Tag Archives: Waiblingen

Baden-Württemberg, short breaks

Ten things I learned in Waiblingen…

As always, I’m wrapping up my Waiblingen series with a list of ten things I learned on our trip. I do this to remind myself that every time we go somewhere new, I discover more things about the world and its people. I’ve also noticed that readers seem to like these lists because they’re quick and dirty. Not everyone likes my blow by blow accounts. So here goes…

10. Waiblingen is OLD.

Waiblingen has existed since about 885, and has been a town since 1250. If you walk around the old part of Waiblingen, you will see remnants of its former city walls, which date from 1250.

A surviving segment of the wall…

9. Waiblingen has several really decent restaurants… food wise, anyway. I’m sure service will get there soon.

One of the reasons I chose to stay in Waiblingen is because there are several good restaurants there. We had the chance to try two of them, Bachofer and Untere Apotheke. My German friend has informed me that, Pablo Fernandez, the Spanish-German proprietor of Untere Apotheke, which is just behind Bachofer, did an apprenticeship at Bachofer. She also told me that Mr. Fernandez, who was very pleasant to meet, has also opened a new restaurant in Stuttgart, called Weinstube Vetter. It looks like Mr. Fernandez took over a venerable establishment that already had a long history in Stuttgart.

8. The Bachofer Restaurant and Hotel is in the second oldest house in Waiblingen. It dates from 1647!

According to the official Web site:

The former pharmacy, dating back to 1647, is the second oldest house in Waiblingen and a true architectural gem. The completely redesigned rooms create an exciting contrast to the historic timber framing and send our guests the message that is very important to us: please feel at home!

7. Waiblingen is very convenient to Stuttgart.

Of course, I knew that when I chose to book there, but our trip to Dr. Blair’s office proved it to me. Unfortunately, Stuttgart gets called “STAUgart” for a reason, so being close doesn’t necessarily mean the trip to the inner city will be quick and easy. Fortunately, there is a train.

6. Waiblingen has several “twin cities”, including Virginia Beach, Virginia, which is not far from where I grew up.


5. Wednesday and Saturday are market days in Waiblingen.

We were lucky enough to get to Waiblingen at the tail end of the market on Wednesday, and there for the whole market on Saturday. I enjoyed seeing the vendors, the friendly locals chatting with each other, and hearing the buskers. I love this about Europe. Most towns have markets, and so often, there’s wine, music, and fresh produce to be had. I know some American towns do this, but it’s just not the same!

4. Waiblingen’s cool old town hall dates from 1476!

The town hall was first mentioned in 1476 and was rebuilt in 1597. Sometime around 1870, plans were made to tear down the building and build something new, as the town hall was no longer able to serve the needs of the growing town. But the people realized that tearing down the town hall would alter the appearance of the market square significantly. They also liked the unusual arcade under the building. So it stayed and served in other capacities, such as a school for elementary aged boys, a trade school, and later, adult education classes. There used to be a restaurant there, but it is now closed.

3. The city park is well worth visiting, especially near the church…

Need I say more? Bring your kids and your dogs! They’ll have a great time.

2. Even though Waiblingen is charming, and it has a public WC, you might still see someone urinating in public.

I don’t think I mentioned this when I wrote my post about Saturday, but during our walk around the city, we did encounter someone urinating publicly on a post. In this case, it was a small boy who was unabashedly relieving himself. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.

And finally, 1. When the weather is good, there are things to do in Waiblingen!

Because Bill was taking courses for the Jung Institute, and the weather was a bit cold and wet, we didn’t do as much exploring as I would have liked. But I see from Waiblingen’s official page, when the weather is fine, a person can occupy themselves with many fun, challenging, and educational activities. And there’s also some pretty good shopping there!

So that about does it for my Waiblingen series. I don’t know if we’ll have a chance to visit there again. I wouldn’t be against going back to Waiblingen, if the opportunity arises someday. It really is a charming little town that offers a nice alternative to staying in Stuttgart. I would recommend it, not just for people who aren’t living in Germany, but also for people living in Stuttgart who would like to enjoy good food in a laid back atmosphere. If you have too much wine, you can even stay overnight at the Bachofer, or the Holiday Inn Express… I think I noticed another little hotel, too. It’s definitely not a bad idea for a quick weekend away in a place a lot of people miss!

I hope you enjoyed this series. See you next post!

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Baden-Württemberg, German lifestyle, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… Dinner at Untere Apotheke (part seven)

As I’ve mentioned a few times so far, Waiblingen has several good restaurants. We didn’t get to try them all, but if we ever manage to go back there, we’ll have to make a point of visiting a couple of the others. One place I wish we’d had a chance to visit is Brunnenstuben. It gets high marks, and looks like it offers great Swabian cuisine.

As it was, though, we did manage a visit to Michelin Guide mentioned Untere Apotheke (Lower Pharmacy), which is located just behind Bachofer. Because Bill didn’t take any classes on Saturday, we made a reservation for 7:00 PM. It’s a good thing we did that, because the restaurant is rather small, and it filled up completely while we were there.

From their Web site:

From Monday to Thursday, we serve our full à la carte selection and all set menus in the evenings as usual – flexibly and entirely according to your taste.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, we kindly ask our guests to choose a set menu of three or more courses. You can customize your menu from our selection – even spontaneously on-site.

We were warmly welcomed when we arrived for our reservation. A couple of young guys offered to take our coats, although there was a little bit of bumbling as they determined what to do with them. I got the sense that they were a bit inexperienced and new to the job, which is fine. We all have to start somewhere.

