Back to Budapest– The last day and the trip home… part seven

On his last conference day, Bill told me he’d be done with work early. We decided to spend the afternoon picking up some souvenirs for his grandchildren. In retrospect, maybe we should have gone and done something interesting together, like visiting St. Stephen’s Basilica. I do regret not going there during the week, now that I’ve seen some photos. But, to be honest, we were both a bit ready to go home and see our dogs. I was also pretty tired of the D8 Hotel and ready to sleep in my own bed.

So, on Friday morning, I decided to head out to the Danube and take some more photos, using my “fancy” Nikon digital camera. Of course, I forgot about all of the tourists… I’m not sure why I forgot, since there was a constant reminder of them. Cruise ships in Budapest are no joke! But I was thinking about how, on Sunday evening, I’d noticed park benches along the river, and I figured I could sit there for awhile and gaze at the water. Below are some photos I took with my phone.

*I was trying hard to figure out what the silvery dome was on the Buda side. I never did…*

As I sat on benches, looking at the river, I kept getting disturbed by groups of people milling around. Some of them traveled in tour groups. Some were just big families or groups of friends. Most weren’t watching where they were going, exercising any situational awareness, or being very considerate.

But at least I got a few more river shots. Below are some from the Nikon… It has an “artsy” setting. Maybe it’s time I bought a new Nikon. I’m sure they’ve upgraded this feature since 2017, when I bought my last PowerShot camera.

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that I also saw a lot of people riding e-scooters, renting them from an outfit called E-Magine. I didn’t try one myself, because one time, Bill and I rented Segways when we visited Antigua in 2011. I fell off of mine, and that experience, along with having my feet fall asleep, put me off of renting motorized vehicles that aren’t cars. Below is a very short video I took.

People seem to love these in Budapest.

Once Bill got back from work at about 1:00 PM, we went shopping on Váci Street. First, we stopped at the Retro Cube II Rubik’s Cube store and picked up a genuine Rubik’s Cube for Bill’s eldest grandchild. They had all kinds of stuff in there– puzzles I well remember from when I was about 8 or 9 years old myself!

Then we decided to have lunch. I was thinking maybe we’d go to a restaurant in an old, cool looking building, but we ended up at the place next door. They had a sign up that read “Local Food.” When I noticed that it looked like a lot of locals were there, we decided that might be a better bet than the more touristy old building next to it. The restaurant we had lunch at is called Simaliba, and it turned out to be a real gem! The food was fresh, creatively presented, and tasted good. It was also inexpensive! I noticed a large bass violin in the dining room, which suggests that they also have live music. If we go back to Budapest, we’ll have to visit Simaliba again.

I was really impressed by how good the pork was. It was very tender and flavorful. Yes, this was a heavy dish, and maybe not the most obvious choice on a warm September day, but I was unable to ignore temptation. Bill liked his fried perch, too. I had been eyeing that dish, myself!

After we ate lunch, we spent about an hour trying to locate the art store I found earlier in the week that had coloring books. We walked up and down Váci Street twice, and I was wondering if maybe I’d imagined seeing the place. But then we went a block further and finally found the shop. We bought a couple of prints, some magnets, and a Hungarian coloring book for the kids. I hadn’t noticed until we were paying that the guy running the shop was wearing a t-shirt that horrified me. It was shit colored brown and had pictures of toadstools all over it! Yikes!

After we bought our souvenirs, we headed back up Váci Street, and visited the World of Souvenir [sic] (I didn’t even recognize that the sign was missing an “s”), where we picked up a few more things for the younger kids and Bill’s daughter while Avril Lavigne blared over the speakers. By that time, it was late afternoon, so after we paid for our souvenirs, we decided to go back to the room to pack up our stuff. As we were heading back to the hotel, I noticed how extremely crowded the main shopping plaza was. Budapest was teeming with people. I felt a sudden urge to hole up in the hotel room, away from the crowds!

