Bill took the day off of work today. Our dog, Noyzi, needed some blood work done, and it was going to take a few hours. So, rather than come and go at work, or task me with the job of taking him, Bill stayed home. We did some boring housework, which you can read about on my main blog.
While Bill was at the vet’s, he ran into our neighbor, the veterinarian who owns the practice where we take our dogs. He immediately recognized Noyzi and gave him a pat. Sadly, Bill happened to be there as a family was saying goodbye to a much beloved family member. We lost our dogs, Zane and Arran, here. In fact, Zane’s anniversary is coming up on the 31st. 🕯️ I’m sending warm thoughts to that family. It’s so hard to say goodbye.
It was hard for Charlie to say goodbye to Bill and Noyzi; that’s for sure! He was really upset at being left home with me. He cried, barked, and stayed in the foyer, waiting for them to come back. However, unlike Noyzi, Charlie doesn’t like car rides, and he hates the vet. I think he got the better end of the deal. Noyzi wasn’t thrilled to be at the vet’s today! But he did get a treat.
One unexpected thing that happened today is that I ended up ordering a new steam mop. The one I bought in late 2018, when we were fixing to move from Baden-Württemberg, seems to have bit the dust. It started to heat up, as usual, and then just kind of died. It didn’t die all of the way, mind you. The little green power light was on, and I could feel the electrics trying to heat up. But it just never got there.
I got tired of waiting for our old mop to try to heat up, and broke out the Tineco wet vacuum I bought a few years ago. I cleaned the floors with that. It does do a good job. But I still like having a lighter, less cumbersome steam mop for upstairs. So I ordered one from Paris that will probably get to me in a few days.
Then, after all of that stuff was done, we decided to go to the weekly market in our village. It just started up again after a brief summer pause.
I love the weekly market. One can purchase deli meats and cheeses, fresh breads, fresh vegetables, Middle Eastern goodies, and wine… The ice cream man also comes with his goodies. He has a good sense of humor, speaks English, and offers delicious ice creams. I think he gets a kick out of us, because when we first met him several weeks ago, we said we were hiding out in Germany.
Bill bought some cold cuts and cheeses from a Tyrolean farmer’s market seller. They had a nice conversation in English and German. An older gent asked us if we were British. We told them we’re American. I was flattered that it wasn’t obvious, in spite of my profane t-shirt…
Look carefully. I should probably buy another one.
We also bought a kilo of plums from the fruits and vegetables vendor. We would have bought bread, but the guy was busy, and Bill has an appointment with his Jungian analyst today. So we had some wine and ice cream from the friendly vendor…
As we were enjoying the low key weekly market, which the city manager attended, I was thinking about how lucky we are to live here. People around here mostly know us, but even the ones who don’t are very nice.
The Metzgerei vendor asked if we were new, because he’d never seen us before. I think he’s different from the folks who used to come. We said we weren’t. He kind of good-naturedly ribbed Bill for his attempts at German, then sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, when he heard that I’m from Virginia. Of course, Virginia is NOT West Virginia… but that’s okay. It’s a great song. Besides, Bill Danoff, who mostly wrote that song, had not been to West Virginia when he wrote it. The song was actually inspired by drives in Maryland. Germans love it, though. Who wouldn’t love Germanic John Denver’s beautiful tenor voice?
Another elderly gent asked if we were Brits. We said no, we’re American. Bill told him where we live, and he said, “Please come back.”
I did notice that the weekly market seemed a bit sparse… but that might be because it’s August, and people tend to vacation in August. Also, they host it during working hours. It’s hard to go to the market when one doesn’t leave work until an hour before the market closes. But I guess the people who run it sell their wares at bigger markets on weekends, and no one wants to be hanging out on a town square during the dinner hour.
We also saw our old neighbor, Daniel, who stopped to pick up some vegetables. Daniel moved to a smaller, cheaper place following his divorce. He’s a very nice guy. We miss having him near, but it was nice to see him today.
Anyway… I do love our little village, and I’m grateful that we get to live here. We were very lucky, because this was the last house we toured when we were looking, and it popped up the day before we were heading back to Jettingen, back in November 2018, having come up here to look for a place to live. I suspect we were the only ones to tour it when it came up, and you’re damned right we snapped it up quickly. It’s been a GREAT place to live… both in terms of the house, and the town.
Featured photo is of a few items Bill picked up from the Apotheke for his “juicy cough”…
It’s a hot, sunny Saturday here in Germany. Bill is struggling with a really nasty cough. Remember last month when he brought home a virus from Spain that made us both sick? Well, I eventually got over my sickness. Bill initially seemed to get over his, but was left with a lingering cough that has since gotten worse.
He has a doctor’s appointment on Monday. I told him to get one, and he was not able to get one with his regular American “GP” at Landstuhl until August. He decided to seek one with the same German ear, nose, and throat practice he visited months ago, when he had his ears cleaned out. 🤢
On Friday, he also visited the neighborhood “Apotheke”, which is Germany’s version of a pharmacy. Here, drugs are sold exclusively in apothecaries, rather than in grocery stores. The guy who runs our local drug store loaded him up with 40 euros worth of items, some of which are naturopathic. I noticed that Bill got some Bronchipret, which I took last year. One of its active ingredients is thyme, which is well-known for helping with “chesty coughs”.
