Tante und Nichte

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Brot und Freunde Bakery in Frankfurt, Germany

Part 1 of this entry will be published shortly, but for now: here we are on the other side of the same day. Everything began as usual with breakfast; though with Klaus and Stephanie out of town spending some days in Konstanz with a side trip to Zurich, we had to walk over to Brot & Freunde to fetch our morning meal. With this being my first visit to this nearby shop, I was astonished at the variety of Brötchen as in 19 choices not counting pretzel variations. This, from a small shop away from all major shopping areas, is a non-descript tiny place, and this doesn’t even take into account the more than a dozen sweet pastries on offer too! If that weren’t enough, they have an espresso machine to make us hot drinks too, which we need to take advantage of as we don’t know how to operate the coffee machine at home.

Caroline Wise in Frankfurt, Germany

While Caroline’s smile suggests a staged photo, she was editing my entry about the Popel eater (boogers) and was having a laugh at my description and, of course, the use of the word Popel, which is probably the first-ever use here on my blog. We are taking things slow this morning as we’re waiting for our niece (Nichte) to arrive around 11:30. This also turned out to be a good opportunity to do laundry as even we need to stop on occasion in service of the mundane.

Jutta Engelhardt of Frankfurt, Germany

Between things, Caroline spotted a photo album that she was curious about and grabbed it. It turned out to be old photos of Jutta and classmates from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. My mother-in-law, at age 14, can be seen in the top left photo, front row, far left. From that, you might be able to identify her in the other three images.

Jutta Engelhardt of Frankfurt, Germany

As is typical with people with dementia, Jutta was able to identify nearly everybody in these images, including first and last names, without thinking twice. As for me, days later, I have zero recollection of who she mentioned, but I suppose that’s not all that important.

Jutta Engelhardt of Frankfurt, Germany

Here’s Jutta at age 17 in 1952.

Jutta Engelhardt of Frankfurt, Germany

From the 60 or so photos in the album, these were the ones we felt were a good representation to set aside for digital posterity.

Caroline Wise and Katharina E. in Frankfurt, Germany

Almost perfectly punctual, Katharina arrives to find these two strangers in the place she grew up in. Our niece is living in Darmstadt, where she attends university. Katharina and I had some time together back in June, so I’m leaving the Tante und Nichte (aunt and niece) for a day with each other. You can follow what I did in the blog entry A Walk Around Frankfurt.

Venus Fly Trap in Frankfurt, Germany

Katharina took a quick look at the potted plants in the kitchen and living room and applied water where needed. She clearly inherited Klaus’ green thumbs. Caroline sent this photo of the Venus fly trap to Klaus to assure him that it had survived his absence. The girls watched a fly hovering around the plant and even landing on one of the traps in suspense, but the fly was able to escape, maybe because the plant was not in need of fresh nourishment.

Caroline Wise and Katharina E. in Frankfurt, Germany

Shortly thereafter, after looking up the local vegan lunch options, niece and aunt were on the way for their own fresh nourishment at Dominion Food Revolution on Gruneburgweg.

Frankfurt, Germany

Not realizing that the vegan shawarma with hummus would be such a gargantuan portion, Caroline was happy that Katharina’s burger was small enough to allow her to share the dish.

Katharina E. in Frankfurt, Germany

Both took photos of the dishes and enjoyed their conversation in the warm sun. Afterward, dessert was in order.

Frankfurt, Germany

Katharina picked a brownie and Caroline a Middle Eastern pudding with rosewater, coconut, and pistachio crumbles. Since Katharina still had some time before her return train to Darmstadt, they decided to swing by “Oma Jutta” at Lebenshaus for a short visit. Criminally, Caroline missed the opportunity for a selfie of all three, but since my middle name is “forgiveness” (among others), I won’t hold it against her for long. When it was time for Jutta to head over to the dining room for supper, Caroline walked over to Eiserner Steg to meet me and pursue our own dinner plans.

