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Rheingauer Weinwoche in Wiesbaden, Part Zwei…

Bill and I had a productive morning. After I ranted in my regular blog, I decided to practice guitar and then change the strings. Changing the strings on my guitar is a major pain, mostly because of the types of gears I have on my headstock. It takes me awhile and sometimes involves some pain. However, as I just recently made a video in which I played guitar, I realized that a string change was probably long overdue… so I did that, and Bill bottled his latest homebrew.

I recently joined a couple of swell Facebook groups devoted to day trips, mostly because I have really missed seeing and writing about interesting places on the weekends, like we did in Stuttgart. It’s time we got back into the swing of doing that, so we can get more out of being in Germany, and maybe I’ll start making ad revenue again. I saw some places that interested me, but as we didn’t get to see the whole Wiesbaden wine fest on Friday, plus it was already the afternoon when we were ready to venture out, we decided to go back downtown.

We walked a bit around the much calmer fest, slowed down a bit by the bright sun and intense heat. This current heatwave probably isn’t the worst I’ve experienced, even in Germany, but it has been going on for awhile… I’m pretty tired of it. It makes me cranky. The weather channel says we will probably have some rain– finally– this week. I sure hope so. The heat is a real bummer.

I got some more photos and we decided to visit the Barth Weingut stall, because last year, we went to a wine stand in Hofheim and bought some of Barth’s wines to take home. They were, and still are, very good. I have to say, I liked them better than the wines we had on Friday night at Weingut Hamm. But then, I wasn’t the one choosing those wines. We had a pretzel and spundekäs (cheese dip), a local specialty out of Mainz.

We also had a late lunch– a hot smoked salmon sandwich for me, and pulled pork for Bill. While we were enjoying our wines from Barth, a couple sat at the table behind us and proceeded to chain smoke. I was a bit annoyed, since there were quite a few empty tables nearby where they could have sat and not fouled the air with their cigarette smoke. Then, I was dumbfounded when the female half of the couple donned a heavy duty FFP2 face mask! They were sitting there smoking for a good half hour, but then she decides she wants to be a COVID-19 warrior? Amazing! But that’s one of the mysterious things about living in Germany. Some folks are the crunchiest, most health conscious people you’ll ever meet. But they love to light up, especially while they enjoy local wines and beers.

Anyway, we stayed for about three hours, hearing the vague strains of live music as we enjoyed Rieslings by Barth. I don’t know if we’ll go back again, even though the fest is running until next weekend. I am a little tired of wine fests, and would really like to do something different, in a different town. But we can’t always go to the Wiesbaden Wine Festival, while those other activities are usually available.

Below are today’s photos… they aren’t as exciting, because today was a lot more laid back and low key. I kind of like it that way, to be perfectly honest. I am not a big fan of crowds and super busy events.

It was kind of a low key time to be visiting the fest, but that’s kind of the way I like it. Hopefully, next week, we’ll find a nice Tierpark or something. We’ll see.

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We finally made it to the Schwabengarten…

I know… I know… in August, we will have spent a total of five years in the Stuttgart area– two years with the Army and three with contractors.  You’d think with as much as I love beer, I would have scoped out a permanent spot at the Schwabengarten, a large biergarten near Leinfelden.  I am sad to say that today was my first visit.  However, I don’t think it will be the last time we go there for suds and spareribs.

We had nearly perfect weather today in Germany.  The sun was out; the clouds were minimal; and it wasn’t too hot.  I sprayed sunscreen all over myself, determined not to burn to a crisp.  As it turned out, we got more sun while riding in my convertible than sitting at the Schwabengarten.  There is a large covered area as well as plenty of tables under umbrellas.

We chose a table under the covered area, which may not have been the best choice.  Not long after we sat down, we were joined by a bunch of chain smoking locals who made me wish I’d clipped an electric fan to my mighty bosoms that I could aim their way.  You may think I’m joking about this, but I once went on a cruise where a woman did just that.  And I did manage to snap a photo…

See?  I’m not kidding.

Anyhoo… the weather was fine, the beer was cold, and the pork was good.  I had ribs and Bill had the pulled pork sandwich, which was pretty good, even if it was covered in sauerkraut.

We arrived at a little past one… it was busy, but not totally overrun.  There were plenty of tables free and we had no problems finding parking.

The Schwabengarten is self-service.  You go up to the counter, order what you want, and take it back to your table…

Bill was ordering us a couple of mas krugs…

He kindly delivered them…

And spent about two hours drinking them.  In retrospect, maybe I should have gotten a smaller beer.  They don’t warm up when it takes less time to drink them.   

Bill’s pulled pork sandwich.  This was pretty good.  It came with kraut, lettuce, and tomatoes.

I got the ribs.  You can get this dish sans fries.  I probably should have, because I couldn’t finish this.  However, I will say that the ribs were very good– they may have been among the best I’ve had here, outside of the Auld Rogue!  Next time, we’ll get one order and split it.  I only wished I’d had Handi-Wipes by the time I was done!

 

Bill grooves to the music.  This was one area where I think the Schwabengarten can improve.  It’s weird hearing a dance version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

Empty tankard, sans cover.  When you’re finished with your dishes, it’s likely a young lad will come along and clear them for you.  Bill tried to clear our table and was quickly corrected by a flustered young man who seemed puzzled he’d bother with that!

This lady was featured on all of the Schwabengarten’s ads.  She reminds me of Sandra Bullock.

But I was feeling more like this cow.

 

I’m pleased to report that the restrooms were very clean and functional.  They even had Dyson hand dryers and an actual changing room for babies.  Actually, I’d say this particular venue is very kid friendly.  I saw lots of kids today having a good time while the adults drank beer and ate pork products.  I also heard plenty of my countrymen.  Lots of Americans hang out at the Schwabengarten.

Awesome Maypole in the parking lot.

Sandra Bullock’s twin again.

 

We spent about 35 euros today and had a good time enjoying the weather and the atmosphere.  We don’t live that close to Leinfelden, which is probably why today was the first time we visited.  Now that I’ve been, I’d go again, although I’m still partial to biergartens closer to home.  Anyway, I think it’s a good bet if you need a kid friendly place to go, especially if you’re with a group.  In fact, you can even reserve online if you have a group.  I’d recommend doing just that, especially if the weather is good.

This bus has handy advertising on its tail end…

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