I took Bronchipret when I got sick with a really nasty respiratory virus. I didn’t find it to be extremely effective, but it did help soothe me until my body was able to fight off the sickness. It also didn’t taste horrible.
Poor Bill has been waking up repeatedly at night, needing to cough a lot. The cough is very loud and productive, but he’s still not able to clear his lungs as much as he needs to, so he can’t rest well. I’m sure the ENT will tell him to “get with his GP”, but he needs help now. Maybe they will give him a prescription. Hopefully, he won’t be treated as poorly as I was, two years ago, when I saw a specialist. But then, he’s a man… so he’ll probably get better care.
Being sick sucks. It especially sucks in the summer, when you live in a house that doesn’t have central air conditioning, and it’s hot as Hell outside. It’s not actually that hot today, but it’s definitely getting warm again. That will mean my ankles are going to blow up.
I wish I could enjoy summer more. I do miss Lake Zürich now.
Monday, I expect to get a brand new desktop computer, so that may help me make content a bit more efficiently. And on Thursday, we expect our new fridge to get here, so we can stop traipsing down to the basement to get food. Things are progressing. I do need to go to AAFES and order new glasses, too. I expect to buy my first pair of bifocals. Edited to add: just after I wrote this post, we went to AAFES in Wiesbaden and I ordered my new glasses.
SIGH…
Bill did have a birthday the other day. We celebrated with a snazzy birthday song I sang for him in a YouTube video. I thought maybe we’d go do something this weekend, but I think he’s feeling too poorly. Hopefully, he’ll be feeling better next weekend.
This morning, a golden retriever, belonging to a neighbor we have not met, was running amok in our neighborhood. The dog was not wearing a collar, and according to our next door neighbor, regularly jumps over the fence surrounding its neighbor’s yard, and visits our cul-de-sac. I hope the dog stays far away from the Autobahn.
Happy Thursday, everybody. This morning, we got a video from Bill’s younger daughter. She started our day off on a very tasteful note.
A few weeks ago, younger daughter was telling us about how she didn’t understand why people like olive oil so much. She said it was bitter and watery, and even though it’s supposed to be “healthy”, she just didn’t think it was very good.
Having lived in the United States ourselves, and tasted what passes for “olive oil”, we had a feeling that she had never experienced the real thing. So last month, when we went to Ramstein to get my stupid eye exam done for the driver’s license renewal, we stopped by a really cool Italian shop in the Ramstein mall.
The woman who was working that day had a super thick accent, and she told us about her family and how she wound up in Germany. For years, she worked in Nuremberg, but eventually found her way to the Ramstein area. Her store was chock full of Italian goodies, straight from the source.
I think the lady in the shop got a kick out of watching us load up on stuff. She asked if we were getting ready to PCS. We said we weren’t, but we just enjoy authentic Italian products and happened to be at Ramstein. We left the store with several bags of Italian pasta, olive oil, orange liqueur, and balsamic vinegar.
I already shared this photo on the day we bought these goodies, but here it is again. Some of it went to younger daughter, who is just now tasting real olive oil and balsamic for the first time.
As is his habit, Bill got a few things in Greece for the kids, while he was working there. We added a bag of pasta, some olive oil, and balsamic vinegar to the box. They got it a few days ago, and opened it on camera. I got a big kick out of watching the grandkids discover things from Europe.
This morning, younger daughter said she had tried the olive oil on some homemade breadsticks she made. She was shocked by the difference in flavor and consistency. And then her husband said, “These are the best breadsticks ever. Just like Olive Garden!” 🤣
Of course, that just makes me want to take them to a real Italian restaurant. I’ll bet they would be blown away by what Italian food from Italy actually tastes like. I do like American style Italian food, too… but it’s really not the same and does not compare to food from the actual source.
On the other hand, I did find out firsthand that, in spite of contrary popular opinions, it IS possible to have a bad meal in Italy. But they are few and very far between!
Anyway, it’s a real pleasure to see Bill’s daughter experiencing new things. Her eyes are opening to new ideas and horizons far beyond what she’s experienced thus far. And her kids are getting to try things like real olive oil and balsamic vinegar at a much younger age.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Bill was able to get too many souvenirs from Spain, but maybe we’ll have the chance to go there together. I just wish we could send her some Iberico ham. That would probably really blow her tastebuds!
We will be going back to Ramstein on June 13th, because I’m going to go get a full eye exam. It will be among the last offered by the optometrist there, because he’s leaving. According to the very nervous technician who took care of me last month, they aren’t backfilling him… so I’m going to get an “over 50” eye exam and get a new prescription. I don’t look forward to it, but I am looking forward to seeing things better. Clearer vision is always a good thing– literally and figuratively.
By the way, I got my new driver’s license this week! It’s good until 2034!
Hi everybody. This is going to be a very quick update, because I don’t have much of anything to report this week. Bill has gone to Spain. He left this past Thursday, and will be spending Memorial Day working… and then he will come back Saturday.
I’m rather irritated, because his work also ruined Labor Day weekend last year. This is something he says his co-worker does, possibly for his own benefit. The guy, who is from the US, plans conferences, often around US holidays. He likes to do frequent TDYs. It’s annoying.
On the other hand, at least Bill has a job… It pays pretty well. I also know he’ll make it up to me eventually. And at least with this guy he’s now working with, they’re going to interesting places rather than the same post in Germany, over and over again.
