Featured photo is of the Aare River mist near the restaurant where we had lunch.
Here’s the promised second part to my birthday post, for those who are interested. I know there are at least a couple of folks reading, so I will continue onward.
After our disappointing look at the Bear Pit, which denied us any views of bears, we decided to continue our walk along the Aare River. That turned out to be a good decision. As one leaves the Bear Pit area, there’s a beautiful shady trail right next to the river. Once we walked under the trees, the temperature dropped noticeably, and there were lovely views of the river.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I totally could have gone swimming. I wished I had worn a bathing suit under my clothes, because the water was very inviting. I saw a lot of people who were enjoying the swift current while riding on tubes or little inflatable boats. Some people swam.
Below are a few artsy photos…
Bill and I chatted as we walked, and we stopped at the convenient benches along the way. We were in no hurry, and just wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of the water, and the waterfall at the end of the trail.
As we got closer to the end of the trail, we noticed a little island in the water. There were also a couple of restaurants where I was sure cold beer awaited. But first, I wanted to put my feet in the water, so I did… and it felt so good! Luckily, I was wearing my Keen sandals, which are great for walking in rivers where there are a lot of rocks.
Not great photos of me, but I was definitely happy… I love a good swimming hole.
Below is a video that features the very refreshing water. The misty part in the video is where the restaurant was… I don’t know if it was part of the engineering or a natural feature of the river. My guess is that the misty part was manmade.
What an awesome river. I want to go back and swim in it.
After my quick walk in the river, we decided to have lunch. There appeared to be an events facility there, as well as a couple of restaurants. One was away from the river, and looked pretty traditional. The other was built on the river and had several venues to include a formal restaurant, a casual restaurant, and a self-serve Biergarten. We got a table for lunch at the Restaurant Terrasse Schwellenmätteli, and enjoyed some surprisingly good food.
Schneider Weisse is everywhere we’ve been!I had delicious spaghetti with a light cream sauce, tomatoes, and mussels. Bill had a vegetarian dish with lentils.I loved the cheese grater. I’m going to have to find one of these.A posing seagull…Gosh, he’s cute… at least to my eyes.
After lunch, we decided to walk back the way we came, mainly because the other side of the river was not shady and probably would have required climbing stairs. On the shady side by the Bear Pit, there is an elevator that will take visitors to the top of the trail. I need to exercise, but these days, I have to pace myself, especially in the heat of the summer. I ended up having to duck behind a bush to pee… it wasn’t easy, because there’s a steep hill by the trail. But I could easily see I wasn’t the only one who did it. Some people left behind napkins.
This sweet dog had the right idea.I brought home a rock from the river.
I was sorry to leave the cool river, but we needed to get back to the hotel and prepare for dinner at Zimmermania, a French restaurant Bill reserved a table at on the night of my birthday. So we headed back down the main drag, and got caught behind a lot of kids who had little situational awareness… along with their equally inattentive adult minders.
Thankful for the elevator.Check in for the Zollhaus, which I mentioned in yesterday’s post. It’s a little one room hotel by the Bear Park.We passed a sex shop that was selling pasta shaped like dicks…👀 Wow…I thought Bill’s daughter might like to see Swiss pastries, Bern style.
We enjoyed a short break in the hotel room, cooling off in the rare air conditioning which, while rather special in Switzerland, was still not quite chilly enough. Nevertheless, I pulled out a lightweight, navy blue, Merino wool dress I bought from Bergfreunde, a few years ago. I was dismayed to see a couple of tiny holes made by moths. 🙄 We have since invested in some “wasps” to eat the moths, but I’m still finding clothes that either need repair or retirement. The dress is still wearable, for now. I’ve worn it twice on this trip.
Then we walked through the crowds to Zimmermania, which was located on a quiet cobblestone street. Zimmermania is a well-regarded, but rather no frills establishment. Bill and I enjoyed the food, and probably could have been more casual. I was glad to see fish on the menu, since I was pretty tired of red meat by June 20th.
I had delightful salmon with spinach, as well as fregola sarda, a pasta from Sardinia I am going to have to find at home! Bill had filet of sole with potatoes allumettes…For dessert, I had a citrus tart, while Bill had flan caramel.Very lemony and refreshing!
After dinner, we walked back through the crowds reveling in the city fest. I got more photos…
In all, we walked over six miles on June 20th. I was a little tired and sore at the end of it, but delighted by the day. I definitely wish we could have enjoyed one more night in Bern. It’s a lovely city, and we didn’t see nearly enough of it. I hope we’ll have a chance to return someday… especially if there isn’t a city festival happening! Unfortunately, the noise kept me awake on the second night, too.
Oh well…
The next day, we headed to Küsnacht. I will continue with that part of the story in the next post.
In my last post, I wrote about an unfortunate encounter the dogs and I had with a pervert who is helping to build a new home on our street. That experience freaked me out a bit, and I hoped it was a “one off”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Yesterday, I walked Noyzi and Charlie again. It was a relatively pleasant day, although it was a bit cooler and more overcast than it was on Thursday. I was taking the dogs out later, because I got busy on a music project and had technical difficulties that delayed me. So, it was around 1:45 PM when the dogs took their walk yesterday. I was relieved to see several people working on the house yesterday when I passed it. There were even a couple of teenagers doing some work there.
My usual route takes me over a bridge that spans over a creek. I was happy to see the ducks in the creek, so I took a few photos. The ducks usually seem to come out more at this time of year, which results in some very nice photo opportunities.
As I passed the house again, on my way home, I looked up on the balcony, and there was that guy again. I wasn’t sure it was him at first, but he smiled at me and said “Hallo.” He had his pants up, much to my relief.