Bill and I sat at a two top in a corner, on a long banquette that ran along the back wall. As we were looking at the menu, the proprietor came over to say hello and get a drink order. He said he’d seen us at Mamma Roma, the Italian place next door. He was the guy who was sitting at the table behind Bill, talking on the phone, while were having lunch there. I don’t know for certain, but I wonder if the restaurants are owned by the same people. Both offered really good food.

I was surprised that the proprietor had noticed us at Mamma Roma’s, let alone remembered us! Maybe it’s my hair… and the fact that we’re obviously Americans in a town that probably doesn’t get many American visitors. He apologized that they didn’t have a menu in English, but we said it was fine, since we live in Germany and understand “restaurant German” pretty well.

The proprietor suggested a Negroni, which delighted Bill, because it’s one of his favorite cocktails. I thought I might have a conventional aperitif, like sparkling wine, but ended up having a Negroni, too. That was mainly because I’d never had one before. The proprietor did say he could make a cocktail that was like a Negroni, but “lighter”, but I decided to go for the real thing. Now that I’ve had a Negroni, I think I’d opt for the lighter cocktail at a future visit.

The kitchen sent out a lovely “amuse bouche”, which turned out to be a very comforting cauliflower based soup. I don’t usually like cauliflower much, because it tastes like farts to me. I would make an exception for this soup, which didn’t have that flavor at all. It had a slight essence of vanilla.

There were several options available for dinner. We decided to go for the five course tasting menu with wine pairing. It was mostly a good choice, although the wait staff did not seem to know much about serving or drinking wines.

At one point, a waiter brought a wine to us that he couldn’t even identify. He said he was new on the job. I can understand that. I used to wait tables myself, and wasn’t a wine drinker at that time. But, for a Michelin mentioned restaurant, it did seem odd that the waiter couldn’t even tell me what kind of wine I was drinking that was chosen to pair with my food. Like, he had to go ask what type of wine it was– not the specific label, but the actual grape. I think it was a Pinot Grigio.

Anyway… below are some photos from our dinner at Untere Apotheke. I enjoyed every course.

We started with a smoked trout with a horseradish sauce. I took the second photo because it looked like the sauce had turned into a work of art after I had enjoyed the fish!

Next was a “hirsch” (venison) carpaccio, which was absolutely divine. I haven’t eaten much venison in my lifetime, but this was really good. I did give a couple of extra bites to Bill, though.

The third course was sturgeon with cabbage and potatoes espuma. I’d never had sturgeon before, and only had heard was a very expensive fish. It was pretty dense and mild. The sturgeon tasted good, although I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to have it again.

The sturgeon was followed by a ragout of “Ochsenschwanz” (oxtail) with pears and red cabbage. I don’t think I had ever had oxtail before. I know Bill has had it. I enjoyed it, but again, maybe I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it.

We had a palate cleanser of sorbet, followed by dessert, which was Swabian apple cake with caramelized vanilla ice cream. Naturally, I enjoyed the dessert, especially since it didn’t look like a mushroom! It came with a very nice dessert wine that went well.

I did really enjoy the food and wine at Untere Apotheke. The service was very friendly, although the wait staff was a bit “green”. They mostly appeared to be young guys who are just learning about how to wait tables. Again, I totally sympathize. I have been there, myself. And their friendliness definitely made up for slightly bumbling service. I have no doubt they’ll get the hang of things soon, especially given how many people were dining on Saturday night.

The tables in Untere Apotheke are a bit close together. We sat next to a male couple who kept sneaking glances at us, probably wondering why we were in Waiblingen, intruding with our “Americanness”. I may be a bit sensitive, given what’s been going on in our government, lately. But I think they soon figured out that I’m definitely not a follower of the regime. 😉

I would certainly be happy to dine at Untere Apotheke again. It was a fine place to enjoy our last evening in Waiblingen.

One more post to go before this series is finished!

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A winter break in Waiblingen… Saturday market day (part six)

Saturday morning, we had a bit of a “lie in”, as the Brits would put it. The third location we could try for breakfast, Cafe Bar Sachsenheimer, would not be open until 9:00 AM. This establishment is slightly more of a walk from Bachofer than Cafe Tagblatt or the Kauffmann bakery is. Of the three places where we had breakfast, the Sachsenheimer Cafe was my favorite. Once we arrived there, I could see that it’s a favorite of the locals, too, in spite of somewhat low ratings on TripAdvisor.

When we got to the eatery, it was bustling with business. Nevertheless, we lucked into a table, and proceeded to order from a menu that offered many appealing choices. I ended up having Eggs Benedict, but I could have had blueberry pancakes, French toast, or Huevos Rancheros, among other things. Bill decided on an Avocado Stulle. We both had large coffee drinks, a cappuccino for him, and a latte macchiato for me. I wish I had ordered orange juice, but it turned out I probably would have been too full to enjoy it, anyway. We probably should have made reservations for Saturday. I would definitely recommend reserving for Sundays, because I’m sure that place gets full!

Saturday was also a market day, so there were lots of vendors selling food items, flowers, and other local products. I got some photos of the action. We also heard some great buskers playing, and I managed to get a CD from one of them. I love to buy music from buskers. I find music and art make the best mementos from any trip!

