Haus des Meeres, Aquarium

Rose Lemonade, ever heard of it or had it? It is lovely, refreshing and pretty all at the same time. This is a cool courtyard to sit in and avoid the heat.

We made it! To Haus des Meeres, Aqua Terra Zoo, finally. We've been meaning to go since we arrived in Vienna but the elevator for the flat has broken down four times in those weeks. We are five long flights up so it has been quite inconvenient! 

Anyway, back to the Haus, it’s eleven floors in a former flak tower from the war. There are six towers existing in Vienna, one houses the Haus des Meeres, one is an art gallery and as far as I can tell the others are empty. http://www.viennadirect.com/sights/mak.php  Plans to disassemble them failed because there were too many buildings built up around them. Blowing them up would cause damage, the walls are so very thick that taking them down with a bulldozer or something wouldn’t work either, so they left them. My first post on Vienna shows the one we see out one side of the flat.

Here's the website for the aquarium, click on images for it to get more pictures. 

http://www.haus-des-meeres.at

Starfish just hangin'

There is only one elevator from entryway to the eighth floor, then another for nine to eleven, that elevator has a window in it where you can see into a fish tank! There are two small restaurants, one mid floors, one on the top with magnificent 360 degree views of Vienna. Staff must spend half their day on that first elevator and it does take some time to reach each floor, there are stairs but Bruce had his wheels and many families had strollers. There is a lab for the breeding program and meeting rooms where they have classes for children. 

Giant lobster I think

Aside, the Royal BC Museum in Victoria,  had been housed in the basement of the House of Parliament there. A dark and dreary place we visited as children and didn’t like. They built a brand new one and it opened with great fanfare. It is a beautiful building and the displays are interactive with the audience. My mom signed us up for children’s classes and I remember really enjoying them, certainly we learned about many things not taught in regular school.http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca If you are in Victoria, I’d advise taking a tour, it’s not like any stuffy museum you’ve ever seen before.

The animals and fish - we liked the little monkeys best and they sure are not shy, one climbed onto the arm of Bruce’s chair and I wasn’t fast enough to get a picture, but they will walk right in front of you. Curious little things, investigated the bottom of a baby carriage or pretty much anything those humans bring in. 

Old diving gear, heavy I expect!

There are snakes, no thanks, insects, no thanks, but yes to turtles, sharks, hammerhead sharks were interesting for us to see, their eyes are at each end of the peen. Multiple types of fish and corals, well, I won’t continue with the animal species description, too numerous but see the above website link for more information. It was a lovely visit and well worth seeing, especially those monkeys!

The round glassware has an ant farm running through it!

That was our visit, enjoyed it thoroughly!

Cheers, Bx2 & Lexi Cat

Visit to Piber Stud Farm and the City of Graz

We saw the the Spanish Riding School Lippizaner Stallion show, in Vienna a few years back and were extremely impressed! We found out the Stud Farm is fairly close to Vienna and decided to visit to see the foals, mares and stallions who have worked the show, now used as stud. Graz is second largest city to Vienna so stayed there and trained to Koeflach (umlaut over the o), taxied to the farm.

The two and a half hour train trip to Graz was beautiful! Through mountains and valleys, sunflower fields and small villages. Majestic rock formations and views of valleys.

I had read somewhere sit left on the way and right on the way back and it was true. There were homes made of stone, all the way to the roof with small windows in a row across them, two or three stories high. They were numbered and mostly unoccupied, I think they may have been housing for when the railroad was built.

It was a scenic ride both ways and we both really enjoyed it.

A castle!

Graz train station and the lift to take us to where we are to meet our driver is out of commission. Seem to be having trouble with lifts these days, (the one at the flat in Vienna broke down three times in the last week, major problem, hopefully now fixed for good) so Bruce goes in the opposite direction to the one that works and comes out probably about a kilometre from the main entrance. Well what choice do we have really? I walk back to the main station and summon the driver with van to pick us up. I’m sorry, but he’s not the brightest marble in the bag, but long story short and we find Bruce after circling the block.