I said a curt “Hallo” and hurried home. I took a shower, changed into something more comfortable, and ate lunch. As I was cleaning up the lunch dishes, I noticed the trash receptacles were stinky from salmon packaging Bill threw in there. So, even though the bins weren’t full, I decided to empty them. As I was walking back to the house, I looked up, and I saw that worker, once again, very confidently lower his pants while standing on the unfinished balcony.
My jaw dropped as, once again, I witnessed this man apparently urinating up there, his junk on full display for everyone to see. Across the street from our house is a home with a balcony. The male half of the couple living there was on the balcony putting up a shade. He was fixated on the shade, and apparently didn’t notice what was going on across the street.
I watched the worker for a minute or so. He was not at all in. a hurry or worried about who would see him. As I passed the house yesterday, I confirmed that anyone could see him standing there with his private parts hanging out. There is no solid barrier to block the view.
I looked outside again a little while later, to see if he was still exposing himself from the balcony. I didn’t see him then, but when I went out on our front balcony, I looked over to that house and took a photo. I looked down, and the guy was there by his car, looking up at me. I wonder if he thought I took a picture of him. I didn’t… but below, you can see what the balcony looks like from our house, and from just under it, where I saw the man’s genitals.
From my house’s front balcony. There is no barrier preventing anyone from seeing on the balcony.This was about where I was standing when I saw the man peeing. He was between the two far left pillars on the balcony. The scaffolding did not block the view.
I told Bill about what happened, and I’m considering filing a police report. I don’t want to invite trouble, but that house is right next to a school. There are kids and elderly people who live in this neighborhood. Above all, I DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS PERSON’S PRIVATE PARTS! It’s annoying, creepy, shocking, and disgusting. I shouldn’t have to tolerate that shit. It’s a CRIME.
We did have a good wine stand last night, even though it was a bit chilly. That very friendly elderly German couple joined us last night, and we tried to speak terrible German with them. I showed them some pictures from our wedding, and a few from my horsey days. The lady saw a photo of my mom and asked if that was my sister! I’ll have to tell her about that. It will make her day! I got a couple of photos of a plane passing, too… We’re right on the flight course to Frankfurt.
Today, I have plans to go on post, get an eye exam and a passport photo, and pick up a couple of items I need. Texas has told us we can renew my driver’s license by mail, since we’re still living out of state. That’s a relief, because I don’t want to have to go back to Texas just to update my license, and I don’t particularly want to trade my license for a German version. Let me just say, it was a real PITA to get a live person in Texas to tell us this was going to work. AI is a pox on customer service. But at least I’ll still be legal to drive after my birthday in June.
The AI image is not of our neighborhood, nor of the man in question. But, you kind of get the idea.
Listen, I know I’m pretty relaxed when it comes to public nudity. If I’m expecting it– say, we’re at a nude spa, or something– it’s not a big deal. And I’ve seen lots of men peeing on the side of the road, but they usually have the decency to turn their backs toward any traffic so no one has to look at their junk.
Bill and I live in a nice neighborhood, but every once in awhile, we see something we weren’t expecting to see. That just happened to me, as I was walking Noyzi and Charlie. We were about two or three minutes from our house. I was focused on getting the dogs past a lady who was walking her apparently very shy dog.
The sunrise today, not very far from the site of the disgusting deed…
Just as we passed the lady and her dog, I happened to look up at the impressive looking balcony being built on a new row house on our street. There was an old building with two apartments, and before they tore it down, a garage that was separate from the house. Now, a new place is being built where the garage once stood. It looks like there’s a double garage that takes up the bottom of the flat, a large room with the generous balcony is on the upper floor.
As we were passing this new construction, I happened to see a man in a white shirt. I’d just heard him sneeze before I actually saw him. I said “Hallo” as we walked closer, and my eyes happened to see what he was doing. The man’s pants were down, and I could quite easily see his penis. He smiled at me, said “Hallo”, and then, apparently, just whizzed right there as we walked past. It was a bit shocking.
I guess he must have a bucket or something up there, although there is a port-a-john on the property. I’m sure it’s more pleasant to pee outside on a sunny day, than use the port-a-john. Still, I sure didn’t want or need to see that guy’s pecker today, or the weird expression on his face as he relieved himself on my neighbor’s evolving balcony. I’m never going to be able to look at it in quite the same way again, after that experience. He could have at least turned away from the street or waited until I passed. 🤮 🤢
I hope he at least feels better after traumatizing me with the memory of seeing his dick while passing the balcony… 😬 I don’t know if the guy is German. He wasn’t sitting to pee, so maybe not. 😏
Edited to add: Now I wonder if he was just jerking off. Why would he pee up there? I am considering calling the police. If I see it again, I will.
As always, I’m wrapping up my Waiblingen series with a list of ten things I learned on our trip. I do this to remind myself that every time we go somewhere new, I discover more things about the world and its people. I’ve also noticed that readers seem to like these lists because they’re quick and dirty. Not everyone likes my blow by blow accounts. So here goes…
10. Waiblingen is OLD.
Waiblingen has existed since about 885, and has been a town since 1250. If you walk around the old part of Waiblingen, you will see remnants of its former city walls, which date from 1250.
A surviving segment of the wall…
9. Waiblingen has several really decent restaurants… food wise, anyway. I’m sure service will get there soon.
One of the reasons I chose to stay in Waiblingen is because there are several good restaurants there. We had the chance to try two of them, Bachofer and Untere Apotheke. My German friend has informed me that, Pablo Fernandez, the Spanish-German proprietor of Untere Apotheke, which is just behind Bachofer, did an apprenticeship at Bachofer. She also told me that Mr. Fernandez, who was very pleasant to meet, has also opened a new restaurant in Stuttgart, called Weinstube Vetter. It looks like Mr. Fernandez took over a venerable establishment that already had a long history in Stuttgart.
8. The Bachofer Restaurant and Hotel is in the second oldest house in Waiblingen. It dates from 1647!
According to the official Web site:
The former pharmacy, dating back to 1647, is the second oldest house in Waiblingen and a true architectural gem. The completely redesigned rooms create an exciting contrast to the historic timber framing and send our guests the message that is very important to us: please feel at home!
