While I don’t mind them at all, it does seem a little beneath a restaurant with a Michelin star. But then, what do I know? I did enjoy the aperitif, which was very refreshing.

At Bachofer, they put up a little stand on your table, and with each course, they present a little card that lists what you’re eating. I mostly liked that touch, although there were a couple of bungles during our service. I mentioned we ordered six courses, but we actually got seven. There were a couple of times when the wrong card was brought out for the wrong wine. I had mentioned that I didn’t want anything with mushrooms or truffles, but as you will find out, that got a little messed up as service went on. I actually skipped a couple of courses because one had actual mushrooms in it, and one just looked alarmingly like a mushroom (but actually wasn’t). Below are photos of the amuse, which I did really enjoy. Especially the soup!

And below are photos with the rest of the impressive meal, which was mostly fish based. The wine pairings were interesting, and I appreciated that the sommelier (same guy who checked us into our room) offered some information about each wine. Most of the wines were whites, though there was one red and one course that featured Japanese beer. And again, a couple of times, cards were presented for courses we didn’t have.

*This was the bread course, which included picked vegetables and pastrami.*

I was sorry not to be able to try the beef, and I don’t know why they brought it out, since I told them I didn’t want fungus. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, we actually ordered six courses, but we ended up with seven… But then came the biggest surprise of the night… Dessert!

Dessert was a two part affair. The first part, which involved fruit and sorbet, was fine for me… I also enjoyed the Zen garden. But then came the second part, which I didn’t eat. As you can see, it’s a mushroom! And, as someone who has a phobia of mushrooms, this was pretty horrifying for me. I truly do appreciate the creative and artistic merit of the Matsutake styled dessert “mushroom”, but I couldn’t eat it. They might as well have presented me with a cake fashioned like a human baby. Bill ate my portion and said the top was chocolate mousse, but the stalk was kind of savory and “mustardy”, which sounds very strange to me.

It was no big deal. I was plenty full and didn’t need the extra calories, and of course they didn’t know about my phobia, so I can’t hold them responsible for that. But it was a little bit disappointing to be served a “mushroom” at the end of the meal, because as you might know, I love desserts… if only because desserts are usually about 99 percent guaranteed to be fungus free! Maybe I could get therapy for this “problem”, but at 53 years of age, I figure it’s a lost cause. Besides, it kind of makes me more of an interesting person. On the other hand, it’s also something insensitive clods tend to find hilarious. 🙄

Our dinner at Bachofer was around 400 euros or so… once we included the tip. It was mostly worth it. The fish courses were especially nice, as they were extremely fresh, and the flavors were exciting. I can certainly see why Bachofer has merited a Michelin star. However, I do think the service left some room for improvement. If we eat there again, perhaps we’ll try ordering from the menu, so I might avoid being traumatized. 🤭

We got back to the room at about 11:00 PM, which was a late night or us. It was a good thing we didn’t have to travel far from the restaurant! Next, I’ll write about Thursday’s visit to Stuttgart. Stay tuned!

Baden-Württemberg, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… First impressions of a charming town! (part two)

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!

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…

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!

German lifestyle, holidays

Happy New Year– 2026!

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!

Hessen, holidays

Christmas 2025… one for the ages!

Happy Boxing Day, everybody. Bill has gone off to work today, and I’m sitting here tying up loose ends from our Christmas celebration. It was actually a pretty good day for us. The weather was appropriately bitterly cold, so we got to light a fire, which we kept going for most of the day. We got lots of cool stuff, mostly for the kitchen. I got a new banjo, which was a bucket list item for me, ever since I was a child. Bill says there’s more stuff coming; unfortunately, he ordered from a place that is shipping from China. 😬

Our morning started off with Eggs Benedict, excellent Peet’s Big Bang coffee, and orange juice…

Then, after I started our fire going and turned on some Christmas music, we sat down to open the presents. As usual, I bought most of them, so Bill did most of the unwrapping. I got lots of photos of that…

We got some cool Italian designed kitchen and dining gadgets, several new cookbooks featuring cuisine from Turkey, the Baltic countries, and the Caucasus countries, a new coffeemaker and a new blender, tarot cards, glasses and glass drinking straws, and a couple of Jungian books for Bill… I got him two new Alpa sweaters from Finland, and sweater soap, a new pen and Moleskine writing pad, a new bread knife, Chemex carafe, and mixing bowls, bags for the sous vide, food storage containers, and ginger jam… Charlie was there to supervise, while Noyzi stayed in his “room” upstairs.