Restorative time in the room which is roomy, light, with lovely rugs, planned bonus, air-conditioning. Then off to do a small shop and dinner at where you can order to your liking of salad, pizza, spaetsle/pasta, burger or breakfast by marking what ingredients you want added. Cheap but pretty good, more of a student hangout I think, but we’ve done well with them in other cities. They served a glass of tap water with the wine,  as they typically do with coffee, never had that before but it was welcome.

Outside wall of hotel.

Detail, they are scenes of farming activities

In both cities of Vienna and Graz and I expect the rest of Austria they are very proud of their tap water. It comes from the mountains and is very pure. As you know, I like sparkly water but did drink tap while in Cornwall last year so may revert again. Rather silly really, to haul home, recycle bottles just for a bit of sparkle which I can still order in a restaurant.

Partial day of touring around neighbourhoods, in Graz, getting a bit lost but able to recover by asking folk. People are kind here, if they don’t know they’ll hail someone going by to ask. We didn’t go to the tourist area, just wanted to see where people live. Encountered a couple of large parks and missed the Schloss park which has a castle on top of the hill.

Went to the farmer’s market first thing which is just around the block from the hotel and it was typical, lovely and quite large. Saw bunches of baby carrots I haven’t seen since we picked our own on the farm and really wished I could have bought and cooked up, a forgotten memory. Lots of flowers including sunflowers from those fields we passed. I had an early lunch/breakfast at a fish stall. Their potato salad was a delight, used a flavoured vinegar, a bit like German but more vinegar, read swimming in it, with chives and onions. Bruce bought apple juice in a 100 ml bottle for 1.80 Euro and it’s home made I think and tastes almost as good as wine.

Hot day but there was a breeze so if you could catch it made the day bearable. So I walked my little legs off, Bruce rolled along and would scout ahead to help determine where we were or not supposed to be. So we’ve seen some of Graz but not it’s tourist highlights, fine by me.

Dinner was at a Greek restaurant called Athen across the road from the hotel.  You can smoke inside there, still amazes me and feels weird besides. Food was done expertly, lamb chops and large shrimps, it’s been a long while since we’ve had Greek food so was a treat. Out of the tourist area it seemed to be a locals bar, people were playing cards in the back room, a TV was on for news, I would guess following what’s happening there now.

On to the reason for our visit to the area, the Piber Stud farm is where they birth, grow, train the horses. It is a business operation really that has gone on for hundreds of years. That doesn’t take away from the cuteness of the foals for us though. It is  a real measure of training of the horse and rider. The horse gets years of careful stewardship, the rider less so.

Foals are born brown, black, grey but change colour to white in about ten years, it takes that long. The white is astounding and another reason they are special. Here is a website to explain the history etc. and just go with what we saw. www.piber.com

We arrived during the rest time for the horses, probably from tourists who are snapping pictures of them, they rest from noon to 13:00 so we lunched at the Cafe Caballero on site. I had pumpkin oil on my salad, explanation in a bit.

Once rest time was over we got audio equipment and a map, the tour was in German and there were quite a few people on it so it was nice to wander ourselves. We loosely followed the tour and went through the various barns housing various aged stallions, grouped by age. One wasn’t too happy and he kept snorting and banging around his stall but the rest were pretty placid. They have a majesty and dignified aura about them.

Then we saw the mares and foals in a large loose paddock. Being “children” they chased, nipped and generally romped along with their mothers like kids do, a beautiful sight.

I took many, many more pictures of horses as you can imagine. Okay one more.

In pasture

Spanish Riding School coats

The acreage has a castle which is now used for events and office space, a 950 year old church, a carriage museum, blacksmith barn, and an interactive children’s learning area where they can be taught how to mount a horse or make horseshoes and such, didn’t see it. The visit was worth every bit of effort it took to get there!

Horse statues made from horseshoes

Kuerbis (umlaut over the u) or pumpkin is a very large crop in Styria, Austria where Piber, Koeflach and Graz are located. Oil is large for salads which tasted nutty and very good, they put seeds into everything, and they are tasty! In North America we tend to use pumpkin for Halloween as decoration and discard. Here it is like every other vegetable and used for soups, creams, added to almost anything. It’s a bigger deal than spargel/asparagus in Germany I think.