We decided that we didn’t want to go back out into the streets of Budapest. Bill picked up a bottle of wine at the hotel’s bar, and we stayed in and watched videos on YouTube, in preparation for our 11:35 flight back to Frankfurt the next morning.

***

We had breakfast on Saturday morning and grabbed our bags. Both of us were ready to leave Hungary’s capital, even though we had a good time on the trip. Bill was very happy I came with him on this work trip, because Budapest is a great city, and with me there after work, he was able to really enjoy the restaurants and the wonderful music and sights. I didn’t come away from Budapest quite as bowled over as I did in 2009, but I did make new discoveries, and realized that it’s an enchanting city, even though it’s very touristy now. Going to Budapest made me want to see more of Hungary, where not everyone speaks perfect English!

The cab driver picked us up and drove us to the airport. He was very friendly, and pointed out areas of interest, even letting us know that Budapest’s airport is not actually in Budapest, but is in a neighboring area called Vecses. He even pointed out the sign. However, if I look up the airport’s address, it says it’s in Budapest. Anyway, he pointed out a Holocaust museum, as well as Aeropark Budapest, an airplane museum at the airport that I noticed on the way in. I saw a couple of old Malev planes. I would come back to visit both museums, but only if Bill could come with me.

Once again, we waited at the gate for our flight. We were early enough that we got to see the last stragglers getting on the earlier Frankfurt flight! I sent Bill to go buy some Unicum— a Hungarian digestive liqueur that tastes like death– just so we could have it. I like the bottle. If I’m honest, though, I prefer the Czech herbal digestive, Becherovka. It has more of a cinnamon taste.

When we got on the plane, I was sitting in business class. The flight was mostly completely booked, but I had been moved from my original 4F seat to 3F. I figured maybe they needed the extra row for economy passengers. As I waited to see who would be sitting next to me, I noticed a bumbling guy in the front row. He and his wife had three carry on bags between them, and were holding everyone up. And then, when he went to get something out of one of the bags he had stowed over the second row, a metal water bottle fell out and almost hit the lady sitting by the aisle. He was going to put it back in the overhead compartment, but the flight attendant wisely told him to keep it at his seat so it wouldn’t leak, or roll out again.

As more people filed onto the plane, one of Bill’s co-workers walked by me and laughed. She said Bill sure knew how to treat me right. I commented that he’s the “anti-incel”. And then, the boarding was completed, and neither I, nor the Lufthansa crew member on the opposite side of the aisle, had people sitting next to us. Lucky us!

Needless to say, it was a dreamy flight. Even the food was pretty decent. I enjoyed some white wine with it… and took some photos of the sky. I even got a couple of pictures of Budapest as we flew over it. And, of course, I also got pictures of Frankfurt’s famous skyline.

When we landed, I really needed to pee! And since we were twenty minutes early, the plane’s parking spot was occupied. So I held on… and then, once I got off the plane, I went to the first restroom I saw. There was a long line. I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and a kind airport worker invited me to use the handicapped toilet! Phew! What a relief! But then, I couldn’t get the toilet to flush, no matter what I tried. It was one of those motion detector ones. I sheepishly slunk out of the bathroom, while another woman quickly took my place. I hope she wasn’t offended… but then, she probably also discovered that the toilet wouldn’t flush.

I went down to the baggage claim. Bill showed up a few minutes later. We got our bags, and I noticed one of the baggage carousels looked like a roulette wheel…

And soon, we were in a taxi, heading back home to Breckenheim. Bill brought the dogs home a few hours later, and I am now left here with my memories of a great week in Budapest.

We definitely had fun in Hungary. I’d love to go back. If we do, though, I think I’d choose a different hotel than D8. It wasn’t a terrible place to spend a night or two, but for six nights, it was a bit too cramped. Also, the doors were heavy, and not spring loaded, so when people would leave their rooms, and let go of the doors, they would SLAM!!!! That got old really quick!