The weather was nice, so we also went down to the park, just below the city Marktplatz. I got some photos down there, too… as well as a few overlooking the park. I got warm enough that I ended up carrying my heavy coat! We stopped by the church for awhile and just sat there, listening to the water flow, and watching the world pass. We got a few new pictures of ourselves, too.

We continued walking a different way back toward the city center. Our plans for Saturday night included dinner at another fine restaurant, Untere Apotheke. We knew that would be a big meal, so we decided to have a snack instead of lunch. Schöllkopf Backwaren was just the place for a stop– we had beer and super delicious and fresh butter pretzels! I don’t usually get that excited about pretzels, but the ones we enjoyed on Saturday were fabulous! It was the perfect thing to carry us over until dinner.

I really enjoyed the festive atmosphere on Saturday. It seemed like everyone was out and about, and neighbors were saying hello and catching up with each other. It was delightful to be part of that, even briefly, and give thanks that we can enjoy being in a place where there’s no violence or strife on a sunny winter Saturday.

As you can see in the pictures, there are still remnants of a wall that used to surround Waiblingen. They were pretty cool to look at and well-preserved.

Our dinner at Untere Apotheke was a great high point at which to end our brief winter visit to Waiblingen. I will write about it separately in the next post, since I know some people are only interested in my restaurant posts, and not so much about city views in Waiblingen. I’m really glad we stopped there. It’s a great little town for a low-key break.

I got a kick out of this little light by our room door. It helped us let the housekeepers know when the room was open for cleaning.
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A winter break in Waiblingen… A little Asian food and pizza! (part five)

Featured image is of a mural under the old Rathaus in Waiblingen.

Friday was probably our least interesting day during our trip to Waiblingen. Bill had been under the impression that the long course he’d taken on Thursday morning was a single course being offered twice. He’d originally signed up for what he thought was the Friday class, but changed it to Thursday so we could hang out more together during the morning.

As it turned out, the class was in two, three hour parts– the first part on Thursday morning, and the second part on Friday. He’d also signed up for an afternoon and evening course, because before we’d planned our dental holiday, he was going to take a day off work and knock them out at home. He was thinking about blowing off the morning class, but I told him he should go ahead and complete it so he’d get full credit. So, Friday morning I spent more time writing in my blog, reading, and messing around with Facebook, while my scholarly husband did his schoolwork.

However, before class began, we had breakfast. On Friday, we visited the Cafe Tagblatt, an establishment with a prime location on the Marktplatz. This was one of the three choices we had for breakfast covered by the Bachofer, and it looked to me like it was a place much beloved by the locals. We chose it on Friday, because it opened at 8:00 AM, instead of 9:00 AM, as the third option did. According to its Web site, Cafe Tagblatt has been in Waiblingen since 1985… which doesn’t seem that long ago to me, but then, it’s hard for me to admit I’m in my 50s.

Cafe Tagblatt offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as seating outside. On the market days– Wednesday and Saturday– I noticed a lot of people enjoying a coffee and a cigarette in their outside area. We ate there twice during our Waiblingen trip, both times for breakfast. On Wednesday, we went for more substantial offerings. Bill had a plate with breads, fruits, cold cuts, and cheeses, while I had a Pfännle with eggs and bacon, and a side of toast. We both had fresh orange juice, and plenty of coffee.

This was a lot of food, and in fact, we went slightly over our allowance, probably because we both had a small cup of coffee. The eggs were more than I could eat, and slightly overdone. Bill really liked his dish, although again, it was a bit more than he needed. The service was friendly and professional, and I enjoyed the morning vibe. I can see why it’s a popular place for locals, especially on the weekend. We learned on Sunday, that if you want to have breakfast at Cafe Tagblatt, you’d better make a reservation!

Bill took his three our lecture, and then, grateful for some sunshine, we decided to take a walk around the town. We ended up having lunch at an Asian place called VU Asia Wok. I had noticed it on our first afternoon in Waiblingen, and figured Bill would like it. They had Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisine.

Bill went for a Vietnamese dish called Mien Xao Ga. He got his with chicken, but it was also offered with beef. I probably should have had what he had, but I opted for sweet and sour duck. Unfortunately, a lone mushroom slipped into my dish and kind of put me off. VU Asia Wok appeared to be a very popular lunch stop. It was almost full when we arrived.

At one point, what appeared to be the young son of the proprietor showed up. He looked to be about six or seven years old, or so. I noticed how he hung up his jacket and sat down at a table near us, where he immediately got started with his homework. He went upstairs to the family’s home before we were finished eating. I went up the stairs to use the ladies room, and the little boy helpfully turned on the light for me. Charmed, I said “Danke” to him. Then, when I was leaving, I said “Ciao.”

He responded with a cheery “Bye!” 🤭 He probably already speaks better English than I do.

Since the weather was holding for us, we took a walk, and I got a few more photos of Waiblingen on our way back to the Bachofer. We were too late for Bill to catch his lecture, which he was fine with, because he wasn’t all that keen on the guy presenting it…

I was kind of glad the tower wasn’t open, so I didn’t feel obligated to climb it.
Charming Greek Orthodox church!

Bill decided to take the evening lecture. It turned out the original lecturer had to cancel, probably because there was a lot of snow in Zürich that day. So, the guy who presented the earlier lecture that Bill skipped, filled in for the guy who had to cancel. Bill got his lecture with the “self-promoting” Klugscheisser, anyway. 😆 He sure made good use of his time on our dental break!