7. Waiblingen is very convenient to Stuttgart.
Of course, I knew that when I chose to book there, but our trip to Dr. Blair’s office proved it to me. Unfortunately, Stuttgart gets called “STAUgart” for a reason, so being close doesn’t necessarily mean the trip to the inner city will be quick and easy. Fortunately, there is a train.
6. Waiblingen has several “twin cities”, including Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is not far from where I grew up.
5. Wednesday and Saturday are market days in Waiblingen.
We were lucky enough to get to Waiblingen at the tail end of the market on Wednesday, and there for the whole market on Saturday. I enjoyed seeing the vendors, the friendly locals chatting with each other, and hearing the buskers. I love this about Europe. Most towns have markets, and so often, there’s wine, music, and fresh produce to be had. I know some American towns do this, but it’s just not the same!
4. Waiblingen’s cool old town hall dates from 1476!
The town hall was first mentioned in 1476 and was rebuilt in 1597. Sometime around 1870, plans were made to tear down the building and build something new, as the town hall was no longer able to serve the needs of the growing town. But the people realized that tearing down the town hall would alter the appearance of the market square significantly. They also liked the unusual arcade under the building. So it stayed and served in other capacities, such as a school for elementary aged boys, a trade school, and later, adult education classes. There used to be a restaurant there, but it is now closed.
3. The city park is well worth visiting, especially near the church…
Need I say more? Bring your kids and your dogs! They’ll have a great time.
2. Even though Waiblingen is charming, and it has a public WC, you might still see someone urinating in public.
I don’t think I mentioned this when I wrote my post about Saturday, but during our walk around the city, we did encounter someone urinating publicly on a post. In this case, it was a small boy who was unabashedly relieving himself. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.
And finally, 1. When the weather is good, there are things to do in Waiblingen!
Because Bill was taking courses for the Jung Institute, and the weather was a bit cold and wet, we didn’t do as much exploring as I would have liked. But I see from Waiblingen’s official page, when the weather is fine, a person can occupy themselves with many fun, challenging, and educational activities. And there’s also some pretty good shopping there!
So that about does it for my Waiblingen series. I don’t know if we’ll have a chance to visit there again. I wouldn’t be against going back to Waiblingen, if the opportunity arises someday. It really is a charming little town that offers a nice alternative to staying in Stuttgart. I would recommend it, not just for people who aren’t living in Germany, but also for people living in Stuttgart who would like to enjoy good food in a laid back atmosphere. If you have too much wine, you can even stay overnight at the Bachofer, or the Holiday Inn Express… I think I noticed another little hotel, too. It’s definitely not a bad idea for a quick weekend away in a place a lot of people miss!
I hope you enjoyed this series. See you next post!
When we woke up in Ribeauville on Saturday, November 19th, I looked at Facebook to see if there were any announcements about James Taylor’s show. I didn’t see any emails from the ticketing venue, or on James’s social media. That meant we’d be going home a day early.
I was a little sad to be going, since I really had wanted to go to Riquewihr at least once, if only to get macaroons. Bill didn’t want to go to Riquewihr, because it was in the opposite direction of home, even if it was just two miles. He said he’d go look for the macaroons in Ribeauville. So he went out, picked up more croissants, and FAILED to find the cookies I wanted. Instead, he bought three bags of other cookies.
Maybe I should be ashamed for feeling this way, but I was a little disappointed. What he brought back were not what I wanted. Then it occurred to me that I could probably order the macaroons, which is precisely what I did (they arrived this morning). So I got over my disappointment, and we started packing up to go home. As I was walking the dogs to the car, my hands full of whatever else I could carry, a French woman approached me, speaking rapid fire. I said in English, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak French.”
She nodded and smiled, then backed away. I soon realized what she wanted. It was mid morning and the parking lot was already pretty full. She wanted our parking spot. I saw her lurking in the lot, just waiting for us to move. I always hate it when people do this, even though I understand why they do it. I wasn’t the one driving, and we weren’t quite ready to leave. She finally gave up at some point, after Bill had done a sweep of the Riesling gite, and came back to the car. By then, there were a couple more lurkers, just waiting…
It was probably a half hour later when we were on our way home, after a quick stop at the Daniel Stoffel Chocolatier outlet on the way out of town. Bill went in and picked up some goodies for us, and his daughter’s family.
Our drive home was almost totally uneventful. Arran went to sleep, and Noyzi was a perfect gentleman in the back. Maybe we have finally broken him of his habit of barking in the car. The only strange thing that happened was that, as usual, I witnessed public urination at a rest stop. I vented about that here. Below are a few shots from the drive home. As you can see, Arran was relaxed.
When we got home, our landlord came over to tell us our off kilter dishwasher, which had come off its foundation, wasn’t fixed yet, because the repair guy needed a part. Yesterday, he said the repair guy was sick, but would be able to fix the machine when he was well again. He said we should just be careful using the machine. When I told him we hadn’t been using it, because the dishwasher had given me an error code last time I ran a load, he said if the repair guy couldn’t figure it out, he’d just get us a new one. I am still stunned by how different he is, compared to our former landlady. They are like night and day!
I did the requisite load of laundry and a few other chores, then we got ready for the show in Frankfurt. We had to pick up our tickets at the box office, I guess to thwart scalpers. I pictured a long line of people, but when we arrived at the Jahrhunderthalle, we were pleasantly surprised by the ease of parking, the short distance to the venue, and the short line to get our tickets. Then we enjoyed some libations while we waited for the doors to open.
James Taylor had a stripped down band for this show. There was no keyboard player, and no opening act. We had second row seats, which was a first for me. I saw my first James Taylor concert in 1990. In fact, that show, when I was almost 18, was my very first “rock” show– if you could call it that. I remember I went with my parents and one of my sisters, and I paid $18.50 for nosebleed seats.
