A Bit of This and That
I believe I mentioned at some point that my husband and I are going to Germany for two weeks. We are flying into Frankfurt and staying nearby. If you are familiar with Germany I would love suggestions of things we absolutely should do. We are looking for a few day trips by train. We love wandering around pretty towns, sitting in coffee shops, touring historic houses, and going on pretty walks. I also would love to visit a yarn shop or two. I usually do tons of book shopping on vacation but since I don’t read German beyond the basic words to get by I don’t think that is going to happen. However, I do have a strange desire to own a German copy of Pride and Prejudice.
Speaking of yarn and hobbies, here you can see my progress on the sweater vest I am knitting and my latest embroidery project. I am fully aware there are several egregious errors in the knitting but I am simply barrelling on ahead. My mantra is “done is better than perfect.” I think when I finish the vest I am going to do several small projects that involve new skills. I want to try cabling and colorwork and all kinds of stuff. I am sure that too will be filled with egregious errors but that is the nature of learning something new.
Yesterday morning I went for a walk with a friend and we saw this gorgeous heron posing by the little beach. We walked right next to him and he never moved a muscle. He was quite majestic.
While we are on the subject of walks, this photo was taken on an evening walk with my husband around the little lake next door to our apartment complex. The park department has planted several large sections of wildflowers and I heartily approve. They are absolutely gorgeous. I know many people have had unusually hot summers but ours has been unusually cool and I am not complaining at all. I hate heat. I might have mentioned that before. My husband is very pleased that I am occasionally willing to go out for walks and I am pleased that I can do that without melting into a headachey, grumpy puddle.
I have bought a few books recently and I will write a post about them soon. That was my plan for today but it is a cloudy, gloomy day and no book photos are turning out well. Maybe I can manage to acquire a few more before I get around to writing the post. I found out there is a bookstore I haven’t been to yet about 25 miles away and I absolutely need to visit it. I hear it has bookshop cats! And the first review on Google says “Be sure to ask about the secret basement.” How can I possibly be expected to resist that?
I need to go get ready for work so that is all for today. But, don’t forget, if you know Germany at all please send a few recommendations my way. I will be forever grateful and will eat a slice of cake in your honor.
10 Comments
Eileen Thomas
This is a restaurant in Schriesheim, in an old castle, up on the foothills overlooking the Rhine valley and the Bergstrasse. We have eaten there twice, when visiting former neighbors who now live nearby in Weinheim. Delicious food and an absolutely incredible setting. Have a wonderful trip and I can’t wait to read about it!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g198472-d742540-Reviews-Strahlenburg-Schriesheim_Baden_Wurttemberg.html
jllee656
Thank you for the suggestion! I will definitely take a look.
Claire (The Captive Reader)
I know Germany fairly well, but the area around Frankfurt is new to me. It is however a reasonable distance to the Black Forest, which I adore. I usually stay in Freiburg, one of my very favourite towns in Europe, which is about 2 hours by train from Frankfurt. Closer (at 1.5 hours) is the historic spa town of Baden Baden, which has great walks ranging from the elegant spa promenade along Lichtentaler Allee or more nature-focused routes through the surrounding forest (the Panoramaweg which encircles the town is superb and you can pick which stage you want to do – all start/end points of the stages are accessible by public transit). Plus there are the thermal baths, which are a wonderful experience. For a spa town closer to Frankfurt, I hear great things about Wiesbaden. Heidelberg is only about an hour away from Frankfurt and is very pretty, but may be the least German-feeling place I’ve been in the country as it is full of foreign tourists – good if you want to speak English though! The short Philosopher’s Walk there is very nice and has beautiful views of the Old Town. I visited Heidelberg back in 2018 and posted some photos then: https://thecaptivereader.com/2018/12/09/europe-trip-austria-and-germany/
Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a wonderful time!
jllee656
Thank you for the recommendations. We had been considering a trip down to Freiburg or Baden Baden so it is good to know you recommend them so highly. We are actually staying in Weisbaden. For a variety of reasons, we need to base ourselves in one location and that looks like a nice city without being overwhelming. I read your post from 2018 and the photos are gorgeous!
Katrina
Great photos, it’s always a good day when you see a heron. I’ve been knitting since I was five but I just cannot get on with circular needles, so I’m impressed. Enjoy Germany, whatever you get up to.
jllee656
I’ve only ever tried circular needles. One of my coworkers loaned me some to try. I think all the different knitting methods are interesting.
Tanja
Have a great time in Germany
jllee656
Thank you! We are home now and we had a wonderful time.
Lucinda
Have you already been and returned? So many places along the Rhein and short train rides from Wiesbaden. Mainz has Roman ruins. Trier has the best Roman buildings. And then you can stop off on the way back at a few Moselle wine villages. I so wish I could go back to Germany rather than be stuck here working!
jllee656
We left right after you posted this comment! It was such a lovely trip. You are right, I would happily go back instead of being stuck at work! It was nice to hear from you again.