Tag Archives: Schnitzel

memories, Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Sundays

Another short visit to Bacharach… a special German town to me…

Yesterday, I was lamenting to Bill that I wanted to get out of the house for awhile, and remember why we moved to Germany in the first place. Unfortunately, I’ve reached a stage in my life in which I don’t really feel like going out as often as I used to. Part of the problem is that our house is very comfortable, making it harder to leave. Another issue is that I’m getting older and less impressed with things. And then there’s the weird weather for this time of year. It’s chilly and a bit overcast today, although we did see glimpses of the sun.

Originally, Bill suggested that we visit Mainz and go to the Gutenberg Museum, a place we have yet to see. Then he thought maybe we’d go to an Armenian/Greek restaurant downtown. But I like to save museums for when the weather is cold. I really kind of wanted to visit the Rhein River… or perhaps a waterfall or a cave. I was really in the mood to do something outside, in spite of the weather. I suggested Bacharach, a beautiful town on the river that also has the distinction of being the very first German town I ever visited.

Back in the summer of 1997, I was finishing my Peace Corps service in Armenia, planning for a month long Eurail trip. I read Europe Through the Back Door, by Rick Steves. He constantly mentioned how adorable Bacharach is. I was to be alone for that part of my trip, so I decided that once I got off the plane from Yerevan, I’d get on a train at the Frankfurt Airport and head for Bacharach for a couple of nights. When I finished my service in August of 1997, that is precisely what I did. When I landed in Frankfurt, I took a couple of trains to the beautiful riverside town of Bacharach. It was a great place to start that trip. I never dreamed I’d be back ever again, let alone live about 45 minutes away.

In late May 2014, just weeks before Bill finished his active duty Army career, we took a “Space A” hop from Baltimore to Germany. We spent most of our time in France, but then flew back to Frankfurt from Nice, and took a train to Landstuhl to work on getting our Space A flight back to the States. We weren’t able to get out the day we wanted to, so we had an extra day in Germany. I suggested that we visit Bacharach. Bill had never been before, and I remembered it to be a lovely town. So we went from Landstuhl… and it took a couple of hours to get there. The town was just as quaint and inviting as I remembered it.

Bill and I happened upon a Biergarten made of an old carousel. We stopped in for beer, and there were a bunch of drunk guys in there. It was Father’s Day, and they were all celebrating. When one of the men heard us talking, he asked if Bill was in the Army. Bill said he was, and the guy told us that American soldiers had saved his family from being stuck in East Germany. He got quite emotional and thanked Bill for his service. It was at around that time that I told Bill that I had a feeling that we were going to be moving back. Sure enough, six weeks later, we moved back to Stuttgart. The rest is, of course, history.

We also visited Bacharach in 2019, or thereabouts… around the time we moved to Wiesbaden. I had wanted to come back again after that visit, but we couldn’t do that easily because a bridge that connected Wiesbaden to the Rhein area was deliberately destroyed and rebuilt. It took a long time. And then, of course, we had the pandemic… and after that, we got out of the habit of enjoying weekend outings.

In any case, you can see photos and read about our previous visits. In 2014… and in 2019… I wrote this about my 1997 trip in 2013.

Below are some photos from today. The weather wasn’t the greatest, although we did stop by the Kleines Brauhaus at the Rhein Theater again. That’s become a tradition for us in Bacharach! It looks like they changed the canopy since we were there in 2019. Also, they don’t have wait service anymore. Now, it’s self-service, which is fine. We both had schnitzels and fries today. Bill had his with cream sauce. I see that the sun is now out, too… SIGH.

Where I stayed in 1997.

We passed by the little hotel/B&B where I stayed in 1997. I remember it was no frills, and I was asked to pay in advance, which I did in Deutsch Marks. A lot of people were walking around Bacharach today, but it wasn’t teeming with people, probably because the weather wasn’t that great. But it remained a lovely place to spend a few hours, watching river cruise ships pass by on the serene Rhein, and a cute little dog in a tiny carrier, hanging out with its people. I wouldn’t have minded having coffee and cake, or maybe some wine in another establishment… but I feared that if we sat down somewhere, we’d stay longer than we should. So we decided to head back after a couple of hours. It was long enough to remind us of why we wanted to move back here so many years ago.

I didn’t get any premonitions today… which I take as a positive sign. Bacharach remains a favorite German destination for me. We should visit more… In fact, we should go to more adorable German towns on the Rhein. I just have to get my ass off the couch or the bed and get to it.