For this show, I paid 82,50 euros which I thought was very reasonable to see a guy who has won 6 Grammys and spent more than 50 years enchanting people all over the world with his wonderful guitar playing and angelic voice. While we waited for the show to start, I noticed the music that was playing. I recognized songs from albums by James’s daughter, Sally, as well as backup singers Kate Markowitz and Andrea Zonn. I downloaded Kate’s album from the concert hall. I already had Andrea’s.
This was the fourth time I’d seen James Taylor play, but there was a difference between this show and the others. For one thing, there weren’t drunken, idiot women standing in front of us, dancing and shrieking the whole time. There were no huge screens showing close ups of James and his band. And while he forgot a few words, he still played and sang beautifully. I was charmed by his efforts to speak German to the crowd, as well as the encouraging message he had for anyone “in recovery” from drug and alcohol addiction, as he has been since the mid 80s.
James told us some of the stories behind some of the songs he performed, including “That’s Why I’m Here”, from his 1985 album by the same name. I remember that he had dedicated that album to Bill W., the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Imagine going to an A.A. meeting and seeing James Taylor there! But anyway, “That’s Why I’m Here” was a song he wrote in memory of his friend John Belushi, who died of an overdose in 1982. James was a pretty serious addict back in the day. He’s still addicted, of course, but no longer indulges. Before he started singing, he said, “If you like getting fucked up, that’s okay. I just can’t handle it myself anymore!” Everybody laughed.
At the beginning of the evening, I thought James looked a little pale, perhaps because he’d had COVID. But as the show went on, he was more and more animated, at times jumping around the stage. I enjoyed watching him interact with his band, most of whom had been with him for many years. Dorian Holley was the only one on stage I had not seen with James before. I suspect he’s the replacement for Arnold McCuller, James’s longtime backup singer who just retired from life on the road. I enjoyed Dorian’s singing. He has quite an impressive resume. James listed the people Holley’s sung with, which includes the late Michael Jackson. That actually surprised me, because he didn’t look old enough to be one of Jackson’s backup singers… but then, Michael was well known for enjoying and employing young performers for his shows.
James’s long time guitarist, Michael Landau, was well within view of us on the right side of the stage. He stood up and flexed his legs, I smiled at him, and he smiled back. That was kind of a cool moment. One thing I love about European concerts is that I seem to have a much easier time scoring good seats here. Another thing I love about European shows is that most people don’t act stupid at them… at least not at the shows Bill and I attend. And you can get a beer or a glass of wine without mortgaging your house.
At one point, James was introducing a song from his 1971 album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. A man in the audience held up a vinyl copy, which James immediately offered to sign and bite. The guy rushed up to the stage with his album and presented it to James, but then they needed to find a pen. Another guy came up and said he had something that had been signed by a bunch of famous singers, including Johnny Cash. He requested an autograph, which James was happy to oblige. In fact, at the break, I ran out to go to the restroom, and when I came back, James was still on stage, signing autographs and shaking hands. I was very impressed. I wondered if he needed to pee as badly as I did! It struck me as a very humble and generous gesture toward his loyal fans.
I decided not to try to get an autograph myself. I would be honored to have James’s signature, of course, but autographs don’t really mean that much to me. Earlier in the show, someone yelled out that his dad loved James. James made a comment reminiscent of what he said on his Live album from 1993. Basically, he reminded the guy that they don’t know each other. It made me think how strange it must be for performers to be “loved” by people who don’t know them. James himself reminded us that he is a deeply flawed person, as we all are… but what impresses me about James Taylor is that he’s clearly worked very hard to become much better. He’s clearly not the same person he was in the 70s or early 80s.
At the end of the show, of course there were encores… and James and his band encouraged people to get up and come close to the stage. It was one of the most intimate concert experiences I’ve ever had. I think the only one who topped that was James’s somewhat less famous brother, Livingston, who puts on a FABULOUS live show and is extremely approachable. I remember seeing Liv in 2003 at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, a couple of months after I saw James at Wolf Trap in Bristow, Virginia. James’s show was MUCH bigger than Liv’s was, and we had those drunk women in front of us, careening around sloppily as they slurred the lyrics of James’s best songs. I remember thinking Livingston’s show was so much better, if only because there weren’t any obnoxious drunks there. But Liv also engaged the audience and was thoroughly entertaining. This most recent show by James, while slightly pared down, was akin to Liv’s show, only it was in a much larger, yet still intimate, venue.
In any case, we obviously had a wonderful time! I’m so glad we went. It was the perfect ending to our 20th anniversary weekend. And yes, even though James will be 75 years old in March, he’s still a hell of a great performer. I think the money we spent on this show, even with its delays, was well worth euro cent.
Dorian and Kate dance!
Getting out of the Jahrhunderthalle was very easy. Bill was happy about that. But then we hit a Stau, so Bill went through Hofheim to get us home. And when we got home, we were confronted by a big mess caused by Arran. He got into the basement and raided our dry goods, and peed and pooped on my rug. Fortunately, he was no worse for wear. We have thoroughly dog proofed down there, as we’re going to someone’s house for Thanksgiving dinner today. Noyzi had nothing to do with the raid. He was tucked in bed when we got home. He’s very classy for a street dog.
Well, that about does it for this series. It wasn’t a super exciting trip, but we had a good time… and it was great to have Arran and Noyzi with us. I’m so grateful to be here on many levels, and for so many reasons. I’m glad James Taylor is still with us, too. And before I forget, below are a couple of clips from the show.
A couple of weeks ago, I joined a German Facebook group that offers ideas for fun day trips in and around the German state of Hesse. Actually, I joined an American run version of that group, but decided to join the German version when I noticed the group admin was mostly just reposting whatever was shared in the German group. He was adding very little original content or even a US perspective as he was resharing the German group’s content. So I decided I might as well join the German group, since locals often add information that Americans don’t have.
