Another slow start: when I woke it was already 9:03! I’m happy to say, though, that I slept better. (Sadly, Dan didn’t.)
We had breakfast again in Jan & Greg’s room. Then it was time to walk. And walk.
The day was so pleasant. Of course we are dressed warmly, so there’s that. But really, it was just lovely out.
As we walked Greg pointed out a small bar (I remembered him showing it the last time we were here), saying it’s said to be the best in München. It was closed, but I managed a few photos.
More walking …
And a church … St. Anne’s, I think.
Plus, a bumper sticker I agree with completely.
The other day Dan was cracking up because he saw someone carrying a surfboard. Greg said he shouldn’t be so surprised, and he explained why. Today we got to see it. How absolutely crazy!
More walking….
And then lunch.
We then took a slightly long way back to the hotel (I was totally lost), and then it was time to rest a bit. A “bit” was actually a rather good amount of time. I think I was tired!
We met Jan & Greg downstairs for a drink: we owe them so much for letting us stay at their place, traveling with us, and showing us so much of Munich! I’m forever grateful.
Then, after going up to get our warm jackets and umbrellas, we went out to get our final dinner of the trip that includes them. Oh how I will miss them both! We ended up at an Italian place. It was excellent, and a nice way to end the evening …
But look how sad they are to say goodbye…
Or not. (Plus food pix.) And then it was over …
… except it wasn’t ended! When we got back to the Hilton we sent to Jan & Greg’s again and had a nice time together. (But no photos since I totally forgot!) I did see that my phone was damaged while we were there. I do recall dropping it at the restaurant, but thinking it was okay. Oops! This seems to be a typical thing for me. Upon further inspection, though, I think it’s actually the protective screen. I was planning on bringing another of those in case I dropped it and then decided I didn’t need to bother. Guess I thought wrong!
Now it’s time for bed, and we will get to meet up with family one last time tomorrow morning. They head back to Heidelberg, and we are off to a new country.
We started our late morning at Jan & Greg’s room, because they texted us and said there were pastries there. Who can say no to that?
Then it was back to our room to get dressed in the warm stuff, and we all met in the lobby and walked to a closer, smaller, less crowded Christmas market.
We went to a pharmacy to get me something in case I start coughing at tonight’s concert. I actually feel pretty good, and the cold I have is progressing quickly. I just figure it’s better to be prepared: when we were at the Voces8 concert a woman had a horrendous hacking cough that went on throughout a large portion of the concert. (If I get that bad I’ll leave the hall!)
Taking my cough suppresant back to the hotel, we then went out yet again. Our first stop was the concert hall very close to our hotel. Greg knew the hall that had been used was being renovated, but he thought the one they are using instead was nearby.
Um. Nope.
We finally found information on their website and it turns out it’s a two+ mile walk from our hotel. I think we’ll be taking a taxi.
We continued walking, and just took in more sights. We visited a church, and when we came back out we each got just a few snowflakes on us. But that was IT for snow.
Because of how crowded it is here, Greg suggested we attempt to find a lunch spot right then. After two places that were too full we did find one and had a Bavarian meal. This is to be our larger meal of the day since the concert begins at 7:00 and we get our taxi around 6:00.
After lunch more walking.
Greg eventually split off to see a friend, and Jan, Dan, and I were going to head back to the hotel until we heard brass instruments. Going the opposite way, we found them and listened for a brief time.
Then it was back “home” again. And the rain began as we neared the Hilton. Probably because we had read that it wasn’t going to rain.
At the hotel I started typing up this day’s post, and then took a nap. I wanted to be sure I was well rested for the concert.
And rested I was! The four of us caught a taxi to the hall, and of course the person on stage getting ready when we finally went in was the principal oboist for the night. Typical! But then they all have to be off stage (except the basses for some reason) and when the concert begins they file in together to audience applause.
I had always admired Nathalie Stuzmann and I admire her even more now! What a fabulous conductor!
Here is the program:
The location for these performances is rather interesting. When you enter it feels more like an art exhibit or something.
Then you go in to the hall and I was somewhat surprised. But in any case, it was a wonderful concert and the musicians were great!
Following the concert one of us really wanted food so after catching another taxi (which too a while) we found an Italian restaurant that was open and had a spot for us.