Back again to the Greek place in Graz and the entire first floor is filled with kids, balloons, parents, grandparents and strollers. How they fit everyone in was amazing but they did and noise level was at the top. Luckily the smoking allowed tables were quite a far way away from the party so we could still enjoy a meal. They served shots of Ouzo to everyone, which for me was welcomed, liquorice in flavour and not a drink I buy so it was a treat, especially in small quantity. We were trying to figure out when we’d last had Greek food and it has to be about four years now. No wonder we went back for a second night. Plus we’d been in Piber all day for three hours of walking and an hour each way by train so were tired, this place is right across the street from the hotel so it has the triple whammy of being close, tasty and smoking inside since they don’t have a patio.

On the train going by one of the many villages and I saw a naked child no tan lines just enjoying running around in the sun. Did I mention the backyard swimming pools so many homes have, it seemed every second or third house had one.

Ride home to Vienna was good, extremely hot day but the train was air conditioned so the two and a half hour ride was comfortable. We were on a train headed to Prague so three languages were spoken, written. We’ve been to Prague and learning that language is or would be almost as bad as an Oriental language I think. Don’t remember having any problem in Prague, most spoke English, or maybe my pantomiming worked once again.

“Home” now in Vienna to a thankfully cool flat, it is seriously HOT today, just about melted into a puddle on the brief wait for the cab driver at the train station.

Cheers, Bev, Bruce and Lexi Cat

First Days in Vienna

Journey to Vienna, called Wien here. Train to Frankfurt, overnight at an Airport hotel. Spent the evening in the Beer Garden, or Biergarten eating dinner and drinking wine. Our room didn’t allow smoking in it so we stayed outside. Briefly met a couple from San Francisco who’s flight connection didn’t happen so they were put up there. Her accent was more mid-west we guessed because it was quite pronounced. Next morning up and “at em” to the Airport where they had a problem with the batteries being plugged in on Bruce’s chair so it took a while. They didn’t charge for Lexi which is unusual, probably forgot due to the chair issue. Anyway, all got sorted in plenty of time for the flight. De-planing and having them bring a wheelchair to the gate means we are last off so we are not in the way of more ambulatory people. Collect bags and Bruce’s chair and look for the special cab driver we’d hired to accommodate the chair. Found him, on to the flat. 

Another thing, same airport, different policies every time it seems, I won’t go into detail here but it is sometimes confusing.  But some of what happens is not sensible, or sometimes even more sensible. Go figure is all I will say on the non-subject. Just another rant.

I texted our host, Peter, and he was at the flat to meet us. Now he has SuperHost status from AirBnB and deserves it in our opinion, as does Pepe in Sevilla. He left us a fridge full of food, shopped for coffee and sparkling water after he heard I liked it. Gave a thorough run through of the flat which has the most amazing views of Vienna’s buildings. 

Liked the shadow made from the statue in the cupola 

The flat has air conditioning, a major reason for renting it because Bruce wilts in the heat and it's hot! The building  is old, we're on the top floor and the walls are a bit strange, covered with tacked white board, but nice and bright, two floors, will do us fine for the next two months. Shops are close by as is a light rail system. 

Lexi pulled her hiding trick and took all three of us to find her behind a kitchen cabinet. Travel weariness gets to us all sometimes like the time in Paris, but this was quite an easy trip really.

Will be out exploring tomorrow after a restful night I hope.

Another building although they look and are the same, cathedral to the left

Restful night, out doing our usual circling of the neighbourhood so we don’t get lost. Had lunch at a burger joint and it was good. Did a shop at a Spar grocers we found. Came back to Bruce having trouble getting up the entryway to the flat so contacted our host to tell him - make it a priority please - a ramp is needed!

