Our former neighbors, Mark and Calla, came to visit us for a short weekend. We were their stop #2 on a 3-stop itinerary through the heart of Europe. When they reached us, we hit the ground running - picking them up at the Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof, stopping at home for some German Pilsner and apertivos, then headed out for a progressive walkabout. First stop was our local cuban restaurant, Havana, for posters of Che Guevara and more beer. Excited from the Cuban experience, we stopped for Cuban cigars - a delicacy only Americans cannot partake in (Pete's slam against the Man).
Mark and Calla requested all German food, all the time while here ("When in Rome..." Calla said), so we went to our favorite Ratskeller for the usual fare. The next day, Saturday, we walked into town through the park by the Kur House, and into the farmer's market. We enjoyed currywurst at the market and a bit of shopping. We then went for a drive to a beautiful (our new favorite) winery/castle called Schloss Johannisberg. It is the actual place where the "noble rot" was discovered. When the grapes were too old to harvest for the official Riesling, the monastery found the older grapes to be much more flavorful. This began the Johannisberg Riesling wine we have today. We brought along a picnic lunch and took in the scenic Rhine River valley below. Again, we did the when in Rome thing and sampled the Riesling dry white wine.
When we returned back to Wiesbaden, we headed to another favorite german restaurant - the Bockerbrunnen. It was time for schnitzel. After returning home, we realized we were out of beer with no stores left open - a minor crisis alleviated by Spanish Rioja wine from Pete's last visit to Madrid.
On Sunday, we took our friends to a favorite destination on the Egart tour of Germany - the scenic and quaint town of Heidelberg. There we visited the castle, the bridge over the Neckar, and the historic Alstadt (old town). On our way home, we stopped for yet one more German meal at the Eisgrub in Mainz - a brew pub with great atmosphere and, of course, good beer. Crisis of no beer at home now a distant memory.
Monday morning, our friends were off to Milan for leg #3 of their journey. Pete dropped them off at the airport and wished them Tschus! Now we await the next set of visitors arriving 5 days later.
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| Walking through the park in front of the Kur House |
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| In one of the many squares in the market area of Wiesbaden |
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| Picnic at Schloss Johannisberg above the Rhine |
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| A view South of the Rhine and the town of Winkel |
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| South Dakota farmers stealing the noble rot grapes |
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| Mark enjoying the scenery from one of the watchtowers at the Castle |
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| View of Heidelberg from the castle with the bridge over the Neckar River |
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| Calla and Mary strolling through Heidelberg |
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