Bill and I were supposed to go to the first night of the annual Rheingau Wine Festival on Friday evening. His company had reserved a tent for employees and their families. We usually go to that gathering and have a good time. But this year, Bill decided he’d rather hang out at home with me instead of being crowded, hot, and breathing second hand smoke. We usually go to this particular festival on our own, on our preferred Sunday afternoons, when it’s usually a lot less crowded.
So, that’s what we did today… We had beautiful, sunny, relatively cool and breezy weather. The lovely weather made it even nicer to visit this yearly event, which always seems to herald the onset of the fall season for me. I know we have about a month to go before summer is officially over, but years of living in Germany has taught me that in about a month, it’s possible jackets will be necessary once again. On the other hand, I have noticed that things are warmer now than they were in 2007, when Bill and I moved to Germany together with the Army.
Anyway, I don’t have much of anything to report on things that happened today, but I did get some photos and a few recordings…
The first thing we did was go to the WC, where a very cheery Klofrau (toilet lady) was taking one euro per person. She was kind of funny, so I didn’t mind giving her the money. At least the toilets were clean and stocked, right?
We started looking for a place with plenty of shady tables, so we could have something to eat. I finally spotted a good table near some live entertaininers– a guy from Ocean City, Maryland who sang and played keyboards and his German sax player. They were really good, and played music I loved. Bill went to get some bratwursts and pommes (fries), while I drank Riesling. I wish the food had been as good as the live entertainment was. But, the wines were all decent, so there was that.
I really enjoy Wiesbaden, if only because of the fests!
Just before the musicians were about to take their pause, a family sat at the table right behind us. I kept getting bumped by one of them, whose back was against mine. Then, someone from that table kicked rocks, and some wound up in my shoe. Next, a woman sat on the bench in front of me. She was nice enough not to block our view, but her husband then sat down and lit up a cigarette. It was allowed, of course, but pretty annoying. We decided to get up and move to the next booth, run by Barth Weingut, which is a local favorite of mine. When they saw that we were moving, the table muggers quickly moved to take our vacated spots.
Below are some more photos from the other booths we visited. I hope we’ll get to go back again, before the festival ends a week from today.
As for yesterday, we mostly spent it hanging out in the backyard, listening to music, drinking wine and beer, and tearing down the ivy on one of the fences. We didn’t quite finish the job, but now the yard looks both a little naked, and like a tornado hit it.
Bill loves the t-shirt. I ordered it for him a month ago, but it just got to us, along with a couple of others. This coming Saturday, we’ll finally be getting a new mattress, which means somehow hauling the 16 years old one out to be picked up. That will be fun.
I wish I had more fun things to report on… but it does look like I might be able to go somewhere with Bill soon. When the plans are in place, I’ll announce where.
Bill got home from Romania yesterday afternoon. His flight was delayed, but it wasn’t too terribly late. Still, he didn’t get home until about 6:00 PM. He was fussing about what to have for dinner, and I suggested that maybe we should go out to lunch at Landhaus Diedert today. He agreed, and we had a nice vegetable and hummus dinner washed down with beer.
Our reservation was at 1:00 PM. We dressed up a bit, although Landhaus Diedert is a pretty casual place. The food and service are excellent, but you can come as you are. In the summer, this is especially fine, because chances are good you’ll be sitting out in their beautiful Biergarten, which has huge mature oak trees that offer plenty of shade. We parked on the road behind the restaurant, although we could have scored a spot in their parking lot.
I was very appreciative of the comfortable chairs in their Garten, along with the umbrella. Last time we ate outside at Landhaus Diedert, we were at a table that didn’t have an umbrella. After a round of aperitifs– a house cocktail for me, and alcohol free prosecco for Bill– we ordered. Bill got bottles of red wine and sparkling water. We watched a waiter train a new staff member on how to do wine service. I remembered when I first had to serve wine at a table. The guy did a good job teaching his colleague.