Anyway, the upshot is, I’m stuck here at home alone. The temperature has finally become seasonal, so I dragged out the air conditioner yesterday. I’m so glad we bought it last summer, even though our old AC crapped out at the end of the summer of ’25, as it was cooling off.
It was hot yesterday, and the neighbors were playing loud music that would have made me choose between their noise, but some air flow in the room, or being hot, but not hearing as much noise. Never mind the bass thudding until late into the evening.
I know I sound a bit crabby. The fact is, I am a bit crabby… and for a lot of reasons, actually. I kind of don’t feel all that well… That’s a big part of the reason for my crabbiness. There are other reasons, of course, but I’m not going to go into them in this post.
I did manage to go to the grocery store yesterday. I dropped off a crate of plastic bottles, but was not aware that the REWE in our neighborhood no longer lets people use the Pfand for money off of their food. I had a receipt worth 4,25 euros, and was unaware that they changed their policy. I could only use the pfand receipt for money off of drinks. It wasn’t a huge deal, but I was a bit annoyed about it.
I don’t know what the reason behind this policy is, but it’s irritating. Bill told me about it last night, after his day of work, when I told him what happened. The new policy must have been implemented within the past few months.
While I was at the store, I took today’s photo, which is of the gay pride flag at REWE. I don’t have a problem with it, myself, but I did catch myself thinking about how such a flag would go over in my homeland. What’s going on over there is another reason for my crabbiness.
At least the sun is out. Maybe I’ll go outside and enjoy it. I usually don’t drink when Bill is out of town, but this week, I think I’m just gonna say “fuck it.” I might as well enjoy myself. (Edited to add: I cooked some pasta, instead, and skipped the beer.)
Sometimes, this life sucks a bit… but at least we have nice dogs to keep me company. And at least I’m in Europe.
A couple of weeks ago, Bill and I decided to visit Celpro, an Italian market in Mainz-Kastel. That store is like a traditional market, and it carries things one might find in a small Italian grocery store. While we were at Celpro, I couldn’t help but notice that it was kind of stressful to shop there. The aisles are jam packed with goods, and it tends to be crowded on Saturdays. However, they have some really nice products from Italy, so it’s great to have them nearby.
I got curious and wanted to see if there were other Italian markets near us. That’s when I discovered Fornara, a Feinkost with its flagship store in Taunusstein. I also noticed that Fornara has a satellite store behind the train station in Wiesbaden. Even after living here for going on eight years, I didn’t know we had such a store so close. Today, Bill and I decided to visit.
It turns out that two weeks ago, they moved into their brand new space, which is very close to the old one. Consequently, it looked to me like they are still setting things up somewhat. However, they had enough there that we ran up a 300 euro bill… 😈
I found high end pastas, lots of sauces, liquor, lots of wines from Italy, France, and Germany, and plenty of frozen seafood and meat. They also had frozen Italian desserts like tartufos, and frozen sorbet filled lemons and oranges. Pour a little vodka in those, and you have yourself a classic French dessert called a “Colonel”.
Never thought I’d find these in a store!
They sold Tomahawk steaks, Wagyu steaks, flat iron steaks… but they also had huge scallops, tiger shrimps, octopus, and salmon filets. I think they’re still working on expanding their stock. The helpful English speaking staff said they were expecting a shipment this week of more goods.
This Feinkost is very convenient to downtown Wiesbaden, as it’s very close to the train station and bus services, and even has free parking. You can pay with euros or credit cards. The guy who rang us up said that Fornara was founded by one Italian guy, and everybody else is German!
I really enjoyed the ambiance in Fornara. They played energetic music, and the lighting was not too harsh. The store is in what looks like it used to be a warehouse, so I think they will turn that space into something very cool, indeed… and I don’t mean literally, because of all the freezers. Below are some more photos from today’s visit.
Tartufos aplenty!I found seven bottles of wine to take home!
I look forward to another visit to Fornara, especially after they get everything set up in their new space. I also hope Bill and I can take a “field trip” to their flagship store in Taununsstein, which is about 18 miles away and appears to be much larger and more expansive.
The flagship store has event space that can be rented for private affairs, as well as classes on different foods and wines. For instance, at this writing, they’re offering a class in different cuts of meats, a Primativo wine tasting, and a summer wine tasting, among other events.
There is also a store in Norderstedt (near Hamburg) and another one coming to Berlin. Bill said Fornara gave him “Eataly” vibes, although I wouldn’t go that far. Eataly is a lot bigger and more overwhelming… but I don’t mind a smaller version of Eataly in these parts.
Bill has to go to Spain next week, so a visit to the store in Taunusstein will have to wait until he gets back. The good news is, we got word that my driver’s license application was approved, so I will soon have my new license in hand. Maybe I can do the driving when we go to the big Fornara store. 😁
Bear with me, folks. It’s a surprisingly long story…The featured photo is AI, but it kind of looks like the eye test from yesterday, only it’s not as blurry.
Bill and I were greeted with beautiful sunny skies yesterday morning. The temperature was perfectly comfortable. It would have been a great day to drive my Mini Cooper convertible, which really could use the “exercise”. We decided to drive the Volvo, instead, and made our way to Ramstein Air Force Base, so I could take care of my vision test for my driver’s license renewal.
