I don’t have much to write about life in Germany this week. It’s been cold, dreary, snowy, icy, and just all out yucky. We had snow and cold temperatures every day until Friday, when the temperature shot up about twenty degrees and everything suddenly melted, except for the water in the barrel in our backyard. It rained all day, and there was all of that melted snow, so the backyard was like a sloppy sewer, as I uncovered soggy piles of dog shit laid bare after the snow disappeared.
On Monday, the village’s Christmas tree was still up. It looked so pretty with the snow on it, so I got a photo, which is today’s featured image. The next day, the tree was gone, and there were several naked formerly living Christmas trees lying in the Dorfplatz, ready to be hauled away. It was a little sad, especially since there was dirty snow, ice, and remnants of fireworks lying nearby.
A yearly ritual… disposing of formerly live Christmas trees…
This time of year in the northern hemisphere pretty much sucks on many levels. The holidays are over, so everything is kind of blah… The weather tends to be grey, cold, dismal, and depressing. People’s moods are grim. Nights are long; days are short. Summer seems a long time away, although summer has its problems, too.
Sitting here in Germany, at the behest of my homeland, I’m watching with shock and dismay as tensions boil over and people get killed by so-called government officials. It’s distressing to watch, and embarrassing on many levels… And I know all too well that even though we are far away from home, we’re also here because of home. It really is enough to make me want to burrow under the covers and wait until things are “better” somehow.
I have been getting some enticing ads for travel possibilities. I’ve been researching the more interesting places, wondering if it’s even practical to plan for a visit. There’s no telling what the future will hold, as tempers flare and our leader does unthinkable things. So I continue to take one day at a time… and look forward to my next trip, which will be to the Stuttgart suburb of Waiblingen. It does look like a charming area, and the place where we’re staying has a very nice restaurant. We’re going there so we can finally get our teeth cleaned. It’s long overdue! But I’d like to be going somewhere more interesting.
Bill will take an online course or two from the Jung Institute while we’re down there for his new degree program. His analyst has said he should double up his hours in analysis with her, so he can quickly get the quantity of hours needed before he can take exams. I think she has noticed he’s a natural, and he’s not getting any younger. Neither is she. And we don’t know what the future holds. As we tragically found out this week, tomorrow is never promised to anyone.
I need to get a new driver’s license at some point in the next six months. I have one from Texas, but I might have to go back there to get a new one, since I renewed by mail last time. Or, maybe I’ll just trade it in for a German license. Or maybe we’ll finally move. 🥲 I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I sure don’t want to go to Texas.
The dogs also need dentals in a big way. Maybe that will happen next month.
One interesting thing I did do this week was try purple potatoes for the first time. Bill went to the Denn’s Biomarkt near where he buys our dog food for Noyzi and Charlie. A few years ago, I wrote a post about Denn’s, which is a chain market that sells organic food. Bill picked up the potatoes, thinking they were the usual white ones. He was surprised when they turned out to be the color of eggplants…
We had pan seared Japanese sea scallops, green beans, and purple baked potatoes…
I didn’t mind the purple potatoes. They tasted a lot like white ones, and are supposedly very healthy. I was reminded, though, of Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss, and how when I worked as the cook at a summer camp, some of the counselors would cook eggs and ham over a hire and dye them with green food coloring for a fun and educational activity. I guess it’s not exactly the same thing, but I was still reminded of it.
Anyway… I’m hoping this week will be better on all levels. Bill has to go on a business trip and will be leaving this afternoon. At this point in time, he still has a lot of work to do at his job… but again, things can change on a dime with Trump’s whims. We have very sunny weather today, but it’s extremely cold outside. I think I heard the rain and snow will be back tomorrow, too… 🫣
Featured photo is of Bill and me at our Advent market in Breckenheim… we sure did have a great year of travel in 2025!
Bill and I thought about going to the annual Wiesbaden Sternemarkt (Christmas market) over the weekend. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty grim– cold, wet, and when it wasn’t raining, a bit damp. I just didn’t feel like putting on clothes and venturing out into the chilly weather to walk around the crowds and see the same stuff they put out every year. Maybe we’ll go next weekend, or at some point during the week.
It’s been a pretty busy fall, though, so I think we both just wanted to relax. Bill has had a bunch of business trips lately. The last one, which was to the United States, ended last weekend. He decided to spend Saturday making a kimchi recipe from a book on fermenting foods that I bought him for Christmas last year. I spent my Saturday making a new Christmas themed parody song for my YouTube channel. And yesterday, we just kind of rested, watched videos, and watched our new neighbor moving into the newly vacated row house catty cornered to us. Hopefully, he won’t turn out to be a jerk. He’s already annoyed Bill by blocking our car.
Since we didn’t do anything special over the weekend, I decided today I’d write about our year in travel. 2025 turned out to be our year to visit Switzerland a bunch of times, but we also went to a few exotic places I’d been wanting to visit or re-visit. So here goes… our travel year, 2025. I didn’t include any day trips on this– it would have made the post too long!
The bill at our first three star Michelin restaurant experience! It was worth every Swiss cent!
We decided to visit Basel, Switzerland as Trump was coming back to the White House. We chose Basel because it had been a city we’d wanted to visit for some time, and it’s convenient from the Frankfurt train station. I liked the idea of being in Switzerland, close to France and Germany. I also had a burning desire to visit Les Trois Rois, a fabulous old hotel on the Rhein (Rhine) River.
Switzerland seemed like a nice, calm, neutral, safe, and sane place to go, as Joe Biden left Washington, DC, and the orange pervert came back to terrorize us. I wanted to hope things wouldn’t get as bad as I imagined they’d be… Unfortunately, that hope was not to come to fruition, although so far, Bill and I are still doing okay.
