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!

Hessen

New friends and fantastic food at Pizarro Fine Dining!

A few weeks ago, Bill and I were still staring down the prospect of him spending three solid weeks in Bavaria on business. I was depressed about the idea of being alone for that long, since I tend to be kind of a recluse. I don’t enjoy cooking for myself anymore, especially in Germany, where we have small kitchens and everything is in Celsius (🤭).

It had been about seven months since our last visit to Pizarro Fine Dining in Groß-Gerau, so I asked Bill if he’d like to go there for dinner. If you’ve been reading this blog, you might remember that we discovered Pizarro Fine Dining in the spring of 2024. I was so blown away by our first experience there that we went back again in late May of last year. Then in February, we decided we’d better go again, because we weren’t sure what was going to happen with Donald Trump re-entering the White House. Pizarro Fine Dining is the kind of place where you don’t forget the food, and if we were going to have to move back to the USA or suffered a loss of income, I didn’t want to miss having another opportunity to dine there. Plus, I wanted to drown my sorrows.

Since we discovered Pizarro Fine Dining last year, we’ve noticed that it seems to have gotten more popular. The Web site has been revamped, and prices are slightly higher. Last night, it looked like there were fewer tables. Bill counted fourteen people, and every seat was taken. And it books up fast now– you have to secure your spot with a credit card!

Well… after last night’s glorious repast, I can see why things have changed. Once again, I left that restaurant shaking my head at some of the incredible flavors I encountered in Chef Julio Pizarro’s cuisine. Bill and I have been fortunate enough to dine in some really wonderful restaurants. The food we’ve had at Pizarro Fine Dining ranks as some of the best of the best.

I love the unique concept of this restaurant. You basically buy a ticket. At this writing, it’s 150 euros for the menu without any extras. The door is locked, so there aren’t any walk ins. It’s relaxed and casual, and feels like a house party, with good music, subdued lighting, and excellent wine pairings to go with extremely fresh Japanese-Peruvian fusion dishes, mostly featuring fish.

Last night, we sat at the “chef’s table”, which is a four top. Another couple joined us. We didn’t know them when we sat down, but by the end of our five hour meal, we felt like we’d made new friends. The couple we had dinner with live in Darmstadt and work for a company that tracks the weather. He’s Italian; she’s German, but she lived in Spain, The Netherlands, and France until she was 12. He speaks five languages. She speaks six! They met Julio at a party, and their friends told them they should book at table at his restaurant. It was their first time dining there, but I doubt it will be their last!

Bill and I pretty much went all out last night. We had the meat course, which wasn’t Wagyu beef last night, but another type of beef from Spain. The name of it escapes me now. It was leaner than Wagyu, but very delicious, and I opted to have a glass of wonderful Barolo wine to go with it. Edited to add: my German friend thinks it might have been Txogitxu, and now that I’ve looked it up, I think she’s right. It came from the north of Spain, and is described as the “world’s best steak.”

We also had the caviar, which we usually skip. It was definitely worth having it last night. I had the alcoholic wine pairing, while Bill had the “drink” pairing, which was non-alcoholic. Some of his drinks were fruit juices, but others were non-alcoholic wines. All were excellent.

And then there was the menu itself, which was titled “The Fire In Me”. Every course was beautifully prepared and delicious, but a couple of the courses were mindblowingly exceptional. I had to actually sit there dumbstruck for a few minutes to register how marvelous the flavors were, even when I wondered if I was going to be offended by something. There are certain foods I don’t care for, but some chefs can work magic and they have a completely different taste. Now– I still won’t eat mushrooms or truffles, so I had to skip those in the meat course– but I did enjoy beet root, daikon, radishes, and a few other items that normally I might not have wanted to try. Everything was exquisite!

After dinner, we had a round of espresso to perk Bill up for the drive home. The couple sitting with us, who had been talking up the train all night, looked crestfallen when they discovered that the train was canceled last night. They had to take a bus. Or maybe they called a taxi. I do think maybe we should take a cab to the restaurant so Bill can enjoy the wines more, but I like that he has the non-alcoholic beverages so we can try everything.

As usual, service was excellent, yet relaxed. The food was astonishing, and the company was a lot of fun. It was a really lucky thing that we hit it off with Susanne and G.G. as well as we did! Sometimes, people don’t mesh.