*This is a really interesting looking book about our favorite chocolatier!*

And then came the most exciting gift of all…

Bill ordered a bluegrass banjo from Ireland. It came from McNeela, the same company that made the bodhran drum Bill got me last year at Christmas. I am very impressed with the quality. It was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be, which is why Bill is holding it in the photo! I’ve always been fascinated by banjos, and have always wanted to learn how to play one… So we’ll see how it goes. I’m still working on my guitar(s), after all!

*I had to do a little rearranging of my “studio” to accommodate the new banjo. And now I have space for two more instruments!*

Below are a couple more photos of noteworthy Christmas gifts. I was particularly amused by the Eggsecutor, a handy device used to open boiled eggs. I loved the witty description of it on the box! Bill said it was kind of like a guillotine for eggs!

All in all, it was a pleasant holiday celebration for us… and I managed to capture a few moments on video…

My laugh is annoying… sorry! Maybe my mother-in-law will watch this.

And then for dinner, Bill cooked duck legs, roasted potatoes, and green beans, fresh baked bread, Italian red wine, and brownies and ice cream for dessert…

Man… how did I get so lucky? My husband is an absolute KEEPER. He’s a great cook and bartender, and a wonderful lover and friend!

Below is a photo of this morning’s breakfast. Bill made the bread, and “eggsecuted” the egg with our new gadget! At the end of the above video, you can see how it works!

We’ve got one more week to go before this annus horribilus is finally over… But I am grateful that I get to spend this time with my dearest friend and husband, Bill, who always makes me smile and lets me live life in high style. 😘

I hope those of you who have taken the time to read this also had a great holiday! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

German lifestyle, Hessen

2025 Wiesbaden Christmas Market photo dump!

Yesterday afternoon, it was cloudy and damp, and the skies were kind of dark. I wasn’t really in the mood to venture out, but changed my mind when I realized that it had been ages since I last left our neighborhood. I had considered going to the Globus, but realized how huge and overwhelming that place is, even when it’s not days before Christmas. I thought about going to AAFES to pick up some skin cream, but Bill also mentioned going to the commissary to buy groceries, which I really didn’t feel like doing.

So, although the Wiesbaden Christmas Market pretty much looks the same every year, we decided we’d go there and get some photos… We did that, and also visited BrewDog for a late afternoon lunch. Below are some photos from our outing. The sandwiches we had at BrewDog were good, but I see that I didn’t even take photos of them, which is a rare thing for me!

I wore a heavy coat, which I didn’t need to do. I thought it was colder than it was, because there was a stiff breeze at our house in Breckenheim. But, as you can see in the photos above, there were people who wore short sleeves and shorts. One guy, which I got a photo of, even took off his shirt. I noticed him making a hasty exit as a group of stern looking Polizei got close.

I’m glad we went to the Christmas market. It was very pretty, especially when it got dark outside at around 4:30PM. I saw a lot of nice looking things– some of which were very cute and creative– and I might have been interested in buying some of them, but it’s hard for me to shop when there are hordes of people around. I guess the grandchildren will get an Epiphany box, instead of a Christmas box. But Bill already sent a box of stuff we picked up on our latest travels, so they’ll have something to unwrap on Christmas day.

We might end up going to AAFES today… Lord, give me strength. I would like to go to Globus, too, but it’s Sunday… Maybe next weekend, when it’s sale time. The market was crowded yesterday, but I’ve seen it worse. At least we didn’t have to hunt too long for a parking spot.

Hessen, holidays

2025 Advent Market photo dump…

Although it was chilly, foggy, and misty yesterday, Bill and I decided to go to the Dorfplatz and check out the 2025 Advent Market. Every year, our little village of Breckenheim has an Advent Market to raise funds for clubs. It’s just for a night, and different clubs sell food and crafts. Last night, they had a guy with a “barrel organ” who was playing old songs and hymns. He didn’t have a monkey– just a little elf that one finds in Germany and France at this time of year.