Then it was back to Jan & Greg’s for a glass of wine. Well, except not Dan. He’s being a very good boy. Heck he even went to sleep before I finished writing this!
So tomorrow is our last full day here. I suspect we’ll do a lot of walking if the weather is cooperative. So hoping!
We woke early today — okay, early for me anyway, since it wasn’t all that early (7:00 AM). But we had to finish our packing, have a bit of breakfast, and take the street car to the train station. Then we caught a fast train. We were in a small room on the train where only six people could sit. When we arrived what I assume was a father and son were already in. As we got settled at least one of them went out to smoke. When they came back the entire room reeked. BUT … hooray! … thankfully they hadn’t reserved those seats and the (quiet, non-smoking) couple that had purchased those specific seats could tell them they had to move. Whew!
The train only had three stops (IIRC) before ours, but it was a longer, 3+ hour trip.
And now … hello München! (Or Madrid Munich: you choose.)
I was grateful that Greg and Jan knew where to go to catch the local train which took us very close to our hotel. We checked in early, but our rooms were ready so to our rooms we went.
Shortly after settling in we all met downstairs and went to an area that might have a Christmas market. Well, that’s what some of us thought. But nope. Not a Christmas market. We decided eating outside wasn’t something we wanted to do anyway: it was cold and windy, and rain was threatening. So nearby was a beer hall and we got a light meal there.
From there we walked some more. And more. In the cold and rain and sometimes tons of wind. But it was great to get out and about and we did eventually find an actual Christmas market.
So we wandered. With tons of people. We went past what I think Greg said was city hall. We walked more, ending up at a high end store Greg wanted to visit. I saw some gorgeous Bavarian jackets that I loved, but I can’t justify spending the money on one. (Jan had loaned me one of hers for our nice dinner in Riquewihr. I guess that will have to suffice.)
We ended back at the city hall because we thought we would hear the famous carillon and see the characters go around and all. But no, that doesn’t happen at 5:00 PM in December. By that time the Christmas market was so full it seemed unsafe. Greg mentioned that as well. I was happy to go down to the subway (or whatever they call it here) and escape.
Back in our rooms, I took a less than 10 minute nap and then it was time for dinner
Greg and Jan had been at Maison Massard before and Greg made reservations for tonight for the four of us. Oh my was it ever good! I suspect this is our last “fancy” meal with them, so I was glad it was amazingly delicious, and the servers were so excellent.
Then it was a slightly sprinkly walk back to our hotel and it was suddenly 10:15 PM. (We were at the restaurant for over three hours!)
Tomorrow we have a concert at 7:00 PM, but other than that I don’t know what we’ll end up doing.
Well, maybe not every Thursday, but since we have this one last full day in Heidelberg at Jan & Greg’s we did a wee bit of laundry. One fabulous thing about merino wool, though, is that it doesn’t need washing as frequently as other materials. So our laundry load is much smaller than it would be if we were washing synthetics.
After we had coffee here at the house, and got the laundry into the dryer, we thought we’d visit the smaller Christmas market near the house. Alas, it must only be open on the same days the farmer’s market at the square is open, as nothing was going on at all. So instead we went to a nice coffee place for brunch and coffee. We are going to attempt to make this a two meal day, which is something I always do at home and much prefer on trips as well.
Getting back to the house we finished up with the laundry. Then it was time to say our farewell to the Haupstraße, Altstadt, and larger Christmas market. Tomorrow we have a morning train so today it’s our last chance to go there.
After a very quick look at the market we went back to the house, figured out our transportation, and got ready to head to Mannheim for one final concert.
Dan checked the weather. No rain. So we didn’t take our umbrellas and by the time the street car reached the train station it was … you guessed it! … raining. Ah well. We had hats and rain can’t dampen our spirits even if it does so to our clothes.
We reached Mannheim easily and walked to our restaurant, waited for Jan & Greg, and then had a nice meal.
Then it was a brief jaunt through the Mannheim Christmas market.
From there we went to the concert hall. We had a bit of time still, so we had drinks and pretzels. After that it was into the hall and a concert with Albrecht Mayer and ZKO (easier than typing their name). What a wonderful concert it was! When he played a Bach encore I confess I cried a bit. I was just so very moved. So now I’ve seen and heard to of my faves: VOCES8 and Albrecht Mayer! Next up will be another fave so stay tuned!
Bravi tutti!