Familie und Freunde

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

After moving out of our wine barrel from last night, we ended up in a room at the main hotel that offered us this view of Drosselgasse. What is this place I refer to? Drosselgasse is a famous cobblestone-lined narrow street that slices through the old town, so if you find yourself chilling one day on the Rhein River and are wondering where to stay in Rüdesheim, you too might consider Hotel Lindenwirt. By the way, a very nice breakfast buffet is included with Champagne or wine.

Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

Not certain I had enough images to give a great impression of Rüdesheim, we stepped out to grab a few more, but time was short as we had a train to catch back to Frankfurt at 1:00 p.m.

Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

Not sure I’ve pointed this out before but it’s a convenience I’m in love with: menus posted outside restaurants that make it easy to see what is on offer. There’s always something embarrassing about entering an American restaurant, asking to see the menu, and then walking out as though they aren’t good enough just because you didn’t see something that resonated with you at that moment. It feels like we often compromise and figure it’s good enough rather than turn our backs on a friendly host or hostess. Maybe that’s what is intended?

Caroline Wise in Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

We ain’t leaving Germany without some cheesy gifts after staying in a town many Germans consider declasse and only fit for “Spiesser” or typical commoners below contempt. Well, we’ll own that title, as life isn’t all about snobbery without laughter. Tea towels with prints of German landmarks and mini bottles of Asbach Uralt (the local brandy wine) are coming with us.

Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

We needed to make quick work of the walk along the Rhein back to Geisenheim as every lost moment lingering in the scenery was minutes not spent with family.

Hindenburg Bridge in Rüdesheim am Rhein in Germany

But I’m a photographer and this old Hindenburg bridge ruin is not failing to enchant me every time we pass it. This will certainly be the last image of it until the day we return to the area. The stairs on both sides of the part of the bridge that is still intact lead to a steel gate topped with barbed wire; a drone would have come in handy here.

Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim, Germany

We’ll only have a brief two hours here with Hanns and Vevie, but taking advantage of the opportunity to spend time over the course of three days with them lent a deeper quality than dipping in for a few hours and being gone again for a year or two.

Vevie Engelhardt and Caroline Wise in Geisenheim, Germany

And, of course, once more, a toast was raised to Our Lady of Geisenheim.

Geisenheim, Germany

How quickly two hours pass.

Hanns Engelhardt and Caroline Wise in Geisenheim, Germany

Father Hanns walked us back to the train station and expressed a superabundance of appreciation for our visit, as did Vevie before we left their apartment. There’s a sadness in leaving, knowing that we won’t be visiting again before the next year at the earliest. If the people we spent time with were less enthusiastic, it would be easy to recapture our time and spend it selfishly on ourselves, but with how warmly we are greeted, we can only wish to spend time with everyone weekly if it were possible.

Römer in Frankfurt, Germany

An hour later, we are back in Frankfurt, about to spend a brief hour with Jutta. Chasing through the day, I get sloppy with remembering to take photos, and somehow, I bungled snapping an image of my mother-in-law with Caroline, but I didn’t forget to take yet another shot of Römer.

Frankfurt, Germany

On to our next date, this one in the Bahnhofsviertel.

Sylvia S. and Caroline Wise in Frankfurt, Germany

Early in my previous stint of living in Germany, I met Olaf F. tonight; we are having dinner with him and his wife, Sylvia S. On previous visits, we caught Sylvia at inopportune times when we’d maybe have minutes with her, but that is not true this day. It turns out that Caroline and Sylvia have a load in common and hit it off, spending every second of the seven hours we’ll visit talking, talking, talking.

Olaf F. and Sylvia S. with family in Frankfurt, Germany

This is Olaf and Sylvia with their son and daughter, Johnny and Lucy, more than a dozen years ago. As I’d never seen it before, I asked to take a photo of it for our blog of scrapbook memories.

Olaf F. and John Wise in Frankfurt, Germany

Olaf F. and John Wise on the way to dinner in Sachsenhausen with our wives, who are quite effectively ignoring us as they are lost in gab.

