Tag Archives: MS Holz

Hessen, holidays

Bird baths, bug eaters, and lots of beer…

It’s Labor Day weekend. In previous years, that meant going away for a short break. This year, we stayed home, because tomorrow, Bill has to fly to Lausanne, Switzerland for an overnight. He’s going to meet with one of the analysts at the C.G. Jung Institute as he progresses through the admissions process. Then, next Sunday, we will both be flying to Budapest, Hungary for several nights. Bill will be working, and I’ll be tagging along, looking for interesting photo ops.

We did a few things this weekend, though. On Friday night, we went to the wine stand. We talked to our American neighbors, a married lesbian couple with two children. One of the wives is a reservist in the military, though not posted here. The other is applying for German citizenship for herself and their children. The reservist is pursuing a doctorate in social work, so she was interested in hearing about Bill’s journey at the Jung Institute. She’s setting up a private practice for Americans and other English speakers here.

It stormed, so we sat under the tents and waited for it to pass. I couldn’t help but remember that in 2017, the awning from hell collapsed, and our former landlady accused me of negligence, because later that day, there was a storm. She claimed I was negligent for using the awning in a storm, which I hadn’t done… but obviously, it’s not uncommon for Germans to use awnings and tents when it storms. Yesterday was the anniversary of that sad event, which led to a lawsuit.

Saturday morning, I got up and went into the backyard to clean up dog poop and check the water bowls. I noticed one of the bowls was dirty. It wasn’t the first time. Then I saw a feather floating in the bowl and assumed that a bird has been using it as a bird bath. It occurred to me that maybe we should have a bird bath for the backyard. That would be a good excuse to get out of the house, anyway.

So we went to the hardware store– the one with the cool slide for kids. We searched the whole store, but they didn’t have any bird baths for sale. We also tried the Globus, which is a HUGE hypermarket. No luck there, either, although we did leave with a booze haul, Belgian beers, some groceries, and some really tasty snacks called Fonzies, which are like Parmesan flavored Cheetos. I’d say they’re superior.

Then last night, as I was sitting in the backyard, listening to music and drinking beer, I saw what appeared to be a female blackbird eating bugs. I assume she’s the one who keeps dirtying the dog’s water bowl. I put two out there, and they really only use the one on the right. The bird uses the one on the left. I am still looking for a bird bath, but maybe I shouldn’t bother. It’s going to be winter soon enough. I got some pictures of her. Looks like she was eating the bugs on Bill’s tomato and pepper plants. They say blackbirds don’t eat aphids, though… Maybe that’s not a female blackbird, after all.

As I was taking photos, the song “Maneater” by Hall & Oates came on. I changed the lyrics to “Bug eater.”

And then this morning, after being repeatedly pawed by Charlie, Bill got up and made breakfast. The biscuits turned out perfectly. So did the grits. I’m so blessed to be married to a man who knows his way around comfort food. He has really perfected making perfect biscuits. It’s not as easy as it seems!

I’m not sure what we’ll do today. Bill just asked if I want to go out. There is a wine fest going on in Mainz that we could attend. Do I want to go? I don’t know… The Mais Labyrinth is also going on, and we passed it on the way home from the store, but after we went to Globus, we were too tired to consider visiting. I always feel drained after going to Globus. It’s a HUGE store. But it was cool to watch the ladies making the melon displays as we passed. They take melons and turn them into people or animals or other decorations. Quite an impressive skill!

Anyway, that’s about all I have to write about for now. If we end up going out, I’ll update.

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Hessen, Lithuania

Sunshine, strawberry wine, and sun shields…

Several weeks ago, Bill and I visited the local hardware store for some stakes for his tomato plants. While we were there, we stopped by a strawberry shaped kiosk by Hof Birkenhöhe in the parking lot, where a lady was selling berries and wines. We bought a bottle of Fraisecco, a type of bubbly strawberry wine, and a semi street raspberry wine. We put the bottles in the fridge, waiting for the right day to try them.

There’s also another farm called Paul’s Bauernhof near us that sells strawberry wines and other delicious farm fresh products. I originally thought the Fraisecco had come from that farm, but I was mistaken.