D8 Hotel does get good reviews, and I can see why some people really like that hotel. It’s probably the cheapest in the area, and it’s in an excellent location. But, even that is a bit of a drawback, because it gets pretty loud in that part of Budapest. And unfortunately, we didn’t figure out the air conditioning until the final night… then we had it on too high, and spent the night chilled. I know… we should have adjusted it, but I think we were just over trying to discover things and wanted to get through the night and back to our normal life.

So ends my blow by blow of our trip to Budapest. Stay tuned for my usual “ten things I learned” post. This time, I’ve got some interesting stuff to report.

Hessen, languages

Photos from last night’s wine stand– August 1, 2025…

For the past three weeks, Breckenheim has been having wine stands every Friday night. Usually, they only do it every other night. I didn’t go to the one two weeks ago, because Bill was in Romania. Last week, we decided not to go because of the weather. We decided to go last night, because we hadn’t attended a wine stand in so long– not since we went to Switzerland in late June!

It’s been raining a lot lately, and about two hours before the wine stand started, there was heavy rainfall and even some hail! So most of the wooden tables were a bit warped, because they got dumped on. We had to be careful putting our glasses down!

Attendance last night was pretty decent, after the first hour. The temperature was decent; I wore pants instead of shorts. Bill ran into our neighbor, Pete, and spoke to him in German. He used the formal form of “you” with Pete, who corrected him and told him to use “Du”. I was explaining to Bill that “du” is also “you” in Armenian, and there is a “formal” usage there, as well. Only instead of “Sie”, one would say “Duk”. That may be the only thing Armenian and German have in common… Oh, and the word, “potato”, is pronounced “Kartoffel” in German and “kartofeel” in Armenian. And it’s “kartopchka” in Russian… Wonder why we English speakers call them “potatoes”…

Anyway, I got a few photos, so here they are. I’m not sure what we’ll do today. I spent this morning making a song parody that got blocked on YouTube, so I ended up putting it on my blog using VideoPress. Then, I fixed my beloved dark green purse, which I bought in Italy. Bill took it to a shoe repair guy, and he couldn’t fix it. Bill found the part that fell off the bag and I figured out to to repair the strap myself. It was as simple as screwing… (heh heh heh). Then I tuned three of our six guitars. I just replaced the strings on one of them.

We had a good time drinking wine and supporting the local clubs, then came home, listened to music, ate burgers, and made a video for Bill’s daughter, who is preparing for her latest baby’s arrival in a few months. She really has her hands full, but somehow manages to take care of everything with a smile and a good attitude. I wish I could be as cheerful about life as she is. Ah well. At least I can make snarky song parodies. If you want to see it, just click on the link to the main blog… or click here. Until I write a new post, it will be the latest one.

adventure, Lakes

Sitting in Zurich, watching the world go by…

I will be writing a series about this trip, but I feel like dumping some photos on my travel blog, just to keep it current. I spent a couple of hours walking yesterday, and watched people by the lake for awhile. This city certainly has an energy.

We came to Zurich for the first time in 2021. It was a different experience, because we stayed in a different part of town. This time, we’re near Lake Zurich, and people are definitely taking advantage of the lake, especially given how hot it is!

Here are a few pictures of what I’ve seen so far…

Of course, with all of this natural beauty comes high prices and lots of people… and with people comes trash. I am enjoying being in Zurich, and especially watching Bill enjoy his course, but I don’t know that I’d want to live here… or, at least I’d rather not live in the city. It’s too loud! But it is a nice change of pace for a short time.

I’m not sure what I’ll do today… maybe more of what I did yesterday, just walking around and people watching while I wait for Bill to come back from his classes. He looked so cute this morning, wearing his backpack. All he needed was a ball cap and a paper sack lunch!

Hessen, Sundays

A photo dump for the first week of April…

Bill has been in Norway all week, and I’ve been left to my own devices here in Germany. I’ve been keeping busy with random chores, making song parodies, and watching lots of YouTube videos, while I ponder and worry about the future. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that we had some beautiful weather this week. The temperatures are up; the sun is out; and I’ve been fighting the urge to drink wine on the terrace. This week, my liver has gotten a much needed break from booze.