By the time Bill’s lecture was over, it was about 7:30 PM. The weather had turned crappy again. Neither of us felt like going out to eat. Bill decided to go get some wine and snacks from a grocery store, and he also picked up a pizza from a spot on the Marktplatz called Il Divo. He said it was a tiny place, full of Italians, and a rather eccentric looking proprietor. Too bad we didn’t get a chance to dine there, because the pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had in Germany. I didn’t get a picture of it, though… It looked like most salami pizzas, and was plenty for us!

I did get a couple of shots from our room, as the weather got yucky again…

I wish we’d felt more like venturing out, but I find that as I’m getting older, I don’t always want to go out at night– especially when the weather is cold and wet, and it’s well into the dinner hours in Europe. Besides, we had big dinner plans for Saturday night. More on that in the next post!

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Baden-Württemberg, dental, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… Off to see the dentist! (part four)

Featured photo is of a very posh pooch on a very posh street in Stuttgart– the address where our dentist has his office.

We woke up to a rainy Thursday morning. This was a bummer, since although Bachofer offers “free” breakfast, unless you want cereal or something very simple, you have to take it at one of three places in town. Actually, that wasn’t so much of a bummer. I think I was just really tired of the neverending crappy weather.

We had the chance to have breakfast at each of the places Bachofer has arranged to allow guests to enjoy breakfast. On Thursday morning, we went to Bäckerei & Konditorei Kai Kauffmann, which is a very short walk from Bachofer. We chose the Kauffmann bakery because it opened earliest. Bill had a long class at the Jung Institute that morning, and we didn’t have time for a leisurely breakfast. Below are a few photos from the early morning of January 29th.

Although we’ve lived in Germany for a long time now, I haven’t had the chance to enjoy too many breakfasts at bakeries. Bill usually picks up baked treats at the bakery in Breckenheim on the rare occasions we decide to indulge. I don’t go with him. Maybe it’s time I went, although I believe our local bakery is just that– it’s not a Konditorei, too.

Anyway, the lady behind the counter recognized the card the Bachofer gave us to cover the cost of breakfast up to 24 euros per person. The Kauffman has a menu, so we ordered from it. I enjoyed watching people coming in and out– especially the German men who came in for coffee and bread before starting their workday. We came in well under the 48 euro limit for this repast.

Wonderful German bread!

After breakfast, we went back to the room so Bill could sit through his three hour lecture. I tried to read, but soon fell asleep. I find that I do that a lot these days! It was okay, though, because the weather was pretty bad on Thursday. There was a winter mix and steady rainfall, so it was okay to just have a lie in while my very steady and conscientious husband did some work toward someday becoming a Jungian analyst.

Once the class was over, it was time for lunch. Since we had late afternoon dental appointments in Stuttgart, we decided to have lunch in town. This turned out to be a good decision, because we discovered a delightful Italian place called Mamma Roma. The English speaking Italian lady behind the bar warmly welcomed us to have a seat near the fake fireplace– which I found kind of charming and oddly comforting– and order from the extensive menu.

Cold, rainy weather makes me especially want to drink red wine. It was about 1:00 PM, but that doesn’t really matter when you’re an overeducated housewife with no kids. Bill and I each had a glass of primitivo, shared a bottle of sparkling water, and we both chose dishes from the daily lunch specials. I had a rinderfilet steak with potatoes, and Bill had orchiaetta pasta Bolognese.

They had a deal in which if you ordered a starter, you could have coffee or espresso at the end. I don’t usually drink coffee after breakfast, but what the hell… I ordered the bruschetta, and Bill had lentil soup. I’m glad we did that, as both starters were excellent. I especially enjoyed the steak, which was perfectly cooked medium rare and not too big to finish. Bread was also included.

Prices were reasonable, and we weren’t rushed, even though we were finishing up at about the time their afternoon pause began. If you look at the third top photo below, you can see a man on the phone over Bill’s shoulder. On Saturday night, he recognized us at the restaurant next door. More on that later.

Lentil soup
Bruschetta
Steak and potatoes
Bill’s pasta

I really liked Restaurant Mamma Roma and would not hesitate to dine there again. In fact, I liked lunch so much that I pointedly thanked the very pleasant lady who waited on us. I said, “That was a very nice lunch. Thank you very much.” She beamed. It’s nice not to be an ugly American.

The old Rathaus. Looks like it used to have a restaurant.
A bear by the book store…

Our dental appointments were at 5:00 PM, so we headed back to the Bachofer to prepare. The housekeeper was servicing our room, so we took the opportunity to check out the Stübli in the hotel. This is where there’s a large table, TV, snacks, sodas, beer and wine. As I mentioned in an earlier post, non-alcoholic drinks and snacks are “gratis”. If you want beer or wine, you just write down what you take and pay for it later. I appreciated this very thoughtful and homey touch, as it gave us a non-awkward place to wait while our room was refreshed.

Freebies!

We headed to Stuttgart at about 4:00 PM, and were quickly reminded of why it’s often called STAUgart… Traffic was messy, and as usual, there were many building/road projects going on. Still, I have a weird affection for Stuttgart. I enjoyed living in the area for a total of six years, and in spite of its idiosyncrasies, it still feels a little like home– even though I’m not German, let alone Swabian!

Dr. Blair warmly greeted us with an incredulous look on his face. “You’re still here?!” he joked. Yes– we are. He’s been our dentist for over ten years, and he does an excellent job, even though sometimes he’s a bit eccentric. But, what the hell? I’m pretty eccentric, too.