Yesterday, we decided it was time to try the strawberry wine. We did that after we’d paid another visit to the hardware store to buy another umbrella for our backyard. Prior to yesterday, we just had one umbrella in the backyard, and it wasn’t quite doing the whole job of shading our patio. I’d have to move it as the sun moved, which isn’t easy, given the 100 pound granite stone it’s connected to. Even though the stone has wheels, it’s very hard to move.

We ended up getting a rectangular umbrella, rather than a traditional one. I think I like it better, because it’s longer and covers more area lengthwise…

Yes, that’s a slide!

I love MS Holz, the local hardware store. It’s so much nicer than Lowe’s or Home Depot… or even the Toom store we used to visit when we lived in Jettingen, down in BW. We spent a little over 300 euros yesterday. It was well worth the cost for the extra shade.

It took some doing to get the umbrella and stone into the Volvo. A big, strong male store employee helped us. He was concerned about what we were going to do when we got the stone back to our house. It was not a big deal, though. I was able to help Bill carry it to the backyard through our garage. Bill set up the new umbrella, then, before breaking out the strawberry Fraisecco, he took my Mini Cooper for a very quick drive.

Getting ready to set up the new umbrella.

Unfortunately, my car doesn’t get used much at all. We bought it in 2009, and it has less than 39,000 miles on it. I don’t drive much, and when I do, I usually take the Volvo, because it’s not in the garage. I did use the car a lot more often when we were in Jettingen, but even that wasn’t often enough. It is useful to have a second car, but most of the time, we don’t need it. However, it’s long paid off, and is fun to drive… when it’s running properly, that is. Right now, it appears that it needs a repair.

Bill said, as he came back outside to the yard, “I think it’s time to blow ‘Taps’ for the Mini.”

He described what happened during his very brief drive. It shook and the service engine came on. I looked up the “symptoms” and learned that the issue is most likely a faulty spark plug or ignition coil. So now, when we get back from Lithuania, he’s going to have to take the car to the mechanic and get it fixed. And then, perhaps we’ll look into buying another car. If we get another, maybe I’ll drive the Volvo and we’ll get Bill something nice for work. One reason I don’t use the Mini very often now, is because Noyzi won’t fit in the back seat. It’s too small. When we had Zane and Arran, I could fit both of them in the back, no problem. There’s no way I can get Noyzi in the tiny back seat of the Mini Cooper.

I do like the convertible– it’s a blast to drive and easy to park. But it’s not very practical for our needs now. It also has a stick shift, and I think I’m at an age at which I don’t want to mess with a manual transmission anymore. Besides, the stereo/sound system is obsolete.

Bill opened the Fraisecco, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had expected it to be sweet and cloying, but it was refreshingly dry, tasted of super fresh strawberries, and went down easy on a hot day. It also only has 8.8% ABV, which is a good thing for my liver. I’d buy it again. In fact, I wish we’d bought another bottle yesterday.

Maybe we’ll find some more when we get back from Lithuania. We’ll see. Actually, days after we get back from Lithuania, we’ll be heading for Switzerland for another 8 nights. So it might be July before we tend to these new issues.

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Hessen

Framing, French food, and Fruity wines…

Today, Bill and I decided to go into Wiesbaden and visit Kunst-Schaefer to get more picture framing done. We had several paintings/prints that we’ve had for years that needed to be framed, a wooden carving from Bulgaria that needed a hanger, and a photo of Bill’s daughter’s family that needed proper presentation. So, late this morning, after a hearty Saturday breakfast, we loaded up the Volvo and headed downtown…

Bill makes use of the art sleeve we bought in Yerevan.
You’d think with that clashing carpet, I wouldn’t care about framing…
We bought this in Sofia last year. Now we can hang it somewhere.
Sweet Noyzi…

The same guy who always helps us– son of the proprietor, I think– came over and spent some time deciding which frames would go best with our art. One piece– a Van Gogh inspired painting– is getting special treatment, complete with matting. It, along with two other drink inspired paintings, was done by a military wife who ran a wine and painting class in Stuttgart. She was leaving in 2014, just as we were arriving, so we bought three of her paintings from the courses she taught. I bet she’d be surprised by the custom presentation her Van Gogh painting is getting. I don’t remember how much we paid for the paintings. I don’t think it was much. The framing will probably cost more.