I did take a few pictures this week, to show our lovely little town erupting into spring. Yesterday, I noticed they put up the Easter display in our Dorfplatz, just like they do every year. I may not be German, but I sure do enjoy living here. It’s nice and quiet, predictable, and civilized.

*Charlie strikes a pose. He sure looks happy!*

I wish I had more to report. When Bill goes away, I just kind of hunker down and get through things. I did go to the Rewe yesterday to get some groceries. I had a big brainfart while standing in line. Everybody seemed to want to check out at the same time, and the lady in front of me wanted cigarettes, which required the cashier to fetch them.

When she brought them to the register, I guess they either weren’t what she wanted or were too expensive. So then the cashier had to take them back. Meanwhile, my blood sugar was in the toilet and I was getting irritable. I counted out some money, but didn’t realize that I had mistakenly counted a five euro bill as a twenty euro bill.

And the lady in front of me said something in German, so much to my shame, I blurted out “I’m American.”

She came back in perfect English with, “I hope you aren’t in a hurry.” (or something along those lines)…

By the time she left, I was all flustered, and the cashier was telling me that I needed to give her more money. Fortunately, I noticed the shortage and gave her the twenty I had originally meant to give her. And then, on the way out of the Rewe, which is about a ten minute walk from my house, but I had the car, there was a huge group of people on bikes to navigate.

The only other significant thing that happened this week is that the dogs got much needed dentals done. That was no big deal, except for when I needed to find a parking spot. Our vet has little parking, and everybody seemed to be collecting their pets at the same time. After I paid the 1100 euro ($1400) bill for Noyzi and Charlie, I took them home. Today also happens to be the fifth anniversary of the day I saw Noyzi’s photo for the first time and fell in love with him. It took about six months to bring him home from Kosovo.

Oh… and today, I learned how to refill the salt in our dishwasher. That was quite a life skill. Seriously, Bill always handles that task, so I didn’t know. I had to guess that was why the dishwasher wouldn’t run. Below is a helpful video for those who are similarly questioning:

Let’s hear it for doing it yourself…

This week should be even more tranquil… although given what’s going on in US politics, maybe not. Ah well. Bill will be home on Saturday, and he’s taking the following Monday off. So maybe there will be something new to report then. As for today, I’m probably just going to hang out in the house…

I guess this post turned out to be more than I thought it would be.

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.

Champagne Bucket trips

A few photos from Armenia…

We’ve been having a great time in Armenia so far… Yesterday was an amazing day, and we got a few photos. I’m going to share a few for now, until I can get to writing some proper blog posts.

I am super happy to be here… It’s a special place to me.

Champagne Bucket trips, Finland, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines

Helsinki! Helsinki! Our first look at Finland’s capital city!

Years ago, Bill and I were big fans of the British comedy show, Little Britain. That show featured various character skits by comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas. One skit they did consistently involved characters named Lou and Andy. Lou asked Andy where he wanted to go on holiday, and Andy insisted that he wanted to go to Helsinki…

Lou suggests Florida, but Andy reiterates he wants Helsinki… but then changes his mind.

I didn’t change my mind about Helsinki. I was genuinely curious about it. On our first day aboard the ship, we were to take a short bus trip into Finland’s capital and enjoy a harbor cruise. This was one of the “free excursions” offered by Regent. But first, we needed to fuel up with breakfast. So we went down to the Compass Rose restaurant and enjoyed some very hearty fare, delivered to us by warm and attentive wait staff.

*Sparkling water… we had to request it a lot!*

We were arriving in Helsinki during the late morning hours, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast and, as it turned out, a quick lunch. I’m glad we had lunch before we got off the ship, as our excursion took place during the time when we might ordinarily have a midday repast. There’s a reason I mention this, and I’ll get to it in a couple of posts. 😉 Suffice to say, we went to La Veranda again and grazed the humongous buffet so we’d be well-fortified for our trip to the city of Helsinki.

