GERMANY - Rhein-Main region

A week ago, we traded Vancouver's damp, cool weather for similar in Frankfurt.  The plane trip was uneventful but long, so we were happy to stretch our legs and be welcomed and whisked away to our friends' home in the suburbs and not deal with transportation or accomodation.  Again, despite our protests, they insisted we occupy their master bedroom.  Our five days flew by, with daily excursions around the region in mostly sunny skies.

On Thursday we headed for Seligenstadt, 25 kms s-e of FRA, on the swollen banks of the Main (say "mine") River.  It's one of Germany's oldest towns, dating to Roman times; where Barbarossa held court in the 12th C. Half-timbered houses from the 15th century were not damaged in the war.  We hiked a short distance to have lunch at the brewery at the Engelberger Klostergarten where we shared marinated strips of white meat with chopped pickles and onion, translated as "ham salad" by Robert.  I had trouble deciphering the menus, which all seem to consist mainly of schnizel or wurst, but kept grilling Robert for complete translations.  Surely there was green salad on the menu?  Nein!

 

 Seligenstadt

Since Thursday was a local holiday, every place was crowded, but we managed to find a table on the square in Mittelberg for afternoon coffee.  We just had to keep catching our cups which wanted to slide off the sloping table set on cobblestones!  Dinner was at a weinstube in Klingenberg.  Weinstubes are small wine bars and this time of year they offer small menus of locally-produced home cooking.  This is spargel season, so meals feature this white asparagus served with boats of Hollandaise sauce and fresh new boiled or roasted potatoes to sop up more of the rich sauce.  I learned that a dish followed by Weiner Art means schnitzel.  Aha, very useful.  Another useful term we learned was rahmsauce, a delicious cream sauce, with peppercorns or mushrooms.

Friday was cold and rainy so we opted for some culture at the Stadel Museum, one of Germany's oldest, housing with thousands of old masters and modern art.  "Blockupy" protesters disrupted traffic making it impossible to find street parking downtown.  Much worse than Vancouver, if you can believe.

Saturday we were taken to the Rheingau region of Hessen, first to Eltville where again we saw half-timbered houses dating from the 15th C. and came across a Rose Festival.  Dinner was at another weinstube whose wine was riesling.  We had a dry riesling which was excellent.  Robert and Gerlinde prefer semi-dry, and they water their wine which seems a sacrilage to us.

 Eltville Rose Festival

  Hiking to Lambertskreuz

 

On Sunday the weather was sunny so we drove to Rheinland-Pfalz, near Karlsruhe, and hiked uphill to have a hearty lunch of wild boar at  Waldhaus Lambertskreuz.  

 Robert and Gerlinde

Monday was our travel day to Italy.  We awoke to find our train from Munich to Trento had been cancelled because of the flooding; the problem somewhere in Austria.  We were fortunate to arrive at the train station early and were able to reroute through Basel and Bern, Switzerland; Milano and Verona, arriving in Trento some 11 1/2 hours and four trains later.  Today is a relaxing day at the home of our Italian friends, Flavio and Cristina, who live a few kms away in the hamlet of Lasino, in the Western Dolomites.  On Thursday, we're leaving with them for Croatia.  This morning they're at work so we had a leisurely start and strolled through the village.

Ciao!