Since I run a food and wine group on Facebook, I try to keep an eye on relevant food and wine events going on nearby. Not that people really care if I go to these events, mind you… My Facebook group is actually pretty dead these days. But running it does give me a reason to get out and see things, instead of giving in to the temptation to stay home and sit on my ass.

I noticed an ad for a wine tasting event in Rüsselsheim, which was going on Saturday and Sunday. The event required tickets, which could be bought for 10 euros ahead of time, or 12 euros at the door. I found out about it from a Facebook ad, and since Rüsselsheim is so close to where we live, we decided to check it out. It was our first time in Rüsselsheim, although one of Bill’s colleagues lives there.

The Wine Messe, as it was called, was held in, the Festung Keller, which is a rather cool venue. It was hosted by an outfit called Wine-Crew. On Saturday, the event ran from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Sunday, it went from 12:00 PM until 6:00 PM. We got there at about 3:00 PM on Saturday, managing to find parking at a garage a couple of blocks away from the venue. I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was plenty of parking at the garage. We were going to take a cab so Bill could enjoy the event more, but none would accept the fare.

The 600 year old Festung is right next to an art museum, which appeared to be closed on Saturday. The museum has a parking lot, but it was full, and probably not intended for winos. I think I would like to attend more events at that venue. It’s really nice, and because the walls in the cellar are so thick, one can’t spend all their time on their phones.

We met some very pleasant people, including a young couple who ran a winery near the French border and operate a holiday apartment. They were so nice that I might consider visiting them for a weekend and having a tasting. They brought their young son with them, which was kind of nice to see. He had on the winery’s polo shirt. Another representative cracked us up with his energy and enthusiasm, especially for a certain Feinherb wine that he described as “sexy”. Another vintner was curious about us, as Americans, living in Germany. I recognized still another vintner as one who provided a truck for our village while the winestand kiosk was being rebuilt last year. We bought some of their wines.

Below are some photos from the Wine Messe. We came home with about 15 bottles of wine, none of which were particularly expensive. Bill had to ferry the wines over a couple of trips back to the car. It was good for him to do that, because it prevented him from drinking too much wine.

Then yesterday, we ventured to the very fetching town of Oppenheim, which is right on the Rhein River and is home to a lot of Weinguts. They were having a spring city fest. The fest featured crafts, wines, street food, and live music. Or, so that was what was advertised. The event took place over a “mile”, which consisted of stations around the town.

We never did find the wine or street food, but I will confess we didn’t look for that long. We both got hungry, and decided to have lunch at Royal Maharaja, an Indian restaurant by the Zentrum. I don’t usually go for Indian food, so this was a real treat for Bill, who loves it. Actually, I really enjoyed our lunch. I probably ought to be braver about eating Indian food.

I really enjoyed visiting the churches in town. The Catholic church was pretty plain, but the Evangelical church (St. Katharinen) was beautiful and very historic. I loved the beautiful windows, as you can see from my photos.

Below are some photos from Oppenheim, which I thought was a very charming place. I’d like to go back and see more of it, and the surrounding villages. It looked like there were quite a few wineries and interesting buildings, plus it’s right by the river. In fact, I noticed yet another Viking cruiselines gangway in the town of Nierstein. We do live in an area where people vacation, after all!

As we were leaving Oppenheim, I heard live music. A man and woman were playing guitar and covering songs by Norah Jones and Carole King. I thought they were very good. Of course, the singer was no “knotty”… 😀 (kidding, of course. She had a lovely voice.)

Now that we no longer have pandemic restrictions and the bridge is being rebuilt out of Wiesbaden, maybe it’s time we spent more time visiting the charming Rhein towns that are so close to us. Oppenheim is about 30 minutes from where we live, and yet it has a totally different vibe. It might help me develop more affection for Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz. I think people here are friendlier, but I do really miss the beauty of Baden-Württemberg. The extraordinary beauty of BW helps ease the pain of some of the awkward interactions I’ve had with a few of the locals. 😉

Anyway, that about does it for our second weekend of April 2024. It was great to go out and see some of the area where we’re so privileged to live. It’s time to get back in the groove of enjoying Europe again.