I know I recently mentioned that I would like to take this blog back to the way it was from 2014-2018, before we were dealt the double blow of a lawsuit with our former landlady and COVID-19. In 2019, we were new to Wiesbaden and trying to get used to our new town. Then, everything shut down for a long time, so that prevented us from exploring the way we would have, otherwise. For now, we are allowed to travel freely, but it’s taken time to get back in the mood to take day trips. Part of the reason I decided to go out today is because the weather was nice. It was sunny, but not too hot. Also, I needed to take my mind off of a threatening, harassing, message I got this morning on my now defunct Overeducated Housewife Facebook Page. One of the best ways to get me to temporarily forget about trouble is to visit animals.
Someone shared a post about Vogelburg, a sanctuary for rehomed parrots, parakeets, macaus, and cockatoos in the German Facebook group. I was intrigued, since I’d never heard of it. I showed Bill the official Web site, noted that it was open today, and we made plans to visit! The sanctuary is just north of Wiesbaden, on the way to Limburg, which is where we visited a few weeks ago. We probably could have gotten there in about 40 minutes, if not for a horrific pile up on Autobahn 3. We counted at least fifteen ambulances passing us, along with cop cars, fire engines, and the doctor’s car. The Stau held us up for about an hour, as we watched people exiting their vehicles to pee on the side of the road. It was quite frustrating, as I was also a bit hangry. However, once we got to the park, it was well worth the wait.
We paid eight euros each to enter the facility, bought some sunflower seeds, and made our way around, feeding the gentle and beautiful birds, watching them preen, listening to them communicate, and enjoying their antics. We saw one pretty cockatoo sitting on a girl’s shoulder while she petted it. Others were talking, hanging upside down, or begging for food. At first, I was nervous about feeding the birds, since there were picture signs warning about bloody fingers (see my photos). But I soon got the hang of things, and really enjoyed giving the birds treats. Quite a few of them really knew how to pour on the charm, as you can see in the video below.
Listen for the cuckoo bird!
After a couple of hours enjoying the birds, who came from all over the world, we decided to have a quick lunch at the park’s restaurant, which serves things like wurst, Frikadelle, potato salad, and cake. Bill and I both had bratwursts with potato salad. I could not finish the huge serving of potato salad, but did enjoy washing everything down with a cold Weizen beer. I did notice that the facility looked like it had been around a while and could use some refurbishment (ETA: it dates from 1981). But the birds are well cared for and very entertaining. They also have a Parrot School, which I guess is a program where visitors can learn more about the birds (ETA: My German friend says that the school is for the parrots). All of the signage is in German, though, which makes me think the “school” probably is, too.
We both left Vogelburg smiling, and I decided that we need to spend more time in this part of Hesse, which is quieter and less built up than Wiesbaden is. It reminded me a little of the lovely rural areas near Stuttgart we used to enjoy regularly when we lived down there.
This is a great activity for young children, although strollers may not be the best idea there, because there are cobblestones. They even have a cool slide at the top of the hill that kids can slide down and land in a sand pit. Plenty of adults were enjoying the park, too, as the birds are very social, healthy, and friendly! On the way out, there’s a gift shop. We didn’t stop in. This park opens every year on March 15th, and the season runs through October 31st. It’s open daily, from 10am to 6pm. Parking is free!
I’m happy to report that the drive home happened without incident– no wrecks or Staus. That’s always a plus in Germany!
A hellish Stau. We counted at least 15 ambulances.A view on the way toward Vogelburg. It’s pretty country.Turn off to Vogelburg.Watch your fingers! The birds were all very gentle.I think this bird got all of the rest of my seeds.I was amazed at how they maneuvered around the cages.This one was one of my favorites.So friendly!Parrot SchoolA gallery with many paintings. I would have liked to have bought one, but didn’t. Choosing just one would have been hard.A mouse was sharing the cage.RestaurantThey had lots of outdoor seating, too.Lunch!This bird talked.This one begged!We will have to see more up here.
All in all, it was a great day! I’m so glad we went to see the beautiful birds of Vogelburg today. They really helped me enjoy the day, and forget my troubles for awhile.
… I just hope it doesn’t become a place for sharing more than neighborhood gossip…
A few days ago, much to my amusement, the guy who runs our neighborhood Facebook group shared photos of the brand new public toilet that was erected in, and now proudly graces, our Dorfplatz here in Breckenheim. If you’ve been following this blog lately, you know that building this toilet has been a long and painful undertaking, and it hasn’t been without controversy. Last fall, a radio host even tried to ask me what I thought of it, but decided my opinion was irrelevant when it became clear that I’m not a local. The local reactions to this seem to be varied. Some people love it. A lot of people think it’s… shitty. Bwahahahaha! I am getting a kick out of all of the reactions and snarky comments translated from vernacular German.
The first summer we lived in Breckenheim, we had biweekly wine stands in the Dorfplatz. It was a great place for everyone to commune together and bond over the region’s star product– WINE! But then 2020 happened, and there were no wine stands or other community events. Then, last summer, a crew of men came in and took down the kiosk, from which all of the fundraising events were operating. I was sad to see the cute little kiosk come down. At the time, I didn’t know about the big plans for the Dorfplatz, and had no clue it was going to get its very own toilet! I was surprised when I found out, but now I know the reason. It’s so people don’t have to use the Rathaus toilets or go home to answer the inevitable call of nature during community events. I stopped to take a picture of it today, and noticed that it costs 50 cents to pee there. No need to hire a Klo Frau, after all…
Edited to add:I see that our local leader has said the toilet will be free to use. A free public toilet is something to behold in Germany!
Earlier this week. The powers that be are very proud of this new development, although not everyone is a fan.