I had a vegetarian pea and mint soup with ricotta filled raviolis. Bill had a smoked Forellen-lachs dish with cherry sorbet. Then, for lunch, I had fried chicken breast with parslied mashed potatoes and honey cherry tomatoes. Bill had Angus filet with parmesan crust, Béarnaise sauce, and green asparagus.
Then, after a short pause, as we drank our delightful Italian red wine, we had dessert. I had what they call a “quick dessert”, which was chocolate creme brulee and a cup of coffee or espresso (in my case, an Americano with sugar), and Bill a cherry Clafouti with marinated cherries and cherry sorbet.
As usual, everything was delicious, and the service was laid back and professional. We’ve never had a bad experience at Landhaus Diedert. It’s always a pleasure to go there and have really good food, even if maybe it was a little heavy for summertime.
Perhaps next week, we’ll manage a visit to our other favorite Wiesbaden Sunday lunch spot, Villa im Tal. We can always count on a warm welcome there.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying lunch at the Landhaus Diedert today… except for maybe one of the two kids who were in attendance. But the lovely thing about this restaurant is that it has a little playground for kids to play on while they wait for the food. The same child who protested a couple of times was enjoying the playground when we came in…
And as we were sitting there under the gorgeous oak trees, I couldn’t help thinking, once again, we are so blessed to get to live in Germany. I’ll always be grateful to the people of Germany for being more welcoming to strangers than my own homeland has been.
Anyway, as usual, I highly recommend Landhaus Diedert to anyone in the Wiesbaden area looking for a truly wonderful meal.
This weekend happens to be the weekend for Breckenheim’s annual wine fest. We were able to attend last night, and we had a great time listening to live music and trying wine from one of four vintners that were there. I got some photos and spent awhile talking to an American couple who had come to Germany to help one of our American neighbors with her kids. My neighbor’s spouse had to go back to the States, and she had to work, so an aunt and uncle came all the way from Massachusetts to help. They came over and introduced themselves.
I really enjoyed talking to both of them, but especially the wife. It turned out we had some things in common. We traded travel and waitressing stories, and we both expressed our chagrin at the current state of things in the USA. And she told me about how, when she was very young in the 1970s, she and a friend were camping in the Schwarzwald and wound up getting arrested because they were in an area where they weren’t supposed to be. And the cops, instead of kicking them off the property and issuing a fine, took them to the Stuttgart jail! She said they were really kind to them, and even gave them pillows and blankets, as well as tea!
I don’t know what Germany was like in the 70s, but I do know about the Black Forest. I would imagine there weren’t a lot of hotels open that could have taken them in, since it was presumably quite late. She said it seemed like the police were doing them a kindness by having them spend a night in jail. It was a great story, though. It ranks right up with my story about being trapped with my friend, Elaine, on the Georgia/Turkey border in 1996.
I’m sure I’ve written that story somewhere in the blog, but the short version is that Elaine and I arrived at the border too late and wound up having to spend the night in an office on the Turkish border, after the customs manager asked me if I’d go home with him. The next morning, we happened to catch the Greek bus back to Yerevan… it was a bus that went back and forth to Greece every two weeks to pick up goods, and it just happened to be there when we needed a ride back to Armenia. I think God was looking after us, because that story could have gone bad so easily!
Anyway, below are some photos and a video I took of the live entertainment, which was quite good. Please excuse my harmony! I was a little drunk. I love that we have these little celebrations in Germany, where people come together for wine and song. No one gets drunk or obnoxious, drives in a crowd, or brings weapons. People just have fun! The first photo was from earlier in the day, when they were setting up. The first night was very well attended, with lots of people making merry!
Last night, we missed the wine stand in our village, because Bill’s bosses reserved a couple of tables at the annual wine festival in Wiesbaden. I should mention that this festival is usually held every year, but because of COVID-19, it was not held in 2020 or 2021. We did attend in 2019, but we went by ourselves at the end of the fest, when things were much calmer than they were last night! Back when Bill was still on active duty in the Army, we might have called this event “mandatory fun”, although it wasn’t actually mandatory. But it was supposed to be for Bill’s work pals… and they graciously let spouses and significant others come, too.