Anyway… the bill came close to 700 euros, which is a whole lot of money to spend on dinner. But we have a lot of things to celebrate this month. Next week is our 23rd wedding anniversary. Tomorrow, it’s likely that Bill will have a new granddaughter. And his next business trip, slated to begin November 17th, was supposed to be in Bavaria, but has now been changed to…

ISTANBUL!!!!!

And, with any luck, I will get to go with him. I can’t buy a plane ticket until he gets approved and booked on a flight. But, once that happens, I’ll hopefully be shopping for a seat on the same flight, and we’ll spend next week in a truly fascinating city in the Republic of Türkiye! I have been there, but it was in 1996. I am older and more established now, and since Bill will be with me, I probably won’t get hit on by the local men. 😉

So stay tuned… Hopefully, I will be setting this up tomorrow!

Sundays

A lovely Sunday afternoon enjoying Wein am Stadtpark in Mainz!

As I was writing yesterday’s post, Bill came into my office and asked if I wanted to go out and do something. We quickly decided to visit the Wein am Stadtpark festival in Mainz. We have been to that fest before, but I think it was a few years ago. I know we went in 2019, but then the pandemic came, and we usually travel for Labor Day weekend, which is when the event usually happens. Last year, for instance, we were in Iceland.

Wein am Stadtpark usually occurs during the last weekend of August and the first weekend of September. They don’t run it during the week. I’m not sure if they take all of the food trucks and such out during the week. Seems like that would be impractical, since there are people from all sorts of wineries there.

Anyway, we had nice weather yesterday. It was partly cloudy and not super hot, so we decided to go. We parked at the shitty garage near the Römische Theater, then walked through a tunnel, which had train tracks running over it, and up a hill, which put us on the road to the city park. That’s my one complaint about this fest/market. It’s not very close to a parking garage, and to get to it, you have to walk uphill. Because we didn’t eat before we went, I was unusually winded when we climbed the steps up to the street. But I recovered soon enough, and we walked on a lovely forested path to the celebration.

I got lots of photos…

We kind of took it easy at the fest. Bill had a wine schorle (white wine with sparkling water) and grape juice. I had two glasses of white wine. We also had salmon wraps for lunch. They were really good! I don’t know why the salmon truck never comes to the Wiesbaden fests! Of course, they also had a truck devoted to mushrooms (eew).

The festival was very well attended with people of all ages. They had kid friendly activities and plenty of food, wine stands, and even a Biergarten. Bill and I were noticing how beautiful the park is and saying we need to go there sometime when there isn’t a fest. I’d like to go just to try the Biergarten, which is connected to a hotel there. The park also offers views of the Rhein/Rhine River, and it’s not far from St. Stephan’s church, which is where Marc Chagall’s beautiful blue windows are.

After we visited the park, we went home and enjoyed our backyard for a couple of hours. Bill is getting ready to fly to Lausanne for the night. He’ll be back tomorrow, and then we can plan our visit to Budapest.

I do appreciate the festivals here in Germany. They’re always celebrating something. And if I had to compare the Wein am Stadtpark to the Rheingauer Weinwoche, I think I’d prefer the Wein am Stadtpark market. I just wish the parking was a bit closer. The parking garage is usually pretty full; it’s not a nice garage; and getting to the park requires a steep walk uphill, which makes it harder for fatass housewives and people with mobility issues. 😉

Hessen, holidays

Bird baths, bug eaters, and lots of beer…

It’s Labor Day weekend. In previous years, that meant going away for a short break. This year, we stayed home, because tomorrow, Bill has to fly to Lausanne, Switzerland for an overnight. He’s going to meet with one of the analysts at the C.G. Jung Institute as he progresses through the admissions process. Then, next Sunday, we will both be flying to Budapest, Hungary for several nights. Bill will be working, and I’ll be tagging along, looking for interesting photo ops.

We did a few things this weekend, though. On Friday night, we went to the wine stand. We talked to our American neighbors, a married lesbian couple with two children. One of the wives is a reservist in the military, though not posted here. The other is applying for German citizenship for herself and their children. The reservist is pursuing a doctorate in social work, so she was interested in hearing about Bill’s journey at the Jung Institute. She’s setting up a private practice for Americans and other English speakers here.

