And finally, time to go home to Germany… (part nine)

Sunday morning, we woke up to more cold, wet weather. It was raining in Colle Isarco, which means that it was probably good to move on, although it’s not fun to drive when the weather is inclement. We loaded up the car with our stuff, then sat down to another hearty breakfast. I enjoyed another one of those incredible warm crescent rolls… I don’t need the recipe for those things, but I wish I had it!

Our hotel bill was already settled, so after breakfast, we were on our way. Very soon, we ran into snow! It’s probably the last snow we’ll see this season. We drove through the “skinny” part of Austria, after we crossed Brenner Pass. We had one rest stop, where peeing was a reasonable 50 cents… I think. Maybe it was 70 cents. I remember when peeing in Germany was only 50 cents. It’s a euro now.

*I don’t know why this appears so early in my photos. We weren’t that close to the border.*

My German friend, Susanne, mentioned the huge outlet center on the Italy/Austria border. Maybe if it hadn’t been snowy and Sunday, we might have considered stopping there. But the snow was coming down like crazy, and it was probably too early, even if the outlets were open on a Sunday. I didn’t have a chance to check. I wanted to get a picture of the signs for the outlet stores, but I wasn’t fast enough.

Frankly, I find outlets kind of depressing. I used to work at an outlet store at a fairly nice outlet mall in Williamsburg, Virginia. Even though it was a “nice” mall, it still kind of made me sad, because there was a real push to keep overhead low, which would make the shops look kind of picked over and sad. Still, working at the outlet menswear store got me a generous employee discount, which was a great thing in 1995. I loaded up on clothes and shoes to wear in Armenia.

Our drive north was pretty uninteresting. We tried to stop at a Rastplatz for lunch, but thanks to a shitload of trucks that took up multiple parking spots at a time, there was nowhere for us to park the Volvo. Fortunately, the next stop had more parking, and it also had a Nordsee– which is a German fast food outlet that specializes in fish and shrimp. I wouldn’t necessarily call Nordsee “cheap eats”, but it beats going to McDonald’s.

We got home in the late afternoon, thanks to a couple of delays. Bill had to immediately turn around and pick up the dogs, who had a great time at the Birkenhof Tierpension. They were happy to be there, and just as happy to come home, which the proprietor said she is always glad to see. Likewise, it’s a relief to see how much Noyzi and Charlie enjoy going to stay there when we take our trips!

All in all, I’d say our vacation/house hunting excursion to Switzerland and Italy was a success. I always enjoy going to Italy, if only because of the food and wine. Do I still want to invest in property there? I am intrigued by the idea. I think Abruzzo is beautiful, although given my ‘druthers, I might prefer to settle in an area further north and slightly more prosperous. On the other hand, I can’t deny that there are great bargains on properties to be had in Abruzzo, and it really is a gorgeous place, with friendly people, good food and wine, and breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains.

There are a few issues that make me worry a bit about investing in Italian property. Mainly, it’s the fact that owning property there doesn’t mean you can live there full time. And with Trump’s heavy-handed governing, I’m not sure how long Americans will still be welcome in Europe. We don’t have a lot of money to spend on a place we might not get to use. On the other hand, I have no desire to move back to Trump’s version of the United States. Living there is also way more expensive on many levels.

So… we’ll see what happens. I’ll just keep socking away money and make sure to keep my eyes peeled for places where we might be able to settle. It was good to get away. I think we may visit Portugal this year, too… if we don’t get deported, that is.

The next post will be my usual ten things I learned… Hope to see you there.

Bavaria, short breaks

Going home to Wiesbaden… (part five)

We woke up to more clouds and fog on Sunday morning. I was kind of sad to see the fog, but was nevertheless ready to go home. I missed Noyzi and Charlie, even though we were only gone for a short time. And while Bill and I found Bad Wörishofen to be a pleasant enough town, I think the atmosphere was a little too geriatric for our tastes, at least at this point in our lives.

Our breakfast on Sunday was much the same as it was on Saturday morning. We skipped the egg dishes and fresh juices and just grazed from the buffet. Then, we collected our bags and carried them down the stairs, because the housekeepers seemed to be occupying the elevator.