Tomorrow all four of us head to another city. You’ll find out where when I post tomorrow!
I did finally manage some sleep, and woke sometime after 7:30, I think. Then it was shower, pack, and take one more look at Nürnberg.
And, of course, get coffee. Places to get a cappuccino aren’t quite as easy to find here. It could be, though, that we just aren’t looking in the right places. Yesterday we couldn’t find pretzels and today we saw a few stands we probably walked right by! They were the one thing I’d read about that we were supposed to try so we finally bought some. So, okay, well … they were fine, but nothing extraordinarily special. But at least we got them. Mission accomplished. Yesterday we were also looking for an ATM on the way back to the hotel and didn’t see any. Today I saw a lot of banks as we walked the same route as yesterday! In any case we found a nice coffee place that also happened to have pastel de nata. Yum!
From there we walked back to see the Christmas Market one last time.
We came across a stand that made some sort of special treat called Frisch Frånkishe Küchle (fresh Franconia’s pulled out donuts) and it would have been so very wrong not to try them. And if I’m having one shouldn’t I have cocoa as well? Of course I should! I was sorely tempted to keep another souvenir cup because this one was slightly different, but I was strong and brave and turned it back in. Feel free to send me a medal. Or at least a certificate of congratulations. (KIDDING!)
We saw a group of people taking turns taking photos of each other so Dan offered to take a photo of all of them. Dan is very good about offering to do that. One of them then took a photo of us in return.
Then it was time to start back to the hotel.
We finished our packing and went to the train station. Not realizing (stupid me!) that we could have ordered food on the train this time we stopped in a train station place and had mediocre sandwiches. Ah well. Live and learn. Maybe.
Then to the train we went. I didn’t realize I’d gotten upper level seats, and while carrying our luggage up stairs isn’t a breeze we managed and sitting up higher is rather nice! As we got seated a man behind Dan’s chair was talking ever so loudly on the phone. Clearly a business call. Clearly an American. But wait … signs on the wall show both “Psst” and an image of a phone crossed out. Go figure. I wouldn’t have said anything. Instead I’d probably have seethed a while. But a man across from us immediately went over and pointed to the signs. So the man talked a bit more softly but stayed on his phone for a time. Meanwhile a couple behind the man who signaled no talking/phones was yakking. The woman across from the man (I’m assuming his wife) shushed them. So we have the Quiet Police here on board and I can live with that!
Our train (and our car) as it arrived at the station.
View from the train:
We had two legs for our journey. The first ended in Stuttgart. We had 13 minutes to switch trains, something I wondered about when getting the schedule, but of course this is not a flight so things are much easier to deal with. Sort of. Turned out it was 11 minutes! We had to go from track #11 to track #9 which is no biggie, but our car was all the way toward the end of the track. When we arrived there and got in two younger guys (maybe 40s?) had already decided they wanted our seats. But I looked at my phone app, pointed to the seats, and they did move … taking at least one other person’s seat! That woman just moved elsewhere, but I have to say I find it supremely rude for people to take reserved seats!
Dan and one of the seat thieves:
The second leg was less that 40 minutes and then we were in Heidelberg again! From there we needed to get back to Greg and Jan’s. I had found an app that allowed us to get tickets in advance. Only problem was the app didn’t allow for the time we had requested. Heh. By the time we arrived in Heidelberg those tickets had expired. So much for that app. It was only about an $8 loss, but it just seemed so darn stupid.
We got safety to Jan & Greg’s, and while Jan was still working Greg prepared a lovely dinner. We all had a super time, and stayed up far too late for the working couple. We can sleep in (not that I’ll sleep!), but they have to get up at 5:00. Eek!
Tomorrow we go to Mannheim for another concert and I am really looking forward to it: my favorite oboist will be playing! Stay tuned for more on that. Meanwhile, off to bed we go. G’night!
We weren’t exactly sure what we’d end up doing today. I was fairly certain we’d nixed the Documentation Center option since most of it is closed (and it required a bus ride of, I think, 30 minutes or so), but we had the option of a museum or two.
First, though, coffee and a light breakfast! (And that was after showering and moving in an extremely leisurely manner.)