It stormed, so we sat under the tents and waited for it to pass. I couldn’t help but remember that in 2017, the awning from hell collapsed, and our former landlady accused me of negligence, because later that day, there was a storm. She claimed I was negligent for using the awning in a storm, which I hadn’t done… but obviously, it’s not uncommon for Germans to use awnings and tents when it storms. Yesterday was the anniversary of that sad event, which led to a lawsuit.

Saturday morning, I got up and went into the backyard to clean up dog poop and check the water bowls. I noticed one of the bowls was dirty. It wasn’t the first time. Then I saw a feather floating in the bowl and assumed that a bird has been using it as a bird bath. It occurred to me that maybe we should have a bird bath for the backyard. That would be a good excuse to get out of the house, anyway.

So we went to the hardware store– the one with the cool slide for kids. We searched the whole store, but they didn’t have any bird baths for sale. We also tried the Globus, which is a HUGE hypermarket. No luck there, either, although we did leave with a booze haul, Belgian beers, some groceries, and some really tasty snacks called Fonzies, which are like Parmesan flavored Cheetos. I’d say they’re superior.

Then last night, as I was sitting in the backyard, listening to music and drinking beer, I saw what appeared to be a female blackbird eating bugs. I assume she’s the one who keeps dirtying the dog’s water bowl. I put two out there, and they really only use the one on the right. The bird uses the one on the left. I am still looking for a bird bath, but maybe I shouldn’t bother. It’s going to be winter soon enough. I got some pictures of her. Looks like she was eating the bugs on Bill’s tomato and pepper plants. They say blackbirds don’t eat aphids, though… Maybe that’s not a female blackbird, after all.

As I was taking photos, the song “Maneater” by Hall & Oates came on. I changed the lyrics to “Bug eater.”

And then this morning, after being repeatedly pawed by Charlie, Bill got up and made breakfast. The biscuits turned out perfectly. So did the grits. I’m so blessed to be married to a man who knows his way around comfort food. He has really perfected making perfect biscuits. It’s not as easy as it seems!

I’m not sure what we’ll do today. Bill just asked if I want to go out. There is a wine fest going on in Mainz that we could attend. Do I want to go? I don’t know… The Mais Labyrinth is also going on, and we passed it on the way home from the store, but after we went to Globus, we were too tired to consider visiting. I always feel drained after going to Globus. It’s a HUGE store. But it was cool to watch the ladies making the melon displays as we passed. They take melons and turn them into people or animals or other decorations. Quite an impressive skill!

Anyway, that’s about all I have to write about for now. If we end up going out, I’ll update.

Hessen

Rheingau Weinwoche 2025

Bill and I were supposed to go to the first night of the annual Rheingau Wine Festival on Friday evening. His company had reserved a tent for employees and their families. We usually go to that gathering and have a good time. But this year, Bill decided he’d rather hang out at home with me instead of being crowded, hot, and breathing second hand smoke. We usually go to this particular festival on our own, on our preferred Sunday afternoons, when it’s usually a lot less crowded.

So, that’s what we did today… We had beautiful, sunny, relatively cool and breezy weather. The lovely weather made it even nicer to visit this yearly event, which always seems to herald the onset of the fall season for me. I know we have about a month to go before summer is officially over, but years of living in Germany has taught me that in about a month, it’s possible jackets will be necessary once again. On the other hand, I have noticed that things are warmer now than they were in 2007, when Bill and I moved to Germany together with the Army.

Anyway, I don’t have much of anything to report on things that happened today, but I did get some photos and a few recordings…

The first thing we did was go to the WC, where a very cheery Klofrau (toilet lady) was taking one euro per person. She was kind of funny, so I didn’t mind giving her the money. At least the toilets were clean and stocked, right?

We started looking for a place with plenty of shady tables, so we could have something to eat. I finally spotted a good table near some live entertaininers– a guy from Ocean City, Maryland who sang and played keyboards and his German sax player. They were really good, and played music I loved. Bill went to get some bratwursts and pommes (fries), while I drank Riesling. I wish the food had been as good as the live entertainment was. But, the wines were all decent, so there was that.

I really enjoy Wiesbaden, if only because of the fests!