Below: I noticed a memorial on someone’s upper window. The tent below was a fest sponsored by a local Mosque. The food smelled wonderful!

Funny thing about our picture framing excursion. When we showed the guy the picture of Bill’s daughter’s family, he said “Wow… lots of people.”

I said, “Mormons…”

The guy laughed, and then he realized I wasn’t kidding, and seemed momentarily flustered! We made it clear, though, that we aren’t LDS ourselves. One of our paintings is of a martini glass, and the other is of a beer glass. We told him we hang those in the room where we do most of our drinking. 😀

The guy’s mother is brilliant at matching colors. I think she might have irritated her son, though, because he was trying to figure out how we were going to frame the Van Gogh inspired piece, and she offered her opinions. I noticed a flash of impatience as she was making her case. The guy’s mom is really good at what she does, but so is he… I am sure it will turn out beautifully. I have some other pieces they’ve framed that I am delighted with. They are also very friendly, especially to those of us with VAT forms, and by now, they even know our name!

We spent about an hour or so deciding on our framing, and by the time we were finished, it was lunchtime. So we decided to try Les Deux Messieurs, a French bistro/boulangerie/patisserie on the market square. It serves all day breakfast until 7PM, as well as salads, sandwiches, quiches, and tarte flambees… I see on their official site that they’re a chain, with locations in Munich and Wiesbaden. We sat outside to enjoy the lovely weather, but it was a bit chilly because of the wind. Lunch was very good, and reasonably priced. It was just enough, too. Maybe some other time, we’ll try their eclairs!

Below are some photos of our lunch. At one point, a lady sitting behind us went and got an ice cream cone from another business and the wait staff told her she couldn’t eat it at the table, because they don’t sell ice cream there, and if other people saw it, they’d expect them to have it. Later, an older gentleman sat with us, and Bill had to help him with the menus that he didn’t see… Good thing he speaks some German! I tried to get a new selfie for my Facebook page, but wasn’t so lucky. I need to fix my hair.

I had Quiche Atlantique with smoked salmon and spinach. Bill had a Croque Mademoiselle, with chicken, Gruyeres, and Dijon.
Wiesbaden is always so beautiful… especially on market day!

After lunch, we headed to the pet store to pick up new food for Charlie and Noyzi. I bought them some pig ears, which they’d never had before. Once they figured out what they were, they were happy to experience them! We sent their taste buds on a journey! We also got some new food that I’m hoping won’t make Noyzi stink, like the food with salmon does. Lately, he’s been smelling like a kitty litterbox.

Finally, we went to the hardware store to get some supplies for Bill’s tomato plants. He needed stakes to support them and some fertilizer. On the way out, we bought some fruity wines from a lady selling strawberries…. Maybe we’ll try it later. We got dry strawberry wine, and sweet raspberry wine. Yes, our favorite hardware store as a slide for kids and a coffee station!

All in all, it’s been a busy and productive Saturday. I am cutting and trimming the grass and doing laundry as I write this. I may not bother with a main blog post today. The weather is so delightful, I think I want to go sit outside and get a dose of Vitamin D.

Ciao!

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Spring shopping and sushi…

The coolest hardware store ever…

Last night, as we were sitting outside in our fenced in yard, it occurred to me that I’d really like to get rid of our old patio furniture… or, if not get rid of it, repurpose it.  We have two large balconies in our latest house, neither of which have any seating.  I have been eyeing teak patio furniture for weeks.  Finally, I talked Bill into a trip to the MS Holz Fachmarkt.  I wrote about this store a couple of months ago, noting that it has a super awesome slide for kids and big kids.  Today, we actually saw kids sliding down as well as at least one adult.  No, I didn’t try it myself, although I was slightly tempted.

This thing is a barrel of laughs.

It took us no time at all to find the table and chairs we wanted.  It took a bit longer to find someone willing to help us.  As I’ve mentioned before, customer service can be a bit sketchy in Germany sometimes.  Anyway, we did manage to flag down a tall young man who spoke some English.  The table and chairs we wanted were in stock, and by plum, we were able to fit them in our SUV.