Ramstein is about a 90 minute drive from where we live. It’s not far from the French border– maybe 45 minutes or so. The area around the base is really beautiful, although it’s pretty much a mini America. Ramstein has many facilities and is a convenient perq for those of us with military privileges, living in Germany. Although part of the usual route we take is currently closed for renovation, we made it to the base with plenty of time before the optometry clinic would be closing (3:30 ish).
I didn’t think the test would be a huge deal. We already had the passable results of the eye test I had struggled to take in Wiesbaden last month. However, the optical shop in Wiesbaden couldn’t do the apparently newly required peripheral vision test, so I had to get a new exam done at Ramstein. At least the test in Wiesbaden was free of charge.
The Texas driver’s license officials had indicated that they only needed proof that my peripheral vision was passable, since my vision test results from Wiesbaden were passing. I thought our visit would be brief and uncomplicated. We definitely hadn’t planned on spending so much time with the optometry technician in Ramstein, a tiny white woman who appeared to be about Bill’s age. She immediately made an impression as we approached.
The lights in the optometry clinic were turned off, and she was sitting behind the desk, barely noticeable from outside. At first, I was afraid the office was closed. But then we saw her, and the hours posted on the door. The lady behind the desk– I’ll call her “Mary” (likely not her real name)– was very friendly, but as soon as we started trying to explain what we needed, she broke in and told us that the clinic was going to be shut down in July. Then she started ranting about the driver’s license exams, and how they would not be able to do them, because the two optometrists at the clinic are leaving and there are not any plans to replace them.
I started to worry that she was going to tell us she wouldn’t be able to help us, but then she said the magic words.
“I’m going to take care of you today. We’ll get you squared away.”
She addressed me directly, which I appreciated. After a few moments listening to Mary, I definitely got the sense that I was one of the lucky ones coming in under the wire for services at Ramstein. Unless, of course, something happens, and they get new optometrists to work in lovely Germany, so that people like us can be taken care of by Americans with American credentials, and still be able to renew our driver’s licenses, so we’ll be legal to drive.
I listened to Mary talk about how the requirements for the exams could not be met once the doctors left, because the driver’s license offices in the United States required stamps from licensed US based optometrists. I was thinking about all of the times I’ve renewed my driver’s licenses in person. Never on any of those occasions have I had to submit paperwork from a licensed eye doctor. I just did a very basic test involving looking into a machine with both eyes, conducted by the government flunky handling my request.
I guess things have changed. To hear Mary explain it, officials in the States are getting a lot stricter about eye tests for driver’s licenses. I gather it’s because officials don’t want anyone getting a driver’s license who isn’t “legal”. 🙄 But maybe it really is about public safety. Who knows?
I explained to Mary that I’d already (barely) passed the eye test in Wiesbaden, and the Texas officials had only requested a peripheral vision test. Mary told us she had to charge us $34, whether we did the whole thing or just a part. She seemed to think I needed a new test, and scoffed at what they’d done in Wiesbaden. She even said we should get our money back, and laughed when we said the test had been done for free. I didn’t really care about the $34, I just wanted to get this over with… but Mary seemed intent on doing her job, so I did the whole thing over again.
Thank GOD I brought my glasses with me, because if I hadn’t, I would not have passed. I certainly CAN see well enough to drive, but I am in need of a new prescription. I have astigmatism that isn’t currently corrected by my multifocal lenses. I can see better if I wear toric lenses, but I can’t read with the toric lenses. I can read with multifocal lenses, but my vision isn’t as sharp. My prescription is way off anyway, because it’s been years since I last went to the eye doctor. In Germany, you can just buy your lenses without a prescription. I’m pretty sure I need bifocals.
Mary was very nice, but she was really stressing me out during the exam. She exuded the slight shaming and judging one gets from medical professionals when patients don’t do things exactly as they should or haven’t been “living properly”.
I didn’t use the eye cover exactly right, and she corrected me for that. She was a little disapproving because I had dusty glasses, as I only wear them to watch TV at night, and then only for a few minutes. She chastised me when she did the peripheral test for turning my head as she talked to me. I hate it when medical people act that way. I have authority issues as it is, but it’s especially annoying when you have to pay for that treatment.
Another example of that kind of behavior…
My husband, Bill, has had to take blood pressure meds for almost as long as I’ve known him. He gets nervous when he goes to the doctor, so his blood pressure goes up. One time, he went to see the doctor, and the nurse who took his blood pressure gave him a disapproving look, implying that he wasn’t taking his medication. Bill is an excellent patient. He takes his medications religiously. But the nurse wasn’t convinced, because his pressure was high during that visit. Her castigating was making things worse. She was stressing him out with her disapproval, making his blood pressure rise even higher.
Bill later got diagnosed with white coat hypertension. I, too, was diagnosed with that, back in 2007. But now, I’m pretty sure I have high blood pressure and need to be on meds… and that will require a doctor’s visit, which really freaks me out.
Moving on…
I really wanted to pass the test, even though I almost never drive, because I just wanted to get this pesky chore done. I don’t want my driver’s license to expire, in case there’s an emergency. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t pass, but it would be a huge pain in my ass. Mary said that US officials won’t take German doctors’ signatures on the forms (which seems rather preposterous to me, especially if the optometrists are going away). I can’t stand dealing with medical people, and find addressing healthcare issues a huge hassle. I didn’t want to have to come back, or find somewhere else to go.