Bill and I got to the reserved tables at Weingut Hamm’s tent early, mainly because his boss said that he was going to get there at about 5:00 to make sure our tables were open. We were there for over an hour with Bill’s boss, drinking wine and hanging out until the rest of the group started showing up. It was very loud, and quite chummy, with many smokers and people with body odor. But it IS Germany, after all, and that’s to be expected. I enjoyed visiting with Bill’s friends, and I managed to be on my best behavior, except at the end, when I made a crude joke to Bill’s boss. Fortunately, he has a raunchy sense of humor. 😉
I don’t have much to say about what we did last night, except that it involved a lot of drinking, loud talking, eating pretzels, and peeing. I noticed that the price of the toilets went up to 80 cents, too! But, they were clean and well stocked, and there were plenty available. Bill and I will probably go again on our own, since this fest runs through next weekend. I sense that a lot of folks were eager to party, given how so many popular events have been canceled. I also have a feeling that I’ll probably get another COVID exposure alert on my Corona Warn app.
I wish we’d made an effort to eat something besides pretzels. I was not feeling well this morning. I did do a COVID test, though… negative so far. Hopefully, it will stay that way. Below are some photos and a video of what we saw and experienced last night. It was quite a celebration, even if I’m kind of paying for it today! I didn’t walk around the whole fest, since we were there with a group. I would like to go back just to see what and who else was there… but maybe I’ll do that after I feel less hungover.
Always a pretty view.Not sure why there are life rings in the trees!Drank this all night…Paying for it today.I like this shirt.The pretzel guy was adorable!He could tell I thought he was cute, too. He had a beautiful smile.The church never fails to amaze me.Peeing is expensive here!Goofy!He always makes me smile.The tatooed guy was very charismatic.One of Wiesbaden’s pretty buildings.
Who doesn’t love a band?(Click the link to see the video)
In spite of my rough condition this morning, I love these kinds of fests in Germany. People are usually in a good mood and interested in having fun. There’s plenty of security, medical assistance, and nobody brings weapons. I enjoy how civilized Germany is… and how we can have fun without being put at risk. I’m, once again, grateful to be here. I hope it continues for a long while.
Still haven’t tried their beer… but these will get a lot of use!
My birthday is Saturday. Father’s Day is Sunday. Bill has a birthday in July. That’s why I decided to buy expensive Ass Clown Brewing Company insulated travel tumblers.
Ass Clown Brewing Company is located in Cornelius, North Carolina, which I think isn’t too far from Charlotte. I see from the map on their Facebook page that they’re in an area not too far from Interstate 77, which I used to travel somewhat often when I lived in South Carolina. I became aware of their company when Bill and I lived in North Carolina seven or eight years ago, but we were never able to visit their brewery to try any of their beers. I love the name of their company, though, so I followed them on Facebook.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed they were advertising the above tumblers. I asked them if they would ship them to APO. They hadn’t heard of APO, so I had to explain it to them. Those of us affiliated with the military or U.S. government get APO access– meaning we can receive mail at a post office box as if we were still in the USA. That means we can buy stuff on Amazon.com and other sites without having it sent to our German home address. It saves a lot on shipping and duties. Not all U.S. businesses will ship to APO, because it’s a bit of a hassle. The package has to go to the post office and the sender has to fill out customs forms. That’s a pain in the ass.
So I asked the good people at Ass Clown Brewing Company if they were willing to ship to APO. After a somewhat lengthy chat on Facebook messenger, they said they would. I think I ended up paying about $72 for these two tumblers, mainly because they’re large and we had them personalized. We also had to pay sales tax and shipping, of course. But I’m pretty excited by them because they look great, and I love getting new gear from craft breweries. We kind of collect this stuff. The beer cozies and stickers were extra schwag they threw in. I don’t know how often we’ll use these. I prefer drinking beer from glasses or stone mugs. On the other hand, they might make my next road trip more fun.