The cheerful manager, who seemed to be trying so hard to make sure our stay at Hotel Fontenay was a good one, was waiting at the desk to settle the bill. Three nights, dinner on the first night, and fresh orange juice came to about 1300 euros or so. We also had a bottle of sparkling water from the minibar, which bill ended up paying euro coins for to another employee as the manager went to fetch our car.

As we loaded up our bags, he said in German that he had a small gift for us, which turned out to be a little bottle of Sekt and a couple of bottles of sparkling water. He shook Bill’s hand and kissed mine as we got into the Volvo and waved goodbye.

We decided to take a slightly altered route home. Instead of driving north up the A7, which is a straight shot to Würzburg, a city not too far from Wiesbaden, Bill and I chose to drive through the town of Nördlingen. If you’ve ever seen the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and watched until the end, you might have caught a glimpse of Nördlingen. It’s a well-preserved, walled medieval town in Bavaria that looks really cool from overhead.

You can see Nördlingen at about the 1:30 mark…

I didn’t actually see Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory until a few years ago. I know, that makes me weird, especially since I grew up in the 70s and 80s and it was always on HBO. But I do remember when I watched it a few years ago, thinking that the town of Nördlingen looked really interesting. Since the detour didn’t add much time to our drive back to Wiesbaden, we decided to go that way. I’m glad we did. Nördlingen is, indeed, a really cute town. I wouldn’t mind visiting there at some point… if the fates allow.

Below are some photos from our drive home. We did get some sunshine as we left Bavaria, and by the time we got home, the weather was positively gorgeous. We wound up on the Romantic Road, as as we approached Nördlingen, we got a nice view of the Harburg Castle.

*No birds were killed by these windmills.*

I wish we’d had time to walk around Nördlingen. It really is a charming town, from what we saw as we passed through it. Maybe our next Bavarian trip will be there. I also wish it had been closer to lunchtime when we passed through, as our next stop was at a McDonald’s. It’s been a long time since I last went to McDonald’s, and I can’t say the experience was particularly appetizing. It was very crowded and our food was almost cold. I also can’t get used to the automated experience of eating at McDonald’s. But at least the rest of the drive was pretty.

*I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this area. It was very pretty, but we were in a speeding car…*

After we unpacked everything, Bill went to get the dogs. I stayed home and did laundry and worked on this travel series. As I write this post today, it looks like Trump is going to be heading back to the White House. The thought of that makes me despair. I truly hoped my countrymen were better than this…

But anyway… at least we got to see Bad Wörishofen. It was a very nice looking town that offered us a change of scenery during this crazy election year for us Americans. Next week, we will be going to Belgium and The Netherlands. Hopefully, that will make me feel more hopeful about the future.

Stay tuned for my usual ten things I learned post.

Champagne Bucket trips, Iceland

So long, Iceland… it’s been a real trip!

We’re headed back to Frankfurt this morning. I woke up at about 4:30 AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. It’s now 6:30 AM, and in an hour, we will be picked up and shuttled to the airport, which is about 45 minutes away from Reykjavik.

Hopefully the flight will be smooth and painless, and we’ll arrive home safely. I’m ready to do laundry and start writing about this amazing vacation we’ve had in Iceland. It really has been an incredible experience, especially when we were out in the “country”. We had a great experience with Iceland Luxury Tours, so I can’t wait to add a positive review on Trip Advisor for them. I also really want to get back to creating song parodies and other videos. Most of the next week, I suspect, will be spent writing the story of this trip and making travel videos.

I love traveling, but after awhile, it’s just time to go home. But there were a lot of things we didn’t manage to do on this trip, so maybe we’ll have a reason to come back to Iceland. And if we do, I will come better prepared, with at least one pair of waterproof pants! I can see why Iceland’s sporting goods chain, Icewear, is everywhere in this country.

Here are a few more photos before I head off into the friendly skies… These were taken yesterday, as we walked back to the big church (proper name forthcoming) and took the elevator up to get a view of the city.

