Month: September 2019

Zweierlei Wanderungen, Wein und Bier

So much Wanderung this autumn!

Kulinarische Weinwanderung Freinsheim 2019

We did the Freinsheim Kulinarische Weinwanderung again this year. And again our pal Snooker joined us for good wine, good food, and especially good company. This year was a little trickier than most with regard to accommodations. Seasonal demand in the area is always high, so we plan far in advance. But this year, our Ferienwohung host bailed on us with rather short notice, and we had to hunt for a place to stay months later than normal. The pickings were slim, but we managed to make it work through AirBnB. We stayed in Flörsheim-Dalsheim and used the local transit system to get into and out of Freinsheim on the Saturday of that weekend. This is a trick our pals the Heidelbergers taught us back in 2012 on our very first Kulinarische Weinwanderung.

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Dom, Illuminated

Last week one of our city’s most identifiable symbols played dress-up. You can read more about the event on the city’s webpage here (in German). The occasion is the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Dom’s towers. We probably would have missed the memo on it completely, but a colleague of mine called our attention to it.

For reference, here is what it looked like before the light show began:

Music and a narrative, from the perspective of an apprentice and master stonemason, accompanied the light designs projected onto the cathedral. These stills look nice, but really it was the illumination’s animation that made it clear how the cathedral looked at different phases over its history.

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Parte 1: Piombino Dese and Venice

Piombino Dese and Ca’ de Memi

We’ve visited Piombino Dese twice before, at the agriturismo "Ca’ de Memi." It’s a great place to stay on its own, due to its location in Veneto: Bassano del Grappa, Asolo, Treviso, and Castelfranco are all easily reachable by car or train. It’s also a fantastic place to eat. If you’re going to visit Ca’ de Memi, book it soon, because this month they got a write-up in the Guardian as one of the ten best cooking classes with stays in Europe. We have enjoyed their food immensely, but not yet taken a cooking course there…maybe next time!

This time the draw to us was the five-minute walk from the train station. From there we did a 40-minute train trip to Santa Lucia station in Venice.

  • Breakfast at Ca’ de Memi
  • Just down the street from Ca’ de Memi

Venice and Piazza San Marco

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Parte 0: Italian Road Trip September 2019

It’s not every year that we get TWO trips to Italy. Last time our focus was Tuscany. This time was a mix of new and old destinations in Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, showing Sarah’s mom some stuff we knew, and some we didn’t. Clearly this is going to have to be split into several different posts. We took way too many pictures to cover it all in one post. Stay tuned for individual segments to follow.

The Route

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