Homeless in Sachsenhausen Frankfurt, Germany

This was our designated meeting place for the other two old friends we were supposed to meet up with, but they were drunk and passed out on the street. We tried rousing them, but they were nearly dead to the world. So the four of us had to eat alone.

On the Main River at night in Frankfurt, Germany

After dinner, the ladies wanted to walk back to Bahnhofsviertel while Olaf felt like the tram, so I accompanied Olaf and Sylvia and Caroline continued their conversation with a stroll along the Main River.

On the Main River at night in Frankfurt, Germany

Well, this was quite the surprise as neither Caroline nor I have ever seen a floating Döner Imbiss, but here it is satisfying the late-night munchies of those out on a walk. America may have created a food truck phenomenon, but maybe it’ll be Europe that creates the food boat wave.

On the Main River at night in Frankfurt, Germany

It’s almost impossible to fully appreciate how safe it is to walk through this city late at night, considering the conditioning that comes with living in the United States that there’s always an element of danger lurking in the back of one’s mind. America has fostered the conditions where people walk with trepidation in our big cities as there seems to be a constant threat to safety with every step. Untreated mental health issues, drugs, easy access to weapons, and a mostly broken, half-functional safety net make for a perfect breeding ground for those on the margin to act in desperate ways, thus putting everyone’s peace of mind into the toilet.

In The Rheingau

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

On the Rhein River in Rüdesheim, Germany

Our hotel is in the heart of all things in Rudesheim and just a minute or two walk from the Rhein River, yet it was an incredibly reasonable 109 Euros per night, and that included breakfast. We didn’t have even two minutes to walk around town as I had a lot of writing to catch up on, and the lighting from the overcast sky wasn’t as conducive as I might have hoped for to capture some images of this historic town. So, from shortly after 8:00 until nearly 10:00, we had a nice slow breakfast of various Brotchen and plenty of coffee. The only thing left to do was return the key for the wine barrel and check in to our other room.

On the Rhein River in Rüdesheim, Germany

I read Google Maps wrong, and instead of 3.2 kilometers to walk between Rudesheim and Geisenheim, it turns out that stupid Google gave me miles while I was here in Germany, so we had 5 kilometers or 3.2 miles.

Rüdesheim, Germany

We’re walking a slightly different route that took us by new photo opportunities, which only added to our travel time. The orchard on our right was full of pears, as far as we could tell.

Rüdesheim, Germany

But when we found an open gate, we took the opportunity to trespass so we could gain a closer look at things. Lo, and behold, apples; apples that said, pick me! Not that we stole anything, but there also were no signs that said it was verboten.

Rüdesheim, Germany

Oh, shall we help ourselves to a pear, too? We don’t mind if we do.

Rüdesheim, Germany

The walnuts we picked were still too green to enjoy, but as I picked one, we didn’t know yet what we were looking at until we peeled it open, exposing its brain.

Vevie, Caroline Wise, and Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim

We arrived relatively early to Haus Engelhardt, and as with yesterday’s festivities, things began with popping the cork on a fresh bottle of sparkling wine. We also took a moment to look at yesterday’s photos to ensure Vevie and Hanns were okay with the images of them that were going to appear here.

Vevie of Geisenheim, Germany

Vevie shared some old photos with us, with this one being from roughly 1948 around the time she would have been 13 years old.

Vevie of Geisenheim, Germany

This photo is from about a dozen years later, around the time she was an extra in the movie, “The Burning Court.”

Hanns Engelhardt of Karlsruhe, Germany

Reminiscing about old photos, Hanns brought out his driver’s license from 1958 when he was finishing his formal studies.

Vevie, Caroline Wise, and Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim

Of course, we talked our heads off until the point nothing immediately in town was open, including the pizza joints so it was off to Bootshaus (Boat House) restaurant that opens at 12:00 and closes at 10:00 p.m.

