Tag Archives: Viking River Cruises

Hessen, Rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz

We visited Rüsselsheim and Oppenheim over the weekend…

Since I run a food and wine group on Facebook, I try to keep an eye on relevant food and wine events going on nearby. Not that people really care if I go to these events, mind you… My Facebook group is actually pretty dead these days. But running it does give me a reason to get out and see things, instead of giving in to the temptation to stay home and sit on my ass.

I noticed an ad for a wine tasting event in Rüsselsheim, which was going on Saturday and Sunday. The event required tickets, which could be bought for 10 euros ahead of time, or 12 euros at the door. I found out about it from a Facebook ad, and since Rüsselsheim is so close to where we live, we decided to check it out. It was our first time in Rüsselsheim, although one of Bill’s colleagues lives there.

The Wine Messe, as it was called, was held in, the Festung Keller, which is a rather cool venue. It was hosted by an outfit called Wine-Crew. On Saturday, the event ran from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Sunday, it went from 12:00 PM until 6:00 PM. We got there at about 3:00 PM on Saturday, managing to find parking at a garage a couple of blocks away from the venue. I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was plenty of parking at the garage. We were going to take a cab so Bill could enjoy the event more, but none would accept the fare.

The 600 year old Festung is right next to an art museum, which appeared to be closed on Saturday. The museum has a parking lot, but it was full, and probably not intended for winos. I think I would like to attend more events at that venue. It’s really nice, and because the walls in the cellar are so thick, one can’t spend all their time on their phones.

We met some very pleasant people, including a young couple who ran a winery near the French border and operate a holiday apartment. They were so nice that I might consider visiting them for a weekend and having a tasting. They brought their young son with them, which was kind of nice to see. He had on the winery’s polo shirt. Another representative cracked us up with his energy and enthusiasm, especially for a certain Feinherb wine that he described as “sexy”. Another vintner was curious about us, as Americans, living in Germany. I recognized still another vintner as one who provided a truck for our village while the winestand kiosk was being rebuilt last year. We bought some of their wines.

Below are some photos from the Wine Messe. We came home with about 15 bottles of wine, none of which were particularly expensive. Bill had to ferry the wines over a couple of trips back to the car. It was good for him to do that, because it prevented him from drinking too much wine.

Someone got a lot of parking tickets!
Cool entrance to the fortress.
I probably would enjoy this show.
Snacks and other drinks for purchase.
This guy was a trip. He told us about a Feinherb wine that he liked because it was “sexy”.

Then yesterday, we ventured to the very fetching town of Oppenheim, which is right on the Rhein River and is home to a lot of Weinguts. They were having a spring city fest. The fest featured crafts, wines, street food, and live music. Or, so that was what was advertised. The event took place over a “mile”, which consisted of stations around the town.

We never did find the wine or street food, but I will confess we didn’t look for that long. We both got hungry, and decided to have lunch at Royal Maharaja, an Indian restaurant by the Zentrum. I don’t usually go for Indian food, so this was a real treat for Bill, who loves it. Actually, I really enjoyed our lunch. I probably ought to be braver about eating Indian food.

I really enjoyed visiting the churches in town. The Catholic church was pretty plain, but the Evangelical church (St. Katharinen) was beautiful and very historic. I loved the beautiful windows, as you can see from my photos.

Below are some photos from Oppenheim, which I thought was a very charming place. I’d like to go back and see more of it, and the surrounding villages. It looked like there were quite a few wineries and interesting buildings, plus it’s right by the river. In fact, I noticed yet another Viking cruiselines gangway in the town of Nierstein. We do live in an area where people vacation, after all!

A guy carried his adorable pooch in the carrier on the back of his bike.
I want to come back and visit this restaurant.
Quarter horses!
A little craft exhibition.
Indian food for Bill!
Butter Chicken for Bill and Mango Chicken for me.
And garlic Naan!
I got a kick out of the dogs in the Kinderwagens.
I’d go back to this restaurant.
A saddlemaker!
Catholic church

As we were leaving Oppenheim, I heard live music. A man and woman were playing guitar and covering songs by Norah Jones and Carole King. I thought they were very good. Of course, the singer was no “knotty”… 😀 (kidding, of course. She had a lovely voice.)

A very short video catching the vibe. I was looking for the source of the music.

