Health, Hessen

Italian delicacies from Celpro Italian Supermarket…

This week, I had a very unpleasant exchange with an Amazon seller, who failed to send me Sperlari Candies I had ordered from Italy. I don’t want to get into the story of what happened in that situation on this blog, because I like to try to keep this space somewhat upbeat, when I can. If you want to read that story, click here. Suffice to say, I didn’t get my candy, and the seller was miffed that I left a low seller rating.

That situation made me remember visiting the Celpro Italian Supermarket, back during the height of the pandemic. I wondered if maybe they had some Sperlari goodies. I told Bill I wanted to visit, so off we went. We were definitely not the only ones who had the idea of shopping for Italian treats today.

It had been so long since our last visit, I had forgotten how small the market was. But for being such a small market, they offer a lot of Italian goods– everything from laundry detergent to fresh meats and cheeses. I couldn’t stand to be in there for too long, though, because it was pretty busy and crowded. We did manage to spend about 127 euros. It would have probably been more, if we could have gotten close to the meat counter!

When we got home from Celpro, I looked to see if there were any other markets nearby. I found one called Fornara, which is a small chain. Apparently, they are near the train station in Wiesbaden. They have another location in Taunnustein. I think we might have to visit there, too… although maybe not today, since it’s already getting close to 2:00 PM, and the store closes at 4:00. It looks like a much bigger market, though– at least the one in Taunnustein does. At the very least, we’d probably find more wines!

Yesterday was May Day. I completely forgot about it. I was too busy thinking about Bill coming home from his latest TDY trip. We had beautiful weather, though, and it’s pretty today, too. It’s also finally getting warm.

I got an email from the driver’s license people in Texas. Naturally, they need more stuff from me. I have to go get my eyes checked at an optometrist’s office, because they need a field of vision test (this is a new thing– never needed that in previous years). I also have to send a copy of my voter card, and complete a couple of items of the form that got overlooked.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the communication I got. The lady provided everything I needed– from the information as to what documentation is acceptable to prove Texas residency, to the spots I missed on the form. I feel pretty confident that by June 20, which is my birthday, I will have an updated license. Kudos to Mary, handling the out of state driver’s licenses. She’s a professional. I just wish they’d make it easier for people in my situation to find them. It would cut down on a lot of stress and confusion.

I need to go see the eye doctor anyway. I need a new prescription, and perhaps to get myself some bifocals. It’s a pain to have to do it, but it does need to be done. I think we’ll go to a different provider this time, though. I didn’t like the place I went in Wiesbaden, last time I had my eyes checked. I just hope the person I see doesn’t piss me off. 😏

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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.

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German lifestyle, Hessen

I just tried Knuspr for the first time…

Hi y’all. I am currently living life on my own, as Bill has gone on another one of his marathon business trips to Bavaria. But I wanted to pop on here for a moment to write about a first time experience I had yesterday.

A couple of days ago, I was on Amazon.de shopping for a new capo for my guitar. The one I’ve been using has a rubber pad that comes askew sometimes. I start playing, and the guitar sounds shitty. It’s because the pad has doubled up on itself and the capo isn’t seated properly. Yes, I could probably fix the capo with some super glue, and it’s easy enough to straighten out the pad in the meantime. I guess I just felt like shopping. I actually meant to go to the music store last week and pick up a new capo, but we never got around to it.

As I was shopping for the capo, it occurred to me that I also needed a new razor. I had just thrown out my old one. I don’t actually need to shave much these days. I don’t grow much hair anymore, and what I do grow is blonde or silver. But I don’t like seeing or feeling the long hairs, especially in my armpits. So since I was already going to buy a capo, I went looking for a razor, too. I wound up putting what I thought was a razor in my virtual basket, but it turned out to be just a box of razor refills. I still needed the actual razor. 🙄

So, as I put the razor refills away, I looked in the bathroom to see if I could find a new razor. I didn’t find one then, even though late yesterday, I found one, plain as day, in the top drawer of the chest of drawers in our bathroom. I don’t know how I missed it– it was in a big pink box, and exactly the kind I needed. But I did miss it during that first search, so I was left with the wrong impression that I needed a new razor handle. And it couldn’t be just ANY razor. I required one that would work with the box of eight razor refills that I got from Amazon.