Champagne Bucket trips, Iceland

Still more photos before I go home tomorrow…

Today is our last full day in Iceland. We’ve had a really good time over the past eight days. I’m a little sad to be leaving, yet I’m also glad to be going home. I have a lot of laundry to do, plus I’ve missed my dogs. I also have big plans to write up this trip, making some videos– travel and musical– and perhaps reconsider some of my lifestyle habits. 😉

Overall, Iceland has been fantastic, though. The people are very nice; they have great taste in music; and the scenery is stunning, even if the weather often sucks. Bill has especially enjoyed himself. I think he’s going to be talking about this vacation for a very long time. It goes down as one of our best… at least as I write this. We still have tomorrow’s flight and transfer to the airport to consider.

Below are a few more photos from our vacation to Iceland. I truly do hope we can come back.

Bulgaria, Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe, short breaks

Going home from Sofia… June 11, 2024

This ought to be a short post, as it’s just going to be about our trip back to Frankfurt. It was a fairly uneventful journey.

On our last morning in Sofia, Bill and I had our breakfast, then packed up all our stuff. I was kind of glad to be going, because I wanted to go home and recover from this cold, that is still lingering a bit today. I was also a bit apprehensive, because on Thursday of this week, I had my very first doctor’s appointment since 2010. Naturally, this means it was also my first visit to a German physician. I left that appointment with two more appointments, which means that regular readers can soon expect a few posts about German style healthcare. Whoopie!

I have already written a post about our visit to the hospital on Thursday. It’s on my main blog, and not as detailed as I would normally write it. I will write about it here, too, because this blog is about travel and the “German lifestyle” as lived by Americans. I did notice some differences. But I’ll get to that later. For now, the order of business is our flight back to Germany.

We liked our housekeeper so much at the Grand Hotel Millennium that Bill left her a note and a tip on the bed. Hopefully, she got it. We did see her on that last morning, just before we went to breakfast. I wish Bill had slipped her the tip then. She really was very kind.

After we checked out of the hotel, we got into the taxi that was arranged by the hotel receptionist and made our way to the airport. Once again, I was amazed by how different Sofia seemed in so many ways since 1996. And since this is destined to be a short post, I’ll share a few comparison photos. Below are pictures I took in 2024…

And below are photos from 1996.

*Bulgaria was going through an economic crisis with massive inflation in 1996,*

When we got to the airport, it was a breeze to drop off our bags. Security was also easy, as I didn’t wear any metal at all. We went to the lounge, which was sort of a generic affair that served all the airlines. I was pleased that there was a lot of comfortable seating. We didn’t try any of the food, because we were still full from breakfast. But they had a nice selection of treats, as well as an open bar.

*The lounge in Sofia. It was pretty nice.*

Soon enough, it was time to depart. Our noon flight was slightly delayed, but I smiled when I saw the plane we got. Lufthansa repainted one of their planes in a gay pride theme. It’s gay pride month, so it seemed all the more appropriate that we’d be on the Lovehansa flight. I think this was originally meant to be a thing for six months in 2022, but it’s still going, as you can see…

*The inside of the plane has rainbow colored headrests, too.*

The flight itself was mainly a piece of cake, with the exception of some turbulence we experienced early on. I entertained myself by taking more photos of the sky and finishing my latest book. There were a couple of guys who spent the whole two hours drinking wine. It was a very nice flight, and not completely full.

*I think this was chilled chicken. It wasn’t bad.*

When we got to Frankfurt, we walked for about fifteen or twenty minutes to get to baggage reclaim. But, happily, our bags were the first ones off the plane! We quickly found a cabbie to take us home. He didn’t know where Breckenheim is. Now he knows, and he said he liked the neighborhood. Unlike the Bulgarian driver, who seemed to favor Eurotrash dance music, the German cabbie played classical music. I preferred his taste.

Noyzi was delighted to come home, too. I think it’s possible the next time he goes to the Hundepension, he’ll have a new doggie brother with him. Charlie, another Kosovar street dog, is slated to join us around July 4th… two days after I get scoped from both ends by my new German doctor. All I can say is, I hope the drugs are good.

Stay tuned for my “ten things I learned” post.

Baden-Württemberg, Luxury, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Horben to Wiesbaden: Time to go home to Hessen!

Tuesday morning eventually arrived, and it was time to pack up and go home. I can’t say I was sad to be going. As much fun as we had in Horben, I was missing Noyzi and my bed, which has a foam topper on it and is easier on my back. The weather had also taken a turn for the worse. It was raining outside, and the temperature had dropped about twenty degrees, at least on the Fahrenheit scale.