View between previous pictures, don't have a wide lens on the camera

Hazy view but you can see what we look out on

Peter said all buildings in Vienna have to be wheelchair accessible by January 2016 by law so he and a friend will hopefully design something for market. A good idea since a moveable one will be needed. and if successful could go to other cities also. Handicapped access isn’t easy in Europe with the old buildings. We found one! sturdy rubber, small, but large enough and not heavy, perfect! Bruce felt quite trapped in the building not knowing if he could get back in again. He can still walk some but really to get out and about he needs the chair. We took our host to lunch at a local place he suggested in a large garden area to say thanks. 

Did another shop at a different Spar, larger, that we had spotted yesterday on our wanders. We had read about an aquarium in Vienna and wanted to check it out. Built in an old war bunker, we look out one side of the building at this enormous round concrete building which is frankly very ugly and found out it is the aquarium, right close by! We’ll be going there soon.

The transit system here looks good and one runs by our door regularly, mind, not all have handicapped access but some do so we’ll do the transit monthly ticket thing and have greater access to further points in the city. It’s just too big to walk or roll everywhere. Our host is living a bit outside the city, while we occupy his flat, in the wine producing area and has offered to show us around when we are ready. 

About our host Peter, he has had many lives, travelled widely and had many different careers. It’s quite amazing what he told us and I won’t go into too much detail here but working in multi-national finance, a pilot, living on the street, a trained artist focusing on sculpture, and living in so many different countries. He was a nomad before many of the blogger’s we’ve met were, and didn’t blog about it, before blogging became a medium, and he’s not that old! Bruce asked him if he would consider writing a book because he certainly was and still has a life that is not a conventional of work 9-5, go home and veg out. It does go a way to explain this eclectic flat interior with it’s fabulous view.

He’s had a Nobel prize winner stay in the flat, forget whom. Has also had a couple of Google programmers stay and they drank a lot of champagne and ate pizza basically, didn’t go out at all. The flat view has been used in movie scenes but when it isn’t being used for such illustrious functions, like us living here, Peter does. It is full of his possessions which he marks by a red bit of tape to say “hands off”, there is a fair bit of red tape around…

I re-arranged the kitchen cupboards because Peter is quite a tall man and he’d put everything where I couldn’t reach. Luckily we have a ladder in the flat so it wasn’t a problem. 

A neighbouring area is called Spittelberg and it is full of antique shops and funky little shops. Good restaurant called Boheme, named after the opera in a small lane off a main street. There was a Saturday market and an organic food market there too. Small parks along those lanes provide shade which is needed right now with temps in the mid-thirties as it seems everywhere. Because this District of Vienna is small we only walk a couple of blocks and we’ve hit another one. We’re in Neubau, 7th District, of 23 total, read about it here http://www.tourmycountry.com/austria/seventh-district-vienna.htm

Second full day here and I’m happy with the choice!

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat

Days in Freiburg before Vienna, Next Stop

Monday and Christoph picked us up at 13:30 which is a bit late but unavoidable due to a problem with the train system, late because most restaurants close at 14:00. The real problem is that it was Monday though and many close after being open for the weekend. So we went to Breisach am Rheine instead and had a nice lunch sitting along the river. Large cruise boats and scows went by on their way into France.

Then we drove into Neuf Breisach, France which is an armoury town, built to protect France from Germany in the war(s). Once again I am gobsmacked that we are close enough to drive into another country, different language and ways of doing things. This is the Alsace region and they speak Alsacian and French, frequently switching between in one sentence. Had coffee at a small restaurant who’s proprietor greeted Christoph warmly, he has taken his sons there on occasion and she has always been good to them. Back to Breisach to pick up some things from Christoph’s apartment and while waiting I found the same store I buy my T-shirts from so bought two more in different colours. There were fire trucks and police on the main street, apparently a fire in a building next to Christoph’s. A bit worrisome for him until he found out it was next door, not his place. He’s a volunteer fire person as well but missed this call, being with us.

While waiting I overheard an English couple speaking so I asked where they were from, Blackpool. They are on a driving tour around Germany for a few weeks. They, like us, like to stay in self-catering accommodations and are enjoying their current spot in Freiburg, should have asked them where!

