Tag Archives: summer fun

Hessen

Last night’s *very interesting* wine stand!

In one week, we’ll be in Norway, starting our long awaited two week vacation. Believe me, we’re ready to go. But, for the time being, we’re still hanging out here in Germany, enjoying the sunny, summery weather. I love the mild temperatures and sunshine, but it does have a tendency to make our house a little “clammy”. I think German houses just have a tendency to hold on to heat, which is great for most of the year. In the summer, maybe not so much…

In any case, we had a wine stand last night, so we decided to attend. And now that Noyzi has been to a few of them, he insists on attending, too. I will admit that last night, I was kind of thinking that maybe I’d rather stay in. But Bill was in the mood to mingle, and apparently Noyzi was, too. He made LOTS of new local friends last night.

As we were about to turn to go down the hill, we ran into a German kindergarten teacher named Susie whom we met a few weeks ago. She has an Italian former truffle hunting dog named Billy. She didn’t have Billy with her last night, but Noyzi still recognized her. After saying hello, she walked slightly past us. Noyzi started dragging me down the hill, barking enthusiastically. He wanted Susie to pet him! LOL… I’m sure she thinks he needs schooling, and we probably shouldn’t encourage this. However, it legitimately was an adorable sight, especially since Noyzi used to be terrified of strangers.

I know Noyzi was extremely happy to see Susie, but I also think he knew the wine stand was going on, and was super excited to go to it. It’s like a whole new social aspect of his personality has come out. I think Noyzi likes going to the wine stands because they are held in a familiar place, and he knows some of the people and dogs who attend. Last night, he was more relaxed than he has EVER been in public. Several times, he sat and even laid down on his own.

We talked to several of our neighbors, and met a few new people, including one guy who was wearing a t-shirt advertising a specific brand of African beer that Bill likes. The combination of the beer t-shirt and the guy’s attraction to Noyzi ended up being great icebreakers. It turned out the guy was German, but had lived in Kenya for years. He and his wife live in Breckenheim now, which is a bit safer than Kenya is. Apparently, his mom is a Kenyan citizen now, and she and her husband own a coffee farm. There was a lot more to the conversation, which eventually devolved into a discussion of global issues and the troubling American mindset that we agreed probably comes from people never traveling outside of the USA. I genuinely enjoyed talking to the guy. Maybe we’ll see him again.

In the midst of our chat, we also watched the children of Breckenheim happily playing. A local guy had them gathered around at the church, where he told stories. Later, a cat visited, and was completely unfazed by Noyzi. I watched a little boy climb up a sign pole and was amazed by his upper body strength. We could hear Billy barking for Noyzi, since Billy’s owners live in a house right by our Dorfplatz. And we also saw our next door neighbor’s 85 year old mom, who was finally walking without her cane after having broken her leg earlier in the spring. She was looking good.

Noyzi charmed the owner of the local pizzeria, an Italian man named Fabi who used to work with dogs in Romania. He very kindly brought out some water for Noyzi, as well as some meat. When Noyzi finished drinking the bowl, Fabi brought out some more water and treats. Noyzi was delighted, and I could see that he was enjoying making friends with so many people. He really is a very lovely dog who enjoys interacting with all people and animals. All of our dogs have been special to us, but Noyzi truly is a unique soul. He’s a true canine ambassador!

I took lots of pictures…

Noyzi is totally relaxed now.
Pizzeria owner welcomes Noyzi!
This cat was on the hunt.
An athlete in the making.
I love the cat’s expression.
Noyzi is better with cats than Arran was. Arran would try to eat that cat.
My husband, the goofball.
No, he wasn’t drunk. The sun was blinding us.
Our neighbor’s beautiful roses.
After the wine stand, Noyzi had a romp in the backyard.

We really do enjoy the social events in our village. Unfortunately, we’ll miss the next wine stand, which I believe will actually be the wine festival that they had in September last year. But the good news is, we’re missing that event because, by the 23rd of June, we’ll be in Sweden, boarding the Regent Seven Seas Splendor, and taking a weeklong cruise in the Baltic Sea. So, stay tuned to see the travel blog become an actual travel blog again… at least for a few weeks! 😉

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Rheingauer Weinwoche in Wiesbaden, Part Zwei…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Much quieter today.
I love this church.
Real American Donuts?
Barth Weingut
A snack of Spundekäs.
These two chain smoked, then put on masks.
Smoked salmon sandwich. It was very good. Too much bread, though.
Bill’s pulled pork and pommes.
First aid!
And ambulances!

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

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It’s time for Rheingauer Weinwoche in Wiesbaden!

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.

https://videopress.com/v/EgWIY8BF?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
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.