We didn’t stay long… I just wanted to get some photos and enjoy some Gluhwein. They had two kinds– red wine and rose. The rose was better than the red, in my opinion. It was very fruity! I think they had a church service, too, but we didn’t stick around for that. We did go to it last year, and it was very nice, though all in German. I found the pew a bit uncomfortable to sit on. It wasn’t quite deep enough for my ass. 🤭

We saw one of our American neighbors and caught up with her. But then she wandered away, and the smell of raclette was overpowering. So we went home to enjoy the evening before Bill’s journey back to the United States for the upcoming work week. He’ll be back early next Sunday morning, God willing. On our way back to our house, we ran into two of our next door neighbors, to include our landlady, who is always so pleasant and friendly!

Anyway, we were once again reminded of how much we have enjoyed the last seven years in Breckenheim. This is the place we’ve spent the most years of our marriage so far. We have been warmly welcomed here. Once again, I’m reminded that it was a good decision to leave Jettingen for this place. Almost everything is better here. The only things I miss about our old house are the pretty views and the proximity to the Black Forest. But even those things aren’t so far away… and we get treated with basic decency, respect, and a spirit of welcome. We are so grateful for that!

Christmas is now officially here. I think Germany is the best place to be at this time of year! And every time there’s a festival and we’re welcomed by our neighbors, I’m reminded of how people in my homeland are treating newcomers, visitors, and immigrants. It makes me sad, but it also fills me with gratitude that I’m not being treated that way in this country. At least not yet. 🤔

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

Ten things I learned in Istanbul (this time)…

As my regular readers probably know, I like to sum up my travels with top ten lists of new things I learned. This was not my first trip to Istanbul, but it was my first trip there in 29 years. Times have changed a bit since my first visit to Istanbul in 1996, so I definitely learned new things on this brief jaunt back to the Middle East. So here goes with ten things I learned in Istanbul… this time!

10. Americans no longer have to buy a visa at the border!
Keep in mind, it’s been a long time since I was last in Türkiye, but there used to be a rule that for Americans to enter the country, one had to buy a visa. In the 90s, it was a sticker they put in your passport, and it cost about $20. I remember this, because I had to buy that thing twice in 1996! Then it went to an online system, I think. Anyway, as of 2024, US citizens can stay up to 90 days without a visa, as long as they have at least six months left on their passports.

9. Turkish Airlines is kind of hit and miss…
There were some things I really liked about flying Turkish Airlines, both down to Istanbul, and back up to Frankfurt. I thought the business class experience on my most recent flights was pretty good, except for the jerk flight attendant I wrote about yesterday. Having read up on Reddit, it does seem like a lot of people are fine with Turkish Airlines until a customer service issue arises. I don’t know if or when I’ll fly with them again, but I did mostly enjoy my most recent business class flights.

8. Maslak is very far away from the historic area of Istanbul, but there is a metro stop there.
I would have preferred to stay closer to the historic part of Istanbul, so I could have walked around more and seen and done more things. But I’m not sorry we stayed in Maslak this time, because now I know what part of Istanbul I should avoid if I’m in Istanbul for touristic purposes. For business, that’s another story!

7. Manspreading is not allowed on the Istanbul Metro!

*Need I say more? I think this is very civilized!*

6. You won’t find pork on most menus…
Actually, this doesn’t surprise me. Türkiye is an Islamic country, after all. Even secular Muslims don’t usually eat pork. But I was reminded of the fact when I came from pork loving Germany to beef eating Türkiye.

5. You also won’t find alcohol on many menus…
Türkiye is an Islamic country, so drinking alcohol is forbidden for a people who follow the Muslim religion. There certainly are bars in Istanbul, and you can find alcohol if you want or need it. However, in a lot of restaurants, there’s no booze. Instead, you get delightful fruit juices, coffee drinks, teas, soft drinks, and water.