Leaving the coffee place (a spot called Auckland, in case you are interested: coffee was good and we shared avocado bread and a salad with egg slices) …
… we decided we would check out one of the recommended churches. When we got to St. Lorenz we saw there would be an organ recital at 12:15, so we hung out for a fair amount of time in order to hear one of the largest organs in the world. The organist wasn’t exactly top notch, but it was great to hear the instrument! While the church was originally Catholic it became Protestant during the Reformation. I was surprised to see all the Catholic work still in the church after seeing so many in Scotland that had destroyed anything that hinted at Catholicism.
From there we walked over to Trödelstuben restaurant (the one we tried for last night). What a place it is. I can’t imagine working there: you have to navigate a stairway that twists a bit and it’s narrow. The kitchen is on the second floor, which is where we sat, but there is also a downstairs.
We both had potato soup and some garlic-cheese bread. It was just right for this overcast and cloudy day.
Walking, we saw a couple getting their photo taken in front of the trees. So why not?
Then we walked to another church, Frauenkirche — Church of Our Lady Nürnberg. This one remained Catholic after the Reformation, but they do acknowledge that it became a Catholic Church after a progrom in, I think, 1349, when a Jewish synagogue was burned down (there is a Star of David in the church somewhere, but we looked and didn’t find it). It has quite a bit of a modern look, even while having a lot of the old in it. We didn’t stay all that long, as there wasn’t much opportunity to wander and right after I snapped this shot Dan told me no photos were allowed. Oops! (Everyone, it seemed, was taking iPhone photos, and the person watching over things didn’t say a word, so I doubt it’s much of a big deal.)
Finally we went to St. Sebald’s (Sebalduskirche). That was my favorite of the three.
This little area was dedicated to children who had died. People could take a star and write a child’s name on it and hang it on the tree.
More from the church:
Then it was time for a treat, of course. We went out of the church to find it raining very lightly on this day when the weather app said there was 0% chance of rain. Ah well!
Going to the Christmas market I did a very tiny bit of shopping, and then we found a place that would satisfy both of us: I had a macaroon and Dan had lebkuchen.
From there it was back to the hotel for a bit. My eyes were so tired! I set my alarm so I wouldn’t sleep too long, but I simply had to rest.
After a bit of rest time, we went down to the lobby because, Dan having his great status and all, we were given a voucher for a free drink and snack. It said it included the high end wine, beer, or drink of our choice. But of course there was the disclaimer “at the discretion of the hotel”. In truth I got whatever red wine they were serving at the time, Dan got a beer, and there were no snacks at all. But who is going to complain about free stuff … right?
Then we went back up to our room to dress for the cold, but no rain jackets since the chance of rain was 1%.
I’m sure you can guess what happened while we were out, yes?
Yes, we got wet.
We went up some stairs for a view of the market:
At the same spot we heard a choir we now heard a brass band.
We were looking for pretzels because I had read that one must get a pretzel while here. But where?!We looked and looked. Finally we saw a young woman with one so we asked her (she and the man with her were from the states … Iowa or some such place). She pointed to a stand and said, “But I got the last one!” We looked and looked, but never did find any. Ah well. I think we’ll survive.
We finally went back toward our hotel and the first Christmas market that we had originally thought was the market.
We had some flammkuchen and then a last Nürnberg gluhwein, but we couldn’t use our souvenir cups up at the closer market. Such is life. We suffer. We suffer in silence. (Name that musical.)
Now back in our room we already finished up the remainder of the marzipan we purchased yesterday and I’m having a cup of chamomile tea. Soon it will be bedtime. already my eyes are feeling awfully heavy.
Tomorrow our train doesn’t leave until after noon, so we have a good amount of time to just relax, maybe go out for a bit, and then walk to the train station.
We began rather slowly today: it had been raining last night, and it was cold enough we decided that maybe taking our time would be a fine idea. But eventually one does have to just brave the cold.
One idea for today was the Documentation Center. Alas, it is currently under renovation and much is closed. I’m not sure we’ll get there this time. I suppose that means we’ll have to return sometime.
We went in the direction of the first Christmas market nearby, and then continued on, looking for a place to get coffee. Eventually we ended up at the entrance to the walled city that I remembered from the time we spent about one hour here, between wherever we came from and Bayreuth. Finally we found a coffee place that had a table for us to sit at. No way did we want to have to be outside!
Coffee and “we aren’t going to eat much” were obtained. Hah!