Just before the musicians were about to take their pause, a family sat at the table right behind us. I kept getting bumped by one of them, whose back was against mine. Then, someone from that table kicked rocks, and some wound up in my shoe. Next, a woman sat on the bench in front of me. She was nice enough not to block our view, but her husband then sat down and lit up a cigarette. It was allowed, of course, but pretty annoying. We decided to get up and move to the next booth, run by Barth Weingut, which is a local favorite of mine. When they saw that we were moving, the table muggers quickly moved to take our vacated spots.

Below are some more photos from the other booths we visited. I hope we’ll get to go back again, before the festival ends a week from today.

As for yesterday, we mostly spent it hanging out in the backyard, listening to music, drinking wine and beer, and tearing down the ivy on one of the fences. We didn’t quite finish the job, but now the yard looks both a little naked, and like a tornado hit it.

Bill loves the t-shirt. I ordered it for him a month ago, but it just got to us, along with a couple of others. This coming Saturday, we’ll finally be getting a new mattress, which means somehow hauling the 16 years old one out to be picked up. That will be fun.

I wish I had more fun things to report on… but it does look like I might be able to go somewhere with Bill soon. When the plans are in place, I’ll announce where.

German lifestyle, Hessen

Last night at Breckenheim’s annual Wine Fest…

This weekend happens to be the weekend for Breckenheim’s annual wine fest. We were able to attend last night, and we had a great time listening to live music and trying wine from one of four vintners that were there. I got some photos and spent awhile talking to an American couple who had come to Germany to help one of our American neighbors with her kids. My neighbor’s spouse had to go back to the States, and she had to work, so an aunt and uncle came all the way from Massachusetts to help. They came over and introduced themselves.

I really enjoyed talking to both of them, but especially the wife. It turned out we had some things in common. We traded travel and waitressing stories, and we both expressed our chagrin at the current state of things in the USA. And she told me about how, when she was very young in the 1970s, she and a friend were camping in the Schwarzwald and wound up getting arrested because they were in an area where they weren’t supposed to be. And the cops, instead of kicking them off the property and issuing a fine, took them to the Stuttgart jail! She said they were really kind to them, and even gave them pillows and blankets, as well as tea!

I don’t know what Germany was like in the 70s, but I do know about the Black Forest. I would imagine there weren’t a lot of hotels open that could have taken them in, since it was presumably quite late. She said it seemed like the police were doing them a kindness by having them spend a night in jail. It was a great story, though. It ranks right up with my story about being trapped with my friend, Elaine, on the Georgia/Turkey border in 1996.

I’m sure I’ve written that story somewhere in the blog, but the short version is that Elaine and I arrived at the border too late and wound up having to spend the night in an office on the Turkish border, after the customs manager asked me if I’d go home with him. The next morning, we happened to catch the Greek bus back to Yerevan… it was a bus that went back and forth to Greece every two weeks to pick up goods, and it just happened to be there when we needed a ride back to Armenia. I think God was looking after us, because that story could have gone bad so easily!

Anyway, below are some photos and a video I took of the live entertainment, which was quite good. Please excuse my harmony! I was a little drunk. I love that we have these little celebrations in Germany, where people come together for wine and song. No one gets drunk or obnoxious, drives in a crowd, or brings weapons. People just have fun! The first photo was from earlier in the day, when they were setting up. The first night was very well attended, with lots of people making merry!

We sang along! Or, I did, at least…

Hessen, Sundays

Another relaxing lunch at Villa im Tal… until it came time to leave!

The second part of our culinary inspired weekend occurred at Villa im Tal, one of our favorite local restaurants. We’ve been there a number of times over the past few years. In fact, we’ve been so many times that most of the staff recognize and warmly welcome us. Such was the case yesterday, when we were rewarded with a bright smile from one of the wait staff, who invited us to choose a table. I ended up picking the one we sat at the last time we visited, around the Christmas holidays.

I always enjoy going to Villa im Tal, because even though it’s just a few minutes’ drive from Wiesbaden’s city center, it’s located in a gorgeous wooded area near a natural spring. There’s plenty of parking, and it’s very quiet and peaceful there… most of the time, anyway. There are some people appearing to be of Middle Eastern origin who usually hang around the spring with plastic containers/jugs for collecting the water. I suspect they try to sell the jugs to people. They were there yesterday, but didn’t cause an issue when we arrived for our 1 PM reservation.