*Looks like a ham and cheese baguette for Bill…*

Cruise director Jude made an announcement that Finland’s authorities had cleared the ship and people could get off the vessel. There were complimentary shuttle buses into town, or those who had excursions could go to the Constellation Theater and trade their tickets for group numbers, which they would then give to the locally hired tour guides.

One thing I immediately liked about the Regent experience is that they do have the complimentary shuttle buses. Regent bills itself as the most “all inclusive” cruise line available. Actually, I think Hebridean Island Cruises is (or was) more all inclusive than Regent is, but it’s a lot less famous and goes to far fewer places than Regent does. For a well-known cruise line that goes worldwide, I do think Regent probably does offer the most bang for the buck. But I caveat that by saying this as someone who hasn’t experienced a lot of different cruise lines.

On both Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, if we weren’t signed up for excursions, we had to find our own ways into the cities. Sometimes, that wasn’t a problem, but other times, not signing up for excursions meant being stuck at an ugly port, walking into town, figuring out and taking public transportation, or hiring a cab. Regent does have buses for those who want to do their own thing. I also want to mention, in fairness to Royal Caribbean and SeaDream, their policies may have changed since we were last aboard their ships. I honestly don’t know.

I ended up enjoying the harbor cruise excursion, as Gail and Ger were also on the boat with us. One group got off about midway, because they had paid for an extra segment of the tour. We were just fine with the boat, which had three guides offering commentary about life in Finland. When they mentioned that Finland had just joined NATO this year, everybody cheered!

The harbor cruise boat was comfortable, with seating available on top and inside the cabin. There was a bar serving snacks and beverages, including local beers. They also had clean toilets, which was a huge plus. In fact, the guides encouraged everyone to use the toilets on the tourboat, since public restrooms in the market area in Helsinki are scarce.

I thought the tour guides on the harbor cruise were basically good. There was one who did a bit of rambling. It was as if she wanted to keep talking to prevent people from talking among themselves. I know that once people get to talking, it can be hard to get them to be quiet again. But the rambling was noticeable.

Nevertheless, we did learn a lot about how cold it gets in Finland in the winter, as the guides showed us the ice breakers that keep the shipping lanes open. The guides also said that the ice gets hard enough that people can walk or even drive on it, although global warming is changing that reality. Personally, I think I’d be afraid to walk on the ice!

The guides also spoke at length about sauna culture in Finland. Apparently, many people have their own saunas at home. Sometimes you find homes with private saunas in Germany, too, but in Finland, it’s evidently very common. Lots of people own boats and second homes, too, even if they aren’t very wealthy. Or, at least that’s what we were told.

Below are some photos…

*Waiting in the theater to be invited to our bus.*

After the boat tour, we walked around the marketplace, where vendors were selling everything… There were a lot of really nice souvenirs. I bought a silk scarf for myself, and a couple of wooden toys for Bill’s youngest grandson. I wish we’d had more euros on us, although a lot of places also took credit cards.

There was also a ferris wheel and live music playing. I would have liked to have spent more time in Helsinki. We’ll have to go back, if only because I also noticed an Armenian restaurant near the port!

Here are some more pictures of Helsinki, some of which were taken with my digital camera, as opposed to my iPhone.

Some of the above photos have a glare on them. I am still learning how to edit photos, so I need to find a way to get rid of the glare on the above shot. It’s a keeper.

There seemed to be a lack of open deck space, which made taking photos of scenery challenging. I could take pictures from my balcony, from the top decks, or on deck 5. But if I happened to be sitting in the observation lounge and noticed a particularly beautiful sunset or leaping dolphins, there was no way to easily get outside to get a good shot. And getting to a place where taking a good photo was possible would take a lot of time. That’s one thing about Regent Splendor I don’t like. I wish they had an outdoor area near the Observation Lounge. Even the pool area was kind of enclosed on the sides, though it didn’t have a retractable roof.