We were ready to go back to our normal lives in Hessen, but if we had stayed another night, it probably would have been a spa day for us. I regret not having a massage while we were at Luisenhöhe, if only so I could enjoy that wonderfully aromatic vanilla scented fragrance they used there. But that gives us a reason to go back sometime, if the opportunity ever arises.

Bill loaded up the car while I put on my face. Then we went down to breakfast and enjoyed one last innovative meal. I really enjoyed the staff at Luisenhöhe. Most of the people working there truly seemed to enjoy their work, especially those working in the kitchen. The equipment is state of the art, and the head chef truly is a genius. Or maybe I just don’t get out enough.

Below are some photos from our final breakfast, served once again by the smiling waitress who took care of us the previous four mornings. The night before, Bill had spoken to the bartender about the Chemex filtered coffee system they had in the bar. He wanted to try it, but unfortunately, the barista said it wasn’t possible. I don’t know if it was because he didn’t know how, or because they didn’t have the available equipment. We did learn, however, that coffee drinks are included in the price during breakfast. The barista brought us a couple of Americanos for our trouble. I wish I had thought to ask them where they get their coffee. It was really good.

We had a “sausage salad”, that I suspect was made from the goat pastrami we had in the previous night’s dinner. There was goat yogurt with granola, pears with pistachio nuts, wonderfully fresh brioches, milk rice, fresh fruit, and a poached egg on spinach…

Since we had already packed the car, all that was left to do was check out. So, with slightly heavy hearts, we headed to the reception and tallied up the damage. Four nights at the Luisenhöhe, with the optional dinner board, wine every night, tips, and multiple visits to the bar, set us back 3,400 euros ($3,700). Yes, it was expensive, and in some ways, I think it was a bit overpriced. I think the room rate was too high, but I think the food was worth every euro cent.

Seriously… my mind was blown at just about every meal. It was very healthy and fresh, and there were so many interesting combinations of ingredients that I never would have expected. Everything was beautifully presented, and the staff seemed to really enjoy their jobs. The setting for the hotel is exquisite, with flowering trees, green hills, and when there’s no Sahara dust, blue skies. I bet it’s stunning there in the autumn. I hope I can find out firsthand, even if I do think the room was slightly too “spendy”. I’m sure they need to charge a lot, though, as I read it cost about $60 million to build the hotel, which is very cutting edge. It’s powered by geothermal means and has a green roof.

The receptionist thanked us for staying, gave us a couple of bottles of sparkling water, and a tin of the hotel’s special tea as a parting gift. We headed down to the parking garage one last time. Then we were on our way home. I took a few more photos as we left the beautiful Freiburg region. I do hope to be back someday soon. As you can see in the photos, the weather did change a bit…

We got home in the early afternoon, after a completely uneventful drive north. I started doing laundry, and at about 5:00, Bill went to get Noyzi. I wasn’t there for the reunion, but Bill said he was delighted to be picked up after a few days hanging out with his canine friends at the Tierpension Birkenhof.

I don’t know what we’ll do this year for a big vacation. We usually go away for a week or two. This year, we’re expecting a new canine family member, who will be joining us from Kosovo at some point in the near future. We had been talking about visiting Iceland, but then we heard about the volcanos erupting. I have been getting some tempting offers from Hebridean Island Cruises, which I have to say is probably my favorite cruise line. I just wish they went to places other than the UK. But I do have my eye on a cruise in Ireland that I might decide to book. We’ll see.

Actually, Bill and I have been talking about doing more short trips, but on a regular basis. We used to do that a lot when we had less money and time to travel. It would definitely help keep my travel blog more interesting. But that plan remains up in the air for now.

Anyway, that about does it for my series on Horben and the wonderful Luisenhöhe. I do hope the hotel is a success, as I’m sure it will be. We really enjoyed ourselves. I hope we’ll be back again. Stay tuned for my usual “ten things I learned” post.

art, Champagne Bucket trips

Our last day being “Hay” in Hayastan!