Right now, it’s asparagus season, so Villa im Tal has a “Spargel Karte” (asparagus menu). The asparagus actually comes from the fields near where we take our dogs for boarding (Greisheim). They also have their usual offerings, which change with the seasons. As we sat down in the comfortable chairs (nice and wide, and deep enough for my ass), we ordered aperitifs– refreshing house cocktails made with lime and mint. Bill got the non-alcoholic version. We also got our usual bottle of sparkling water.

For lunch, I started with the avocado and asparagus tartar, which came with pink grapefruit, pink peppercorns, and marinated watercress. Next, I had the grilled Anchorena Black Angus Roast Beef, which came with Béarnaise sauce and, roasted potatoes and asparagus.

Bill had South Tyrolean mountain ham with salted butter, gherkins, and horseradish flakes, followed by Iberico acorn-fed pork, Sicilian caponata, chorizo and potato rösti. He ordered a bottle of primitivo from Puglia, Italy, which our server kindly poured into a special decanter made by Riedel. I looked it up when we got home. It’s called “Mamba”, which is a type of snake.

I was mostly enjoying the relaxing music, most of which were Brazilian covers of songs from the 1980s done by several different artists. I was so intrigued by the revamped Bossa Nova style covers of the songs that I later downloaded several albums, especially by Sarah Menescal. I had never heard of her before yesterday, but she’s now on my HomePod playlist. Some of her covers were of songs I never would have thought could be turned into Brazilian Bossa Nova music. I can’t say I necessarily love the songs, but I am amused that she turned them into something unexpected. I mean, she even covered a Guns n’ Roses song!

Wild…

As we were enjoying the excellent food and relaxed ambiance out in the woods, I remembered how I said on Saturday night that I thought maybe I liked Landhaus Diedert better than Villa im Tal… I think I might have changed my mind yesterday. But that might be because lunch was not very busy. It was Whit Sunday, after all. Today is Whit Monday.

For dessert, I had the Affogato al caffè, which was a scoop of house made bourbon vanilla ice cream served with a small pitcher of freshly brewed espresso. You pour the espresso over the ice cream. Bill had the Albi-Cup, which was a scoop of bourbon vanilla ice cream topped with roasted pumpkin seeds and served with a small pitcher of Styrian pumpkin seed oil.

When we were finished with our two hour lunch, the bill came to just over 200 euros. Bill paid for it with a credit card and gave our lovely server a tip in “Geld” (cash). A group sitting by one of the large windows walked out with their large, well-behaved, white male poodle. I wondered if Noyzi would ever calm down enough to join us at Villa im Tal.

Below are some photos:

Cool decanter!

I went outside to wait for Bill to finish using the restroom and took a look at the terrace, which is enclosed with what are probably electric walls and roof. This makes the space usable in the cold months. I took a picture of the rustic looking gazebos, where people dine when the weather is fine. We did have sun yesterday, but it was unusually chilly. Villa im Tal is also close to a horseback riding facility, which is always bittersweet for me to see. Horses were, at one time, my whole life! Unfortunately, I gave them up a long time ago, but I really miss having horses in my life.

*A front shot of the Ring Church, which I shared photos of in yesterday’s post.*

So then it was time to leave, and that large group of Middle Eastern appearing folks had congregated around the spring, which is very close to the parking lot at Villa im Tal. I noticed one grandmother looking woman with a little girl, who was excited about the horse I pictured above. One of the men had parked a very large van near the exit of the parking lot, which made it a tight squeeze to get our car through. Bill was reluctant to try to get through there, but one of the men was insisting it was possible. It was, but only with about an inch to spare. Bill was quite annoyed that these guys were loitering there, obstructing traffic, and commandeering the spring.

But, as we were driving away, I told him to relax and not let those stupid guys ruin what was a very lovely lunch. I’m not sure what they are doing at that place. It looks to me like they’ve unofficially taken it upon themselves to hang out there and harass people into buying their plastic jugs. As long as we were able to get out of there without an accident, I guess no harm was done. Too bad they can’t be arsed to be more considerate, though.

Overall, it was a very nice afternoon. Of course we’ll be back.