Now, I kind of wish I’d ordered t-shirts, too. I have a feeling I’m going to need them as the temperatures rise here in Germany. I do still have my two air conditioners that kind of work… I have noticed more places in Germany are installing air conditioning as global warming becomes more of a problem. Twelve years ago, it never got that hot here, but I can remember some truly brutal recent summers. I’m just glad the house we’re in now has rolladens on all of the windows. It’s definitely cooler in this house than it was our last one.
Tomorrow, Bill is taking me away on my birthday getaway. It’s just two nights, and we’re not even leaving Hesse. I kind of don’t want to go… but I kind of do want to go, because I’m tired of being bored. I just dread the hassle. Anyway, I should have a somewhat more exciting blog post when we get back from our little “staycation”. Maybe soon, we can venture down to Stuttgart for a trip to the dentist. God knows, we both need a good cleaning.
It’s so hot. Yesterday, it was officially the hottest day ever recorded in Germany. Temperatures swelled to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Thank God we bought air conditioners in 2015 and 2017, because I bet they’re sold out at the local hardware stores. The vast majority of German homes lack air conditioning because up until recently, it never got that hot here. Unfortunately, that is now changing.
I remember as recently as 2009, it wasn’t that hot in Germany. In fact, I remember ten years ago, it snowed much more often than it does now. We got maybe two or three weeks of warm weather, then we were back in jackets. That’s not so, nowadays. The past few summers have become increasingly brutal. Climate change is a real thing, and it’s scary.
Fortunately, our current house has rolladens on all of the windows. Our upstairs doesn’t actually have windows, except in the bathroom. What we have are glass plated doors that open to large balconies on either side of the house. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to use my air conditioners in this house, but it turns out they’re even easier to use here. There’s no need to use a hot air stopper, because all I have to do is drop the rolladen just to the point at which I can stick the hose outside. Yes, hot air still gets in, but it’s mostly blocked by the rolladen. There’s no need to use adhesive or anything else to hold the hose outside and I don’t have to roast in my own sweat. An added bonus is that I also don’t have full scale sunlight hitting me in the face anymore at my desk, so that I have to drape a towel over the window for the morning hours in the summer. I had to do that in the previous house.
I don’t think it will be much longer before people in Germany start air conditioning their houses. Last fall, we even looked at a house in Wiesbaden that was having it installed. I was tempted to take that house, but there were a few things that prevented us from pulling the trigger. The biggest issues were that I wasn’t sure our bed would fit and I would have had to go outside to access the laundry room. But, I won’t lie… air conditioning for these increasingly brutal summer weeks was a huge draw. I have done my time sweltering in the heat. I don’t want to do it anymore if I don’t have to.
Although the past few months have been an adjustment for us, I definitely like Wiesbaden. It has a different vibe than Stuttgart does, and people seem to be more friendly and peaceful. There’s much less of a social media presence here, so I don’t get caught up in ridiculous online dramas. There’s a smaller military presence here, too, and most everyone seems to be with the Army rather than all branches. The garrison commander is supportive of everyone, including contractors, so that’s a big plus. When we move out of this house, we will have support from the housing office, which we were denied in Stuttgart. I definitely enjoyed our time in Stuttgart and I have many pleasant memories from all six years, but I’m glad we moved… for many reasons.
Hopefully, this heat wave will be finished soon. I’m beginning to feel like we’re back in Texas, although in Texas, we had air conditioning (that cost us a fortune). Supposedly, the temperatures will be pleasant in Scotland when we’re there. Now that I think about it… August seems a strange time to go whisky tasting. Ah well, I’m sure we’ll have fun, anyway.
By the way… today marks my 1200th post on this blog!
Last night, Bill and I continued our summer of concerts and saw Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp, at the Liederhalle in downtown Stuttgart. This was our third concert this year, having seen The Rolling Stones in June and Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt in Dublin in July. I don’t usually go to a lot of concerts because I don’t like crowds, but I am definitely a music lover and I did grow up in the 70s and 80s. I guess it’s just a byproduct of having seen so many (for me) shows this summer, but I actually kept forgetting about this concert. I created a Facebook alert to remind me to go! I’m glad I did. Roger Hodgson is a fine entertainer!