Today is our last full day in Armenia. Tomorrow morning, at about 3:00 AM or so, we’ll be at the airport getting ready to board a Lufthansa flight back to Frankfurt, Germany. I wish we didn’t have to leave so early in the morning, but the bright side is, we’ll arrive in Germany at about 7:00 AM. That will give us the whole day to prepare for Monday, when Bill has to have his dental implant installed.

This trip has been very meaningful to me on so many levels. I was really fretting about coming here, wondering how it would go. Sometimes, I say more than I should, and I have a tendency to shock people sometimes in a less than pleasant way. But, I’m happy to report that things have gone very well… at least so far. We’ve had a great time seeing Yerevan, and I’ve had fun showing Bill places that have meaning to me, personally. If we manage to come back, we’ll be ready to visit the many historic places in Armenia and I can show Bill that the country is actually very beautiful outside of the capital.

As you can see from today’s featured photo, even Yerevan has its beautiful surprises… Mount Ararat finally came out of hiding yesterday. Today, it’s even clearer! Too bad we aren’t at the Genocide Memorial today, where I’m sure the photos would be fantastic. I did get a few pictures yesterday from up there. We walked all the way from the hotel to the Memorial and back. It was over 8 miles, and I was absolutely exhausted afterwards!

I think today we will go look for a sleeve to put our new artwork in. It’s going to have to be checked and the guy who sold them to us put them in a rather beat up plastic bag. If I see that man again, I think I’d like to buy another painting from him. Either way, I hope to find one of Ararat, but I want one that is unusual, rather than the typical mountain scene I saw at the Vernissage (art market) the other day.

I am ready to go home. I need to do laundry, and I want to sleep in my own bed. I miss Noyzi, too, probably because Yerevan has so many sweet and gentle looking street dogs. But I also think I will miss Armenia, once we’re back in Germany. Now that I’ve been back to Armenia, I know that it still has a piece of my heart. I hope we’ll be back again… and much sooner than 26 years from today.

It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long… Some things haven’t changed a bit! But yes, I’ve been away for a long time. I’ve been so amazed and touched by the warm welcome Bill and I have received from these special people of so many talents. I’m proud that I can say that I once called Yerevan home.

Now, if you are a regular reader and are interested, watch this space for my usual blow by blow… I will be busy writing it next week!

By the way, when I left Armenia in 1997, my destination then was also Frankfurt, to start my month long Eurail train trip through Europe. But that time, I got to leave at the civilized hour of 11:00 AM!

Champagne Bucket trips, Eastern Europe

Time to go home… part twelve of our 2023 Czech tour!

At last, I have reached the end of my series on our October trip to the Czech Republic. Not that many people seem to be reading this series, which is a real pity. I think it will go down as one of the most “special” of our trips. But then, I tend to think that way about a lot of our trips, until we take the next one and create new memories.

Tuesday, October 10th was a bit sunnier and warmer than the day before was. We moved most of our stuff to the car before breakfast, encountering Jan, the owner, again. He had an assistant help us load the car. The guy noticed Noyzi’s hair all over the cargo area of the car and said, “Oh, you must have a dog!”

Indeed we do… and he’s a big canine guy who takes up the whole back of the car. As much as we love having him in our lives, he’s not the easiest to travel with because of his size. But he does love car rides! I looked forward to reuniting with Noyzi later in the day.

We went back to the hotel’s cafe for breakfast. This time, we had drip coffee and Bill had Eggs Benedict. I went with pancakes, which came with blueberry sauce. They brought out more wonderful bread and butter with jam. We also had orange juice.

*One last excellent breakfast before we were on our way!*

Once again, breakfast was excellent, although I personally liked the Eggs Benedict better than the pancakes. I think as I get older, I’m enjoying savory things more than sweets. That’s a good thing, although you certainly can’t tell by my figure.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to get the big blue bag and do one last check to make sure we got everything. Then we went back down to say goodbye and thank you to Jan. We were genuinely delighted with our stay at Hotel Nerudova 211, and because we paid upon check in, all we had to do was bid adieu and be on our way.

*This is a sign that caught my attention!*

We left Prague by a different route than the way we came into the city, and I was very amused to see a restaurant that we missed. Someone has started a burger joint called Fatfuck Smashburgers. It’s done well enough to have a second location! I wish we’d had the chance to try it. If we make it back to Prague and it’s still open, we’ll have to go there for the name alone! I noticed the words were spelled out on the sign, but if you type in the Web address, they aren’t. Maybe there’s a rule against using profanity in a site address. Who knows?