4. But you will find prayer rooms in many places…
I was surprised to find prayer rooms in so many places. I could understand there being a prayer room at the hotel where we stayed, but I was shocked to find one at a restaurant.

*You can have a salad and then go pray…*

3. If you want to swim, even in a hotel pool, you may need a swimming cap.
I’ve actually been researching what it takes to go swimming in Türkiye. I was surprised to find out that it isn’t easy to go swimming there if you aren’t a local. I read some things about needing a doctor’s exam first. But I was especially annoyed and surprised to discover that apparently, swimming caps are necessary, even at hotel pools. I can understand that requirement at a public pool, but it seems strange at hotels, which serve people from all over the world. Anyway, just letting you know. Bring a swimming cap if you want to swim. I think it might even be the law in Türkiye.

2. Traffic in Istanbul is positively INSANE!
When I was in Istanbul in 1996, I didn’t remember it to be quite as gridlocked as it was last week. I noticed traffic at all hours, but it was especially bad during the traditional rush hour. We took a cab from the cruise port to Maslak. It was maybe 13 kilometers. It took an hour and cost Bill over 50 euros! The metro is definitely your friend, but it gets pretty crowded.

And 1. Turkish music is beautiful.
I heard a busker playing a unique instrument in the Taksim metro station and decided I needed to have a recording of it here. Off I went to my favorite music source to find some instrumental qanun (kanun) music for my next mood. I was reminded then that Turkish music is very beautiful. When Elaine and I went to Istanbul in 1996, we discovered an amazing band called Kizilirmak. I still have the album we both bought copies of. It’s aged beautifully…

My favorite track from the album I bought in 1996…

Qanun music

Honorable mention: Istanbul is TEEMING with stray cats who mostly seem to be well taken care of. There are also stray dogs, but I saw far fewer of them than the cats.

*One of many cats I saw in Istanbul. I saw some eating cat food put out by locals.*

Well… it’s Thanksgiving, and we have lunch plans, so I’m going to wrap up this post and get on with the day. Unfortunately, I need to break out the vacuum cleaner, because it’s Thursday. I do hope you enjoyed my Turkish series. I also hope we can visit Turkey again… maybe stay in an area that is a little less chaotic than Istanbul is.

For now… Güle güle… (Pronounced “goo-lah goo-lah” Turkish for “bye-bye”, which I did learn back in 1996!)

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part three)

After we checked in at Hilton Istanbul Maslak, a porter helped us with our bags and showed us to room 1711. There was a bank of four elevators in the hotel lobby, and to call one, you must punch your floor number on a large keypad. But the keypad is only there on the lobby floor. All of the other floors just have the usual up and down buttons. I’m not sure why the fancy keypad was necessary. Maybe it was an attempt to make the hotel look more upscale.

Room 1711

The porter punched 17 on the keypad for us, and then showed us that we had to use our keycards to get the elevator to work. He explained the hotel’s services, which included a spa, a full scale restaurant, a lobby bar, 24 room service, and even a high end jewelry store. Bill shook his hand and palmed him a tip, and then we took a look at our room…

*I liked the rainfall shower. It was very nice!*

One thing this hotel room had, that none of the others I’ve ever stayed in have had, was a toilet that had a little spigot on the back of it. When you flush the toilet, the spigot squirts out cold water in a bidet fashion. The toilet also had a tap next to it that could turn on the spigot without flushing, causing it to shoot water at varying pressures. One thing the tap didn’t have was temperature control, which meant that sitting on the toilet while it flushed was going to result in cold water squirting in your asshole. It’s not possible to turn off the spigot– or, at least I never found a way to do that. Consequently, if you are not sitting on the commode as it flushes, water might splash out from the little spigot. I made a YouTube video to show my readers exactly what I mean…

Shrinkage city! Actually, I did use the bidet function once, and it wasn’t so bad, even with the chilly water. But then, I don’t have a dick.

The room also had a minibar, which had everything from overpriced liquor and snacks, to a pair of socks and a condom. I usually take a photo of the minibar, but didn’t bother to on this trip. Bill explored it and told me all about the contents. I actually liked the art in the room, which I thought was rather thought provoking, although the drab brown color scheme was a bit depressing.