Bill had called the office before we arrived, just to make sure we wouldn’t arrive at a closed practice. Our appointments were at 5, but according to their Web site, they close at 5. We didn’t want to waste a trip into Stuttgart. That actually did happen to us once, back in 2023. Someone had given us an appointment on German Unity Day, not realizing that it was a holiday. We showed up that day and no one was working! Bill was reassured that 5:00 is when the last appointments are available.

We both got our teeth thoroughly cleaned. Happily, this time, the hygienist used an egg timer so I knew exactly how long to hold the fluoride, in spite of it burning. And she was gentle with my cleaning, so I didn’t have bruised, sore gums afterward. She said she didn’t see a crack in my molar, which was a relief, since I’d noticed some sensitivity. I have also noticed that since the cleaning, my teeth haven’t been sensitive.

Dr. Blair joked that Bill had “cheated” on him with the dentist in Wiesbaden. And I reminded him that Bill broke his tooth while Dr. Blair was on break. He said, “I’m entitled to a break!” Yes, of course– but Bill didn’t want to wait a month to get his broken tooth fixed. As it turned out, Bill ended up having other stuff done in Wiesbaden by the excellent dentist up here. Maybe I should do the same… but I do genuinely like and trust Dr. Blair. He loves to chat with us, too. 🤭

I thought maybe we’d have dinner in Stuttgart, but the weather still sucked, and we weren’t at all hungry after lunch. Neither of us felt like trying to find a restaurant and making our way back to Waiblingen in the dark, cold night. So we decided to go back to Waiblingen and enjoy some German TV and wine in our room. Bill had plans for another long course on Friday morning, so he needed to rest up for that. The nice thing about our visit to Stuttgart was that we scored a parking spot on a higher level of the garage. That was a bonus on Saturday, when it came time to leave.

So ends my story of Thursday in Waiblingen… Stay tuned for the next part!

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A winter break in Waiblingen… Dinner at Bachofer! (part three)

Featured photo was my favorite of the courses we enjoyed at Bachofer.

One of the reasons I chose to book at Bachofer is because of their restaurant, which has a Michelin star. Bill is more interested in the Michelin distinction than I am. My tastes tend to be more boring than his are. But, I always aim to please Bill when I look for places to visit, and I knew he’d appreciate the Asian inspired cuisine at Bachofer. It was easy to reserve a table there on the OpenTable app, which is also a plus. I would highly recommend reserving if you are inspired to dine at Bachofer, as the restaurant seats just 45 people and there is room for only ten people at the bar. It’s a popular place, and they had a full house on a Wednesday night in January!

We enjoyed a nice booth by the front door, and I could hear some of the music on the sound system. I immediately recognized one instrumental that gets used a lot in YouTuber Trek Trendy’s luxury travel videos. 😉 I know not everyone knows who Trek Trendy is, and I’ll be honest, I find him pretty annoying (he obviously channels the late Robin Leach)… But I’ve seen a bunch of his travel videos, and he uses the same music in most of them. So I did have a chuckle when I heard one of his background music choices at Bachofer.

We were immediately offered the house aperitif, which we got gratis, because we were hotel guests. The wait staff also brought out wasabi nuts and regular nuts. On Wednesday night, the staff was pushing the restaurant’s tasting menu, which is up to eight courses. There is also an a la carte menu available, but we decided to have six courses with a wine pairing. For the most part, I liked the tasting menu fine, although there were a few little hiccups and one big offensive BELCH at the end of the service. I’ll get to that in a minute, though. First, here are a few preliminary photos…

I was a little surprised by the wasabi nuts. While I don’t mind them at all, it does seem a little beneath a restaurant with a Michelin star. But then, what do I know? I did enjoy the aperitif, which was very refreshing.

At Bachofer, they put up a little stand on your table, and with each course, they present a little card that lists what you’re eating. I mostly liked that touch, although there were a couple of bungles during our service. I mentioned we ordered six courses, but we actually got seven. There were a couple of times when the wrong card was brought out for the wrong wine. I had mentioned that I didn’t want anything with mushrooms or truffles, but as you will find out, that got a little messed up as service went on. I actually skipped a couple of courses because one had actual mushrooms in it, and one just looked alarmingly like a mushroom (but actually wasn’t). Below are photos of the amuse, which I did really enjoy. Especially the soup!

And below are photos with the rest of the impressive meal, which was mostly fish based. The wine pairings were interesting, and I appreciated that the sommelier (same guy who checked us into our room) offered some information about each wine. Most of the wines were whites, though there was one red and one course that featured Japanese beer. And again, a couple of times, cards were presented for courses we didn’t have.

This was the bread course, which included picked vegetables and pastrami.
I think this was given to us in case we wanted to order some.
Raw beef that was supposed to be dragged into the hot broth pictured next.
I didn’t try this, because the broth was made with Shiitake mushrooms.

I was sorry not to be able to try the beef, and I don’t know why they brought it out, since I told them I didn’t want fungus. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, we actually ordered six courses, but we ended up with seven… But then came the biggest surprise of the night… Dessert!

Dessert was a two part affair. The first part, which involved fruit and sorbet, was fine for me… I also enjoyed the Zen garden. But then came the second part, which I didn’t eat. As you can see, it’s a mushroom! And, as someone who has a phobia of mushrooms, this was pretty horrifying for me. I truly do appreciate the creative and artistic merit of the Matsutake styled dessert “mushroom”, but I couldn’t eat it. They might as well have presented me with a cake fashioned like a human baby. Bill ate my portion and said the top was chocolate mousse, but the stalk was kind of savory and “mustardy”, which sounds very strange to me.