Our trip to Basel was highlighted with a trip to our very first three star Michelin restaurant, Cheval Blanc, which was at the wonderful Les Trois Rois. I also remember getting scolded for taking off my coat in a museum, and eating a dinner decided by rolling dice and looking at tarot cards. It was a fun trip! I’d definitely go back.
We decided to take a longer trip to Italy by way of Switzerland. Bill has a co-worker who bought property in Abruzzo, Italy, and he wanted to go down there to check out the area. Since Abruzzo is a ways from Wiesbaden, we stopped in Vico Morcote (near Lugano, Switzerland) on the way down.
On the way back, we spent a couple of nights in picturesque Vipiteno, Italy, which is right by the Austrian border. I had been to Vipiteno once before, on a day trip back in 2009 via a bus tour operated by the Edelweiss resort in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I liked Vipiteno more on my own!
Will we buy property in Italy? Maybe… but other stuff happened this year that may affect that decision. I keep socking away money, just in case. Below is a photo from the vineyards owned by the hotel where we stayed. The Lugano area of Switzerland is very Italian, but much posher!
A view of Lake Lugano from Vico Morcote, Switzerland
We decided to visit the former Soviet Republic of Lithuania, and the capital city of Vilnius, in particular, for my 53rd birthday. I believe it was a “champagne bucket” drawing winner. I had wanted to go to Lithuania because it was the one Baltic country Bill and I hadn’t yet visited, and because it was a former Soviet country. It turned out to be a really interesting place to visit! I especially enjoyed visiting the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, which eerily reminded me of what’s happening in the United States right now.
The city of Vilnius has a great beer culture, but they also have really excellent food! And there’s a lot to do, as well as good shopping. I also appreciated that it was cool in June, rather than sweltering hot like it was in Germany. I’d love to visit again and see some more of the country. I hope we’ll get the opportunity!
This pink soup with a beet base turned out to be surprisingly delicious and refreshing! You can find this all over Vilnius!
We spent a little over a week in the Seefeld area of Zürich because Bill wanted to take the summer session at the C.G. Jung Institute in nearby Küsnacht. There isn’t a lot of lodging in Küsnacht, which is more of a residential area, so we booked an Apart-Hotel in the city. It turned out to be a good place to stay, as it was very close to the lake, as well as lots of restaurants, museums, and the botanical gardens.
I spent several days mesmerized by the sight of the pristine blue lake, watching people swim, boat, do yoga, and hydrofoil. This wasn’t much of a pleasure trip, since Bill was in class all day. I did enjoy myself, though, as Switzerland is a very beautiful country, even if it is very expensive. Bill’s experiences during the summer session cemented his decision to apply to study at the Institute.
A common scene on Lake Zürich in late June and early July. The lake is alive with activity! People liked my “Trump Sucks” t-shirt, too.
5. Budapest, Hungary— September 2025
I went to Budapest with Bill in September. He was there on business, but I got to tag along with him and spend six nights walking around Hungary’s capital city once again. Our first visit there was in September 2009– it had been our last trip before we had to move back to the United States thanks to Bill’s narcissistic Army boss. That trip had been wonderful, although we stayed in a different part of the city in a much nicer hotel. This time, we were in the thick of the tourist area, but in a less excellent hotel.
I’m glad I had a chance to visit Budapest again, because I got a totally different view of it during our second visit. I also got a taste of the wonderful musicians in Hungary. I think I knew Hungary had a great music culture, but I heard it firsthand on this trip… and I even got to join in with one band!
Budapest has lots to see and hear, even if you’re dining at a tourist trap!
Bill decided to apply to study at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, and part of the process of seeking admission involved being interviewed by three Jungian analysts. Two of the analysts Bill was assigned to speak to had offices in Zürich. In fact, they were located in Seefeld, the area where Bill and I stayed during the summer session! However, this time, we decided to stay in Küsnacht at the Sonne Hotel, which had been fully booked when we visited during the summer.
I booked us into one of the hotel’s best rooms, and I got a beautiful view of Lake Zürich. We also ate at several nice restaurants and took another lake cruise, which was just as idyllic in the fall as it was in the summer. This time, we were on a steamboat, which was a different experience.
Bill’s bid to study at the Jung Institute was successful, so I suspect we’ll get to visit this area lots of times. Or, at least we will as long as we’re living in Europe. If we have to go back to the States, I might not get to go so often. I’m glad we visited the quiet suburb of Küsnacht, though. It has a different vibe than the big city of Zürich has, even though it’s right next to it.
The day after our 23rd wedding anniversary, Bill had to go to Istanbul for another business trip. He invited me to go with him, which I was happy to do. This was my second visit to Istanbul. The first was in the summer of 1996, and was a lot less fancy than this trip was– although in the 90s, my friend and I stayed much closer to the tourist areas. Maslak is a business district, so it’s not so convenient for tourist purposes.
I still managed to have a pretty good time revisiting this fascinating city and seeing Taksim again, the area where my friend Elaine and I stayed in 1996. I’d like to go back to Istanbul with Bill and really do it right– see the tourist spots and pick up some cool souvenirs. But it was great to go back to Istanbul, even if it was just for a few days in the financial district. As usual, I learned new things.
A dramatic shot of a seagull I got while watching hundreds of them descend on a mosque in search of food. It was very surreal!
I don’t think we’re going anywhere else in 2025, but I’m already planning a trip to Stuttgart at the end of January 2026. Bill and I are overdue for dental cleanings. But– I have already found a new hotel with an exciting restaurant to try out in the suburb of Waiblingen, so there will something new in the blog then… and potentially even before then. We’ll see what happens!
Below is a gallery that sums up our year of travel in 2025… (or at least the travel I was part of– Bill went on a few work trips alone). Not bad, eh?
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