The bed was basically okay, although the mattress was a bit firmer than I’m used to. We used the air conditioning at night, since it was rather warm in Istanbul while we were there. We never turned on the flatscreen TV. I meant to, just to see what was on the telly, but I decided I’d rather just use my computer for entertainment.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the hotel’s restaurant, Zaxi. It’s buffet style, and there is a guy there who makes eggs to order. I probably should have tried an omelet, but I never bothered. There were many choices in the buffet, although I didn’t think the food was especially tasty. It was certainly adequate, and even pleasing in some instances. I liked the halva they offered– a thick, satisfying sesame seed creation. They also had a huge range of Turkish cheeses, which Bill loved. There were plenty of vegetables, breads, and the usual chafing dishes with scrambled and boiled eggs, sausages, and other sides. Of course, there weren’t any pork products offered.

*Check out the generic World Market style art on the walls. We could have been anywhere besides Istanbul.*

The one thing that stuck out to me the most about eating in the restaurant was the weird music they played. I noticed they had a loop of bossa nova styled pop songs from the 1980s. Some of the retooled songs were truly strange, and they played them over and over throughout our stay. Are you seriously ready for a Bossa Nova rendition of “Like A Virgin” or “Beat It”?

I did like a few of the songs enough to Shazam them, but there were a few that were just ridiculous. I’m sure most people don’t pay attention to background music, but I am a musician, so I always notice it. I guess I’m just glad it wasn’t Muzak.

The spa

After breakfast, Bill went to his conference. The location was close enough that Bill and his buddies were able to walk there. I went back to bed, since I was a bit jet lagged. Then, at around 11:00 or so, I decided to go to the spa. I’ve heard that the spa at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak is not owned by the hotel. I’m not sure where the truth lies… but I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Years ago, I wrote a post about how, if you go to a pool in France, you have to wear Speedos and a swimming cap. I’ve since learned that this policy is in effect in some other European (or Asian) countries besides France. And, as it turns out, at least at this particular Turkish pool, you have to wear a swimming cap to use it. This is supposedly for hygiene reasons. They don’t want hair getting caught in the pool filters.

I don’t own a swimming cap. I probably could have purchased one at the spa, but the lady who told me about the policy was not clear about it. She did say that I could use the Jacuzzi without a cap, and there appeared to be another warm shallow pool that I probably could have used. I didn’t bother, though. I was just there to give housekeeping a chance to clean the room. I also don’t know if the powers that be who run this pool also require men to wear Speedos, like they do in France and apparently other countries in Europe.

I sat down on one of the loungers in the spa, which was mostly vacant the whole time I was there. I was a bit dismayed by how worn and stained the cushions were on the loungers. One of them had broken strings at the end of the cushion, so when I sat on it, the cushion shifted. I moved to a different lounger because of that.

And there were also no towels put out for guest use. So, the spa was a bust, which was a real bummer. Yeah, I could have bought a swimming cap, but I didn’t want to go swimming badly enough to try to stuff my hair into one.

After a couple of dry hours at the pool, I went back to the room, and was happy to see it had been cleaned. I decided to do some writing and wait for Bill to come back from his first day at his conference. I know I could have gone out and walked around the neighborhood, but I correctly assumed there wasn’t a lot for tourists to see there. There’s a mosque nearby, and I think an art gallery, but there weren’t really any decent sidewalks. The area is very crowded and not particularly interesting, unless you want to look at skyscrapers and dodge other people. So I stayed in the hotel and waited… and I took a few photos of the sunset… Too bad the windows were a little dirty.

Dinner at Zaxi

And then, for dinner, we tried the hotel restaurant, which was still playing that weird Bossa Nova music from the 80s. I had a beef rib, while Bill had roasted salmon with cauliflower puree. For a starter, we shared shrimps with a dip that I can no longer identify… I remember thinking the food was pretty good. We both enjoyed Bomonte lagers, a Turkish beer that was light and refreshing. And we also had dessert– profiteroles for me, and a warm lemon pistachio tart for Bill.