Mary warned that if I let my license expire, I would end up having to take the driver’s tests again. This was precisely why I have been bugging Bill for a year about completing this particular bureaucratic chore. I knew I’d probably have to furnish a lot of documents and official signatures, thanks to Trump’s micromanaging style of “leading”. I still have six weeks or so until my license expires. Mary was making it all seem so catastrophic and difficult, and this was the last hurdle I needed to clear before I’d be done with this process.
The last thing I want to do is retake the driver’s tests in the US, or have to take them in Germany (although I believe Texas has an agreement that would allow me to just trade in my license). I wasn’t going to argue with Mary, though, because she seemed to think she was 100 percent right about all of the current policies in the USA and Germany. Perhaps she is… but I got the sense she was making much more of a big deal of this than was actually required. All I wanted to do is pass the fucking eye test so I can stay legal to drive, in case I need to in an emergency.
As time passed during my exam, Mary could see I was getting progressively more upset, so as she was chastising and disapproving, she was also reassuring me. She kept saying, “You’re going to pass! Don’t worry!” she chirped, as she made me read off numbers to prove I’m not color blind. (good LORD!). When it came time to do the peripheral vision test, she had me do it without my lenses in. I could see her hands and fuzzy outlines of her fingers as she moved behind me. Thankfully, I did pass that part of the test with no issues. That was what I had come in to do.
So finally, at the end of the exam, as many medical professionals have before her, Mary “passed” me, with a stern warning that I need a new prescription (no shit). She warned that if we tried to call them tomorrow, it would be total bedlam. There are very few appointments left until July, when the office will be closed. I got the sense that maybe a main part of the reason Mary was so angsty is because people were going to be losing their jobs. Bill paid her the $34, and she set me up with an hour long appointment for June 13th, a week before my birthday, and before my license will be officially expired.
At some point, Mary told us that she’s a nurse. AHA! That explains her authoritative, but friendly, demeanor. She also said she’d worked in ICUs. I got the sense that maybe she missed the action of the ICU, given the relative drama of this appointment. Good thing no one else was waiting!
As Mary was signing me up to see the doctor– a man she says is a “talker”– she warned us to show up on time or face a $40 no show fee. And she reiterated that I needed a very thorough exam, which will involve dilating my eyes. I’m sure that will come with a lecture about my blood pressure, which probably does need correcting…
The question is, though… am I strong enough to deal with either authoritative military doctors at Landstuhl, or another German doctor who treats me like dog shit scraped off of their shoes? Time will tell. But I do look forward to getting a new prescription, at least. I do need one.
After my time with Mary, Bill and I decided to have lunch. Ramstein has a huge food court, and a Macaroni Grill. There’s also a Five Guys in the place where a Burger King once stood (and later burned to the ground). We decided to go to the German restaurant, which was set up to look like an indoor Biergarten. They had brews on tap, and I really felt like I needed one. As for lunch, I had a Munich Burger, while Bill had Schnitzel. Neither came with sides, which was a good thing, as the items were huge and messy. I could barely finish the dripping burger, but it did taste pretty good.
It’s not that convincing as a Biergarten, but they did give it a good try at authenticity.Come to mama…The burger was good, but it was hard to finish. It also gave me pretty serious indigestion later.
After lunch, we stopped in an Italian gourmet shop in the mall. The lady running it was an absolutely adorable and friendly Italian, who was very helpful and spoke with a delightfully thick accent! She was impressed as she watched us loading up on products, and asked us if we were PCSing back to the States. I wanted to get some olive oil and balsamic vinegar for Bill’s younger daughter, who has never had any of the “good” stuff from Italy. I threw in a bag of pasta, too. We also got some stuff for home, including Orangello.
About 160 euros worth of stuff!
Then I heard music coming from the food court. It looked like a band consisting mostly of high schoolers were playing jazz. They were quite good. The young lady who was singing was very impressive. She had a lovely voice! If I hadn’t been so stressed out by the eye test, I might have stayed to listen for a bit longer, but we needed to get back to the dogs. I wanted to slip into something more comfortable and take a nice deep breath as I recovered from re-entering the “little America” of Ramstein Air Force Base.
Hopefully, the people in Texas will accept this last bit of proof of my worthiness for a Texas driver’s license. Mary said we were lucky. She had to fly back to Mississippi for hers. I guess Mississippi doesn’t make exceptions for people who live on different continents, but vote in Mississippi. I thought I’d have to go back to Texas, too… which, frankly, I would barely prefer over going to Mississippi. No offense to my Mississippi based friends. 🥰
I do appreciate Mary’s help. All in all, she was very kind to me, and I do need to get this taken care of. But it really was a lot more stressful and involved than I was expecting. I pray yesterday’s visit will be the end of the saga, at least in terms of getting my license renewed.
This week, I had a very unpleasant exchange with an Amazon seller, who failed to send me Sperlari Candies I had ordered from Italy. I don’t want to get into the story of what happened in that situation on this blog, because I like to try to keep this space somewhat upbeat, when I can. If you want to read that story, click here. Suffice to say, I didn’t get my candy, and the seller was miffed that I left a low seller rating.