Not for nothing, though, it’s taken forever to get this work done. The Dorfplatz has been fenced off for months, making the trash can harder to access. People have been putting trash in the can anyway, and it wasn’t always getting emptied, because it was behind a temporary fence. I noticed today, the whole area is open again. All that has to happen now is getting rid of the port-a-let that’s been in the Dorfplatz for weeks. I think getting rid of the port-a-let will be a huge improvement. Hopefully, this toilet will stay nice, but having seen them in other places, I have my doubts. However, I can also say with certainty that there have been many times when I have been very grateful to find one of these when I’m out and about. I like the ones that can be “stored” underground and brought out for special events. That was probably cost prohibitive, though… and Breckenheim doesn’t really warrant it. It’s just a little suburban village, after all.
I read that they’re going to rebuild the wine stand kiosk right next to the new toilet, which seems quite large for the space it’s in. I have an image in my head of people buying glasses of wine in one building, while others process it in a similarly sized adjacent building. Below are a few photos of Breckenheim’s latest upgrade, as well as a few pretty flowering trees in my neighbors’ yards. I’m impressed by how fresh and beautiful they are, in spite of the heat wave we’ve endured this week.
Of all of the things I’ve observed since our move to Wiesbaden, I think the great toilet debate has been the most entertaining. I will also admit that I wasn’t expecting this kind of toilet. I don’t know why I wasn’t, since they’re all over the place in Europe. I think I expected something more conventional. I will also note that there were many times when we lived in Jettingen that I wished for a toilet when walking my dogs. I had to pee in the woods a few times. 😉 But the woods are in much shorter supply in these parts.
Anyway, now there’s a place to pee, and soon we will have wine stands in the right place again… and weekly farmer’s markets, too! I look forward to having a farmer’s market we can walk to. We already have a grocery store and a “kwik mart” near us. As I have mentioned more than once, you get trade offs when you exchange country living for suburban living. Maybe someday, we’ll get vending machines with local produce, too. One can always dream!
In other news, today we will get a visit from the chimney sweep. In Germany, it’s legally required to have one’s chimney examined every year. They leave little notes on your door telling you when they’re coming over. We got one this week. It’s a good thing we were home. Our last house didn’t have a fireplace, but we still got visited by the cleaner, who had to check out our heating system and make sure it was safe. Here, we have a beautiful fireplace, and thanks to the war in Ukraine, I suspect we will be using it a lot more this year.
Props to my clever German friend, Susanne, for supplying this funny clip about Schornsteininspektion… 😉
Don’t know what we’ll be doing over the weekend. I’ve been sick all week, but I feel better today. And I am in need of some fun… so hopefully, we’ll find some and I can return and report.
Saturday morning, we woke up after a nice night at the hotel. After a hearty breakfast that included a generous portion of scrambled eggs, we drove into Strasbourg on a mission to buy beer. I had heard the city had some really nice beer shops. Not that Germany doesn’t also have places to buy beer– they do! But Germans are very proud of their beer, so it’s not as easy to find suds from other countries. When we lived near Stuttgart, we used to visit Heinrich’s 3000, a huge beverage market near Ludwigsburg, where one could find beer from all over the place. But we haven’t yet found anywhere similar near Wiesbaden.
Bill was a bit worried about driving into the city, but it turned out fine. He made his way to the Gutenberg Garage, which is located right in the heart of the old town. It was fortunate that we got there somewhat early. Strasbourg was alive with activity on Saturday, complete with a sort of mini carnival with rides. The only thing I didn’t see, that I usually see in French cities, was a carousel. I’m sure one exists somewhere in Strasbourg.
Carnival lite!
Have some churros!
This busker was singing in Japanese and playing a traditional instrument.
We Googled and found that Strasbourg has three beer shops that would have what we were hunting for, so Bill grabbed his trusty Rewe bag and we headed out… but not before I made a pit stop. A lot of garages in France have public toilets, and Gutenberg is no exception. Unfortunately, it’s also no exception to my personal habit of catching people urinating. Seriously, this happens to me all the time, and not just in Europe, where public urination is common. I either see someone peeing outside, often just feet away from me, or I inadvertently open a door that wasn’t locked and catch the occupant mid stream. Believe me, it’s not something I aspire to do. I wish people would lock the door, but maybe they worry about being stuck in the toilet. I don’t know.
Anyway, I managed to see a toddler’s bare behind as his mother was tending to him. Then, while I was waiting, a man and another child joined what was apparently a party in the loo. It took a long time before they’d all done their business and came trooping out, all smiles. It turned out they were German speakers who also spoke French. The mom apologetically said, “Toute le familie” to me with a laugh. Okay, I admit it was pretty funny, even if they did hog the ladies room for about twenty minutes.
After I took care of my personal business, Bill and I headed toward the Strasbourg Cathedral. We figured we’d be loaded down with beer, so it was better to stop in there first. It was the first time I had ever been in the cathedral in Strasbourg and, I must say, it was absolutely beautiful. It’s probably one of the most breathtaking cathedrals I’ve seen yet, and I’ve seen a lot of them. I think the organ was what got me. Bill got choked up, just like he always does. Here are some photos.
As we walked around the cathedral, we heard an announcer address everyone and say, “Shhhh…” It’s supposed to be a silent place for prayer.
Another busker… playing The Godfather theme on his violin like a boss. I was hoping the Japanese busker would join in. He didn’t.
After we recovered from the sheer sensory delight of the cathedral, we headed down an alley and found ourselves at a well stocked by rather small beer shop. We spent some time finding brews from everywhere from Belgium to Cary, North Carolina! We bought as much as we thought we could haul back to the car without hurting ourselves.
The Beer Village!
Complete with models wearing corsets of beer caps.
It’s not a huge store…
but it has a nice, broad selection of suds!