Unfortunately, when we got home, I found out that the rivet securing the strap on my purse broke. I bought the purse in Florence back in 2022. It’s served me well, so I ordered another one from the same shop in a different color. Maybe we’ll get the strap fixed on the one I have now. It just needs a new rivet. I also need to clean out my bag!

Well, I think I’ll close this post and go enjoy the rest of the evening with Bill. Hope you had a lovely Sunday.

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Sundays

Schnitzel, song, and sunshine on the Schönbuch ridge…

I had thoughts that maybe Bill and I should venture to Stuttgart for some fun today, but then I decided to do laundry.  As anyone who lives in these parts knows, laundry can be an all day affair, even if you use the short cycles.  I wasn’t finished washing the bed linens until about 1:30pm, which seemed kind of late to be heading out to Stuttgart, especially since we wanted to have lunch.  We decided to go to Herrenberg instead.

As we headed into town, I noticed the ads for the Whisky Messe that is going on right now.  Tickets were being sold at the Alte Brennerei, an excellent place to buy all manner of exotic spirits and wines.  I told Bill I wanted to stop in there today, since we’re out of whisky.  But first, I wanted to have lunch.  I remembered from last year, when we took our dogs, Zane and Arran, on a walk through nature trails on the Schönbuch ridge overlooking the outskirts of Herrenberg.  Right across the street from the nature park, there is a restaurant/biergarten that looked inviting.  We didn’t try it last year, but decided to stop in today, sans dogs.

Lots of trails and a nice little self-service restaurant for your hunger, big or small.

The biergarten at the was full of people when we arrived at the Naturfreundehaus am Schönbuch.  They were serving a few specials along with the usual schnitzels and such.  It’s a self-service place that appears to be quite popular among locals.  In fact, when we walked inside, there was a group of people in a closed off room having a group singalong of some sort.  I was grateful that they were on key, because they sang the same song several times.  I had it stuck in my head the whole time we were dining.

My first impression… it seemed a bit “church fellowship hall” like.

Bill and I both decided to have small schnitzels with fries, washed down with hefeweizens.  I sat down while Bill ordered.

The lady took his order and gave him a ticket with a number on it.  He sat with me to wait.

You can’t go wrong with a local weizen.

Bill laughs as I snark on the singers in the next room.  They were actually entertaining.  I wouldn’t have minded joining in on the singalong.

Finally, our number was called.  We were 122.  Bill picked up our lunches and we commenced eating.

They had large and small schnitzels.  We both got the small size, which was plenty.  I didn’t finish the fries.  I noticed they had a number of nice looking cakes.  I wouldn’t have minded trying out the Black Forest Cake they had, but I refrained for the sake of my behind.

Nice napkins that tell you where you are.

Once you’re finished eating, you take your dirty dishes to the window.  Put bottles and glasses on the counter where you give your order.

 

This was a pretty typical schnitzel and pommes lunch, but I noticed some of the other options looked pretty good.  Prices are also very reasonable.  It’s a nice, no frills place to stop in after your hike in the woods.  I probably would have enjoyed sitting outside in the sun, but I’m glad we caught the German singing group.

They have handy maps for people who want to walk.

A view of the Biergarten.

Across this highway are more trails.

 

After lunch, we went back to Herrenberg, parked the car, and walked to the Alte Brennerei.  I have written about this awesome wine and liquor store more than a couple of times.  Today was our first visit back since Christmas.  Let me warn you… they are experts at upselling!

Interesting sight by the parking garage.

 

We were originally attracted to their Springbank whiskys, but the one I really had my eye on was priced at about 200 euros.  So we turned our attention to Kilchoman, which was one of the distilleries we visited last year during our Scottish whisky cruise.  I picked up a bottle that was intriguing.  Bill picked out another bottle he liked.  We put them up on the counter.  The saleslady, who spoke some English, invited us to try a couple of whiskys.  We were happy to do it.  Of course, we loved the other two she brought out for us and ended up buying four bottles of scotch.  It may be time for me to start a Facebook whisky lovers group…

Good stuff.  I hope it holds us for awhile.

Bill assesses the damage.  But they softened the blow with a gift of Italian tartufos.

 

I think tomorrow, we will try to go to Stuttgart for a bit… and do some harmless sightseeing rather than shopping!  At least lunch was cheap.  It was a mere 23 euros, plus parking was free of charge.  Edited to add, the Nature House is apparently affiliated with the Friends of Nature, which is an international group dedicated to making nature more accessible.  This particular restaurant is open from 11am-6pm.

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