It was no big deal. I was plenty full and didn’t need the extra calories, and of course they didn’t know about my phobia, so I can’t hold them responsible for that. But it was a little bit disappointing to be served a “mushroom” at the end of the meal, because as you might know, I love desserts… if only because desserts are usually about 99 percent guaranteed to be fungus free! Maybe I could get therapy for this “problem”, but at 53 years of age, I figure it’s a lost cause. Besides, it kind of makes me more of an interesting person. On the other hand, it’s also something insensitive clods tend to find hilarious. 🙄

Our dinner at Bachofer was around 400 euros or so… once we included the tip. It was mostly worth it. The fish courses were especially nice, as they were extremely fresh, and the flavors were exciting. I can certainly see why Bachofer has merited a Michelin star. However, I do think the service left some room for improvement. If we eat there again, perhaps we’ll try ordering from the menu, so I might avoid being traumatized. 🤭

We got back to the room at about 11:00 PM, which was a late night or us. It was a good thing we didn’t have to travel far from the restaurant! Next, I’ll write about Thursday’s visit to Stuttgart. Stay tuned!

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Baden-Württemberg, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… First impressions of a charming town! (part two)

On the morning of Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Bill and I packed a couple of bags and some dog food for Noyzi and Charlie. We had plans to stop at the Birkenhof Tierpension to drop off the dogs. I had done some preliminary housework, so we could come back on Sunday to a somewhat clean house and freshly made bed.

Because it had been snowing on the days before our departure, there was a snow shovel on our front stoop. Noyzi and Charlie knew we were going somewhere. Noyzi was especially excited. He loves riding in the car, and he absolutely adores the staff at the Birkenhof. Still, he is almost always very respectful of the front door and doesn’t try to run outside anymore. He was so excited on Wednesday, though, that he forgot himself. Since the snow was melted, I reached out to grab the snow shovel, so I could put it away in the garage. Noyzi took the opportunity to dart outside, unsecured.

For a moment, Noyzi looked kind of drunk with freedom. He headed for our landlord’s house next door and looked around, obviously excited at being “free”. I knew that all he wanted was to be able to get in the back of the Volvo. I told Bill to open the car, and sure enough, Noyzi took a flying leap into the cargo space. I tossed Noyzi’s leash and harness to Bill, who got him “suited up” for the drive. I put Charlie’s harness on him, and Bill put him in the car.

I have to admit, I was little scared when Noyzi ran outside, only because we live so close to the Autobahn. Fortunately, he’s not a runner, and wasn’t interested in hunting or escaping us. He simply couldn’t wait to get in the car and head for his boarding facility! I’d say that’s a vote of confidence that he gets excellent care there. Indeed, he barked excitedly most of the drive to the Birkenhof, which is probably at least a half hour’s drive from where we live.

I normally take photos and videos of the boys before our trips, but I never got around to it this time. When we got to the Birkenhof, I let go of Noyzi’s leash. There’s a fenced in walkway to the office, so there was no risk in letting him go. He took off running for the office, straight to his favorite caregiver, Natascha. Charlie was also very excited to see her male counterpart, whose name I don’t yet know. I think Charlie likes men more than women, while Noyzi is very much a fan of the ladies… especially young, pretty ones, like Natascha!

He was delighted!

I did get a very short video of Noyzi to send to his rescuer, Meg, who was worried when I posted on Facebook that Noyzi had given us a scare. As you can see, he was just fine, once he got to his “home away from home.” This is a dog who loves a little break– but when the vacation is over, he’s just as eager to come back home and park himself in his big bed in his own room. The proprietor of the Birkenhof, Ulrike, was there last night when Bill picked up the dogs. She is a BIG Noyzi fan. She even calls him “Schatz”!

Once the dogs were safe at the dog pension, we made our way southeast. It was an uneventful trip, and aside from stopping for gas and a piss, we didn’t even take a break. Waiblingen is about two hours’ drive, on a good day with no Staus. We didn’t run into any significant traffic on Wednesday, so we arrived in Waiblingen at about 1:00 PM, parking at the marketplace garage located just next to Marktplatz in Waiblingen, and very close to our hotel.

We couldn’t check in at the Bachofer until 2, so we walked around the town and got some first impressions. We also searched for a place to have lunch. We could have found one, if we’d tried harder. As it was, we decided to go to a place that only served breakfast and dinner. But, since we had dinner reservations at Bachofer, that was okay. Below are some photos of our first look at Waiblingen… Too bad the weather was so crappy.

And here are some photos from Wyn Kitchen and Bar, which had the distinction of being our first stop in Waiblingen. This place looks like it might offer good food, if you happen to be there when they’re serving something besides bar snacks. I did like the hot chocolate and cappuccino. They kept me going until dinner. 😉 Bill just had coffee and a glass of iced tea, because he’s on medication that can’t be mixed with dairy within certain hours of being taken. He sure looks great in the Alpa sweater from Finland I got him for Christmas.

Once we finished our beverages, we headed for Bachofer. It was a short walk from everything in the “inner city”. Waiblingen is a compact little town, with everything in the old town very close. When we walked into the restaurant portion of our lodging, I noticed immediately that it smelled really appetizing. I was excited about that, because we had dinner plans that night.