Stayed in the community, bought supper and cooked it. Meat on the grill and broccoflower, it’s a mix between broccoli and cauliflower looking a light green and leaves like cauliflower. It’s pretty too with the colour and interesting nodes. I’d never had it before and found I really like it. We were looking for green asparagus but when the season’s over, it is! None to be found in four locations that sell veggies in this berg.

Having drinks at a bakery, just to be outside on a lovely day and next to the Optometrist shop, he’s outside for a smoke and comes over to talk. We’ve bought quite a bit from him because he’s local, caring and generally just a nice fellow, plus, he speaks English. It was nice of him to come over and chat with us, made us feel part of the neighbourhood.

We walked, rolled, back through the green park in the middle of the neighbourhood and enjoyed looking at the different plants we don’t see in Canada. In Canada I would pick a bit of something to find out what it was by smelling but think it’s dangerous to do so here, or elsewhere in Europe, not knowing if the plant is poisonous or not. I’d rather not get a case of stinging nettle or something like that to satisfy my curiosity.

A discount store has closed here, second one to go, we have one left. Here’s hoping something interesting goes into that spot. As I’ve said before, in a small community I don’t understand why there are multiples of small businesses, it doesn’t make sense to me, but there you have it. I should have asked the Optomitrist what was going on, he would probably have known.

Day with Christoph - lunch out at Zum Ochsen (Oxen), Schallstadt, where our partners stay when they are here and not in the flat. Bruce ordered carpaccio and it came not looking like any he’d ordered before, tasted like sawdust. Wrong type, they make one out of dumplings and that was served. It’s mushroom season now so they featured.

Went into St. Gallus Church in Ebringen to view it’s Baroch(ness), again I am amazed at the detail of these village churches and the money that has gone in to restore them.

Beautiful Statue in the church

Christoph said German churches in this area have mostly been restored but he said they will decline in twenty years because of generational changes. He also said churches in France are not as well kept and needing refurbishment but unlikely to get.

Then we drove up to the Markgraefler vine farms, with 360 degree views of the countryside. Much like the Kaiserstuhl only a different area.

Official View Point

We met a woman named Adelheid as she was coming out of the physio place in our building when Bruce was. She has ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease and has the same type of wheel chair Bruce does. We went for coffee and got to know one another a bit. They live here in Rieselfeld and own a fav shop we’ve been to a number of times on Konvikstrasse downtown Freiburg. http://5810966.swh.strato-hosting.eu/hp/index.php/das-team.html  Interesting lady who studied Fine Arts in Florence early in her life. She paints now with acrylics because they dry fast and has offered to take us to her art shop because you need to be an artist to shop there, or registered I imagine. Lovely woman and nice to have another connection here.

Back into the Kaiserstuhl and we drove all around it to Emmendingen for lunch. Coming back Christoph pointed out a large chair sitting on the top. We could see it well from a distance so must be very large! Of course, as said before Kaiserstuhl means king's chair.

We're packing up to head to Vienna or Wien as it's called here. We'll be there for July and August while our partners use the flat, will stay in touch.

Cheers, Bx2 & Lexi Cat

Happy Father's Day and First Day of Summer

Happy Father's Day to you that are! Fond memories of mine. First day of summer and it is raining in Freiburg.

Oranges on our tree, can't wait until they ripen!

Down at the Mundenhof we found a baby ostrich. Mom, Dad and baby were penned in probably to keep baby safe. I think it must have been born this week because it was quite small, no long neck yet.

The brown bear that had it’s own enclosure was put to sleep this week. Age was the cause I think but I didn’t agree with him being there in the first place, he always looked lonely to me. People were standing around his enclosure, perhaps saying good bye to him. The Mundenhof was not it’s usual busy Sunday self and I don’t know why. Day was decent enough, muggy as a storm passed by but not on us.

Sushi, sushi, I used to practically live on the stuff but that was in Vancouver where they were as numerous as Starbucks, not so here in Freiburg of course. There is one near the concert house and city theatre, an area with lots of ethnic restaurants due to those venues. What a treat to for me to eat sushi again!

Day trip to Emmendingen in the convertible. We flew down part of the Autobahn, I didn’t look to see how fast we were going but it was fast! There are no speed limits on this major highway, was a change from tootling along country roads for sure. 