After dinner, we tried the lobby bar. I think the manager was trying to make small talk, because Bill told me that when I went to the restroom, the guy asked Bill if I was his wife. I’m sure he sees a lot of men in the bar either alone, or with female colleagues. It’s not so common to bring a spouse. I can kind of understand why…

We tried a Turkish red wine. The one we originally ordered wasn’t in stock, which was kind of a blessing, because it was priced at over $100 (in Turkish lira). What we had was much cheaper, and not too bad… although after we enjoyed it, I wondered what the more expensive one was like.

*This wasn’t bad once it opened up a little…*

That about does it for Tuesday in Maslak. Stay tuned for the next post!

Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part two)

Featured photo is of a skyscraper near our hotel.

Once Bill got final approval to go to Istanbul, he arranged to put Noyzi and Charlie in our usual “Hunde Pension”. Then we had to pick a flight. Ordinarily, I try to fly on Lufthansa, because I’m collecting points that I’ll probably never get a chance to use. But again, Bill had to use the cheapest option to get to Istanbul, and I wanted to be on the same flight with him, albeit in business class. 😉

Lufthansa or Turkish Airlines?

Originally, the company travel agent wanted to put him on a flight that would make it impossible to get the dogs to the Hunde Pension before he needed to be on the plane. I thought we might end up on an early evening Lufthansa flight that would get us to Istanbul at 11:00 PM, since Istanbul is two hours ahead of Frankfurt. We finally settled on a Turkish Airlines flight leaving Frankfurt on Monday, November 17th at 2:45 PM. It was more expensive than the Lufthansa flight would have been, and cost twenty euros more than the mid morning Turkish Airlines flight the travel agent had suggested.

I like to fly business class on flights within Europe, and probably will fly business next time we go to the USA, too, if we can afford it. I earn more points on those flights, and they offer some convenient perks, like lounge access, free checked bags, and higher weight limits for bags. I mainly like business class because it’s less cramped. I don’t mind flying economy if I sit next to Bill, but since he was flying the cheapest fare in economy and it was a separate booking, there was no guarantee we’d be sitting together. So, since we have the means, I fly business. It gives me a chance to write reviews, too. I think it’s funny that they call it “business class”, when so many businesses require their employees to fly as cheaply as possible!

The least expensive Lufthansa business class ticket I had been looking at would have been about $800. But, since we flew Turkish Airlines, which had more convenient times, it ended up costing me about $1500. Bill’s economy round trip ticket on Turkish Airlines was in line with what a Lufthansa ticket would have been– about $300.

I remembered flying on Turkish Airlines once, back in 1996, with my friend, Elaine. We flew from Izmir to Ankara, but were not able to find any other flights heading east toward Armenia. I remembered liking Turkish Airlines then, but I didn’t have especially high expectations when I was a broke Peace Corps Volunteer in my 20s. I also didn’t get the greatest initial impression of Turkish Airlines by their rather wonky Web site, which keeps sending me ads, but wouldn’t recognize my new Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles ID number. But, I resigned myself to knowing that at least I’d get the chance to experience an airline other than my usual and trusty Lufthansa.

This was a last minute trip, though, and if I’m honest, neither Bill nor I were feeling particularly excited about it. He had spent more than half of October away, and likely has to go away again in early December. Then when he comes back, there’s another conference at Ramstein, which is about an hour away from where we live. After awhile, all the “TDY” stuff gets pretty tiresome. It would have been nice to do a celebratory trip for our anniversary, rather than travel on business. But, at least Bill still has a good job, and this was a great chance for me to see more of the world.

As the days got closer to departure, I started reading up on Maslak. I knew it was far from Taksim, the area where Elaine and I had mostly been in 1996, but I read there was a metro nearby. And I remembered visiting Armenia two years ago, which has really come up in the world since I left in 1997. Surely it would be okay in Maslak… Well, as I found out, sometimes ancient cities are slow to modernize. This is not to say that Maslak is “third world”, but it was not the most tourist friendly or pedestrian accessible area. I’ll elaborate on that later.