Then we continued our walking …
… ending up at the castle. It was breezy and quite cold, but we managed to stay there for a bit of time. Dan had his camera and was making photos while I just took my iPhone. I just haven’t had any interest in using the Fuji on this trip, and I think for travel and iPhone really does suffice. My Fuji is better for my flower photography at home. Somehow on vacation I don’t want the distraction.
After the castle we went back down to the big market, taking a bit of a side trip to investigate more. We even saw where the World Wide Web was stored! (C’mon, you know you think I’m hysterical.)
Then it was Kartoffelpuffer. Those are fried potatoes (kind of like has browns but not) and while I had applesauce last time it was cranberry for me this time, and Dan had the garlic sauce, I think.
We knew we wanted something a bit more after that, so we had another meal of the three little sausages, sauerkraut, bread, and mustard. Yep, tasty today, like it was yesterday. Both the potatoes and the sausages were eaten standing up outside, which is how most everything is devoured at the markets. Somehow the cold isn’t as bothersome when one is eating!
We ambled more, had some gluhwein, and bought some candied mixed nuts, which appear to be another popular thing here.
Oh … about the gluhwein. When you buy a small cup of it you are charged a fee for the cup. You can choose to keep it or return it and get your money back. Each town has their own cup design. I was tempted by the Heidelberg cups but was strong enough to resist keeping them. (We have too many cups at home as it is!) But this time we opted to not return them. The next stand we visited for a drink explained that we trade in our used cups and get fresh ones and aren’t charged another fee, so we opted to do that with these. Today we again exchanged last night’s second cup for new ones. Kind of handy … and yes, we’ll be taking home these souvenir cups. Just because I was strong in Heidelberg doesn’t mean I’m continuously strong! (After drinking our drinks we both attach our cups to our bags.)
Finally, we decided it was rest time (and iPad time), so we went back to the hotel. I fell asleep (no surprise since I’m still not sleeping at night) … hope I sleep at least a bit later, but we’ll see. I know a nap is not the best thing for insomnia.
Did I mention our hotel is at the border of the red light district? Sigh. We are avoiding going that direction. Don’t want to see it if I can help it!
When it was time to go out again we researched a spot for dinner: we didn’t really feel like a Christmas market dinner. Dan found a really nice place so we walked there: it was in a quieter area, right near a canal (yes, canals in Nürnberg!). In front of the door was a sign saying no availability for seating. In fact there were two signs. But of course we still had to ask (as did several groups after us). I went back and asked about tomorrow evening. Nope. So we will go there at 1:00 tomorrow. It just looked too nice to miss and reviews are excellent.
Photo from near the restaurant:
From there we walked to another place I saw, but it was full as well. And another. Meh … looked like Christmas market food.
Saw some horses …
… saw musicians, too! (Hah!) These tiny things are very expensive!
Finally Dan suggested one he’d read reviews from earlier. And yes, we could get in! We weren’t seated in the large room where loads of people were, or the smaller, quieter room that also appeared full at the moment. Instead we were in a side section that had higher chairs (like bar height) and only had two tables. FINE by me … I could hear! Plus we saw the kitchen, and were able to watch them work (very quickly!), hear them sing a few times, and watch the servers who sometimes looked to be arguing but who knows? I ordered carp and Dan, doing the “when in Rome thing” ordered the pork. I think mine was better.
When we left the restaurant we were greeted by rain. Well how ‘bout that? We both can now be glad we brought our rain jackets. We bought a new kind of drink for us, and I’d explain how it’s made but I really didn’t fully understand it. Something about soaking cones in rum and them pouring that into something … blah blah blah … patty has brain freeze and can’t really remember. But it was not as sweet as gluhwein and definitely better than the “winter warmer” I had last night.
We walked by more stands and Dan seemed to think I would want some marzipan.
Dan wasn’t wrong.
After buying that, though, we knew we needed to get back. The rain was starting to threaten us a bit more. So “home” we went.
Chamomile tea was made (for me) and we both had a bit of the marzipan.
Tomorrow … well … maybe a museum? (They are closed on Mondays.) We shall see. I’m always happy just to wander. I’m good at that!
Happy December! And where is the time going? This trip is speeding by … kind of like the train we took today.