Supertramp was a huge part of my childhood and I love their music. Roger Hodgson left Supertramp in 1983, but his songs were the band’s biggest hits. Former bandmate, Rick Davies, still performs under the name Supertramp and did contribute a few hits, but Hodgson was really the mastermind of that band when it was especially popular. I have read from a couple of accounts that Davies and Hodgson aren’t on the best of terms now and Davies has had some health challenges. It’s too bad, because it would have been awesome to hear Davies’ “Goodbye Stranger” and “Bloody Well Right”. But I guess these things happen.
Roger Hodgson playing his trademark keyboards…
I bought tickets for the show kind of on a whim during the spring. It was right after I’d dropped a load of money on Elton John, The Rolling Stones, and Paul Simon. I figured, “what the hell” and got tickets for Hodgson’s show, too. I also bought tickets for a Celtic music festival on Halloween. This year is really turning out to be my year to hear live music. My Elton John tickets aren’t here yet; I got special ones that are due to arrive two weeks before the event next May. Hopefully, we’ll still be living in the Stuttgart area.
Stuttgart was getting some rain last night. It’s good that Hodgson’s show was indoors in the wonderfully intimate Liederhalle, where I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing Lyle Lovett and Diana Krall. We had an annoying time getting to the venue due to the weather, rush hour traffic, and at least one accident on the road, but we arrived with time for a pre-dinner glass of wine and a butter pretzel. Then we took our seats in the balcony. I usually spring for seats closer in, but I’m actually kind of glad I didn’t do that for Hodgson’s show.
The scene before the show… Germans seem to love Supertramp! There were lots of middle aged to older folks there, as well as a couple of kids. It was definitely a different vibe than the Stones show, though.
Dinner. I had Sekt for dessert.
My view. I bought tickets after they’d been on sale for awhile, so we ended up with cheaper seats. I was actually kind of glad, though, because the permanent seats the the Liederhalle are very comfortable and it was easier for me to see. When I sit on the floor, I’m usually surrounded by tall folks. It’s not easy being 5’2″ at a concert in Germany, land of the tall.
Roger Hodgson greets the crowd.
This was my first time seeing Mr. Hodgson playing live. I was quite impressed by how engaging he was with the crowd. When a guy came in after the first song, he quipped “You’re late. You missed the best song!” He had just played “Take the Long Way Home”, which is one of Supertramp’s best loved hits (and a personal favorite of mine).
When a young girl aimed a camera at the stage, Hodgson said, “You want to take a picture? It’s okay!”
I watched Hodgson shake hands with fans and even pass out a couple of souvenirs. One guy got sheet music. Another got a coffee mug. Hodgson truly seemed to be enjoying playing for us as much as we enjoyed hearing him and his stellar band play. The Liederhalle is a very intimate venue with great acoustics. I still remember the first concert I attended there; Lyle Lovett played there in 2009. We were just yards away from Lovett for that show. Same with Diana Krall. It’s such a pleasure to be able to watch a concert without having to look at giant screens.
The band launches into Hodgson’s best known songs, many of which were Supertramp hits, but a few that were solo efforts. I knew most of the songs, but there were a few that were new to me.
I must give a shout out to Hodgson’s superb sax player for this show, Michael Ghegan of New Jersey. I watched this man play at least two different saxophones, a harmonica, tin whistle, melodica, keyboards, and he also sings! And when he played sax, he reminded me a lot of Branford Marsalis, when he was playing with Sting back in the 1980s. I read that Ghegan isn’t even Hodgson’s usual sax player. He joined the band this summer to give regular sax player, Canadian Aaron MacDonald, a break from touring. Ghegan is extraordinary. I predict we’ll be hearing a lot more from him.