Our drive home was pretty uneventful. The weather was kind of moody and depressing, with some sun and sprinkles. We didn’t find a great truck stop on our route, either. Instead, we ended up at a Gusticus, where Bill had a fish box and I had a chicken box. It was kind of sad.

We arrived home at about 3:00 PM. I got started on the chores of unpacking, doing laundry, refilling Noyzi’s water bowls, and mowing the lawn. Bill went to the store to pick up a few things and went to get Noyzi, who had a great time hanging out with other boy dogs. I think once we’ve done next month’s trip to Armenia, it’ll be time to focus harder on finding him a companion. I think it would do us all some good. Or maybe it would be better not to… because I think this trip to the Czech Republic has awakened the travel bug in me. We really enjoyed our trip on so many levels.

Czechia has a whole lot to offer, and we could have easily spent another week there. I think we need to travel there again and plan a stop in Slovakia, too. If anything, I can find more art to fill up our walls!

Well, I think I’ll end this post and do my customary ten things I learned post, which tends to get read more than my blow by blow series do. See you there!

short breaks

Turning 50 in Antwerp… part eight

On the morning of June 21, we got up and packed everything, and Bill took it to the car, which was buried deep under the hotel in their tiny parking garage. We went down to breakfast and enjoyed the other half of the delicious strawberry tart. It was even better the second day! I was sorry to leave De Witte Lelie, as it was such a welcoming and homey hotel. The staff is so friendly and helpful, and the accommodations are stylish and comfortable. Alas, we had to leave Antwerp and go home to our dogs. So, after we settled the bill and said goodbye, we got in the Volvo and took about half an hour trying to maneuver out of the garage, which has a steep incline to the door. Kudos to Bill and the many fancy sensors on the Volvo for getting us out of there unscathed!

*One last look at the champagne bubbles wallpaper.*

We also had much less trouble leaving Antwerp than entering it, as Bill didn’t make any wrong turns. I was sorry to leave without a new diamond, but I think I’d rather get one at a place where I’m not a tourist. There were a couple of Trip Advisor horror stories that advised me against shopping for a new rock in Belgium.

First on our agenda was to stop at a Belgian supermarket to pick up some beers for home. We stopped at a little co-op market and loaded up a cart with suds, as well as a few other items. Bill went to pay, and it turned out they didn’t take Visa. They also didn’t have an ATM. So the cashier was kind enough to watch our cart while we searched for a cash machine. That took about an hour, even with a GPS… but eventually, we got our euros, gassed up the car, I unloaded the breakfast beverages, and we went back to the store to make our purchase. The cashier had kept the cart safe for us. Next time, we’ll bring cash.

Then, we headed eastward, stopping at a typical German Rastplatz for lunch at McDonald’s. I had to laugh when Bill ordered two Royales and one of them came with the bun that is usually reserved for plain cheeseburgers (no sesame seeds). I guess McDonald’s in Europe are also suffering from supply chain shortages.

Our drive home was completely uneventful, and we arrived in the mid afternoon. I got started on my blogging, and Bill went to get the dogs, who were very happy to come home after four nights away. I always worry about Arran on our trips now, as he’s an old guy and would rather hang out with us. Noyzi was also very glad to be back home in his bed.

I was feeling okay… maybe there was a little scratchiness in my throat. I didn’t know that Wednesday, I’d be legitimately sick for the first time in several years and wondering if I finally got COVID-19. I have so far tested twice, and got negative results both times. I also feel a lot better today than I did yesterday. So… I’m thinking this was a cold. But, I will confess that this trip was maskless and restriction free. I might have gotten COVID-19, but so far, the tests say no… However, I don’t interact with people anyway, so I’m just riding it out at home. Today, I feel like I am about 85% normal. Yesterday, I was probably 60% normal. Wednesday night and Thursday were the worst, but even they weren’t as bad as the last time I had the flu. I haven’t had a fever, body aches, or exhaustion. I have had a runny nose, coughing, vomiting (from coughing), headache, sinus pressure, and mild fatigue. In other words, this sickness feels like a cold.