Oh well… another first world problem…

When we went back to our suite, our laundry was waiting for us, boxed up and gift wrapped. And again, because we were concierge guests, there was no extra charge!

Each item of clothing had a little tag in it with our suite number. It was all expertly cleaned, pressed, and folded. Very, very nice!

For dinner on the 24th, we decided to try Sette Mari, which I had read gets very crowded as people discover it. We went early, to make sure we’d get a seat. A poised young woman with black hair and a braid over the top of her head took care of us. She was very polished and professional, as she brought us Italian dishes. Sette Mari does offer table service, but there’s also a buffet for salads and desserts. I noticed it got a bit rowdy in there, but the food was good. We enjoyed it. I wish we’d had another chance to dine there. Maybe on another cruise.

Here are some photos from our visit to Sette Mari.

After dinner, we spent a little more time in the Observation Lounge. I had a Brandy Alexander. Bill had ginger ale, because he wasn’t feeling well. We decided to go to bed early. At about 9:30 PM, a steward brought us the beer I requested. He seemed surprised to catch me in my nightie.

So… that about does it for Helsinki. Stay tuned for Tallinn, Estonia!

Uncategorized

Good Friday photos…

I just took the dogs for a walk and pondered life as I took in how beautiful our neighborhood is. I feel slightly less apprehensive today. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s Good Friday, even though I am not a particularly religious person. I feel rather peaceful, actually…

Anyway, I took a few pictures that I thought I’d share. Everything’s blooming and we have heavy clouds, although some sunshine is peeking through. The sky is an endless source of entertainment where I live. These first pictures were taken with my horribly obsolete iPhone.

The sunbeams are reaching down to the Earth… Seems especially appropriate today.

I wish I had brought my new camera with me. I bet I could have gotten some great shots.

Tomorrow, or maybe later today, I expect this cross will be shrouded.

I took a different route and noticed how pretty the view is, even when there are clouds.

The beams were starting to fade…

I expect this picture will make a good stock photo for a future post about moving on.

I took a few more photos with my new camera. It occurred to me as I was taking these that I finally broke down and got a camera with European specs. Now it’s possible I’ll have to move in a few months. *Sigh*

Pretty soon, that whole field will be yellow with rapeseed and I will be in allergy hell.

The zoom lens on my new camera is pretty nice. I don’t live close to the cross, literally or figuratively.

And the speed is good, too. I managed to catch birds in flight.

Uncategorized

Entertained in Esslingen!

Special thanks to Ellen in the local Facebook group for cluing me in on this weekend’s Buerger Fest in Esslingen. Bill and I decided to go today and had a fantastic time. Esslingen is a great town!

At about 11:30am, Bill asked me what I wanted to do today. I mentioned that I’d heard there was going to be a fest in Esslingen. Esslingen is about 55 minutes away from us by train and probably about the same by car, depending on the staus and parking situation. I thought it would be fun anyway, at least until we headed out to the car and I noticed the heavy clouds hanging overhead. Bill was determined, though, so we hopped on the S1 in Herrenberg and traveled to Esslingen.

I took lots of photos today and I’ve had a few beers, so this will be a photo heavy post. Before I get started, I need to say one more time that Esslingen is an awesome town. Today’s visit was only my third time visiting and in August I’m coming up on having spent a total of four years living near Stuttgart. Last time we visited was last year about this time. It was broiling hot and we had my mom with us. Mom isn’t able to walk as much as she used to. The time before that, we only managed a very short visit. I’m glad we got to hang out for awhile today and enjoy an Esslingen style celebration.

On the way to Esslingen, some guy on the train went around and dropped off these tissues with notes on them. Basically, he’s poor and hoping someone will give him some euros for his wares. I know this is one way some people make some money, but I find the practice kind of manipulative and annoying. After a couple of minutes, if you don’t pick up the tissues and leave some euros, he comes around and picks them up again.