Now that we no longer have pandemic restrictions and the bridge is being rebuilt out of Wiesbaden, maybe it’s time we spent more time visiting the charming Rhein towns that are so close to us. Oppenheim is about 30 minutes from where we live, and yet it has a totally different vibe. It might help me develop more affection for Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz. I think people here are friendlier, but I do really miss the beauty of Baden-Württemberg. The extraordinary beauty of BW helps ease the pain of some of the awkward interactions I’ve had with a few of the locals. 😉

Anyway, that about does it for our second weekend of April 2024. It was great to go out and see some of the area where we’re so privileged to live. It’s time to get back in the groove of enjoying Europe again.

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Rhein

Noyzi’s very first trip to a Biergarten…

Bill and I have been gradually breaking Noyzi in to going to our local wine stands, every other Friday night during the “nicer” months. Yesterday, since we got kind of a late start and were waylaid by chores, I suggested that maybe we should find a nice Biergarten to take him to. We’ve had such beautiful weather this weekend– no clouds to speak of, and temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bill found a Biergarten near Mainz-Kastel, which is kind of an industrial area. The Biergarten is called Biergarten am Bootshaus, and it is affiliated with a restaurant/boating club on the Rhein River. The restaurant is closed on weekends, but the Biergarten– a no frills affair by a campground– is open from noon until 10 PM. We loaded Noyzi into the Volvo and headed over there. Noyzi was delighted, because he loves going places, especially when going somewhere involves car rides.

We were surprised to find the Biergarten not very populated. Just a few people were there having Weizens and Helles beers with Bratwursts and Pommes. It wasn’t even that hard to park the car. The restaurant has a big parking lot and a clean restroom, which I really appreciated. I had started to wear shorts yesterday, but changed into pants because it seemed chilly outside. When we got to the Biergarten, I was kind of sorry I changed into pants. The weather was definitely shorts weather. Unfortunately, it’s also allergy season, and Bill and I were both suffering!

Noyzi was a bit spooked at the Biergarten, because we were sitting under a big umbrella and the wind was causing it to flap a bit. He doesn’t like loud or strange noises, and he doesn’t like sudden movements. Wind is not his friend. But after about an hour or so, he finally relaxed and laid down for a moment or two.

Meanwhile, we watched ships pass. Cargo ships were the norm, but we also caught a glimpse of the Viking Sigrun, a riverboat that gets pretty good reviews. I think Rhein cruises are probably really nice, but we already live very close to a number of the ports. And we’ve already visited Amsterdam, where a lot of those of those cruises start or end. We haven’t been to Basel, Switzerland, yet. I think it would be weird to stop in Mainz, though, because we live twenty minutes from there. We could get off the boat and take a cab home to pick up the mail, then come back to the boat later. Maybe we’ll do one someday when we’re no longer living in Wiesbaden.

After a couple of hours, we had enough beer and sun. A few more people had come to the Biergarten, including a young family who had arrived on bikes. I could tell the two boys with their parents wanted to pet Noyzi. He would have been alright with it, but they were smart and polite enough not to pet him without asking.

Bill went to return the beer glasses, but we didn’t finish the water we bought for Noyzi, so they kept the two euro Pfand (deposit) for that. As we were about to leave, one of the young guys behind the counter said that Noyzi was beautiful. Bill told him that he’s a street dog who comes from Kosovo. The guy said “Wow!” I think a lot of Germans are intrigued by Noyzi. He’s kind of unique, especially with his little nubby tail that wags all the time. I just wish people didn’t think he had it docked. He really was born with a bob tail. I have DNA proof.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do today… The weather is still beautiful, but our allergies are pretty bad. We’re both sneezing and sniffling. But maybe we’ll get out. Sigh… I really had meant for this to be more of a staycation weekend, but it’s been kind of a bust. At least Noyzi’s getting out some, though.

Below are some photos and videos from yesterday’s short outing. I made another short video for Bill’s daughter, to show her the Rhein and different types of Bratwurst. I had one made of beef, while Bill’s was made of wild boar. The pommes (fries) were very ordinary, but good. I’d go back. Lots of people were biking, walking their dogs, or just enjoying the sun.

A sex shop in Mainz-Kastel, right next to a KFC…
I took this when Noyzi finally settled down. It didn’t last, though.

