Breckenheim had a wine stand last night. We decided to attend, so we could salute Arran in style. Noyzi came with us, because we’re hoping to get him more used to people. We’d like to be able to take him more places. Besides, he genuinely loves people, but he’s scared of those he doesn’t know. Taking him out in the village is a good way to help him get more socialized.
We enjoyed a few glasses of local wine and talked to some of our neighbors. We told them about Arran, and how we lost him yesterday morning. I wondered if they thought we were weird for going out… We ran into our landlady– or, the wife of our landlord. I think she’s the one who legally owns our house, since her brother built it. She asked where Arran was, and we told her what happened.
It struck me as kind of strange. When we lost Zane, our landlords didn’t know until over a year later. That’s how much privacy they give us, even though we’re next door neighbors. Our former landlady probably would have known within days, even though she didn’t live next door.
Anyway, we said we’d seen her artwork at the neighborhood art show in the fall. She laughed, and said that wasn’t her artwork. It seems there’s another woman in our village with the same name. She’s much older. The landlady said she’s always having to tell people she isn’t the same person! Either way, the artwork was beautiful. Our landlady has a nice sense of style, too. She was wearing a pretty scarf. Maybe that reveals a certain artistic bent.
We also met an English speaking guy who hailed from the Nagold area and moved to Breckenheim. He said he used to work as a waiter at a nightclub in Stuttgart. One night, the deejay was very late coming in, and he was flanked by two police officers when he finally did show up. I guess the show didn’t go on that night.
It was a pretty average wine stand, but I did get a nice video of the neighborhood horses passing, as well as a few photos…
I love this about our village… horses, wine, and dogs. Who could ask for more?
It was nice to get our and enjoy the onset of spring… and now we can make some travel plans. We’re long overdue for a trip. After three years of road trips, I might even be convinced to fly on a plane and go somewhere further afield.
Before business picked up.I’m so lucky to share life with Bill.And Noyzi, our Kosovar rescue dog.But we’re still missing our sweet Arran.Noyzi was very good. He settled down a lot as the time passed.
Cheers to Arran, who is no longer suffering, and no longer has cancer or needs chemo… and doesn’t have to worry about trying to jump up on our too tall bed. I like to think of his soul finally free of his sick, but very strong body. The featured photo is the second to the last one we have of Arran. I took the last one in the vet’s office, just before we said goodbye. I don’t normally do that… but for some reason, I just felt like doing it. I’ll keep it private, because I don’t want people to remember him in that way. He was a majestic dog with a larger than life presence. We were blessed to know him.
Friday morning, after breakfast, we made our way back to the center of Florence with no specific plans for the day. We were scheduled to meet Tom, our guide, at 6:30pm at Santa Croce plaza. From there, we would go to a restaurant owned by friends of his and taste our first of many wines. Then, we’d have that Bistecca alla Fiorentina we’d been seeing for the past couple of days. But what to do for the rest of the day? Well, we did what we always seem to do when we travel, especially during a pandemic. We wandered around, people watched, and ate. Below are some more photos from Friday.
No, we weren’t drunk…at least not at that time of the day…But we were having fun!Santa Croce. A different photo came up in my Facebook memories today, from 9 years ago.Horses!Ponte Vecchio.The view of the Arno is better on less famous bridges.A little church meditation.We started looking for lunch.I am always fascinated by what people will paint on buildings.
Near the Ponte Vecchio, we were in a narrow alleyway, where we were greeted by a “friendly” Italian man who saw us looking at menus and told us his place was opening in twenty minutes. I was more open to taking him up on his welcome than Bill was. Bill was put off by the guy for some reason. I guess he doesn’t like being approached. Neither do I, but I’m somewhat less reluctant than he is.
Unfortunately, after that encounter with the local, it took us awhile to settle on a lunch venue. We wandered around several places and considered dining at one place, only to change our minds when we saw a woman send back an obviously underdone pizza (horrors!). There was an Irish pub that looked inviting, with its many fried options… Sadly, I am a big fan of fried food.
We did eventually find a really great local restaurant for lunch, Osteria Cipolla Rossa (red onion). And we found it just as I was about to give in to the pull of the tourist traps! We got to Osteria Cipolla Rossa at just the right time. There weren’t many people in the place when we arrived. But, by the time we ordered our food, the restaurant filled up with many locals. Bill had a wonderful vegetarian dish of homemade fettuccine with crushed pistachio nuts, mint, and Mediterranean vegetables. It was unique and interesting. And I had chargrilled chicken breast with roasted potatoes. The chicken was tender, juicy, and very flavorful. When Bill tasted it, he had a look on his face that he usually only has when he’s mid orgasm. Sadly, I haven’t seen that face as often as I used to. I know… I know… TMI.
I loved this pasta dish!And this chicken was amazing!I had vanilla gelato with cherries for dessert.Bill had the dessert of the day, which was some kind of delicious custard, with chocolate powder on top.We would go back!Buskers…And beautiful Italian flowers and produce.
More buskers. Bill gave them some euros.