We arrived in Esslingen to big crowds and heavy clouds… Just as we got off the train, we passed a minor spectacle near the train station. Several guys who appeared to be bicyclists and may have drank too much alcohol were arguing with several cops. One guy was wearing a matching t-shirt and shorts ensemble that was decorated with marijuana leaves. We left the area just as they appeared to be getting belligerent. I was impressed by how calm and professional the police officers were. No one was getting tackled to the ground.

Since this was the first time we took the train, it was the first time I had ever seen this cool looking Eis Cafe… It had a line when we were coming and going.

Lots of people were enjoying the fest despite the clouds. It didn’t rain at all while we were there.

There were many food stands from international vendors selling delicacies. I saw everything from Greek food to culinary delights from Eritrea. Alas, I was drawn in by the sound of a brass band and followed my ears to an adorable little courtyard where a band was playing. We ended up drinking German beer and eating wurst.

We arrived just as this band was finishing their last number. I got a short clip of it, which I hope to put into a video.

Bill strikes a pose over a nice fresh hell…

We enjoyed most of this concert by the Ostfildern Music Club. They played everything from German classics that had everyone clapping to songs by ABBA and Tina Turner. Some of the musicians in the band were clearly sparks in their fathers’ eyes when ABBA and Tina Turner were flavors of the week.

Bill enjoys his wurst… I probably looked inappropriate as I tried to eat mine. It was very hot and I had to blow on it a lot.

I enjoyed watching the cool sax player in the shades.

And a lovely weizen… so nice to drink beer out of a proper glass instead of a plastic cup like you’d get in the USA…

Croatian beer!

They even had a climbing wall.

I love this building. I always take pictures of it when I visit Esslingen.

This kid was doing pretty well on the wall. Better him than me.

Yet another German music club. I convinced Bill to stop for one more beer before we headed back.

And this was what we sipped as we listened to them play “Under the Sea”…

Nice anti police sentiment.

At this point, I was really glad we hadn’t driven.

The guy playing bongos was killing it.

On the way out…

The guy in the yellow tent was selling cocktails and wearing a big red sombrero as an Italian tenor sang “O Sole Mio.” Impressive indeed!

One quick shot of the vineyards overlooking Esslingen.

One handy thing to note… Esslingen’s train station is very well equipped. They have a pissoir which is free for the guys who just need a urinal. They also have a surprisingly clean public restroom that costs 50 cents. The station has a handy bike storage room and lockers for your bags.

Until next time, Esslingen! And we will have to visit there sooner, now that we’ve braved the train! I have plans to go back and have dinner at an Italian restaurant suggested by a reader.

On our way out of the Herrenberg station, some guy asked us in German if we’d give him our train pass. That was annoying, since we paid almost 20 euros for it. I mean, it would be one thing if we’d offered it, but to just come up and ask a stranger for it seems pretty ballsy. But he must have had success in the past because he was completely unabashed about asking. 😉

We really had a good time today. Bill was very happy that I suggested Esslingen. Again, I must thank Esslingen’s American cheerleader, Ellen, who I understand will be PCSing soon. I would not have known about this party had she not posted about it. Esslingen is a great place and I wish we lived closer so I could see it more often. We must definitely go back for the Christmas market this year!

Uncategorized

November snow…

Yet again, we stayed cooped up yesterday because the weather was kind of yucky. But we were rewarded this morning with some pretty snow. I have taken a few photos for your perusal.

Just as the snow was starting yesterday at about 2:00pm.

The sky was pretty angry. One thing I like about where we live is that it’s easy to watch the weather.

An hour or so later, the sun came out… It looks like it’s literally chasing the clouds away in this photo.

Another view. Looks like a totally different day.

One more shot of the crazy sun/clouds…

By about 11:00pm, we had a good covering of the white stuff. This morning, we had about two or three inches. Although we got rare snow during our Thanksgiving visit to Virginia last year, where I come from, snow in November is almost unheard of.