Vevie, Caroline Wise, and Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim

We were last here just a couple of years ago as Vevie invited us to this exact restaurant. This will be Hanns’ first visit.

Caroline Wise and Vevie in Geisenheim, Germany

And, of course, another bottle of sparkling wine was in order.

Rhein River in Geisenheim, Germany

With a heavy downpour, we just continued to sit riverside and enjoyed a coffee, waiting for a pause in the rain so we could hurry home before the next cloud burst.

Geisenheim, Germany

While the sky threatened us with thunder in the distance and heavy dark clouds, we continued forward.

Vevie, Caroline Wise, and Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim

While these few posts will be short on written details, the moments of the day were jam-packed. So much so that it’s been seriously difficult to find the time to write notes of the days; this here is being written on the train back to Frankfurt the next afternoon. The minutiae of things are not important; suffice to say, there were possibly hundreds if not thousands of smiles shared.

Rheingauer Dom Geisenheim, Germany

Sure, I shared a photo of the Rheingauer Dom yesterday, but it was in the sun while ominous heavy clouds loom overhead to offer a slightly different view of the same church.

Geisenheim, Germany

From the front door of the apartment, this is the view heading towards the Rhein River we’ve now walked on many times; well, at least more than a few.

Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim, Germany

While Father Hanns offers goodbyes from the Engelhardt balcony, we’ve moved downstairs to start our walk back to Rudesheim.

Caroline Wise and Vevie in Geisenheim, Germany

It’s been quite touching to see and feel how much Vevie is appreciating Caroline’s company. Sure, she enjoys my company, too, but those two have a bond that is so obviously special that it has become charming. I only wish we could visit with Hanns, Vevie, and Jutta weekly, while Helga would be too busy for such a frequency.

Caroline Wise in Geisenheim, Germany

We thought we’d be gone in a second until it occurred to us that we could have a Spaghetti Eis right here in Geisenheim before dinner and not spend a penny at one of the Eis Cafes in Rudesheim. So, a short dessert break was taken. I’d like to point out the tragic, awful even, thing about eating outdoors at cafes and restaurants in Germany: the ever-present cigarette smokers who give little concern to those around them who might be eating. We didn’t escape a couple of smokers here at Eiscafe Pillot.

Geisenheim, Germany

Now, with the biggest obligations of the day finished, we can resume our meandering.

Geisenheim, Germany

As we already noted the pears, apples, and walnuts on our way to town, we were now looking for other things, such as weeds.

Rüdesheim, Germany

Then there was this slug I might have stepped on had I not known better about watching where to walk.

Hindenburg Bridge in Rüdesheim, Germany

Another view of the Hindenburg Bridge with a bit of the old roadway visible.

Rüdesheim, Germany

How strange this is to us Americans where very little of the indigenous people’s history of North America still exists and of the religious fundamentalists who populated and erased the Native American’s presence, their mark only really starts to show up on the landscape after the Civil War. But here in Rudesheim, you have a people celebrating the founding of their town that was established back in 1074.

Rüdesheim, Germany

This is Drosselgasse, which slices through the old town and is the focal point where many visitors head for the famous local libations, including a popular coffee with a kick and the region’s wine. Our dinner was taken around the corner and up the street where Caroline was hoping to try a specialty of pig stomach stuffed with various ingredients that were supposed to be featured at the Stadt Frankfurt, but it wasn’t to be as it wasn’t on tonight’s menu. The best we can figure is that this is a seasonal item.

Caroline Wise and John Wise in Rüdesheim, Germany

Here we are in the Eispfad (Ice Lane), which is the narrowest street Caroline and I have been on. Walking shoulder to shoulder is not possible unless you are 5 or 6 years old. After getting to our room, nothing is possible aside from sleep; we are exhausted, although even in that state, I think our smiles betray the level of exhaustion we are operating at. Tomorrow, we have a stop to make before heading back to Geisenheim for a last short visit.