Lots to choose from.  They also had some very impressive grills for sale.

They had a bunch of different tables and chairs, some a lot more expensive than what we bought.  I love that Germans don’t go in for that shitty particle board crap that is so easily found in the United States.  The furniture in this store was all wood and well made.  And since our porch is covered, it’s no problem keeping it out of the elements.  This set, we’ll probably store in the garage during winter.

Pick up!

The back of our SUV was pretty well packed, but if we couldn’t have gotten it home, we could arrange for delivery.  This store is really close to where we live, so it wouldn’t have been too expensive to arrange delivery.

A big improvement!  And since we have beautiful weather, I suspect we’ll be breaking it in today.  I will look for some cushions.

 

After we set up the furniture, we went to Wiesbaden for lunch.  After we walked around for awhile, searching for a place that wasn’t too crowded and wasn’t taking a pause, we ended up at Hiro Sushi.  Our waitress was really friendly and they were playing surprisingly soothing guitar Muzak.  I must be getting old, because for once Muzak didn’t really annoy me.

Wiesbaden is so pretty.

 

Friendly service and great sushi!

They had Paulaner alcohol free beer at Hiro Sushi.  It was surprisingly good.  I couldn’t really tell that it was alcohol free. 

Obligatory shot of Bill.

They had a little cat that waved…

Interesting art on the walls that welcomed everyone in several different languages.

 

I was starving, so I ordered shrimp tempura spring rolls.  These were surprisingly good, though a little hard to eat.  Basically, they each consisted of a fried shrimp surrounded by sprouts and cabbage and wrapped in rice paper.

Bill had shrimp dumplings… rice paper filled with shrimp.

 

I’m not quite sure what Bill had.  It was very crispy and had avocado, but it wasn’t quite as fancy as mine was.

I had the Morido, sushi with tempura fried avocado and covered with salmon.

We usually don’t bother with dessert in sushi places, but today I had green tea ice cream with mangoes.  It was very refreshing.

Bill went with deep fried Vietnamese sesame balls with coconut sauce.  He said they were a little heavy, particularly for the weather.  I was glad he tried them, though.  I was curious.  

This was a very nice lunch.  I felt a lot better afterwards, especially since I was really hungry when we came in.  The total bill came to about 51 euros.  After we paid it, and Bill thanked the waitress in Japanese, we headed back to the car and dropped off some empty bottles, then picked up more beer.  I have a feeling it’s time to enjoy our new outdoor furniture before Easter.  Tomorrow, we may head to Frankfurt for their annual spring fair, the Dippemess.  We’ll see if either of us feels like the train ride…

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The nicest hardware store I’ve ever seen… and more Italian hospitality!

Now that we’ve settled in somewhat, Bill has decided to try to fix the holes in the wall where the curtain rod is in our living room.  The holes were left by the previous occupants, who apparently hung heavy drapes that pulled the screws out of the wall.  Once he fixes that, I can hang my drapes and raise the Rolladens.  Actually, I’m trying to decide what we can put in our big living room so it doesn’t look so empty.  It’s like we have two living rooms now and one side has art, a rug, and our Bose speaker.  The other side has the couches.

So anyway, we needed to go to the hardware store to pick up some stuff with which to fix the holes.  In our old town, we used to go to the hardware stores in Herrenberg or Nagold.  They weren’t bad hardware stores.  In fact, they reminded me of slightly upscale American big box stores.  Our Toom in Herrenberg even had a small restaurant in it.  Germans are very civilized.

I didn’t have especially high expectations for the MS Holz Fachmarkt.  I figured it would be like all the other hardware stores I’ve been to.  I see by Google reviews that this store gets average ratings.  People seem to either love it or hate it.  I enjoyed my visit today…

The front facade.  Apparently, this is a new location with a nice big parking lot.  Check out the cool kids’ play equipment.  No, they aren’t for your kids to play on, but you can build one for your house.

As soon as I walked inside, I was greeted by the cashier.

All of your garden needs… even Crocs and hats for your kids.