A smiling young man who reminded me a little of Freddie Mercury greeted us and checked us in. At the Bachofer, the nine rooms are all named after spices. We were assigned Kardamom, which was a 33 square meter double. Internet and breakfast are included in the rate. Below are some photos…

View from one of the windows.

The Bachofer is very generous with perks. They have a room stocked with snacks, coffee, tea, and simple breakfast staples that are included in the room rate. They also have an honor bar with beer and wine available for purchase. You just write down what you consumed and pay for it later. Every day, they gave us little bags of gummi bears and ear plugs. Thankfully, I never needed the ear plugs… at least not because of street noise. 😉 The bed was quite comfortable, although I never did get the huge rainfall shower hot enough for my liking. That’s a pity, because the shower was pretty nice. You can’t see it in the photo, but it lights up green in that room. I see from Bachofer’s Web site that other rooms have showers that light up in other colors.

We paid about 660 euros for four nights, which I thought was a good deal, especially since breakfast is included. Dinner at the Bachofer was about 400 euros, to put it in perspective. 😬. My only other complaint was that, for some reason, housekeeping didn’t leave an extra roll of toilet paper after the first day. Without getting too specific, I use a lot of toilet paper in the mornings. Bill went out and bought a couple of rolls. I guess the housekeeper noticed, because on Saturday, they left us three extra rolls! Oh… and it also seemed like one of the outlets in the room didn’t work properly. I had to move my computer to the other outlet, because it wouldn’t charge on the outlet near the desk.

Bill had a short lecture at the Jung Institute on Wednesday night, so we hunkered down in the room. The plan was for him to sit through the talk, and then at 8:00 PM, go down to the restaurant for dinner. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t want dinner so late. Or, at least Bill wouldn’t. I love him so much, but being married to Bill is like having a rooster for a husband! He is definitely an early riser who prefers to go to bed early. I guess I’ve adapted to that, too, although I still tend to read until about 11:00 PM and wake up with him at 5:00 AM.

I entertained myself while Bill took his class, then after freshening up a bit, we headed down to try out the Michelin starred Bachofer restaurant. Since there are a lot of photos, I will write about that in the next part. Stay tuned!

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Baden-Württemberg, dental, short breaks

A winter break in Waiblingen… How did we end up there? (part one)

Featured photo is of the really cool medieval gate we passed through on our way into the town.

Several weeks ago, it became very clear to Bill and me that we desperately needed to go see our dentist, Dr. Blair. Our last visit to his office in Stuttgart was in late October 2024. After that visit, which resulted in some very sore gums after I pissed off the dental hygienist by not swishing the fluoride long enough, we went to the lovely Bavarian spa town of Bad Wörishofen. We meant to visit Dr. Blair again in 2025, but there just wasn’t any time. Thanks to the chaotic year that was 2025, we just never found the time to go down to Stuttgart.

Before anyone asks, yes there ARE dentists in Wiesbaden. In fact, Bill visits one sometimes, when he has a dental issue that needs immediate attention. But I like to go to Stuttgart, because I like and trust Dr. Blair, and because going down there offers a good excuse to spend a few days in a town in Baden-Württemberg somewhere. I do still love going down there, even though we left there in late 2018 on somewhat disappointing terms, thanks to our legal dispute with our former landlady.

I’m not sure we’ll get to live in beautiful Baden-Württemberg again, but it still has a piece of my heart. So when we visit Dr. Blair, we usually try to spend a few days chilling in a town we haven’t yet visited. Or, alternatively, we might go to Bavaria or France… or somewhere else. 😉 We have had some really good short trips, thanks to having a dentist in Stuttgart.

So, Bill gave me the dates he was available to go down to see our trusty dental professional, and I set about looking for a place to stay. I decided I didn’t want to go to the Wald Hotel this time, even though it’s probably our favorite hotel in Stuttgart. Expedia.com offered a list of the usual spots, I went through the list and noticed an entry for a small boutique hotel and gourmet restaurant called Bachofer. The restaurant was particularly interesting, as it has a Michelin star and offers Asian fusion cuisine.

Then I noticed the hotel was in the city of Waiblingen, which is just north of Stuttgart by a few miles. I remembered when we first got back to Germany in 2014, we stayed in a rental apartment in Kemnat. I’d often see my Internet connection coming from Waiblingen. After I looked at some photos of the town, I realized it’s really cute… and there are other good restaurants there besides Bachofer. I decided to book four nights at Bachofer, and Bill and I also reserved tables at Bachofer’s restaurant, and a nearby competitor called Untere Apotheke, which is currently mentioned in the Michelin Guide.

We are now fresh back from our trip to Waiblingen. We had a great time, and I got lots of pictures. I picked up a few new stories, too. So welcome to my Waiblingen series… I hope a few of you will enjoy it, and perhaps even find yourself inspired to explore some of the lesser known gems where you live.

First thing’s first… I was confused about how to pronounce Waiblingen, so I went looking for answers…

Now I know.

Waiblingen is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr district, and it is a direct neighbor to Stuttgart. The town was first mentioned in Carolingian documents in the year 885! It became a town in 1250. As a native of the Tidewater region of Virginia, I was proud to see that Waiblingen is a sister city to Virginia Beach, among several European cities. The city was almost completely destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, but has been rebuilt. Around the city, one can see remnants of medieval fortifications that have been restored.

I don’t expect this will be a long series, because I spent a lot of time in the hotel room hiding from rain and watching Bill take online courses at the Jung Institute. But we did have some really amazing food, and it was great to have a change of scenery. Read more about that in part two!