Note the bare foot at the back...

Look at the sunglasses on this fellow!

Emmendingen has bachle like Freiburg. We had a simple lunch at the Rathaus (City Hall) cafe called Palio and then went to a wine shop named Dreher. www.dreherwein.de  The young lady spoke English rather haltingly but was able to tell us about the wines and the two vineyards they are grown in. One is below a castle in the area on a slope, the other is flat so they produce different grapes due to the conditions. They planted a new grape variety called Cabernet Mitos, a hearty red and even the plant is red.

Emmendingen has quite a lot of sculpture scattered around the town which is not large but is very pretty. Going from the parking lot into town we walked through a park with a slide down beside the stairs, a trampoline imbedded in the grass, a hobby horse, a children’s haven.

Finally cleared out Bruce’s project from the flat, tools and bits and pieces. Went downtown and bought a bathrobe for me and a suitcase for Bruce. We needed new bags to pack up our linens while we’re away and I honestly couldn’t remember where I bought them before. Went into a department store and as soon as I want down the escalator I remembered this was it. Odd what triggers memory, Editor Bruce will likely comment on this, his area of study.

I had a rhubarb schorle, rhubarb juice and tonic which honestly didn’t taste very much like rhubarb, but wanted to try.

We saw these musicians downtown. The woman is playing a barrel organ. They were very good and seemed to enjoy performing together. 

Old instruments and they sell CD's too.

Freiburg has quite a high quality of street music. There are music schools here and frequently the students practise on street corners.

 

I was in a line up in the Sparkasse bank downtown the other day and looked around to find a passage going through the bank that I didn't know about. Exploring I found an installation depicting family run businesses that have been in Freiburg for a very long time. They produced a book brochure using black and white photos with parts coloured in. The pictures of various businesses show multi generations of people involved with the business, children to grandparents. It was extremely well done and interesting to me. 

All for now on a rainy Sunday, Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat who is currently stalking a bird from the window of course.

Out and About ... again

We do get some beauties!

The next day trip was to Bahlingen for lunch at www.lamm-bahlingen.com Landgasthof.zum Lamm. Christoph does know his German food and guest houses! They served a tomato chilli jam along with fresh butter and bread, none of us had ever tasted anything like it, delicious.

Collage of old things outside the restauran

There were many bicyclers stopped for lunch in their spandex gear. Most weren’t youngsters either, there was a lot of grey hair around.

Hottest day so far here so we went to Sasbach to a beer garden that overlooks a weir of the river Rhine.

It is very close to Breisach which is on the river itself. Cooler sitting under magnificently large horse-chestnut trees. The nuts are small yet and their spines are quite soft. My childhood home had five of these trees lining the driveway. My grandfather would visit and take home the nuts to keep spiders out of his basement.

People were canoeing and kayaking up the river and stopping at that point to load up their cars. Lots of cyclists here too, hardly a place left to park a bike. Coming back you could guess there was a watering hole of some sort, pool or lake by the amount of cars parked, there were a lot. It was Corpus Christi Day which is a stat holiday here. All and sundry were out enjoying the good weather, as we were! Our neighbours even have a kiddy pool in their yard.

It’s starting to be cherry season and they are sweet and juicy. They form an entirely different function to Lexi, she thinks, hmm, new round things to play with. She picks them up in her mouth by stem and then bats them. Well you know we won’t be keeping cherries on the table from now on.

Our lavender on terrace

We were downtown, had a lunch at one of our fav Italian restaurants with misunderstandings again but we survived. Bruce went on ahead of me and ordered bruschetta for me (fresh tomato, onion on sliced garlic baguette bread), it’s good there. The waiter thought he wanted a wine that came close to pronunciation and brought it. Ah, well, it’s that Italian, German, English mix that tosses a spanner in the works sometimes. We thought it might have been a peace offering for the last time when I asked for my three quarters full plate to be taken home which he thought I wanted it taken away, not home. The German words for take home/away are very similar so that didn’t happen, they tossed it. Well if you live in a country where you don’t speak the language well there will be times like this. A friend who lived here for a few months said “life is too short to learn German” and concentrates on his Spanish instead.