By the time evening rolled around, we had walked several miles. My feet were killing me. But we had to walk back to Santa Croce to meet up with our wine group. I was curious about who would be attending the tour with us and how large the group would be. We saw Tom De Vries of Sommeliers Choices waving at us from across the square, so we made our way over there to meet Shawna and John, a married couple, and Heather, a married mom of two who came by herself. All three were Americans who live and work in the Stuttgart military community, as Bill and I used to. I think Tom does more business with the Stuttgart community, though he’s also in my Facebook group, which started out being Stuttgart based, and is now more Wiesbaden centric because I live in Wiesbaden.
To be honest, I’ve often regretted starting that wine group. As I wrote at the beginning of this series, I was actually reluctant to do this tour, because I am not good at being in groups. I’m probably even worse at leading them! But… I can’t deny that it has led to some fun travel and food experiences, like this tour we did over the weekend. We did have some lovely experiences on the very brief, but intense, tour with Tom. I got lots of beautiful photos, drank some beautiful wines from small, family owned wineries, met new people and dogs, and found some places Bill and I might try to visit on our own at some point.
Below are some photos from Friday night’s dinner and tasting at Francesco Vini in Florence. The restaurant was really interesting, especially with the cool “bunker” basement, where we did our tasting. Tom says he does a lot of tastings in the cellar.
Santa Croce in the evening.A look at the cellar.Orange wine from a tiny island near Tunisia. No, it’s not made of oranges. The color comes from the grapes’ skins.Bill tries the first red.Tom does his stuff.These were the star attractions with our dinner.Appetizers!Fried pizza dough with dip.The big steaks!Bistecca all Fiorentina. There were also truffled mashed potatoes for the fungally unchallenged.A nice restaurant.
One of the group members needed gluten free food because of celiac disease. I’m happy to report that all of the places we visited were great about proving gluten free options for the group member who needed them. Tom was also great about indulging my aversion to mushrooms and truffles. Besides the truffled mashed potatoes with the above dish, there were also plain roasted potatoes offered. The gluten free group member said that Italy was surprisingly accommodating in proving gluten free options, even at pizzerias!
After dinner, Bill and I were too exhausted to walk back to the hotel, so we split a cab with the solo group member. It was about ten euros total, and worth every euro cent. My feet are only now starting to deflate from all the wine and walking we did!
A few days ago, I noticed someone in our local Facebook group had posted that there would be a wine stand this week. I immediately told Bill, who was delighted by the news. He loves going to the wine stands. I like them, too. Our village used to have them every other week in the warmer months as a fundraiser for local clubs. But then we had COVID-19 to deal with, and for over a year, there were no wine stands. We did have one last fall at the very end of the season, but COVID restrictions were still pretty heavy at that time. They are now loosening somewhat, even though a lot of people in Germany are still getting the virus. We were supposed to have “freedom day” last weekend, but Hesse and a number of other states have decided to prolong the measures until at least April 2. Last night’s shindig was delightfully rule free. No one was checking for vaccines, and not many people bothered with masks. We’ll see if Bill and I get sick in the next few days (knock on wood). We stayed away from the crowded areas.
Nevertheless, we did manage to attend last night’s wine stand, in spite of Noyzi’s protests. I think he was just confused because I wore my blue Longwood sweatshirt, which I usually wear when I walk the dogs. He was insisting on trying to come with us. It’s not that he wouldn’t have been welcome, either. The wine stands are very kid and dog friendly. It’s just that he’s still so skittish around people he doesn’t know… and it’s not fun to drink wine while dealing with a restless dog his size. As for Arran, he just gets cranky when he’s around a lot of people, even though he’s friendly.
Noyzi is making some progress in the friend making department. We ran into the proprietor of the local Italian restaurant, pictured in the photos below. The guy likes dogs, and Bill later told me that he worked with a dog rescue. Noyzi could tell he was a friendly and kind man, so he let the guy pet him and even tried to engage in play with him. It was so cute! I love watching Noyzi turn into a confident, happy pooch.
It was already busy at 5:45pm.Early bratwurst consumers.The party was getting into swing.Our local pizzeria, where Noyzi made a friend.Bill was in a good mood, drinking a Spaetburgunder.He was in an even better mood with the PInot… These guys worked hard. People were bundled up, but the weather was actually kind of nice.I loved seeing the horses…Glad Arran wasn’t with us. He goes nuts when he sees horses.Bill needed this.
Last night’s stand offered brats and lots of local wines from Hochheim am Main, located very close to Breckenheim. Everybody seemed to be in a good mood… the atmosphere was even friendlier and congenial than usual. I think it’s because the wine stands used to be so much more frequent than they are now. People were definitely ready to mingle. The sign for the stand went up early this week– earlier than usual. And, as you can see, it was well attended! We stayed for about 90 minutes or so… long enough to try all of the wines. Then we came home– it was about a five minute walk. The boys were very happy to see us.
I hope the wine stands are back to stay, even though I usually have a headache on the mornings after!