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Street food in Hofheim equals presents for my ass…

I was feeling kind of lazy today, and probably could have been talked into staying home. But then I noticed Hofheim, which is a town very close to our village of Breckenheim, was having a street food fest. I have to admit that I love German street food fests. They are always an interesting mix of kid friendly activities and adult beverages. Also, there’s usually live music and good food. I don’t care that much about kid friendly activities, of course, but I am all about adult beverages, good live music, and street food… especially if it involves empanadas. So off we went in the Volvo, since I didn’t feel like messing with the Mini’s last decade sound system. I think it’s time to shop for a new car. The Mini is 13 years old and can’t keep up with technology. 😉

We parked in a different area of the Chinon Centre, which is the local shopping mall. We easily found the fest, which was/still is going on downtown. There was a nice turnout of vendors, with everything from Indonesian to Colombian food. We didn’t actually eat a lot, because much of what I saw being served was in pretty large portions. I may look like I can eat a lot, but actually, I am more of a drinker. 😉 So I ended up just having a couple of empanadas… but I did learn about a fruit that was new to me… and especially about the hilariously rude names people in the UK use for it.

Anyway, below are some photos and videos… It was a lot of fun, and a nice way to waste the afternoon. I really liked the guy who was playing guitar in the last hour or so of our visit. He seemed equally influenced by Sting, Santana, and Mark Knopfler. All are worthy, in my opinion. And his live guitar playing beat the ever loving hell out of the crappy Euro trash trance music that was playing. I do love Europe, but the pop music here often sounds like a mixture of dance music and late 80s era Mentos commercials.

As you can see, we had lots of choices for food and drink, and there was plenty for kids to do. The weather was perfect, not too hot or windy. My only complaint is that they needed another umbrella or two. Also, I wish there had been smaller portions at some of the food trucks. But really, those were minor complaints. It was a really nice afternoon. Hofheim rocks!

My one dish… empanadas.
Arepas for Bill.
Hard liquor Capri Sun. 😉
Where I learned about medlar fruit— aka Mispelfrucht in Germany.
Frankfurter Fizz.
A popular stop.
That guitar player was great!

Medlar fruit, AKA Mispelfrucht in German, is interesting. Apparently, in Britain, some people give it vulgar names because of how it looks. Seems about right for my peeps. They call it “monkey’s arse” or “open arse” or whatever. It is, however, considered to be a very tasty fruit. Today was the first time I have ever encountered it in my lifetime.

I would have liked to have tried other stuff, but it was quite hot, sunny, and bright outside, and Bill was worried about the dogs. So we came home. We had a good time, though, even if we were near an American lady who was very loudly letting everyone know where she’s from. I guess eight years of life in Germany has made me sensitive to loud talking.

I did get a few videos of Bill, which also captured the guitar player. He was pretty good.

Don’t mind our silly banter. I have the best husband ever.

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Where has Limburg been all my life?

First thing’s first. I had no plans to visit the Hessian city of Limburg, Germany today. I went there because I follow Wiesbaden Fest Finders on Facebook, and I run my own “wine and food” group, mostly for Americans in Stuttgart and Wiesbaden. My food and wine Facebook group started in 2017, when Bill and I lived in Stuttgart, and we made a point of trying new restaurants and doing new stuff every weekend. In those days, we had no clue that we’d eventually move to Wiesbaden, and we had even less of a clue that there would be a global pandemic.

In late 2018, when we moved from Stuttgart to Wiesbaden, just about everyone in my Facebook group was based in Stuttgart. It was a pretty active group then. Since I spent six years living there in two different stints, I decided to just tack Wiesbaden onto the name of the group. In 2018, I thought I’d be going to Stuttgart often, if only because that’s where my dentist is. The main difference is, I don’t belong to a bunch of Wiesbaden groups. Living in Stuttgart and dealing with social media drama there made me want to be more under the radar. So I kept the group going, but while I thought I’d be going to Stuttgart more often than I do, that hasn’t happened. Thank COVID for that.

I still have lots of Stuttgart members, and some Wiesbadeners have joined. It’s not a particularly popular group, and frankly, I’ve been thinking about going defunct. But just when I’m about to abandon the group, something exciting happens that makes me keep going. Today was one of those days. Today, we discovered Limburg! And no, it’s not where the infamously stinky cheese comes from; that’s in Belgium.

A whole shitload of wine fests are happening right now in the Rheingau. I posted several of them this morning. The Limburg fest happened to be the first one I shared in my group. I was a little curious about Limburg, because in 2020, when we were trying to adopt a dog from a German rescue, we had a home visit done by a lady who was from Limburg. She said it was about 45 minutes away. She approved us for adopting the dog, but tragically, it didn’t work out for us. But no matter. Now we have Noyzi, the wonder dog from Kosovo.