Hessen, Saturday night

Our first dinner at Landhaus Diedert…

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you might know that Landhaus Diedert, a beautiful restaurant in a former Kloster, is a relatively frequent setting for elegant Sunday lunches. Over the past few years, this restaurant on the outskirts of Wiesbaden, has become a favorite place for Bill and me to enjoy German style comfort food. Service is always professional and usually very friendly.

A couple of nights ago, just after Bill returned from his latest business trip, I suggested that we go out and do something this weekend. But we couldn’t decide where we wanted to go… Did we want to visit one of our favorite places, Villa im Tal? Or perhaps Little Italy, in downtown Wiesbaden. Or Landhaus Diedert, which never disappoints? Our answer was dinner at Landhaus Diedert on Saturday night, and lunch today at Villa im Tal. It’s currently “Spargel” (asparagus) season, so both restaurants have a special “Spargel Karte” on their menus.

Below are some photos from the walk in. We parked on a street a block from the restaurant/hotel, because they were busy last night! They have a lovely play area for kids, and when the weather is good, a beautiful outdoor sitting area under huge oak trees.

Bill and I have never had a bad experience at Landhaus Diedert, and last night was no exception. My asparagus soup with herbed ham, for instance, made me stop in my tracks with its burst of flavor. It was followed by Perlhuhn (guinea fowl) with sausage, asparagus, wild garlic gnocchi, and the zestiest cherry tomatoes I have ever tasted, along with a savory sauce. Bill had fried dorade (fish) with cauliflower, barley corn, and rhubarb. Then for dessert, there was chocolate cake with fruit and for him, and New York cheesecake with raspberries and pistachio ice cream for me. Bill’s dessert also came with ice cream, but it was an interesting flavor that neither of us could identify.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the sommelier, who noted our reservation and showed us to a table in the middle of the dining room. Almost every table was taken, with a couple of tables decorated with “Happy Birthday” candles.

*The usual delicious fresh breads with butter and hummus.*

I’m getting to an age at which three courses are a challenge. Not only do I not need the calories, but I find that it’s very hard to eat that much in one sitting. However, I didn’t want to miss the soups… and I’m glad I didn’t. It was hard to choose between the asparagus soup and the wild garlic soup… They also had a tomato soup that looked appealing.

*I LOVED this soup… I’d love to learn how to make this and turn it into a meal.*

And then came the hearty main courses, which almost put us over the edge. I thought about taking some home, but by the time I got to that point, I only had a few bites left. So I finished… but it was a delicious challenge!

Although we were full, we decided to have dessert… I know we probably shouldn’t have… but it’s hard to go out to such a nice place and not enjoy a sweet ending. I had the cheesecake, and Bill had the chocolate cake. I would have gone for the chocolate, except I’m not a fan of lava cakes.

*Dark chocolate cake with an oatmeal cookie, pistachios, berries, and some kind of ice cream that was light orange. Maybe it was persimmon?*

Dinner took about two hours and ran a couple hundred euros… but it was so nice to get out and have some really good food. On the way out of the restaurant, I took a few more photos of the Biergarten area.

And on the way home, I got a few pictures of Wiesbaden, which is such a gracious, posh, opulent city. I feel lucky to live here. Someday, we’ll visit the Ring Church so I can see what it looks like inside!

It’s great to have Bill home again, and I’m so glad we ventured out for dinner. Stay tuned for a post about Villa im Tal later, and lots more photos! This is quite the weekend for “Hessen Essen”.

house hunting, Sundays, Ten Things I Learned

Ten things I learned on our first Abruzzo trip– 2025!

Yesterday, I finished writing the “blow by blow” blog series about our trip to Abruzzo in Italy. We went there to look around and see what the condition of the area is, and whether or not we might be able to live there, whether it be as vacationers, or as permanent residents. We also stopped for a couple of nights in the Lugano area of Switzerland and Colle Isarco, near the Austrian border. I like to wrap up my blog series with a top ten list of things I learned. So, here we go with my top ten list for this trip!

10. The word “mance” in Italian means tip or gratuity.
As a general rule, Italians aren’t all that big on tipping. When you go to a restaurant, they usually charge a coperto (cover charge) that amounts to 1 to 3 euros per person. When you settle the bill, you go to a cashier, rather than paying your server. That said, we saw evidence that some people do appreciate tips. When I spotted a jar by a register that read “Mance”, I figured it meant “tips”. I looked it up, and sure enough, I was right. Bill slipped the lady a ten euro note, which earned him a big, bright smile of appreciation. How refreshing!