Frankfurt Airport

On Monday, November 17th, the day after our 23rd wedding anniversary, we took a taxi to Frankfurt Airport. We weren’t even a mile from our house before we almost had an accident at the roundabout near our neighborhood. The cab driver, who happened to be Turkish, almost hit someone who violated German traffic law. Fortunately, he had good brakes and fast reflexes.

When we got to the airport, we had to search for the Turkish Airlines baggage drop. I was the first person in the business class line, and was literally standing on a red carpet as I waited for the desk to open. A very officious lady invited me to drop my bag. She asked me if I was traveling alone. I said that my husband was traveling in economy. She invited him to drop his bag with mine, which was really nice of her. I was impressed. She even put a priority sticker on his bag.

Because I was traveling with Bill, I decided not to use the business class lounge. It would have been the Lufthansa lounge, which I’ve used a bunch of times, anyway. Bill and I made our way to the gate and looked around for something to eat. I would have waited for the flight, but I get really cranky when my blood sugar tanks.

After finding the proper gate, we walked back the way we’d come and ended up having sandwiches at a cafe in the middle of the airport. As I ate my overpriced tuna sandwich, I couldn’t help but miss the restaurants in other airports. For some reason, Frankfurt Airport doesn’t have the greatest selection of eateries. But then, I could have gone alone into the lounge and had whatever Lufthansa was offering. The beer was good, at least!

*Bill had a chicken sandwich and I had tuna with avocado.*

Our flight to Istanbul ended up being about 20 minutes delayed before we could board. I thought it was because of the weather, but my German friend later told me there was also a lot of traffic at the Istanbul airport that affected the flight to Frankfurt. She explained that Istanbul has the second busiest airport in Europe, and is the largest privately owned airport in the world. Having now seen the new airport, which was opened in April 2019, I can understand why traffic might have been an issue! I’ve also just learned that the airport isn’t even fully built yet. That will happen in 2027.

Turkish Airlines flight from FRA to IST…

Once we got on the plane, I was legitimately impressed. On short to medium haul Lufthansa business class flights, you get a seat that is just like the seats in economy class, but the middle seat is empty. On my Turkish Airlines flight, I had a bigger seat with a console between me and the guy in the aisle seat. The leg room was very generous. I probably could have extended my legs without touching the seat in front of me. I actually did do that on yesterday’s flight. The seat had an extra pillow and was well padded and generously appointed. I didn’t test out the seat’s adjustability, but on yesterday’s flight back to Frankfurt, I noticed the lady sitting next to me was using the leg rest that made the seat look like an honest to God recliner! It was just way better than what I’ve typically gotten on Lufthansa in business class.

Below are a couple of pictures that show how much space I had between my knees and the seat in front of me. Granted, I’m short, and I have short legs, but this was the most generous leg room I’ve seen on an airplane in many years.

A flight attendant came around with pre flight drinks. She had lemonade, still water, orange juice, or strawberry juice (or raspberry– can’t remember now). I opted for the orange juice, and it was delicious! She’d even put a slice of fresh orange in it. It tasted like it was freshly squeezed. I think on Lufthansa, they give you bottled water.

Once we were in the air, the flight attendants brought out menus. On that flight, we had a choice of kebab or roasted salmon. But the meal started with Turkish appetizers which, frankly, I couldn’t easily identify. There was also salad, cheese, warm bread, and a double chocolate cake. I enjoyed some Turkish white wine, as well. The salmon was surprisingly delicious. It was not dried out or overcooked, as I would have expected it to be. I really enjoyed the Turkish styling with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, and spinach.

Our seats didn’t have screens on the seatbacks, which was fine with me. I was enjoying taking photos from the window, as you can see below… A lot of people were watching videos on their personal iPads.

As we got closer to our destination, we were even further delayed. At one point, the pilot was going to land, but then abruptly aborted. I thought it was because of high winds, but my German friend had been tracking the flight and said it was likely due to aviation traffic. We ended up being almost an hour late landing. But the service on the flight was excellent.

One of the flight attendants was especially service oriented. I got up to use the lavatory and hadn’t noticed it was occupied. I stood in the aisle, and the man who was ahead of me was in there for a long time. When he finally emerged, the flight attendant asked me to wait a moment. I soon got a fetid whiff of why she’d asked me to wait! She went in there quickly cleaned the commode, sprayed air freshener, and even put down a seat cover for me. WOW!! That was impressive, and much appreciated! She really took one for the team!