After unloading our beer haul, we headed to a restaurant called Au Pigeon. This place doesn’t get great ratings, probably because it offers rather run of the mill Alsatian cuisine as opposed to anything really fancy or inventive. However, we had a wonderful time eating there. Service was friendly and we could tell that it’s a favorite of some locals. While we were waiting for our lunches, I watched one of the waitresses kiss about twelve guys French style– on both cheeks– as if she was in receiving line. The guys all sat at a big table obviously reserved for them and they ordered some wonderful smelling traditional dishes. It was so much fun to watch them enjoying the food and their fellowship. They laughed a lot, talked a lot, and made the restaurant feel very festive, which probably improved our experience. It felt like we were eating with locals, which I think we were. And we enjoyed our lunches, too…
Au Pigeon
Perfect weather! I waited for Bill to get some euros.
He’s so cute when it’s time for food.
I decided I needed a new wine pitcher and we bought one after we ate.
The quaint inside of the restaurant. It used to be a Winstub, so don’t go here for beer.
I had roasted duck leg with red cabbage and roasted potatoes. It had a brown gravy…
Bill had chicken with Riesling sauce. I’m glad I didn’t order it, because the sauce had mushrooms.
Dessert!
These guys had a good time… but I enjoyed watching the wait staff serve them. It smelled wonderful, too.
I had profiteroles and Bill had cheesecake.
Cute restaurant, despite its average ratings.
A parting shot of Strasbourg.
My duck leg was pretty good, although it was a little overdone. I was just glad the gravy wasn’t loaded with mushrooms, like Bill’s dish was. I guess some people really love their fungus. If I loved it too, my life would be so much easier. The service was pretty good, although I think it’s better if they know you there. I could see they were very warm and friendly to those they knew, but not to those they didn’t. I guess that makes sense, though, especially in a touristy area. I read in Trip Advisor that the restaurant is family owned and the grandfather does the cooking. Also, the lady who waited on us didn’t speak English, but she did speak German, so we had no problems. All in all, it was a nice lunch!
Dessert was excellent. I love profiteroles, and I paired mine with a little cognac. Yeah, it was extravagant, but cognac is always a treat. And when we were finished, it was time to head back to the hotel, drop off the car, and head to the expo where we could pick up some wines from all over France! More on that in the next installment!
After taking Arran to the Hundepension, Bill, Parker, and I loaded up the Volvo and headed to France. It was cold and cloudy, as it usually is this time of year. However, it wasn’t so cold in Germany that I packed my down jacket. I eventually regretted that decision, because it did get pretty cold in France. I did at least bring a cape that I could layer over my wool sweater. Global warming is definitely a thing, though. When we were in Germany the first time, I would not have dreamed of going outside without down. The past couple of years have truly been unseasonably warm here. We haven’t even had any snow yet. Last time I saw a decent amount of white stuff was when we lived in Jettingen.
We got on the road at about lunchtime on Saturday, January 18th. In retrospect, we probably should have eaten before we left, but I was eager to get on the road. We made one pit stop before lunch, where I managed to take a few inappropriate pics. I always get a kick out of the signs and ads in the bathrooms, as well as the people who prefer to go au naturale rather than pay the 70 cents to pee in private…
Pregnant? There’s help!I get a kick out of these signs. No wonder there aren’t any seats on French public toilets.This guy decided he’d rather pee outside.
We ended up stopping in Landau, a pleasant town in southern Rhineland-Palatinate, not that far from the French border. I had told Yannick we were shooting to be at his gite between 3:00 and 4:00, but hadn’t realized that lunch would take as long as it did.
As it was, we stopped very close to the “witching hour” of 2:00pm, which is when a lot of restaurants shut down for a pause. I managed to find us a Paulaner restaurant, the Paulanerstuben-Landau, which still had lunch going. That turned out to be a fortuitous stop. The food was delicious, even if came out at a rather leisurely pace.
This was a good stop…Not only do they have a good “Pippi Rue”…But the decor is charming and authentically German…They have delicious crispy chicken…Wiener Schnitzel to die for…And, of course, sausages! The fries were good too.This was worth the stop.We’d stop again!
I had the delicious half chicken, which was crispy and probably done “extra spicy”. I say that, because they used a lot of black pepper to season it. I also noticed that they offered less spicy and mild versions. I wish I had specified, because when it comes to spicy food, my tastes are very German… or British. Makes perfect sense, too. Bill had the Wiener Schnitzel and Parker had sausages. Both of them liked their choices as much as I liked mine.
Ain’t France beautiful?
The rest of our drive to France was uneventful, except for when we stopped at an unusually rustic rest stop. There was another couple ahead of me. The man used the pissoir, which was outside (on a related note, I sure did see my share of public urination on this trip). The woman was in one of the two little wooden sheds, but she’d neglected to lock the door. Consequently, I opened the door on her when she was mid piss. Sigh… sorry lady, but I didn’t know you were in there. The doors lock for a reason.
Beware of pests…Pee outside if you’re a man.Inside if you’re female… but please lock the door!
We arrived at Yannick’s gite in the heart of Ribeauville at about 5:30pm. It was dark outside, and we were still full from lunch, as well as a bit tired from the drive. Yannick came over to say hello, and we got to meet his adorable little son, Raphael, who is about 18 months old. During our last visit to Ribeauville, Yannick’s wife was in labor with little Raphael; he was born the night we departed during our last visit over Memorial Day weekend in 2018. He was very shy, but adorable. Yannick said he wasn’t used to hearing English, but after a couple of minutes, he went to work entertaining himself with the drawers full of wine corks. Yannick says his wife will be having another baby in May or June of this year; then their family will be complete. It was a real pleasure to finally meet Raphael. I have no doubt that he’ll be bilingual in no time.