After the lunch on the terrace which had no breeze to cool it we went and sat under more horse-chestnut trees in an artsy district we like for a drink, water for me this time since that’s what I had wanted in the first place. Then we went to visit the lovely woman from a gift store called Eigen Art. It’s more like a sculpture art gallery really and the proprietor is extremely nice. She makes up stories around the sculptures she sells and tells about their “lives”. I would consider her store a whimsical one and she certainly adds to it with her stories of the creatures therein. They have had a four foot gorilla adorning their front door for months and he was gone today. Apparently he has a new home at an accountant’s lobby and doesn’t have to endure children patting and mauling him anymore and therefore is much happier, but honestly, probably more bored.

There we found what they call knife rests, think chopstick rests and you’ll get an idea. They are chrome steel sculptures of dachshund dogs, small, long and skinny, four in number and so very well done we had to take the little buggers home for the house.

Once again, it is nice for me to find stores that sell unique products that are far from “the maddening crowd” of regular shopping.

I wore shorts for the first time this season. Before doing so I put some fake tanning lotion on my legs so as not to blind, seriously blind, anyone with the whiteness. Well that never goes as smoothly as one hopes but better than nothing. I noticed another woman who had missed a patch too so felt a bit better. It is the same everywhere but I cannot believe what some women go into public wearing, not prudishly, just in some sort of semblance of good sense. Shall I drink the bowl of milk, being catty? I did see a most beautiful dress today on a woman, who could have been going to a high society social function, in a beautiful mid-length frock but was walking along with her groceries. Perhaps that was the coolest garment she owned. Here in Freiburg, a University city and touristic one, people dress rather casually. Well I’ve finished my milk now…

As usual we leave the flat every day, whether to go for a meal or just hang about in a cafe with a drink. A  popular drink here is Apfelschorle, meaning apple juice with sparkling water, juice is more expensive than water hence the mix.

Out with Christoph and on a prior meeting I had told him about my Mazda Miata convertible. He said the car sharing program has one in Rieselfeld should he rent it? Of course, need you ask? It’s a small BMW, seating so comfortable, small engine which became evident on hills but since we didn’t go into the Alps it suited us fine. It was lovely to be in a convertible again! We smelled the various crops as we passed an Bruce even enjoyed the windy back seat. This was the first time for Christoph in a convertible so he had to figure out how to take the top down, but it was a treat for him as well. He said he likes going out with us because we try new things outside of what he would normally do.

We had lunch at Krone, www.krone-achkarren.de I had white asparagus since the season is almost over and three lovely large prawns cooked to perfection. Then we went on to Landerer Winery, where we visited last year almost to the day. There was a bus tour of slightly sloshed German people milling about so we tasted, bought and left. This Vintner takes his guests up into the Kaiserstuhl, providing tastings on the way. His tractor hauls two wagons and he even provides cushions for them.

Typical village street

Lovely day back in the Kaiserstuhl with Christoph and I think we’ll be renting that car again!

Our flat partners Dawna and Erwin were in Freiburg for a couple of days so we had a nice visit. We drove to Titisee for lunch on a terrace overlooking the lake. We’ve always taken the train so it was a different experience to drive. Winding roads and lots of wild flowers on the sides, through tunnels and around large rock formations.

Hotel at Titisee, like the wavy windows.

We were all sitting outside at home when a storm came through, moved into the winter garden to watch it. Wow! What a storm it was, the rain was blowing against the windows so hard it actually came into the space and we couldn’t see out for a bit. We had almost a swimming pool on the patio because it couldn’t drain fast enough but did later. Goes to show that this building was well engineered for it to recover such an onset of weather without damage.

We got a new couch set, blue this time, previous was cream and wearing out a bit. Our cleaner Crina has a large family of four brothers and seven sisters so we asked if they could use it and they took the older set away. Otherwise we would have had to pay 100 euros to have the delivery company take it and they don’t give it away but chop it up which seemed such a waste. Glad it went to a good home.