That situation made me remember visiting the Celpro Italian Supermarket, back during the height of the pandemic. I wondered if maybe they had some Sperlari goodies. I told Bill I wanted to visit, so off we went. We were definitely not the only ones who had the idea of shopping for Italian treats today.
It had been so long since our last visit, I had forgotten how small the market was. But for being such a small market, they offer a lot of Italian goods– everything from laundry detergent to fresh meats and cheeses. I couldn’t stand to be in there for too long, though, because it was pretty busy and crowded. We did manage to spend about 127 euros. It would have probably been more, if we could have gotten close to the meat counter!
When we got home from Celpro, I looked to see if there were any other markets nearby. I found one called Fornara, which is a small chain. Apparently, they are near the train station in Wiesbaden. They have another location in Taunnustein. I think we might have to visit there, too… although maybe not today, since it’s already getting close to 2:00 PM, and the store closes at 4:00. It looks like a much bigger market, though– at least the one in Taunnustein does. At the very least, we’d probably find more wines!
Yesterday was May Day. I completely forgot about it. I was too busy thinking about Bill coming home from his latest TDY trip. We had beautiful weather, though, and it’s pretty today, too. It’s also finally getting warm.
I got an email from the driver’s license people in Texas. Naturally, they need more stuff from me. I have to go get my eyes checked at an optometrist’s office, because they need a field of vision test (this is a new thing– never needed that in previous years). I also have to send a copy of my voter card, and complete a couple of items of the form that got overlooked.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the communication I got. The lady provided everything I needed– from the information as to what documentation is acceptable to prove Texas residency, to the spots I missed on the form. I feel pretty confident that by June 20, which is my birthday, I will have an updated license. Kudos to Mary, handling the out of state driver’s licenses. She’s a professional. I just wish they’d make it easier for people in my situation to find them. It would cut down on a lot of stress and confusion.
I need to go see the eye doctor anyway. I need a new prescription, and perhaps to get myself some bifocals. It’s a pain to have to do it, but it does need to be done. I think we’ll go to a different provider this time, though. I didn’t like the place I went in Wiesbaden, last time I had my eyes checked. I just hope the person I see doesn’t piss me off. 😏
Featured photo is of the Istanbul Airport area as we flew over it.
Finally, Friday morning arrived, and it was time to go back to Germany. Specifically, we were going to be flying to Frankfurt, which is about a twenty minute drive from our house. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I was a little worried about traffic getting to the airport, so I encouraged Bill to check us out of the hotel by about 9:00 AM for our 12:45 flight. Although the traffic wasn’t that bad going to the airport, it turned out to be a good call to get to the airport early, especially since Istanbul is not in the European Union.
On our last morning, a harpist came in and played soothing music. It was very pleasant. She played beautifully, and chose selections that were decidedly less weird than Bossa Nova versions of “Like A Virgin” and “Beat It”.
After breakfast, we went back to room 1711, packed up our bags and went back down to the reception. Bill swiftly settled up, and we were lucky enough that a cabbie was already waiting out front for a new fare, so we didn’t even have to wait for a taxi. The taxi driver was the only one of the three we used in Istanbul who was willing to take Turkish Lira. Well… the other two probably would have, too, but they clearly preferred euros.
A couple of views of the huge airport below… Technically, it’s still in Istanbul, but a good distance away from downtown.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Istanbul’s airport is quite new and HUGE, located about 30 minutes away from our hotel in Maslak. It’s not even fully built yet, either. When you enter the building, you have to go through a metal detector and put your bags through a scanner. This is in addition to the usual security procedures that you go through when you have a boarding pass. I probably need to read up more on security issues in the Republic of Türkiye.
We got through the first layer of security, and then had to find our respective baggage drops. Because I was flying business, I had to go to a separate counter in a different area than the economy bag drop. I don’t know how Bill’s experience was, but mine was impressive. I had to ask someone where the business class drop was, and he said it was section “L”. I wonder if the “L” was for luxe… Bill’s drop was in section “B”, I think.
Anyway, the Turkish Airlines business class counter is in its own area that sort of has its own lounge before you even get to the business class lounge! I walked right up to a man who spoke English, noticing that there was no red carpet in the Istanbul Airport for business class passengers. 😉 The guy patiently waited a few minutes while I found my Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles number. He entered the data for me, tagged my bag, and directed me to the business class lounge, which I opted not to use. Bill would not be able to go in there with me.
We made our way through the second layer of security, which involved the usual metal detector and putting our carry on stuff through an x-ray scanner. Then we walked through the first of many shopping venues. Istanbul Airport has a lot of really high end shops, but also plenty of places to get souvenirs and a bite to eat. I was impressed by the number of restaurants. They kind of put Frankfurt Airport to shame.
One thing I noticed in the airport, as well as in Istanbul in general, was a lack of seating in public areas. Because there weren’t many places to sit and we had some time before our flight, Bill and I decided to have something at an Italian cafe. I ended up having avocado toast on sourdough with two poached eggs, salad, and a big glass of orange juice. Bill had a latte. The lady who waited on us invited us to sit at a four top table, rather than the two top we’d originally chosen. I appreciated that very much! It was considerate of her to do that for us.
This was 9 euros, but it was fresh, satisfying, and delicious!This was 14 euros, and very healthy.
After we had our break at the Italian cafe, enough time had passed for us to make our way to the gate. But as we headed over there, we stopped at a store to pick up some Turkish Delight, magnets, and dried apricots for Bill’s daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids, and a couple of boxes of chocolate and a magnet for us.