We all went to the little Carrefour grocery store located about 100 yards from the gite and loaded up on wine, beer, chips, breakfast fixings, and chocolate. Parker took one of the upstairs bedrooms, and Bill and I took the usual back bedroom. Here are some photos from Riesling, which mostly looks the same as it did last time we stayed there, in November 2017. Yannick says he’s trying to upgrade, but he’s had trouble finding workmen who are available. All of his gites in the wine house are named after local wine specialties.
Generous sized kitchen with a bathroom with a shower off to the side.The second bathroom, which has a tub.And a handy toilet…Second toilet in the bathroom in the kitchen.The rainfall shower is nice, but there’s no door or curtain. Be prepared to squeegee.Yannick thoughtfully left the Christmas tree. He says he’s taking it down this weekend.Main bedroom on first floor.Living room area. You can watch Netflix or Amazon Prime on the TV. Don’t forget to log out.Upstairs room with twin beds.Upstairs king bed. Lights in the courtyard.
We like to stay at Yannick’s place, mostly because he’s very nice and loves dogs. But his place is also very convenient to Ribeauville, has access to free lot parking, and has most everything you’d need. It’s also reasonably priced, and Yannick makes checking in and checking out a breeze. You just access the lockbox, for which he sends a code before you arrive. It’s super easy and convenient. In fact, about an hour after we left, he texted me to see how we enjoyed our time. It was, indeed, a great time! Now… on with what we did in Alsace this time! Stay tuned for part three.
We had beautiful sunny weather today, although it was cold and kind of windy. I got the idea to go to Tübingen to pick up some wine at Vinum Weine & Feines, one of my favorite wine stores in the area. I wanted to see if they had any Georgian Saperavi. It’s the only wine shop I’ve found yet in Germany that carries Georgian wines.
Before we hit Vinum, though, we needed to have lunch. We decided on Ratskeller on a whim. We’ve passed this place a bunch of times, but never noticed it had a restaurant. Apparently, it’s a club that hosts bands in the evenings. I was actually lured there by the sign below…
The sign above the bowl reads :”Bitte, hier trinken anstatt zu pinkeln.” Translation: Please drink here instead of peeing. I’d love to know what prompted the management to post that sign…
Today’s specials.
The front facade.
Bill stares in wonder at the locally produced IPA he found. It was actually very good. He was impressed.
Nice to see the Germans getting in on making craft beers.
I had a glass of wine (grenache and syrah blend), which came with a small glass of sparkling water. Notice under the tulip is an ad for a Jam Session. The Ratskeller hosts bands. I think our table was actually on the small stage.
Ratskeller seems to specialize in burgers. They had everything from a plain ol’ cheeseburger to veggie burgers. They even had choices for vegans. I noticed they had a few other items for those who didn’t want sandwiches, as well as soups, salads, and specials. Bill and I decided to have burgers, although neither of us went for the usual American beef variety. I had a chicken burger and Bill had a vegetarian apple and cheese burger. He said the cheese was somewhat mild and it came with a dressing and tomatoes.
Bill’s apple and cheese burger. This was one of the weekend specials. He didn’t realize it was a meat free sandwich, but enjoyed it just the same. The fries were ordered a la carte and came with a “dip”. They had ketchup and mayo, as well as a number of more exotic dips. We both had ketchup.
My chicken burger had thin breaded chicken breast filets, sliced tomatoes, a curry dressing, lettuce, cheese, roasted onions, and pineapples. It wasn’t bad at all, although the burger was pretty large and got kind of messy. I couldn’t eat the whole thing.
The interior of the restaurant is pretty nice. There’s an attractive bar area, as well as a cavernous dining room that looks like it was the old cellar. I noticed they had lots of board games there for people to play.
The “cavern” dining room… on the way to the ladies room.
Board games for the bored.
And the bar.
I noticed there were signs posted warning clients of the patrons of date rape and sexual harassment. Apparently, Ratskeller and other local night spots are committed to preventing their guests from being harassed. It was translated into several languages. I was glad to see it.
“No means no.”
In French and Arabic.
In English…
Our bill came to about 33 euros. All in all, we enjoyed our lunch and would eat at Ratskeller again. It has a nice atmosphere, reasonable prices, and pretty good food. Maybe next time, one of us will brave one of the more conventional beef burgers. After Bill paid, we headed to Vinum for wine shopping. I snapped a few more photos on the way.
Someone has a weakness for Gremlins, Garfield, and Odie. Guess they must be about my age.
The city square is looking fine, as usual.
I especially love visiting here when the sun is out. Lots of people were enjoying the sun, drinking coffee and beer outside. It was still a little too chilly for me. I guess you can take a girl out of the South, but not the South out of the girl.
The entrance to my favorite bottle shop in these parts.
They have whisky and other tastings, too. We didn’t partake of any whisky today.
But if you want to try some of their wines, you can help yourself to the ones they set out.
Just grab a glass and go to town! I only tasted two today. I’m usually pretty shameless when it comes to tasting wines at Vinum, but restrained myself.
We did manage to score two bottles of Georgian Saperavi. In fact, we cleaned them out of what they had on display. I want to encourage them to stock more. For those who are curious…
This is what we’ve picked up on our last few visits. If you like leathery, full bodied reds with a lot of character, you may want to give it a try.
This was the total haul. We were conservative because Bill forgot his wine bag and we are already pretty flush with vino right now. I just got a bunch of Armenian wines from Armenian Brandy and Wines out of Belgium.
Right next to Vinum is an optical shop. I liked the eye charts they had for men and women.
Apparently, women prefer shoes…
And men prefer beer. Actually, I’d rather take the beer test.
On the way to the parking garage, I noticed someone was using a US mailbox. I haven’t seen one of these in over three years.
Tübingen is always lovely, but especially when the sun is shining! Bring on spring!
Tomorrow, it looks like we’re going to head to a place we’ve not yet been… provided the weather is decent and we get up and going in time. We probably should have spent more time out and about today and probably would have, if not for the gusty wind! I am so ready for better weather!
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