We woke up far too early today, but we had to catch a streetcar and if we missed the 8:16 we’d have to call a car to get us to the train station. Of course waking too early meant I had way too much time, because I always pack the night before. But so it goes. We did get to say our goodbyes (for now) to Jan and Greg — if I were them I think I’d stay under the warm covers, but it was nice to see them!
It was very cold at the streetcar stop: If I’m remembering correctly it was 28° at that point. But we were well dressed and it was okay for the amount of time we waited.
We got to the Heidelberg train station with no problems, and after getting a coffee and something to eat we went to our track and not too long after got into our car.
This was a regional train which meant there were lots of stops and we couldn’t reserve seats, but neither were a problem In fact everything was going quite smoothly.
Note … I said was!
When we got to Frankfurt we had 1 1/2 hours to wait for our next train.
We wandered a bit (in the freezing train station and just outside so we could say we’d been to Frankfurt), eventually going in to get another bite just to escape the cold. Then we decided to get out of the eating area to verify the track and all. Hmm. Our train wasn’t showing up where I thought it would be. So we went to the information booth.
Um. Oops.
A rather serious young woman said, I thought rather pointedly, “Your tickets were for the airport train station, not this one,” or something similar was told to us by the woman there.
Brief pause so I could wonder if we were going to have to pay a lot to get new tickets (day of tickets can be costly).
“But you can catch that train here at 12:22, track 9.”
Whew!
WHY I bought the tickets beginning from the airport is a bit of a mystery to me, but since things worked out just fine I’ll just let it go. You can bet, though, that I then checked the next trains we will be taking (not today, mind you: this train is our final of the day).
Our train now was an ICE rather than regional, so we were in lovely first class seats that were reserved (next to two couples who never stopped talking, but somehow hearing people talk in another language kind of lulls me to sleep). I had worried that someone might have grabbed them when they were empty at the airport station so I was glad to see them empty.
Both on the first leg and this one there were many places where we saw a lot of frost (or was it light snow?). The entire trip was cloudy and frequently foggy. There were some lovely towns and beautiful mountain scenes. Taking photos from the train is never all that great but …
And then we got to our next destination.
Hello Nürnberg!
Nürnberg is known for its Christmas markets. Finding a hotel that would allow for cancellations, in fact, wasn’t easy as it normally is: they hardly need to offer that due to its popularity. I think they have the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, and I know they get tons of visitors.
We headed to our hotel, starting on the cobbled streets and then realizing that the directions took us on the outskirts so we’d be on surfaces better suited to our roller cases. (But I sure do miss our packs!) Our room is quite nice, I think, because Dan gets an upgrade due to his gold status with United. Good thing he allows me to share the room!
After resting up for a short time and charging our phones so they would last, we headed to the Christmas Market. I had looked on a map and it said a fifteen minute walk was ahead of us, yet we were there in less than five minutes. Strange! But okay then. We walked around, figuring we’d scout out the food spots before deciding what to get. When we got to what I assumed was the end I think we both thought it was nice, but not as big a deal as we expected. Still, it was fun.
Now if you play “Whamageddon” I will be kind here and say do NOT have your sound on when this video plays. Am I nice or what?! But c’mon … just give in. It is December first and I’ve already lost the game! Or maybe not … you can barely hear it. Darn!
We thought we saw a few more things ahead, so we walked on. Some stalls were closed and I said, “Maybe those are the crafts and trinkets and those close at night. Or maybe it’s because it’s Sunday.”
But we walked on some more and … um … well … what we saw five minutes from our hotel was NOT the real, huge, crazy Christmas market! Maybe it’s an expansion? Dunno. But the real thing … well it’s pretty darn huge and the crowds were crazy.
We had the necessary gluhwein. We had the “Drei im Weckla” that I had read was a must have in Nürnberg. We had lebkuchen Dan remembers from his childhood. We bought a few chocolates for when we got back to our room.
We listened for a bit to a choir. I couldn’t imagine singing out in the cold … but then no one wants to hear me anyway! This is Peters Chor.
And we had one more warm drink because we we starting to freeze! Nearing the end of our walk it was about 30° (or -1° if you want to go with Celsius). I started to get pretty darn cold toes and I’m thinking I might buy a pair of socks to double up with my other socks (my shoes are plenty roomy) because cold toes are … you aren’t going to believe this I know … cold toes! And who needs those? (Hm. I’m feeling like a poem is in there somewhere. But maybe not.) My chin was also getting to the point where words were going to be harder to pronounce. But soon we were back at our hotel and that warm air we hit when we went through the door was wonderful!