9. There is an Eataly style AutoGrill near Parma that is pretty nice.
Back in 2008, Bill and I went to Italy together for the first time. It was his first time ever, and my first time since 1997. We stayed near Turin/Torino, which is where the big Italian food store “Eataly” was launched. Yes, we visited, and it was amazing, although we didn’t load up nearly enough. Since then, Eataly has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, if you travel on the Autostrada near Parma, you can enjoy an Eataly style meal. The stop is only eastbound, though. The westbound lane has a regular AutoGrill location.

8. Riposo or pennichella is still pretty serious in Abruzzo.
Riposo (mid afternoon break, perhaps more familiarly known as “siesta” to Americans) is a thing in a lot of Mediterranean countries, although some areas take it more seriously than others. I noticed when we were in Abruzzo, a lot of businesses and restaurants shut down at about 1:00 PM for riposo. They reopened at 3:00 or 4:00. It took some getting used to.

7. Pescara is a hectic, yet convenient, base city.
I had a hard time choosing where to stay in Abruzzo, since we were going down there to see little towns where houses might be for sale. I wound up choosing Pescara, which I found really hectic. We did get used to it somewhat, and it’s convenient to a lot of places in Abruzzo.

6. If you stay at the Relais Castello Morcote in Vico Morcote, Switzerland, you can visit a vineyard and get beautiful photos and views of Lake Lugano!
You can also buy some delicious wines that are from Switzerland.

5. The Centro Ovale in Switzerland, near the Italian border, is a cool looking building that is now defunct!
I don’t know how I never noticed that former shopping mall on previous trips to Italy. We’ve been through that border a few times, but this time was the first one I noticed the architectural wonder that took longer to build than it was actually open for business!

4. Campione d’Italia is an Italian exclave surrounded by Switzerland.
I had heard of Campione d’Italia before our trip because I happened to see a video about it on YouTube. I hadn’t necessarily planned to visit there, but when I noticed how close it was to our location in Switzerland, I decided we should check it out. I’m glad we did. It’s a very interesting place, with a mixture of Italian and Swiss features. It is, officially, Italy, but it is entirely physically separated from the rest of Italy by Switzerland. However, it doesn’t take long at all to get to mainland Italy from there. It’s easy to reach by car and bus, and it’s the home of Italy’s only casino (which is a huge eyesore)!

3. March is a nice time to visit Italy, although it’s still considered the “low season.”
Abruzzo has a lot to offer visitors. There’s the Adriatic Sea and the Appenine Mountains, as well as access to interesting Italian cities and the cool tiny country of San Marino, which I hope to visit sometime. But one thing I noticed that was nice was that there were no tourists around, and I didn’t hear any Americans! That might be because of where we were, but it’s probably also because it’s March!

2. We got stared at in the tiny towns we visited…
It was pretty obvious we were outsiders in Abruzzo. We’re both lacking olive complexions and dark hair and eyes. When we visited the cute town of Gissi, people stared at us with curiosity, rather than aggression or hostility. We were conspicuous. In another town, the reception from one local seemed a bit menacing, so we left. They probably pegged us as Germans.

And finally… 1. Vipiteno is a great place to visit on the way back to Germany…
Vipiteno is in Italy, but it used to be part of Austria. It feels like one is in Austria, even though one is in Italy. And it’s a really great place to buy souvenirs and eat good pizza. When I go to Italy, I like to go to grocery stores and load up on goodies as much as I like to shop for other stuff. We definitely did so on this trip, but Vipiteno was especially handy. They had a great gourmet store with lots of local delicacies. And, we also got to see some snow before we headed back home!

*Honorable mention that I almost forgot–
There are harness racing horses (pacers) trained in Abruzzo. I had no idea, and was shocked when we ran across people training them on a little used (but open) road! I didn’t see anyone riding horses, but I did see a couple of sulkies! As a horse lover, it was kind of a thrill for me. I miss having a horse, even just to pet and hang out with. I’d love to have some land with a donkey and a horse to spoil.