That's all for now, Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat the cherry football player

Day Trip and Customs

I’m writing this in a “new to me” Mac application called Pages. I’ve always used Word from Microsoft so we’ll see how this goes. Reason is at the end of this post.

Christoph drove us to Vogtsburg-Oberrotweil to Gasthaus Baeren we had been to about this time last year. www.baeren-oberrotweil.de

View from the table

I remembered it served tasty German food so we went back and had a wonderful lunch sitting outside. 

Eclectic collection

There was a wedding happening in the church next door, sadly didn’t see any of the party. Then we went to Burkheim for a coffee. It is a very charming village with half timbered houses. 

Lovely peonies on white wall

Half timbered restaurant

While at coffee we witnessed an argument at a table next to ours. Christoph said the person was from Northern Germany, he could tell by her accent. He explained the difference in cultures between North and South which I won’t go into here but it is the same in every country isn’t it? Canada’s West Coast is culturally very different to the East. When travelling we are careful to respect how things are done in a region, we watch how things “work” and follow. For example, it is expected on a busy day at a restaurant that you share a table with strangers, in fact, that’s how we met Christoph. This does not happen in Northern Germany, Spain or Canada either. At first I was uncomfortable with it but sometimes you get to meet people that way or sometimes the parties just stay in their own “bubble”, beyond “pass the salt and pepper please”. Another little thing, we always assume people around us speak English or can understand it. We do not comment negatively about people or customs to avoid offending anyone by being a “boorish” tourist. Okay, enough, I’m off the soap box!

Many doors like this handsome one

Both towns are in the Kaiserstuhl so once again we are driving through small towns and vineyards, which is always interesting to me. There are large berms along the roads of dirt, must be ten feet high in places. Christoph said they were created by rivers running through the valley and have been there for centuries. The rivers left dry rocky soil which is why the area is so successful with grape crops. 

Bruce has had a few incidents of spilled drinks on keyboards. No warranty covers this (and believe me I've looked) because it is the operator’s error. Last week I spilled a glass of wine on mine and either it wasn’t thirsty or maybe didn’t like the “taste” of the wine but it died. Attempts to revive it with a fan didn’t work and we know from past experience the cost of repair is just about as expensive as a new machine. 

Downtown to the computer store to buy another. Apple has a new product out called MacBook, not Air or Pro. It comes in a gold colour too! So girly, glad it’s not in pink.  I didn’t research it very much and bought due to it being the lightest machine they have. I won’t get technical here but found out it needs another two parts to make it work for me with my older backup, printer, camera. Disappointed, but my fault entirely, I’ll be darkening their door again. Got it all set up and found low battery the next morning, Lexi decided to taste the cable! We have computers out all day, every day she doesn't bother with, I don't know what got into her this time.

Bruce purchased new lenses for his glasses and sunglasses and is pleased to be able to see better. He could function but not read small print so this is grand! I’d just gotten used to seeing him without glasses on his face but he looks good and the important part is he can see properly again.

Bruce has seen a picture of a hippo in a bachle and it’s been bugging him as to where it was located, http://www.freiburg-geniessen.de/de/freiburg/freiburger-baechle.php like the crocodile one you’ve seen. We finally went to the Tourist office and asked. They are truly helpful there! (Unlike a Tourist office I have mentioned previously in Spain.) He showed them the picture and they figured out there was an art installation in 2009, artists put sculptures in the bachle. Too bad they were taken out in my opinion. We now know and Bruce can “rest”, curious minds again.

I can’t believe how much I missed writing for about five days! I tend to write daily and thinking I needed Word on the machine in use at the moment kept me from doing so. Doh, me and technology, in front of my eyes all the time. Bruce and I talked about this, he’s been using computers for over thirty years.  His theory is he’s no longer willing to learn all the new programs and applications, good luck with that Hon! Mine is I’ll learn what I have to, to function, which has always been the case even when I worked in the field.

Your weekly Mundenhof picture.

I saw how fast this ostrich can run! One of the zoo people drove by in a golf cart and I think this guy or gal thought it was feeding time so it chased the cart.

Cheers Bx2 & Darn Chewing Lexi Cat