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adventure, Baden-Württemberg, trip planning

Just a quick note to check in with my travel readers…

Today, I woke up to more snow. It’s much snowier down near Stuttgart, which is where Bill and I will be headed on Wednesday. But up here, I think we got maybe a little under two inches or so. It’s bitter cold outside and still pretty cloudy. I won’t be surprised if there’s more snow or a few flurries before the sun sets.

I don’t have much travel stuff to write about today, although if I were feeling more ambitious and hopeful, I might write about some other travel related topics. For example, I could write about some of my favorite YouTube creators, who inspire me to look into fancy trips in Europe. A couple of the people I watch regularly are somewhat annoying, but they do go to some interesting places.

Lately, thanks to videos I’ve watched, I’ve been thinking I’d like to visit Finland and do a proper visit up there. I don’t really love freezing cold weather, but I do like coziness and snow… if I can be inside by a fireplace with some wine, that is. 🤣 I’d also settle for a hot tub.

It’s also hard to think about traveling when our government is so screwed up, and people are protesting, fighting, and literally dying in my homeland. It’s not lost on me that Americans aren’t all that popular right now, mainly due to the “dictator” in the White House. Listen, y’all… my disdain for him is about his shittiness as a human being, rather than conservative politics as a whole. He’s not a conservative. He’s a fascist. And he’s making things worse for EVERYONE, except maybe his billionaire “buddies”… who aren’t even his buddies.

People like that don’t really have friends, do they? They just worship money. Money is no substitute for real human connections, love, and freedom. Personally, I think the vast majority of super rich people are hollow inside. They don’t have normal relationships. They don’t live happy lives. They can’t trust people to love them, because people simply want to use them and take what they have. And so, I think they’re very lonely folks, who crave what money can’t buy for them. If you think about it, it’s pretty sad.

Bill is coming home early today, because he’s going to start his very first course at the Jung Institute. The online class he’s taking today will run for five hours. He plans to take a couple more while we’re on our visit to Waiblingen, which starts on Wednesday.

Anyway, I wish I had an interesting trip to write about today, but I don’t. However, I will soon be adding content to this blog, because during our trip to Waiblingen, we have reserved tables at two very nice restaurants, which we booked on OpenTable.de.

I’m sure there will be other places we’ll try, since we’re staying down there until Sunday. Yeah, it seems weird to stay in Waiblingen for four nights, when we could just go see the dentist in a day… but I think it will be fun to go there and hang out in our old stomping grounds. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another chance to live near Stuttgart, but it will always occupy a spot in my heart.

So… please stay tuned for my Waiblingen series, such as it will be. After that, who knows where the road will lead. I can pretty much guarantee that we will be in Switzerland again this year at some point, if we don’t have to leave the continent because of Donald Trump.

Until my next post, bis spater…

Here are a few photos I took of our cozy German house this past week… Bill made homemade scones (by Nigella Lawson) and hot tea for breakfast yesterday, along with a soft boiled egg, a little sausage, and fresh orange juice. The dogs approved!

Also, I sent off a ballot request, so I can vote in the Texas primaries. I don’t know how much good it will do, but it’s something, at least.

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Hessen, rants

MLK weekend 2026… hunkered down in Hessen…

The featured image is a Christmas decoration one of my neighbors still had up the other day when I walked the dogs…

Sadly, unlike last year, when we took a trip to Basel, this year we haven’t gone anywhere. Bill was away on business last week, in our old stomping grounds of Stuttgart. He got back on Thursday, which delighted the dogs and me. Ordinarily, we would have tried to take a short trip, or something, but this year it wasn’t really possible. Besides, given what’s going on right now, I’m not even sure how welcome we’d be. Maybe another trip to Switzerland would be okay… The Swiss are famously neutral, after all.

We do have a trip to the Stuttgart suburb of Waiblingen coming up in a couple of weeks. It’s so we can get our teeth cleaned. We’ll spend a few days enjoying some of the restaurants there and a change of scenery. We don’t really need to stay in Waiblingen, but I found us an interesting looking place that has a well-regarded restaurant. It’s a chance to experience something new and generate some content for this blog.

As for the rest of the year? Who knows? The way Trump is talking, we’re going back to war. 🙄 This time, it’ll be with our allies! It’s so distressing to be here and have to witness this madness. I deeply resent Donald Trump making ordinary Americans enemies to people from other countries because of his insanity and stupidity. Most Americans are not batshit crazy, but he’s making it look like we are.

Sigh… maybe it is time to just go home. Maybe if I’m lucky, ICE will off me, and I can go out with a bang.

Bill has a couple of business trips coming up. At least one of them is with NATO. It hasn’t been called off yet… but who knows what’s going to happen? This is a mess, and it really sucks.

I’m sorry that this post isn’t like my usual stuff, but I try to be honest when I write these things. Living over here isn’t always easy or hearts and roses… but when your own POTUS is completely nuts and is determined to make the world think all of us Americans are nuts, that’s something else again. I don’t like to be political on this blog, but sometimes situations warrant it. We are living here, after all, because of politicians.

I am reminded that last year on this date, we had a delightful $1000 lunch at a three star Michelin restaurant. This year, we’re at home, the weather sucks, and we’re wondering if we’re going to have to move. And all because so many people hated the idea of having an educated Black woman living in the White House.

Anyway… hopefully we’ll stay out of Greenland… I can’t imagine that most sane military servicemembers would have the heart to attack the people of Greenland, or any other Europeans.

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