As you can see, the lighting was a big deal for this show… At one point, there were strobe lights and I wondered if there were any epileptics in the house…
Hodgson played several guitars in addition to keyboards. Keyboards and sax are very much a part of his music. There was only one other guitar player, David J. Carpenter, who played bass… and bore a striking resemblance to Hodgson. When he first came out on stage, I actually thought it was Hodgson, who later quipped that Carpenter isn’t his son.
I also really enjoyed the efforts of keyboard player Ray Coburn, who, along with Michael Ghegan, is new to the show. And drummer, Bryan Head, was also putting on a masterful show.
During the concert, Hodgson mentioned that he likes playing in Germany (and indeed, is playing a lot of dates in Germany for this tour) because German audiences are clear about their likes and dislikes. They are also respectful. Having now been to several concerts in Germany, I have to agree. Germans listen to the music and enjoy it without annoying other people, at least for the most part. And… having myself sung at Tommi’s Bistro a couple of times, I also agree that they tend to be a wonderful and appreciative, or at least respectful, audience. I could tell the locals were loving Roger… and he was loving them back. It was very rewarding to experience the love, and hear some of Hodgson’s stories about how he came to write some of his best loved hits.
A number of old Supertramp songs especially remind me of when I was in high school. I had bought The Autobiography of Supertramp, which in retrospect, was a rather poorly edited greatest hits album put out by A&M records in honor of their 25th anniversary back in 1986. A bunch of A&M artists, including Supertramp and The Carpenters, made greatest hits compilations. I was a teenager, so I was looking for the most bang for my buck and this compilation had most of their hits, as well as some songs I didn’t know. I remember listening to it incessantly, even though a few of their best songs were unforgivably edited. One song in particular, “Hide In Your Shell”, really resonated with me. Hodgson played that one last night, remarking that a number of fans had told him that it meant a lot to them.
Recorded from another show… A good example of a song Hodgson wrote for himself that touches others.
Roger Hodgson says goodnight. I believe you could pay extra to hear the sound check and attend a meet and greet with him, but I knew that it would be a late evening for Bill, who is working today. However, I get the sense that meeting Roger would be rewarding. He really seems to love his work.
I did film one song… “Give a Little Bit”, which was the first encore. I didn’t film the second one, “It’s Raining Again”, although when I was ten years old, that song was my absolute favorite for weeks. I bought a 45 of it and then, years later, I bought the LP Famous Last Words. Nowadays, I have it on MP3. I could see the crowd loves that song as much as I do.
We left the show with smiles on our faces, especially since getting into and out of the concert hall was a snap compared to getting into and out of the Porsche and Mercedes Arenas. I really need to make a point of seeing more shows in this venue.
Yes, we heard this song last night. Apparently, this was written when Hodgson was 19 years old and had just gotten a pump organ. He says it still makes him smile to sing this song so many years later.
Anyway… it was a really great show and left me with yet another awesome memory of our time in Stuttgart, a city where there’s delicious food, excellent entertainment, and good people. If you like Roger Hodgson’s music, I highly recommend seeing him perform live. He puts on an excellent concert and has an amazing band backing him. It’s well worth the price of admission.
Today, we decided to go to Esslingen. Bill and I went there around Christmas last year and thought it was cute. I had been wanting to go back, but it’s not close to where we live and traffic can be a major bitch. I thought my mom would enjoy it, since it really is a nice little town.
We got a bit of a late start. It was almost one o’clock when we left the house and we knew that a lot of places that serve lunch would be closing at two. Because of that, we decided to eat at Brauhaus Schoenbuch in Boeblingen. I’ve been there a few times, so I was a little disappointed to be eating lunch there today. I always like to go to places I haven’t been so I can post a review of the food and service. But the Brauhaus was convenient, since there’s plenty of free parking. I knew we wouldn’t have to worry about getting there too late for lunch.
It was a bit cloudy and looked like it might rain. Even if it didn’t rain, my mom, Bill, and I are very light skinned people and have a tendency to get sunburns. I had forgotten sunscreen. We decided to eat inside instead of out in the Biergarten.