 

I found Bill and a friendly staffer, who spoke English, showed Bill what he needed to fix the hole.  Bill had helpfully taken a picture of the hole, which was useful to show the man so he could advise us of the right product.  The guy even explained the directions to us in English, since the packaging didn’t have them translated.

Then I noticed this “wallpaper”.  In both of our German houses this time, I’ve noticed the walls have this texture on them.  I saw that it looked like wallpaper, but was curious if that’s what it really is.  Sure enough, my curiosity was satisfied.

There were a couple of things I was hoping to find… the kind of things you might find in a Lowe’s or a Home Depot.  Unfortunately, Germany doesn’t embrace one stop shopping quite as much as the United States does.  Still, it was interesting to walk around the store, which was clean and quiet and had some very attractive displays.

Ideas for when the weather improves.

A lounger with a shade!

Isn’t it beautiful?

This was a cool looking door, with the shattered look.  I think it was selling for about 1500 euros.

An artist who makes furniture with trees…

 

I loved the chair, though I don’t know how comfortable it is.  It was made with a cherry tree.

 

Then I spotted a most impressive sight!  This store has a slide in it.  Your children take off their shoes and slide down to the bottom, right next to the coffee bar.  Didn’t I tell you Germans were civilized?

Weee!  My German friend Susanne says that there was a shoe store in Stuttgart that had a slide that went to the children’s section (smart thinking) and a drug store in her little town also had one.  As an American who was denied such coolness as a child, I now feel deprived!

 

When we were finished shopping, we decided to search for lunch.  We drove around a bit, noticing the Hofladens near our house.  We eventually ended up in Hofheim am Taunus, where I spotted a pizzeria called Amici.  It looked promising.

Bill is ready for lunch… and we had a big one!

A little local water in a bottle that reminds me of perfume.

They brought out some bread and olives, and poured generous glasses of Primitivo.

We split an avocado salad that was made with tiny shrimp, pineapples, and garnished with cherry tomatoes, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar.  This was about 13,50 euros and I’m glad we shared it.  It was a lot even for the two of us, but it was very nice.

 

There was an older couple sitting near us and they were obviously regulars.  The very pleasant waitress took excellent care of them, joking and laughing.  Another couple of ladies brought in an adorable six month old baby and a toddler with red ringlets.  They were easily chatting with the older couple, who appeared to be having a great time.  I can see why they’re regulars.  The waitress was super nice and the food was great.

Bill had Rigatoni 435, which included beef and “Stein Pilze” (stone mushrooms).  He loved it, but that plate reeked of fungus!  It was a bit overwhelming for me, especially since I hate mushrooms.

I went with Linguini Scolo, which was basically linguini with “fruits of the sea”.  I couldn’t finish it, because that was a lot of protein.  It was yummy, though… shrimp, “crevettes” (little shrimp), mussels, and vegetables– tomatoes, peppers, and leeks.

Naturally, we had dessert.  Bill had creamy panna cotta, which came with caramel and was probably the best I’ve tasted in a long time.  Panna cotta is often like Jello, but this was a lot creamier.  

I had zabaione with vanilla ice cream.  We had this at Little Italy in Wiesbaden back in October.  To be honest, I liked the way they did it better.  This dessert is really more like a beverage the way it’s served at Amici.  At Little Italy, it was more like a thin pudding.  It’s basically a liquid custard made with Masala wine.  We also had a round of espresso.

As we paid the check, we enjoyed a house shot of Limoncello.  We could have also had grappa or another digestive.  I think it’s a nice touch when European restaurants do this.  It kind of softens the blow of the bill.

 

Hofheim am Taunus isn’t far from where we live, so I can see us going back to this place.  Maybe we’ll even be regulars.  I think that would be alright.  If we’d taken the first house we looked at when we were househunting, which was too small for us, we would have been really close!

Out front…  They had a nice display of wine in the front window, too, with multiple bottles of “Why Not” Primitivo.

And someone’s artistic rendition of Yosemite Sam…  There’s a large train station in this town.  We’ll have to explore it more when the weather improves.

 

All in all, we had another nice afternoon in our new area.  It may soon be time to start a new “Good eats” post, like the one I made for Stuttgart.

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