We should try to get out today, if only because the weather is so nice. We’ll see what happens. We ended up eating the cakes we bought on Thursday for dinner– Red Wine cake and “Bee Sting” cake. Delicious!

I wouldn’t mind finding a nice short day cruise or something… The river is so inviting, especially on a day like today or yesterday.
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2022 Sekt Fest on the Rhein in Eltville!

We had absolutely gorgeous weather yesterday, so Bill and I decided to take a short trip to Eltville, a charming town on the Rhein River. We decided to go there because there’s a “Sekt Fest” going on all weekend. We love Sekt, which is Germany’s version of “fizz”, and Eltville is an absolutely charming hamlet.

Yesterday’s visit was only our second time in Eltville. The first one occurred in the blissful days of June 2019, before COVID-19 shut down the world. Eltville is a SUPER cute town, and we only live twelve miles from there, but there’s another issue that kept us away from there, besides COVID-19. There was a bridge that runs through A66 (Autobahn) that, in 2021, was declared unsafe. The bridge was closed and demolished last fall, which means that going to certain towns on the Rhein requires taking detours. The bridge is now being rebuilt, and will hopefully reopen in 2023.

Because my Mini Cooper convertible is 13 years old and has less than 39,000 miles on it, we decided to drive it yesterday. We also took a short detour through the lovely, but congested, town of Biebrich, where some guy tried to parallel park in a street parking spot while we were in heavy traffic. He was trying to back up, but we weren’t able to move for him, because there were people behind us… and naturally, they all started honking. Before I knew it, I was yelling at the guy, and actually called him a dickhead! Technically, that would be “Beleidigung”, which is a personal insult and is illegal in Germany. But at least I didn’t flip him the bird, which is also illegal.

Soon enough, we had forgotten about the dickhead who almost caused a collision. Bill was parking at the local Rewe, which is also the site of a large “Parkhaus”. We walked into the old town, stopping for lunch at a place called the Eltviller Rosenstübchen. We decided to eat there, because they were offering continuous service, with no “pause” after 2pm. In retrospect, we could have just gone to the Sekt Fest and gotten food there, but we didn’t know how big the festival was going to be.

On the way to Eltville.
I love how German ads show imperfect smiles.
Tiny Hofladen! Get your sunflowers!
Cute restaurant.
My lunch- smoked trout with cranberry horseradish sauce and bread.
Bill had smoked trout with potato and pickle salad.
Such a cute place!
Outside…
Anti-stress praline…

I’m glad we stopped at the Eltviller Rosenstübchen for lunch. The restaurant has kind of a cozy, old fashioned look to it. Service is very friendly; prices are reasonable; and we had a delicious lunch of smoked trout that probably came from the Rhein. I shared a laugh with one of the chefs, who was drinking a draft beer as he made lunch! I could see him from my high pub bench, which offered a view into the kitchen.

After lunch, we went down to the riverfront, where the fest was going on. Some people were selling their creations in booths, while there were also plenty of food vendors and wine stands. We stopped at a couple of wine stands and enjoy some Sekt while we watched ships pass. At one point, we even saw a Viking river cruise ship pass, although I didn’t get a chance to see which one it was. I’ve never sailed with Viking, but I’ve heard good things about their cruises. It’s interesting to live near a place where luxury cruise ships pass on a daily basis. I would probably never want to take a Rhein River cruise, since I can drive to most of the places where they stop! Maybe I would take one years from now, for old time’s sake… but then again, I probably wouldn’t. There are other places I want to see more.

At another point during our visit, we saw a couple on the river. It looked like they were just married, and we did see a fancy old car at the church that had flowers on the hood. That’s usually a dead giveaway that someone got married. But then my German friend shared a link about Eltville’s Sekt festival, and I’m wondering if maybe the couple wasn’t part of the fest. They waved at the crowd as they passed, and there was another canoe full of photographers. So were they a newly married couple, or were they part of the act? I don’t know… but I did get some interesting photos. The weather was just awesome. Wish more days were this gorgeous.

Flowers on the hood.

Bill got nervous about the dogs, so we headed back to Breckenheim. I wish we could have stayed longer. They were setting up for live music as we were leaving. We will definitely have to spend more time in Eltville. It really is a lovely town. And who doesn’t love drinking wine on the Rhein? Okay… maybe teetotalers wouldn’t. But we all know I’m not one of those. 😉

Weeee! We need to drive the Mini more often!

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