So ends my 50th birthday celebration. I must say, it was a lot of fun turning 50 in Antwerp. Belgium is a great destination for me, mainly because it has beer, frites, chocolate, and friendly, unpretentious people who are funny! I hope we can visit Antwerp again, and I would encourage you to visit, if you have the time and the means!

Stay tuned for my usual ten things I learned post… if you’re interested, that is. 😉

Uncategorized

Reunited with France… and it felt so good to be back! Part nine

Sunday morning, we woke up more than ready to head home to Germany. I missed Noyzi and Arran, even though I generally enjoy it when we have a chance to take a break from the dogs. I saw so many cute dogs in France, including a couple of European styled beagles that made me want to get one of my own! Of course, I won’t be doing that until we are down to one dog again. Arran doesn’t share well, and even after about 18 months with Noyzi, he only barely tolerates him. And Noyzi is a very kind and considerate dog.

We went down to the Stammtisch to find our usual breakfast. The day prior, the breakfast lady had thought we were leaving and asked us if we wanted to pay. We had to remind her that Sunday was our day of departure. I got the impression that maybe people don’t typically stay at the Auberge au Boeuf for several nights, as we did. But actually, there’s a lot to do in the area around Sessenheim. It’s not too far to get to Strasbourg. Nancy and Metz aren’t as close as Strasbourg is, but we could have visited there if the mood struck. Of course, the Alsatian wine route, south of Strasbourg, isn’t far, either. Neither is Baden-Baden, the great German spa town.

As you can see by my posts, we did manage to find several cute and diverse eastern French hamlets. It occurred to me that north of Strasbourg is more diverse in appearance than the southern area is. Over the past few years, Bill and I have visited Alsace more than anywhere else in Europe. We almost completely missed Alsace the first time we lived in Germany together. I’m so glad we’ve had the opportunity to explore this unique, historic, and beautiful part of France. We really enjoyed visiting Sessenheim, Soufflenheim, Haguenau, Bitche, Obernai, and Saverne! Each place was different and had its own special vibe and history.

It’s not lost on me that my unexpected and unplanned lifestyle as an “overeducated housewife” has come with certain perks. If I had done with my life what I had planned to do, I might have managed a visit to Paris or Lyon… or maybe to Nice again. Those are all lovely cities, but they tend to be teeming with Americans. Thanks to Bill’s work with the Army, I’ve had some great opportunities to see “the real France”, as it was put by a British man who owned a wine shop in Cluny, France, which we visited in 2017. Cluny is a very nice city in Burgundy and we loved our time there. But I would not expect too many Americans to go, especially not from the United States. That was where Bill ate pig intestines! Talk about a typically FRENCH experience!

Anyway, we enjoyed our last breakfast, but it was time to go home. We loaded up the car and I paid for everything with my credit card– about 1600 euros ($1800 approximately) when all was said and done. That was for four nights in a beautiful suite, breakfast for two every morning, three bottles of wine, four apéritifs, and two nights of sumptuous dinners for two. Parking was free. I feel good about stimulating the local economy.

On the way out of Sessenheim, we stopped at a nearby Boulangerie/Patisserie to get some French pastries. Bill got several beignets, two pain au chocolats, and a kugelhopf. It was a lot for just the two of us. Fortunately, the kuglehopf has kept well in the fridge. I wish he’d gotten some croissants, too. French croissants are better than the locals ones we can get.

The drive back to Wiesbaden was totally uneventful and took about two hours. We had no traffic issues at all, and the weather was fine. I had to laugh on Sunday night, as we dined on Popeye’s Fried Chicken from the food court on post. It’s crazy that we went from five star dining to fast food in less than 24 hours.

I would not hesitate to book Auberge au Boeuf again. Next time, I hope we can try their Stammtisch at lunch or dinner, and if the menu has changed, I would definitely be up for another grand gourmet experience at their restaurant. We’ll see what the future holds! Below are are few last photos from our most recent adventures in France.

If you’ve been following along with this series, thank you so much for reading. My travel blog has been dying, thanks to the pandemic and moving to a new platform. I hope this series will be the first of more to come in 2022! Wish us luck!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: going home