So anyway… that brings me to this morning, as I was contemplating whether or not I wanted to go out, having just recovered from my first official bout with COVID-19. I finally decided that I did want… and NEED… to get out of the house. Like I wrote before, there were many things going on today. We had our pick. But I decided I wanted to go to Limburg, so that’s where we went. And, I have to say, we had a great time! This was our first time in Limburg, but God willing, it will not be our last. What a cute town! It’s on the Lahn River, and there are so many splendid timbered buildings dating back hundreds of years. The weather was perfect, and when we got there, I was enchanted by the many adorable shops. I even found something I wanted to buy, but decided not to, when I realized how heavy it was.

We stopped at the Leon Gerhard Weingut stall and tried several wines. I would have liked to have tried others, but we were a little pressed for time, thanks to the parking garage. It was one where you prepay, rather than pay when you’re done. Bill’s credit card wouldn’t work, and for once, we were short on spare change. While I didn’t think the cops were gonna bust us for overstaying, Bill was in a hurry… and we did have hungry dogs to consider.

There were a whole bunch of vintners at the Wine Fest, as well as food purveyors. As we were leaving, musicians were setting up for live music. I couldn’t help but feel so grateful to be in Germany now… as my homeland is embroiled in endless political bullshit, Germany is having wonderful festivals, reminding us that sometimes you just need to chill out and enjoy some wine and company. God bless Germany. It will always have a piece of my heart.

As for Limburg, it definitely didn’t stink… again, the infamously smelly cheese, comes from the Limburg area of Belgium, not Germany. So although I will make jokes about stinky cheese and cheesiness, this town isn’t the one affiliated with famously pungent cheese. We’ll be back, because I’m sure they have lots of fests. We were only there for a few hours, but I feel like I got a short vacation, and it was great for my soul. Especially when we visited Limburger Dom, which is a uniquely beautiful cathedral that has its origins in the 9th century.

We did stop for lunch at Werner-Senger Haus, which is a very cute and historic restaurant in a building that dates from the 1200s. We ate in their garden, which was up a couple of flights of stairs, or accessible from a gate on the other side of the restaurant. It was hot, so we drank Weizens, and I had a Wildschwein Burger, while Bill had Wildschwein Bratwurst with Pfifferlingen mushrooms. The food was good, and there was plenty of it, although it was a bit messy! Both dishes came with a Preiselbeer sauce that was a bit heavily applied on my burger, which was “molded” rather than hand shaped. But it tasted okay, even if it was a little rarer than I like it.

As we were leaving Werner-Senger Haus, I noticed a portrait on the wall near the door. I thought maybe it was Werner Senger, but my German friend was kind enough to edify me with the startling truth. Apparently, the man in the portrait is the Schinderhannes, Johannes Bückler. The restaurant is in the house where he was brought after he was captured. Wikipedia tells me that Johannes Bückler was an outlaw and thief who lived from 1778 until November 21, 1803, when he was guillotined in nearby Mainz. Bückler was famous for organizing one of the biggest crime sprees in German history, so we were dining on true historic ground! I did marvel more than once that I thought the restaurant was really cool looking, but now I know it’s very historic, too.

I might have preferred street food at the fest, but I needed to pee, and as we walked through there, the public WCs weren’t quite open for business. They were when we came back an hour or so later. Our bill at the restaurant was about 49 euros. I would like to go back, if only because it really was such a unique and historic building, just as so many others in that town are. I felt like I got a half day vacation!

Below are some photos…

The troublesome parking meter.
A decoration in a roundabout, where we witnessed some guy getting yelled at.
First wine stall.
Last of the Saturday market.
The WC wasn’t open when I needed it.
Cute cows!
It reminded us of Tubingen.

Everybody was out!
So many cute, historic buildings.
Fisch!!!
Picture framing. My dad would be proud. The building in hundreds of years old!
CUTE and historic Werner-Senger Haus Restaurant.
Werner Senger Haus entrance to garden.

Fun with selfies.
New makeup.
Bill’s Wildschwein wieners.
And my burger. It was messy and a little rare.
Cool restaurant.
Must be Werner Senger. ETA: My German friend says no… 😉
I loved the rum drinking creature. I wanted to take it home, but didn’t want to carry it.
Marionettes
Art!
We need to come back and explore.
The other side of the restaurant.
Limburger Dom
A view of the city.
It was someone’s wedding day.
This cathedral dates from the 9th century.
The interior is beautiful and peaceful.
Love the organ.
Soft chants were playing.
Someone’s home and business.
Back to the wine fest!
More fun with selfies. He makes me happy.
Dog parade.
Generous pours!
Drunk people. People were laughing at them. Glad it wasn’t me.
Not bad for our 50s.
Limburg, you definitely weren’t cheesy, nor were you stinky…

We had a great time today. I am sure we’ll be back to Limburg. It’s a very nice town, and I’ll bet they have some great fests. And once again, I am so glad to be living in Germany. I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but today was a reminder to enjoy and learn from every moment. Today was a treat, and I hope we can get back into enjoying them more often. At least until COVID gets bad again.

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