So I went back to Amazon, and somehow, I found that the only way I could buy a new razor through them was to use Knuspr, which is an online German Supermarket-Hofladen. In retrospect, this was pretty dumb thinking on my part. I could just go to the Rewe, which is a ten or fifteen minute walk from our house. They would probably have what I needed. But I’m lazy, and I figured I could write a post for this blog, so here we are.

The razor was about 10 euros, give or take. To get free shipping, I needed to spend 39 euros. I actually found it rather hard to do that. Bill left me well-stocked with groceries before he left, so I really didn’t need much of anything. Knuspr offers all kinds of products, though. They do actually have a dedicated Web site that is independent of Amazon, but they also have lots of stuff on Amazon, which ends up becoming a separate Knuspr order.

I still didn’t want to spend 39 euros, or pay several euros for shipping and handling, so I tried repeatedly to find another seller, other than Knuspr. I was unable to do it. So I resigned myself to shopping on Knuspr for the very first time.

Yesterday morning, besides the razor, I ordered several bags of pasta, a bag of risotto, a couple of bags of Doritos, a pastry wheel, a jar of mustard, a couple of jars of different types of pasta sauce, and bathroom cleaner. Oh, and I also ordered a couple of fresh pretzel rolls, too…

Two hours later, the doorbell rang, and there was a guy standing there holding four or five paper shopping bags. He said, “Jenny?” I answered affirmatively and thanked him. Each bag had my name on it. And there was all the stuff I ordered. How very convenient… and dangerous!

Knuspr’s logo

I was impressed by Knuspr. The service was fast, accurate, friendly, and again, super easy! Will I use it often? Probably not… It actually does my heart good to go to the Rewe to shop when Bill isn’t home. It’s healthy for me to shop in person– forces me to drive the car and interact with people. If anything, I practice a little German and engage with the world. But if, for some reason, I ever need groceries delivered again while I still live in Germany, I would definitely use Knuspr. It’s totally legit!

And yes, I know some people have been using services like Knuspr for years, but I’m kind of a luddite. It takes me awhile to jump on these kinds of bandwagons.

It looks like Knuspr is available in cities throughout Germany, although I don’t know how many specific places offer it. I just input my old postal code in their search bar, and was informed that– tut uns leid– they don’t offer Knuspr there yet. But even in somewhat rural Jettingen, there was still an Aldi nearby, and a huge Real (which is now a Kaufland). So Knuspr is a great convenience, but if you can’t use it yet, you’re not gonna starve here. Jettingen also has a few great farms nearby, where one can buy super fresh milk and produce straight from the source. I think we have farms in Wiesbaden, too, but they aren’t quite as obvious. 😉

I didn’t actually need to buy the stuff I did. I didn’t even need to get the damned razor, because I found one in the bathroom after I already made the order. But the stuff I bought, by and large, won’t go bad. I can always use another bag of pasta or a jar of sauce. And it gave me something to put in this blog today, as I plow through this latest business trip. So kudos to Knuspr for that. One more reason NOT to get dressed in the morning!

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supermarkets

A German and Italian inspired outing in Mainz-Kastel…

We have beautiful weather in Wiesbaden today. It was so pretty that Bill decided that he wanted to try out a Biergarten in nearby Mainz-Kastel. Mainz-Kastel is not the prettiest or most picturesque place I’ve ever seen, but it does have a nice Italian supermarket. Bill wanted to stop by there, too, and see if we could score some Italian goodies. We fired up the Mini, which badly needs to be driven, and headed off to our first stop, the Brauhaus-Castel Brewery (or Brauhaus, if you prefer). This restaurant offers hearty German (Bavarian) fare and lots of housemade beers. The kitchen stays open all day, so there are no worries about pauses. They have a nice sized parking lot with free parking, which even has a spot for charging your electric vehicle. There’s also a playground for your kids and a children’s menu!

Here are a few photos from our lunch, which was pretty good. I suspect Bill will be regular for the next few days, thanks to his barley covered schnitzel.

Service was friendly and kind. Our server was indulgent at my pitiful attempts to speak German. I know, after seven years, I should be fluent. Shame on me. For those who don’t want to try to speak German, this place does seem to be very American friendly. I think the server spoke English, although he spoke German to us. I know he knew we were Auslanders, though.