My mom got a bit hot as she enjoyed the lasagne that was being offered during lunch (it was delicious, by the way). She was fanning herself when an older German lady approached Bill and actually touched him on the face as she told him in German that it was too hot for my mother to be sitting in the dining room (even though she and her husband were sitting at the table behind us). At first, I didn’t quite understand what she was saying because, besides not speaking or understanding German very well, I could barely hear her. But then it became clearer, especially when I saw the unmistakable look of disdain on her face.
My mom and I laughed about it, especially when the woman kindly told my mom how cute her bedazzled t-shirt was. Bill acted like he didn’t understand her, though he eventually did. Then I turned around and noticed her scowling disapprovingly at Bill and me. It kind of pissed me off, mainly because my mom’s comfort level was none of her goddamned business. My mom would have been hot regardless of where we sat, and she is certainly no invalid. She can tell us where she wants to sit and would have had no issue doing just that. I was also irritated because Bill is one of the kindest, most attentive men I know, and it doesn’t sit well with me when some woman who doesn’t know him presumes to publicly chastise him, especially in front of his wife and mother-in-law.
It may be a common thing among Germans for perfect strangers to publicly correct other adults, but this American thought it was very rude and strange behavior. I usually try to go with the flow when I am abroad, but I can’t help being an American. There are some things about living here that I may never get used to. All I have to say is, that woman is probably very lucky I didn’t understand her that clearly when she was speaking to him and that I can’t speak German worth a damn. She may have very well have gotten a talking to from yours truly. But then, I’m not necessarily known for being polite myself. The first time we took a cruise, we left out of Norway. I yelled at some elderly Norwegian women when they almost knocked me over trying to get on the ship. It’s probably a good thing I don’t practice social work.
Rathaus
A pretty view of the main platz…
Mom said this looked a bit crowded…
Anyway, after lunch, during which we all ate too much, we got in the car and headed for Esslingen. We didn’t stay too long… just long enough to walk a ways through the town, near the rathaus and cathedral, and past the Kessler Sekt store. As we walked over a bridge over the Neckar River, my mom said “Okay! Let’s find some coffee or ice cream or something.” She was tired and wanted to sit for a bit. So we ended up at Sommer, a restaurant/cafe/bar in a park in the heart of Esslingen.
Bill enjoys a cool drink, outside where it’s cooler.
We sat down and watched kids play with the drinking fountain near the cafe. Bill commented on the kids, male and female, running around with few to no clothes on. In the United States, this would be considered weird among many people. There, people think there are pedophiles lurking on every street corner. Here, it’s just very normal. I think it’s refreshing that children’s innocence is preserved and celebrated here. The kids were having a lot of normal kid style summer fun and no one thought anything of it.
Mom ended up ordering a macchiato, which was too hot for her. She didn’t want a schorle, iced tea, or a beer. She also wanted to dump some of her euro coins, since they were too heavy for her to lug around. She noticed a elderly gentleman sitting in a wheelchair, seemingly out of sorts, and said that had my father lived much longer, he probably would have been in a similar state.
After we finished our drinks, she was ready to go home. It was just as well, since it was about 5:00 and traffic was starting to back up. On the way out of Esslingen, we stopped at the Kessler store and picked up some Sekt. I managed to hear some strains of the organ from the cathedral. My mom was a church organist for over fifty years, so she listened, too. Then, as we got on the road and Bill missed the exit for the A8, I used my super sensitive human compass skills to get us there after a short detour. Who needs a GPS? Not me.
Near the Kessler factory…
A pretty view of the Neckar in Esslingen.
We passed a violin shop on the way into town.
And a typically funny German ad…
As well as some interesting art. I probably would have liked to have done some shopping in this place.
This thing actually waved…
Another pretty shot of the Neckar and Esslingen.
A few shots of the Kessler store. Bill and I will have to go back and do some tasting.
Love German print ads. These were for a theater.
I almost got creamed by a biker just before I took these shots. I didn’t see or hear him until he’d almost run me over.
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