We finally landed almost an hour later than expected. Bill and I were both pretty tired once we got on the ground. We had to go through passport control and wait for our bags, which took awhile… but at least they came out together.

Then we found a cab to Maslak, which was driven by a very friendly local who drove like a madman. He commented that our hotel wasn’t the best for tourism. He was so right about that. I was a bit alarmed as he pulled up and a Hilton staffer came out and swept the car for explosive devices! But for better or worse, there we were in Istanbul, in an area full of skyscrapers and bright lights. It was definitely urban.

*Hilton Istanbul Maslak… official Hilton photo.*

Checking in at the Hilton…

A friendly Hilton staffer invited us into the hotel, and I put my purse and computer on an x-ray scanner. Bill and I walked through a metal detector, which really took me aback. I guess they’ve had some trouble recently. We checked in, and were assigned room 1711. More on that in the next post…

*You might call this an artsy impression of our entrance to Istanbul… It’s not easy taking photos at night from an airplane!*

YouTube

The Eismann cameth…

Featured photo is a screenshot of a video made by someone comparing the two grocery delivery services…

Here in Germany, some people like to order from food companies that sell frozen dishes. One of the best known companies that does this is called Bofrost. Back in January 2015, mere months after we had moved back to Germany, I got a visit from a Bofrost salesman. At the time, we were living in Jettingen, which is in Böblingen and the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The Bofrost guy had a catalog with him and he wanted my phone number, which I didn’t know offhand. We’d only been back in Germany for a few months at that point, and I truly didn’t know my number. He got all pissed off and left. Later, the former tenant, who later tried to screw us over, left this comment on my blog post:

Ha! I am the previous tenant. I’m 98% sure that guy came around when I lived there too. I took the catologue and then proceeded to give him a fake phone number. I’m probably the cause for his rudeness.

I think maybe I’ve gotten another visit from Bofrost people. I’ve definitely seen their trucks. I might have been interested in ordering from them, if not for the unpleasant memories of how that salesman acted, and the former tenant, who was stalking and harassing me before she ultimately took her own life.

Yesterday, at about four o’clock in the afternoon, the doorbell rang again. I answered it, and another man launched into a rapid fire German spiel. I stopped him and said, “I don’t understand…” although I knew he was there to sell me shit. Then I noticed the branding on the catalog in his hand. It was from Eismann, which is either a competitor or contemporary of Bofrost’s. I don’t know if or how they are related, only that they offer similar services. And I’ve seen Bofrost in our neighborhood, as well as Eismann.

The guy wanted my phone number in exchange for a catalog. Suddenly, I was reminded of former tenant taking a fake number and a catalog, and how the Bofrost guy took it out on me. I told the dude I wasn’t interested, although I did it in a very polite way. He said that was fine and headed for my landlord’s house.

Isn’t it funny how something like a former tenant stalker can affect us in such weird ways? 🤔 🤭 I am truly sorry she felt so desperate and was so unhappy with her life that she made the tragic choices she did. But I was pretty scarred by what she did to me, personally… and all because, evidently, she didn’t like me, and was “bonding” with the ex landlady, who also didn’t like me. What a weird and toxic situation that was… What a shame it had to happen.

I’m glad it’s over now. I wish that it had never happened. And I fear that from now on, random encounters by the Eismann guy or his Bofrost brethren, may trigger me similarly. Of course, my triggered reaction isn’t his fault. I’m sure the products are great. But after our fiasco experience with Hello Fresh, I think I’ll give grocery services as a whole a pass. I’d rather just go to the grocery store.

In German… but I figured I’d better link the video if I’m ripping off my featured photo from them.

By the way, tonight we are going to Pizarro Fine Dining again, where we will drop a load of euros and not eat anything from the Rewe… My German friend says Eismann products are available at the grocery store, anyway. Don’t know why I need to give a salesman my phone number to get their stuff. They’re online, too.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Germany