All in all, we had a really nice trip. I’m still not sure what the future will hold for us, but I’m glad we visited Abruzzo. It’s a very beautiful part of Italy, although I can see why they are eager to get some people to buy cheap property there. It’s fairly depressed and in need of some “new blood”. I liked it, though. Maybe we’ll have a chance to visit again!

art, books, Hessen, holidays, videos

Christmas 2024 is in the books!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a great Christmas yesterday. Bill and I had a lot of fun. I captured some of it in a video, but I also got lots of pictures. Bill is usually not very good at buying presents for me, because he doesn’t know what I want, or what I’ve already bought for myself. But this year, he gave me a great surprise that I genuinely love! The funny thing is, I doubt most people would love it… but because I’m “obnoxious as hell” (according to my mom), I was delighted to receive it!

I usually buy a lot of books for Bill, but this year, I truly went nuts. I bought him a couple of new cookbooks, even though he usually finds recipes online. I always buy him cookbooks, but this year, I got him an Armenian cookbook and a new Nigella Lawson one. He loves Nigella. I got him new tarot cards and a couple of reference books about tarot cards and symbolism. I got him books by Carl Jung’s protege, Marie-Louise von Franz, as well as one by Jung himself. There were some kitchen tools– a new water pitcher, orange peeler, artsy bottle opener, food chopper, a wooden Tile Rummy game set, and a Le Creuset grill platter. I got him two new sweaters from Ireland, a home brewing journal, books about coffee and fermenting foods, and a large lighted magnifying glass to help with close tasks.

Bill got me a new digital camera with a memory card, two geeky t-shirts in colors I like, a new jigsaw puzzle, a light panel to ward off SAD (which I don’t think I have), and he says two more are coming. But the best present was a wooden sculpture he bought from an art dealer in Wiesbaden. I noticed it last year, when we had some picture framing done. I took a photo of it and put it in this blog… then happened to mention it to Bill a couple of months ago. I wished I’d bought it when I saw it.

Bill had some dental work done a few weeks ago, and the office is within walking distance of the art dealer. So he walked there and looked for the sculpture. He didn’t see it, but thought to ask the dealer about it. It turned out they had an exhibition going on, so they had moved a lot of art to the back. Bill described the sculpture and they did, indeed, still have it (not a surprise to me). The dealer brought it out and Bill paid… a lot of euros for it!

It’s definitely strange, provocative, quirky, weird, and potentially offensive… But I LOVE it! I suspect it will make the few people who visit our house stop in their tracks! It’s the kind of thing our uptight former landlady would have hated, and the idea of her sneaking into our house when we weren’t home and seeing this warms the cockles of my heart. Of course, she’s in our past… but I’m sure there will be others like her in the future, right?

Below is a video I made of our gift exchange… It’s not particularly well edited, and I expect only my mother-in-law will watch it.

YouTube says this video isn’t viewable in Russia. So much the better.

I have some photos, as well…

And below are some photos of the food… Bill started us off with baked eggs done in the Instant Pot, grits, fresh orange juice, coffee, and homemade bread. Later, for dinner, we had a savory cheesecake with Gouda cheese, Gruyeres, bacon, and spinach. Also, there was a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette, homemade bread, and local wine poured in new wine glasses gifted to us by Bill’s mom. For dessert, we had cherry cheese pie.

The finished product. Bill used the recipe in The Trellis Cookbook, which was written by the late chef Marcel Desaulniers. He was an owner of The Trellis restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia. I worked there from 1998-99 for about 18 months. My sister also worked there when it first opened in 1980.

Perhaps my favorite part of the day was during the afternoon. We were listening to Christmas music and a song by Kenny Rogers came on. All of a sudden, I remembered his 1969 hit, “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town.” That was NOT the song that was playing, of course… but before I knew it, I started coming up with lyrics about Elon Musk. Bill joined in, and before we knew it, we had collaborated on a song parody. I sang the new version, set it to AI generated images and memes, and uploaded it to YouTube.

I suspect there could be more collaborations in the future!

All in all, it was a very nice Christmas 2024… one hundred percent drama free! This is in contrast to Christmas 2004, which was definitely not drama free. But that’s a story better suited to my other blog.

Hope your holidays are grand!

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: wine