While Bill was making his purchases, I was noticing some really interesting looking restaurants, a couple of which were U.S. based and not available in Germany! But there was also a place that had what appeared to have Anatolian cuisine. If we go back through Istanbul by plane, we’ll have to check it out.
After a lengthy and somewhat confusing walk to Gate 9 AB, Bill and I waited until it was time to board. This time, the plane was there on time, and boarding was relatively easy. I had chosen seat 5F, a change from my original choice of 2E. I wanted to sit by a window, and it looked like no one was sitting in seat 5E. Of course, it turned out that a married couple had taken the aisle seats in row 5. That was no big deal at all. There was so much room on the plane! I was, once again, simply amazed by it! Between my seat and the other seat was a large console. And, on this flight, we had entertainment monitors on the seat backs in front of us.
You can’t tell, but my foot is NOT touching that seat in front of me. I have my leg fully extended. I’m about 5’2″ tall.A look at the seat next to mine. It’s like a recliner!
Unfortunately, the service on this flight was not as good as it was on the flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul. It was competent enough, I guess… but noticeably less warm and attentive. It’s probably best to write about this in a list form… and I might sound a bit difficult. But, keep in mind that we spent $1500 on my round trip short haul ticket. For that amount of money, I do expect good service, rather than just competent service. So, here’s my list of complaints.
Pre-departure drinks
Once again, the flight attendant, a rather young and cocky looking male, came around with juices. He didn’t immediately offer the same selection of juices as the flight attendant did on the way to Istanbul. He did have all of the same juices available, but he didn’t initially offer all of them, nor did he identify them. And my orange juice didn’t have a slice of orange in it, as it did on the way down. It’s not a big deal at all, but I did notice it.
2.No Menus
On the flight to Istanbul, the flight attendants handed out printed menus that explained everything that was going to be offered with the in flight meals. There was a list of available drinks, and each meal choice was described, although not very thoroughly. I appreciate menu descriptions, because there are a few things I can’t eat. On this flight, I only saw a few people up front get menus.
3. No verbal description of the meal
When it came time to place my order, the same male flight attendant asked me if I wanted fish or beef, or one of the meals offered to the economy class, chicken or pasta. There were no descriptions. He didn’t even tell me what kind of fish was being offered. I did end up selecting the fish, while the people next to me both had the pasta, which I noticed they nicely plated for business class, rather than just giving them the plastic containers that the people in economy got.
The meal itself was okay. The starter was smoked salmon with some kind of slaw and a single shrimp on it. There was also cheese, eggplant salad, bread and butter, and a delicious chocolate eclair. The fish turned out to be some kind of dense fleshy variety– maybe swordfish or shark. It might have been sea bass. I honestly don’t know, because the flight attendant didn’t bother to tell me, or apologize for the lack of a menu. There’s a big difference between trout, salmon, and tuna, you know.
4. Bread service and wine
The same flight attendant brought around a bread basket with warm breads. He barely showed me what was in the basket and asked me to point to which roll I wanted. I tried to point to the one I preferred, but he just gave me a random one. It was pretty perfunctory and not impressive at all. He brought me some wine, but never bothered to ask if I wanted water or something else.
Again, not anything earth shatteringly bad, but it was noticeably poorer service than his colleagues on the other flight, who were obviously more interested in doing their jobs properly. And when I finished the wine, it took him a long time to come back and collect the empty glass. He picked it up when he brought out the bags of hazelnuts.
I like smoked salmon.What the hell is this?I forgot to take a picture of this on the plane. They are good.
5. Attitude
That particular male flight attendant seemed pretty much over his job. He was outwardly a bit rude to me. When we were descending into Frankfurt, I was leaning forward in my seat and he demanded, “Madame, do you have your seat belt on?” I assured him I did, and instead of smiling, saying “thank you”, and being friendly, he just sort of smirked at me and almost rolled his eyes. By that point, I was getting pretty exasperated with his not too subtly concealed asshole behavior.
His colleague seemed much friendlier and more sympathetic, but she spent a long time assisting a gentleman a couple of rows in front of me. I wondered what her male colleague’s problem was. Was it me? Did I specifically do something to offend him? Or does he just want the perks of being a flight attendant, without actually doing his job properly?
Maybe he doesn’t like fat, middle-aged, American women traveling alone in business class. Perhaps I should have heeded Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s advice to dress up for my flight. Or maybe he just isn’t generally suited to the service oriented jobs that require interacting with the public with kindness and consideration. I’ll bet he would never take it upon himself to pre-emptively clean and deodorize the lavatory for me after a windy fellow passenger had used it, though, as his colleague did for me on the way to Istanbul.
I busied myself taking more pictures of the clouds… I liked that the airline’s WiFi worked, as did the monitors showing our progress from Istanbul to Frankfurt.
Overall
I thought it was a good flight and I am impressed by Turkish Airlines. I would definitely fly them again, if the opportunity arises. Their business class product is mostly better than Lufthansa’s– at least when it comes to the actual seat and leg room. But that flight attendant who was looking after me was a bit of an asshole, in my opinion. I don’t think I did anything to warrant his snarky, inattentive, half-assed behavior. And at $1500 for a ticket, I do expect better service than what he delivered… even if it does make me sound like a high maintenance prima donna.
