Hi Folks!
Save for downpours all day on Saturday, we've had just about the most beautiful weather over the last three weeks that I've ever seen. Don't know what caused everything to bloom so fast and so magnificently after 5+ months of drab, grey and gloomy winter. I feel like I have literally walked into paradise!
Not a lot new to report. Went on a terrific tour of Neroberg and the Russian Chapel last Friday. Took a cute little tourist train (glorified car) up the mountain but found the chapel to be closed. They are closed Wed.-Fri. for services. Strange that it is not Sat. or Sun.. oh well. Then we walked up the Neroberg to the lookout and had lunch at a wonderful placed called "Wagner." Not sure if there's a relation but did hear Wagner's "Wedding March" from "Lohengrin" being played over their sound system as we finished lunch.
After lunch we skipped the return train trip and strolled back through very glamorous Beverly Hills style neighborhoods. Very wealthy section of town. Brahms composed his 3rd Symphony while visiting here. One movement of it entitled "Wiesbaden." Speaking of composers - I hear that Wagner composed "Die Meistersinger" here in Wiesbaden.
Afternoon ended as usual - shopped our way home. I was good and only bought a bag of gummi's (terrific strawberry/rhubarb flavored with pieces of actual fruit in them) and a book of German decorations in German but the pictures were all you needed. Everyone boought copies of this book since they were half price.
By now it's 5pm and I was close enough to the Arms Hotel for Lew to pick me up rather than taking the bus home. He did and we got a drink at the Pub before heading to the Commissary to buy some groceries. Can't find natural peanut butter over here, among other things, so the stop was in order. He needed to get gas at the PX.
Saturday was kind of a wash (literally with all the downpour). Visited a huge bike store for some accessories. Across the street was a wonderful little food kiosk where we dined on bratwurst, gulasch suppe, apfelshorle (sparkling cider) and pils. Very surreal sitting at a little cafe in an industrial area.
Saturday night we watched this great little film we checked out from the library called "Motorcycle Diaries." It wasn't until the end that I realized the central character was Che Guevera!
Sunday we went to our first church service in Germany. Wonderful little Anglican church downtown called "St Augustine's." They have an english service at 10am. Met several folks with mutual friends.
Sunday afternoon I dragged Lewis back downtown to take the little tourist train back to Neroberg. Only this time we sprang for the combo ticket and stayed on for the second tour to Biebrich. We wasted about 2 hours of an incredibly gorgeous afternoon on this little train trying to decipher an english translation of the tour that was being broadcasted in German. Translation was pretty bad and therefore entertainment in itself.
Sunday night we watched a video of Norway. We are getting very excited about our trip to Norway in June!
It's Tuesday morning of another beautiful spring day in Germany. I am finishing my coffee and thinking of all my dear friends and family in the States. We miss and love you all very much!
Jaime and Lew
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Monday, April 13th 2009
Today (and yesterday) are German holidays so all the businesses are closed. I needed a few items at the Commissary (US businesses open) this morning but they would not let me buy coffee without my ration card. Coffee, liquor and gas are all rationed over here. I hope I can get some before tomorrow cause we are out!
This past weekend was one of our best here yet. We logged over 50 miles on our bikes Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we rode to and from Mainz-Kastel to attend a Medieval Fair in the courtyard of an old Roman museum. Mainz has some very interesting Roman roots that I'd love to explore a bit more.
We had on our very loud bike jerseys which made us easy to spot by a fellow hasher who had traveled down from Frankfurt with some friends to visit the fair. We weren't prepared to look so obviously American among the other fair patrons in their period costume or more earth-toned clothing. Most German bicyclists do not wear half the gear that Americans do. For one thing, most go without helmets and just wear regular street clothing. We felt pretty out of place at this thing.
Yesterday (Easter Sunday) was another glorious day on our bikes. We rode about 36 miles up the Rhein River to a small town called Ingelheim, where we caught a ferry boat to Oestrich-Winkel. Then we continued home via Eltville to visit our new sponsored family in their ultra-modern house. Then Walluf, Biebrich, and a few more outdoor wine bistros later, we were home around 9pm for our first skype date with the family back in DC!
My friend Robin has bought plane tickets to visit for 10 days at the end of April. She will be our first visitor from the States! She will join us and some friends to go biking through the tulips in the Netherlands first weekend in May. What fun! Planning some more bike trips with her while she is here.
Today is Frankfurt Hash's first Monday hash of the season. Lewis has to work but I will try to attend the hash and return in time to pick him up from work. He had a very busy and exhausting install in Kaiserslautern last week.
Rocky and Howard say hello to everyone. They are enjoying our courtyard with everything in bloom and the birds singing up a storm.
Love, Jaime and Lew
This past weekend was one of our best here yet. We logged over 50 miles on our bikes Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we rode to and from Mainz-Kastel to attend a Medieval Fair in the courtyard of an old Roman museum. Mainz has some very interesting Roman roots that I'd love to explore a bit more.
We had on our very loud bike jerseys which made us easy to spot by a fellow hasher who had traveled down from Frankfurt with some friends to visit the fair. We weren't prepared to look so obviously American among the other fair patrons in their period costume or more earth-toned clothing. Most German bicyclists do not wear half the gear that Americans do. For one thing, most go without helmets and just wear regular street clothing. We felt pretty out of place at this thing.
Yesterday (Easter Sunday) was another glorious day on our bikes. We rode about 36 miles up the Rhein River to a small town called Ingelheim, where we caught a ferry boat to Oestrich-Winkel. Then we continued home via Eltville to visit our new sponsored family in their ultra-modern house. Then Walluf, Biebrich, and a few more outdoor wine bistros later, we were home around 9pm for our first skype date with the family back in DC!
My friend Robin has bought plane tickets to visit for 10 days at the end of April. She will be our first visitor from the States! She will join us and some friends to go biking through the tulips in the Netherlands first weekend in May. What fun! Planning some more bike trips with her while she is here.
Today is Frankfurt Hash's first Monday hash of the season. Lewis has to work but I will try to attend the hash and return in time to pick him up from work. He had a very busy and exhausting install in Kaiserslautern last week.
Rocky and Howard say hello to everyone. They are enjoying our courtyard with everything in bloom and the birds singing up a storm.
Love, Jaime and Lew
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