All told, we spent 40 euros on food and beer… two half liter beers each for us. Bill had a Dunkel and an alcohol free Weizen. I had two Weizens. They also had other drinks and, of course, there was plenty of wine! It was a good time. We would go back. I’d like to go back just so I can get pictures of the huge sex shop next door. It has a slogan in English that says, “Sex up your life!” That’s something you probably wouldn’t necessarily see in most parts of the USA. On the other hand, I do remember passing Cafe Risque many times on the way through North Carolina as I traveled on I-95 from Virginia to South Carolina, and vice versa.

After lunch, we headed for the Celpro Italian market. That place was a real treat, and it was DEFINITELY very Italian. There’s also plenty of parking there, as well as lots of high quality Italian goodies.

It’s not a big supermarket and we didn’t linger long, because after being at the Biergarten, I really needed to pee. Alas, the supermarket doesn’t have a public restroom and secluded bushes are scarce. I did see a guy cleaning the parking lot, though. Very impressive! I am sure we’ll back for more. It’s not far from where we live. I love all the ethnic markets here in Germany. There’s always a sure bet you’ll find something fun and interesting in them, although maybe they aren’t as fun as the Mix Markts with the Russian and Eastern European products.

It’s nice to get out again, even though COVID cases are on the rise, even here. Mask mandates never went away here, though… Seriously, it’s nice to be in Germany during these weird times.

I don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow, but I would be up for another trip to both of our spots today. Not tomorrow, of course, but maybe sometime soon… before the weather turns back into shit.

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Baden-Württemberg, Nagold

Denn’s Biomarkt… where have you been all my life?

I know, I know…  I’ve been living in Germany for awhile now and Denn’s Biomarkt is a chain with locations all over the place.  I kept meaning to stop at one, but never got around to it.  Today, Bill and I decided to go to Nagold to shop for groceries.  We usually go to the Real or Aldi in Jettingen, but I felt like a change.

Although we were planning to hit the very nice Edeka in Nagold, I spotted a Denn’s Biomarkt location.  It had a huge parking lot that allowed free parking for up to 90 minutes.  Plenty of spots were open, so we pulled in and had a look.

I was immediately impressed by how quiet the place was…

There was lots of fresh produce and the lighting was very pleasant.  It was much nicer than the harsh, depressing lighting at the Real.

I was intrigued by this product for kids, although I didn’t pick any up.

They had a cheese counter, as well as this case of nice cheeses from around Europe.

And there was also plenty of wine from around Europe, including some enticing ones from Spain and Italy.

The wine of the month!

Fresh eggs!  

And, if the need arises, you can even buy socks, t-shirts, and underwear made of organic cotton.  They had a nice cosmetics area with a lot of natural products, as well as a small selection of organic pet foods and treats.

They even had fair trade chocolate eggs with toys in them.  I got one and will have to see what the prize is.  Hopefully, I won’t choke on it.  😉

And there’s a bulletin board advertising everything from rental properties to pets looking for homes.

I really enjoyed shopping at Denn’s Biomarkt today.  They offer some very nice products.  I noticed the store was particularly vegan friendly, which may be useful for some readers.  I also liked the fact that the store wasn’t too big or chaotic the way the Real is sometimes.

Unfortunately, we still ended up visiting the Real when Bill decided he wanted to make some hummus for lunch.  We also had a rack of empty water bottles to offload.  Many people who read this blog live in Germany and no doubt already know what is involved with returning racks of bottles at a German grocery store.  For those who don’t, I took a couple of pictures.

You put the rank in the bottom part.  It gets read.  A receipt for the “pfand” is printed…

You take the receipt and hand it in to the cashier when you check out.  The money you paid for the pfand is refunded.

I thought this dinosaur was funny.  Reminded me of a reverse Barney.  Of course, I always hated Barney…  Baby Bop perhaps?  

I must admit, I got a little sad walking through the store in Nagold, thinking about how much I enjoy that town and realizing that I may have to move again soon.  Or, maybe not…  I suspect I will mourn the missed opportunity of moving to Italy, too, if it turns out we stay here.  What a ridiculous problem to have.

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