Our last full day of our trip was probably our most touristy-vacation-esque of our trip. We went to Salzburg and walked around, taking in the sights. Once again, I regret not buying any art, since we passed a few galleries which were closed by the time we departed in the late afternoon. Salzburg is a beautiful city, with lots going on, and a lot of photogenic scenery. We mainly walked around, but we also visited St. Peter’s Abbey and, after Bill lit a candle for his late father, who was a Catholic, we had a very expensive but delicious lunch at Peter, one of the restaurants in St. Peter Stiftskulinarium, which was founded in 803 AD. We didn’t know anything about the restaurant when we visited, but it turned out to be a very successful stop.
Below are some photos from our walk around the city before lunch…
We decided to skip the Salzburger Dom, since we’d seen it before.
Last time we were in Salzburg, there were many Friesian horses… Not this time.
This guy was walking on air.
Buskers are pretty common near the Dom. Last time, we ran into a choir of Russian soldiers who made me cry.
St. Peter’s Abbey…
It’s been a year since Bill lost his father. He was not able to attend the funeral.
Peter is right next to the Abbey. They were decorating it for Christmas and, I have to admit, I was drawn in by how beautiful the restaurant was looking with the Christmas lights, trees, and ornaments. It turned out they have good food, too… for a price. But we didn’t mind, as it was a really nice meal and the only “fancy” one we had on our trip. In fact, we didn’t spend much money on food at all, most days. I wish it showed on my body, but I guess I’d have to give up booze for that to happen…
The outdoor area of the restaurant.
The entrance.
Handy menu.
Bill wanted to order a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but they were out of what he wanted.
This was a nice substitute, at 120 euros! That was 20 euros more than the other bottle that they didn’t have.
I had a small pickled salmon starter with quinoa and radishes.
Bill had burrata with sweet cherry tomatoes.
For my main course, I had roasted duck breast with orange sauce and potatoes.
Bill had venison with potato dumplings and pureed celery.
And dessert for me was a dark chocolate cream.
Bill had a lemon meringue tart.
Another shot of the dessert.
Peter gets mixed reviews. Some people think it’s an overpriced tourist trap. Personally, I enjoyed it, except for the pop music on the sound system, which didn’t seem to go with the food. Also, we were surprised when we came into the restaurant and the hostess told us we didn’t have to wear masks if we were vaccinated. We weren’t upset about it… just surprised. The restaurant was pretty busy and was doing a brisk business. I had originally wanted to get steak there, but they sold it by the gram and it started at 350 grams, which was way too much food for me. Maybe if Bill and I could have split it. We were happy with what we had, though. The duck was delicious, and Bill always enjoys venison whenever he can get it, since I don’t usually eat it myself. Our bill was about 250 euros, but it was money well spent.
After lunch, we walked around the cemetery, taking notice of how beautiful and ornate the graves were. Some of them had actual well-tended gardens on them. I haven’t even mentioned Mozart, who is everywhere in Salzburg, since it’s where he was born.
And as we came out of the cemetery, we found the Wasserrad, a long running source of power…
It was at about this time that we decided to pick up a few souvenirs, mostly for Bill’s co-workers, who bring us stuff on their travels. I also got a new beer stein for my collection. I now have two from Germany, two from Austria, and one from Switzerland. I tried to talk Bill into getting a hat, like the ones we saw in The Sound of Music. He turned me down.
Bill didn’t want one of those hats.
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen anyone playing one of these life size chess games.
We have one in our Dorfplatz, but I’ve never seen anyone using it.
This young lady, Valentina Marshinoskaya, was playing lovely music, so we bought one of her CDs.
And finally, we decided to visit the Stieglbrau, a restaurant affiliated with the brewery. It also has a Biergarten/Winter solarium for those of us who just come to drink, as Bill and I did… I think it was worth visiting for the views alone! Last time we were in Salzburg, back in May 2012, the restaurant wasn’t open. I don’t remember why.
I enjoyed this beer… Bill had an IPA, and I had a Hefeweizen… and a Naturtueb.
A Stolperstein (stumbling stone) commemorating a Holocaust victim.
Salzburg is so pretty!
Bill ducked in to a little gourmet shop to get some Stiegl beer, some deer and antelope sausage, and a new beer mug for me. I was really feeling the urge to shop, since so many places in Croatia and Slovenia were closed.
The sun was sinking as we went back to the garage to get the car. Austrians are so civilized, they had a very clean WC there, which I needed to visit. Unfortunately, I almost walked into the men’s room… a couple of locals laughed about that! Then, on the very short drive back to Ray’s house, we were stopped at a light, and some mean spirited jackass on a bike and carrying a skateboard knocked on the window. When I looked up, he shot me the middle finger while wearing a most hateful expression on his face, which is illegal in Germany and, my German friend Susanne says, is also illegal in Austria. Needless to say, I quickly fired back, and hope he fell off his bike and neutered himself. I don’t know why he flipped us– or really, me– off. I had nothing to do with any traffic offenses, since I was sitting in the passenger seat, minding my own business. Asshole.
We decided to relax on our last night on vacation, though if I’m honest, I was really ready to go home. After awhile, it gets tiresome living out of a bag. I also really missed the dogs. So, although we had a good day in Salzburg and could have seen a lot more, I was ready to go back to normal living.
Stay tuned for the last post in this series, part fourteen.
