I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve spent the weekend in and around Freinsheim in Germany’s Weinstraße region.
This time we stayed in Wachenheim (first time for us), and used the train to get to Deidesheim (been there a couple times) and the main event on Saturday.
We rolled in as usual on Thursday afternoon and did a simple dinner in the Ferienwohnung with our pals from Berlin, who arrived a few hours after we did. Friday we spent exploring Wachenheim on foot and with our mouths at Hambels Restaurant. We tried for a dinner reservation a day in advance with no joy, but they squeezed us in for lunch on Friday and boy are we glad they did: Sarah and I split a “Rondell” of Saumagen for two, and every single portion on that lazy susan they brought out was more delicious than the last: Rotkohl, Maultauschen, Kartoffelstampfer — it was all wonderful. Don’t miss Hambels if you’re in Wachenheim.
Saturday was the Weinwanderung, and we got there just before 11:00 with the train, largely before the masses arrived. This meant shorter lines, cleaner port-a-potties, and less crowding on the paths between the vines. Perhaps a good model to follow for next year!
This story starts back in 2018 or 2019. We planned a road trip through France, meeting up with a pal stationed with the military in Belgium, and our travel agent (ahem, Sarah) had it all worked out. Then, you know what happened in early 2020. That put everything on hold. By the time we were ready to give this trip another shot, our Brussels buddy was long gone, back to the USA. So we redesigned the trip, but the concept was similar.
This story starts back in 2018 or 2019. We planned a road trip through France, meeting up with a pal stationed with the military in Belgium, and our travel agent (ahem, Sarah) had it all worked out. Then, you know what happened in early 2020. That put everything on hold. By the time we were ready to give this trip another shot, our Brussels buddy was long gone, back to the USA. So we redesigned the trip, but the concept was similar.
This story starts back in 2018 or 2019. We planned a road trip through France, meeting up with a pal stationed with the military in Belgium, and our travel agent (ahem, Sarah) had it all worked out. Then, you know what happened in early 2020. That put everything on hold. By the time we were ready to give this trip another shot, our Brussels buddy was long gone, back to the USA. So we redesigned the trip, but the concept was similar.
This story starts back in 2018 or 2019. We planned a road trip through France, meeting up with a pal stationed with the military in Belgium, and our travel agent (ahem, Sarah) had it all worked out. Then, you know what happened in early 2020. That put everything on hold. By the time we were ready to give this trip another shot, our Brussels buddy was long gone, back to the USA. So we redesigned the trip, but the concept was similar.
Back in May 2023 we met my parents in Birmingham, England and took a train to Wales for a lot of exploring on foot. We stayed in 3 different little towns at inns, with some transport between them on foot and some via taxi. This is Part 3 — Llanberis and departure. See Parts 1 and 2 if you like. Continue reading Trompin’ Around Wales – Part 3
Back in May 2023 we met my parents in Birmingham, England and took a train to Wales for a lot of exploring on foot. We stayed in 3 different little towns at inns, with some transport between them on foot and some via taxi. This is Part 2 — Beddgelert. Review Part 1 if you need to catch up. Continue reading Trompin’ Around Wales – Part 2
Back in May 2023 we met my parents in Birmingham, England and took a train to Wales for a lot of exploring on foot. We stayed in 3 different little towns at inns, with some transport between them on foot and some via taxi. This is Part 1 — arriving in Porthmadog. Continue reading Trompin’ Around Wales – Part 1
We did a long weekend there, departing Regensburg after work on a Friday for Zurich. Staying in Zurich on the way to Milan made it convenient to reconnect with our pals P. and H. We stayed at a B&B Hotel near the Zurich airport, because it’s not far from their neighborhood. I’m not sure I’d stay at that B&B place again (or any franchise, it’s a hotel chain). It felt like it was mid-level between Easy Hotel and Motel One. It would do a in a pinch, but probably not my first choice going forward. After a lovely lunch and chat with our pals the next day, we pressed on towards Milan, arriving after dark in the rain.
Sarah used booking.com to get us a room at Porta Tosa from Saturday night to Tuesday morning. Our host Stefano kindly human-shielded a public parking spot across the street for me on our way in, and we only had to pay for parking on Monday. That was convenient; it worked great with EasyPark. Stefano had the paper logo pre-printed for us to show the meter-checker-person we’d paid that way.
Cibo
We didn’t have any major points on the itinerary besides the Duomo. Porta Tosa is basically a straight line east from the city center on a bus line and a tram line, so we used that a lot. Stefano provided a very useful map with some recommendations for food and activities in the immediate area, and there were good overlaps between his recommendations and Sarah’s own research. We ate at
…besides some fast-food pizza (OMG with cacio e pepe supplì) al taglio and occasional coffee and pastries while out walking around. It was all wonderful, and not at all as fancy as I’d feared. Cooperativa La Liberazione had kind of a hipster socialist gourmet vibe. There we learned the word stinco – much more delicous than it sounds.
Locanda del Menarost squeezed us in without a reservation on Monday night, told us we’d have to eat and give up our table in 45 minutes, but then relented and let us stay when someone else cancelled their reservation. That was wonderful food too – particularly the desserts.
We arrived at al Bacco for lunch just as they were opening, and the hostess greeted everysingle party (except us) with a hug and a smooch initially, and then later chef emerged from the kitchen all smiles and hugs and smooches too. Clearly we’d stumbled upon a local regulars’ joint. It was cool to observe.
Duomo
This was the main attraction, mostly by default. We didn’t come to Milan seeking it out. It was thing the thing that’s there year-round. We opted for the expensive visit package, including the elevator ride to the roof, and the views were worth it. Even under cloudy skies.
You can see the entire set of photos from this trip here.
Blame it on Covid-Stir-Craziness, maybe. But back in…uh, March 2022 we drove across Germany to scope out some wines (some famous, some recommendations) and landscapes and stuff. It was a short trip — just a four day weekend — but we covered a fair amount of ground: from Regensburg to Zurich (just a pitstop to visit a pal), from there to Colmar (our home base), and back to Regensburg with a stop in Heidelberg (another pal to visit). Continue reading Oops, forgot we went to Alsace