Our “for the hotel” chocolates were enjoyed, and we both did the iPad stuff we do. We will see what tomorrow brings.
We woke to a windy and cold day: it’s 0° if you are here. (32° if you are in the states.) That’s cold, but the sky is clear so no snow will be seen.
Dan immediately got to work on his super Brussels sprouts. The bread that he made yesterday (and didn’t finish until rather late) looks wonderful. His sweet potatoes went back in the oven. Greg headed out in the freezing cold to pick up breakfast.
More prep work occurred, and eventually Greg and I walked across the street to get some coffee. It was easier than trying to work around all the food prep. Then we sat down for breakfast.
See this photo I’m thinking I sure do need to learn to sit up straight. Hah!
Then it was more food prep. Jan was starting her turkey. Out of vegetables. SO cute! Greg worked on his dressing. Dan finished his Brussels sprouts. And I figured out what I would bring for our next, somewhat short trip tomorrow. (Stay tuned for the destination!)
Oh … and Dan started some laundry. That’s one of the any advantages of staying with family!
No matter how much one plans, the made rush at the end is always there. So it was with this. But it’s not like a concert, right? No one will fire us if we arrive a bit on the late side with all the food!
But, really, we weren’t “late-late” as I might put it, and no matter if we were: we were the first to arrive.
What fun to see Vanessa, Avni, Levin, Maya, and Hannah … and how the kids have grown since we last saw them in the summer of ‘23. Levin gave me a tour of the house, which was so darn sweet, and proudly showed me his English vocabulary books. Hooray for Levin!
After Lydia and Peter arrived we went to see Hannah’s kindergarten’s Christmas tree, then enjoyed gluhwein at their Christmas market, and headed to the Schwetzingen Palace to walk around the grounds. We were last here in 2013 in the heat of summer, so this was quite different!
Then back to the house we went, and let the food prep begin. When Anna, Hendrik, and Lillith arrived we had a toast and started with some tasty bites.
Finally on to so many different selections of food I didn’t even get to them all. The turkey had ended its cooking time on the grill and it was just perfect. Everything from start to finish was amazingly delicious. And I now feel like a stuffed turkey.
Back home I packed up for our next excursion: we catch the streetcar at 8:15 AM or so and I want to be ready!
We ended with a glass of port before bed. Quite the fine day!
Side note: as of today I’ve worn every bit of clothing (not counting my rain jacket since we’ve not hit significant rain yet) I’ve brought, and some I’ve worn quite a bit. I’ve also worn both pair of shoes. It always makes me happy to know nothing should have been left at home..
So … I had napped. And then, apparently, I spaced out enough to not write here. (FYI, I start writing earlier in the day and as I have time I add more.)
When I came out of our room only Dan was here. I knew Greg had left earlier to do some things, and Dan told me Jan was out getting something for lunch. Soon after she returned and we enjoyed some yummy food.
We hung out a bit. Greg came back. And I will be honest here and say now I’m sort of going semi-blank and can’t put down exactly what we did and in what order! But I know I tried to fix my soup to make it better. Didn’t really succeed. I’m not sure what is wrong, but it’s just not right! So it goes.
I know Dan worked on the bread and Greg worked on a few things. Jan prepped for her mashed potatoes. But some of this probably happened at this point and some happened after our excursions out. Maybe. I think.
We hung out more. Jan eventually went out on a walk. After she left I realized I really should do the same or I was going to go stir crazy. Greg opted for a short bike ride, and Dan said he’d meet up with me in a bit.
I headed out in the opposite direction as our normal route. It was nothing tremendously exciting, but I do like seeing the houses here, and I went up a street that took me to a somewhat nice view.
I then headed back down and to the main street to get back to our place, but saw Dan on the corner so we continued walking down the street, past where we usually turn, and rambled a bit.
Eventually we ended up at a sweet coffee shop we had peered into at other times. Dan had an espresso while I had secco, and we shared a treat.
While there I texted Greg and suggested we order pizzas (no way was I thinking anyone should cook more after we spent so much time working on various things we are bringing to our Thanksgiving feast!).
And then home we went. Greg picked up pizzas. We ate. We yakked.
And we headed to bed. And no, I didn’t sleep well. Go figure.