We landed in Frankfurt about 20 or 30 minutes early, so we had to wait about ten minutes before we could park the plane and disembark. Once we did that, I got off the plane as quickly as I could. I needed to find a loo. But first, I had to go through passport control. The young German police officer sitting in the booth asked me what I was doing in Germany. I said, “I live here. There’s a SOFA card at the back of my passport.” He quickly found the card and waved me through, but not before giving me a charming smile when I said “Dankeschön” to him. The cocky flight attendant could take a lesson from the passport control guy. 😉
I felt a little sorry for the guy who was on the other side of the booth. He was getting the third degree from passport control about his decision to enter the European Union. They were asking him about his profession and his citizenship status. Yikes!
It took some time to get our bags. Mine came out early, but Bill’s was not removed from the aircraft until near the end of the line. But then, he WAS in the cheap seats.
We got a taxi home, and I was soon left sitting there bewildered at our whirlwind trip to the Middle East. I’m now especially glad I went with Bill, even though we didn’t do as much as I had hoped we would. It turns out he has to leave again on Sunday. He’s got to fly to the United States and work there next week. I’ll be all alone, buying Christmas presents. I wish I’d had a chance to buy some art in Türkiye, but maybe another opportunity will arise and we can do some proper shopping. And maybe next time, Bill can join me in business class. I’ll bet that cocky twerp flight attendant would not have acted the way he did if Bill had been with me. 🤨
Anyway, so ends the “blow by blow” account of my quick trip to Istanbul. I’ll soon do my usual “ten things I learned” post to end this series. Stay tuned!
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…The Church of Our Lady of Buda CastleSzilágyi Dezső Square Reformed ChurchFisherman’s BastionYou can’t see it here, but I was in a huge crowd of cruisers, waiting to cross the street.
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.
Pork with bacon and potatoes…Fried perch with rice
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.
Holocaust MuseumAirplane museum at the airport
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.
It’s Labor Day weekend. In previous years, that meant going away for a short break. This year, we stayed home, because tomorrow, Bill has to fly to Lausanne, Switzerland for an overnight. He’s going to meet with one of the analysts at the C.G. Jung Institute as he progresses through the admissions process. Then, next Sunday, we will both be flying to Budapest, Hungary for several nights. Bill will be working, and I’ll be tagging along, looking for interesting photo ops.
We did a few things this weekend, though. On Friday night, we went to the wine stand. We talked to our American neighbors, a married lesbian couple with two children. One of the wives is a reservist in the military, though not posted here. The other is applying for German citizenship for herself and their children. The reservist is pursuing a doctorate in social work, so she was interested in hearing about Bill’s journey at the Jung Institute. She’s setting up a private practice for Americans and other English speakers here.
It stormed, so we sat under the tents and waited for it to pass. I couldn’t help but remember that in 2017, the awning from hell collapsed, and our former landlady accused me of negligence, because later that day, there was a storm. She claimed I was negligent for using the awning in a storm, which I hadn’t done… but obviously, it’s not uncommon for Germans to use awnings and tents when it storms. Yesterday was the anniversary of that sad event, which led to a lawsuit.
Saturday morning, I got up and went into the backyard to clean up dog poop and check the water bowls. I noticed one of the bowls was dirty. It wasn’t the first time. Then I saw a feather floating in the bowl and assumed that a bird has been using it as a bird bath. It occurred to me that maybe we should have a bird bath for the backyard. That would be a good excuse to get out of the house, anyway.
So we went to the hardware store– the one with the cool slide for kids. We searched the whole store, but they didn’t have any bird baths for sale. We also tried the Globus, which is a HUGE hypermarket. No luck there, either, although we did leave with a booze haul, Belgian beers, some groceries, and some really tasty snacks called Fonzies, which are like Parmesan flavored Cheetos. I’d say they’re superior.
Then last night, as I was sitting in the backyard, listening to music and drinking beer, I saw what appeared to be a female blackbird eating bugs. I assume she’s the one who keeps dirtying the dog’s water bowl. I put two out there, and they really only use the one on the right. The bird uses the one on the left. I am still looking for a bird bath, but maybe I shouldn’t bother. It’s going to be winter soon enough. I got some pictures of her. Looks like she was eating the bugs on Bill’s tomato and pepper plants. They say blackbirds don’t eat aphids, though… Maybe that’s not a female blackbird, after all.
As I was taking photos, the song “Maneater” by Hall & Oates came on. I changed the lyrics to “Bug eater.”
And then this morning, after being repeatedly pawed by Charlie, Bill got up and made breakfast. The biscuits turned out perfectly. So did the grits. I’m so blessed to be married to a man who knows his way around comfort food. He has really perfected making perfect biscuits. It’s not as easy as it seems!
I’m not sure what we’ll do today. Bill just asked if I want to go out. There is a wine fest going on in Mainz that we could attend. Do I want to go? I don’t know… The Mais Labyrinth is also going on, and we passed it on the way home from the store, but after we went to Globus, we were too tired to consider visiting. I always feel drained after going to Globus. It’s a HUGE store. But it was cool to watch the ladies making the melon displays as we passed. They take melons and turn them into people or animals or other decorations. Quite an impressive skill!
Anyway, that’s about all I have to write about for now. If we end up going out, I’ll update.
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