Father Hanns and Our Lady of Geisenheim

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany

I can see it coming: after weeks of traveling by foot, bike, and train, we’ll be getting in a car after we arrive back in the U.S. in a couple of weeks, and in those first moments of speeding down a road, there will be a frightful sense of danger. If you think there’s also a similar sense of danger in riding bikes here in Europe, you’d be wrong. Europeans have rigorous guidelines for acquiring a driver’s license along with strict rules for how you operate a car, which create a [relatively – Caroline] non-threatening environment for bicyclists that must share the road with 2-ton cars.

Enough of that, we have arrived at the Hauptbahnhof as we are leaving town for a couple of days.

On the way to Geisenheim, Germany

This map found overhead on our train shows the stops we’ll be making on our way to Geisenheim in the Rheingau, translating to Rhein District. Wine grapes are this region’s claim to fame along the Rhein River, and we’re on our way to the 11th stop, Geisenheim.

On the way to Geisenheim, Germany

While wine and, specifically, Riesling is a great reason to visit, we are traveling west along the river to visit family.

Father Hanns Engelhardt, Caroline Wise, and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

His Honorable Bundesrichter A.D. Herr Dr. Father Hanns Engelhardt and his wife, Our Lady of Geisenheim Vevie, have an apartment here in the town center. It’s been two years since Caroline has been able to visit while I had just seen Hanns down in Karlsruhe back in June. To celebrate our arrival, a bottle of Sekt (German sparkling wine) was opened.

John Wise and Father Hanns Engelhardt in Geisenheim, Germany

If I’m not mistaken, this is the first photo ever of Hanns and me. Yes, you see that right; I had a glass of water because alcohol in any form and I are incompatible.

Caroline Wise and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

I’ll probably overshare the following, but I want to write this early in the post: Caroline and I could not have been welcomed with more enthusiasm and heartfelt gratitude from Hanns and Vevie than we were. Seeing these two together is turning out to be a special treat.

In Geisenheim, Germany

When I say “together,” I’m referring to the situation that we’ve most often seen Hanns down in Karlsruhe, where he was a judge and for many years, he also served the Lord as a priest in the Anglican church for a local parish. Vevie meanwhile maintained the apartment in Geisenheim.

Father Hanns Engelhardt, Caroline Wise, and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

Originally, we were scheduled to arrive at 10:00, but as is apt to happen, we can’t squeeze as much as we would like to into day after day without paying with some small level of exhaustion that requires course corrections during our vacations. And so it was today that we had to delay our departure with us arriving at noon. After the sparkling wine, we needed to beat feet over to a local restaurant (there are not many in Geisenheim) which closes at 2:00.

In Geisenheim, Germany

With some obvious reluctance, our server sat us at 1:4o, knowing there wasn’t a chance we’d be gone by the time they closed. Somewhere around 3:30, Hanns paid the woman who took over for the man who headed out, and with that, we started our walk back to their place.

In Geisenheim, Germany

On our way to lunch, we passed the Rheingauer Dom as we were already late, but as we had to walk right by on our way back, I made my way over for a quick photo inside. Everyone else followed.

Father Hanns Engelhardt, Caroline Wise, and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

At the front of the church, Hanns shared some of his knowledge of procedures as they happen when service is taking place while the ladies continued their chat. On our way out, we stopped to light a few candles and offer a donation to the church.

Caroline Wise and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

The conversation flowed faster than the wine, but only barely. Yes, the warmth in Caroline’s cheeks is from the sense of joy we shared with family today, though there’s a certain amount that arrived with the libations.

Father Hanns Engelhardt and Vievie in Geisenheim, Germany

After five hours of reminiscing and sharing, it was time for us to go check into our wine barrel, I mean hotel, while there was still daylight so I could capture some photos of our unique lodging arrangements.

On the Rhein River in Geisenheim, Germany

From previous experience, we knew that there was a river trail that would take us to Rüdesheim, and that was the path we opted for.

Campground in Rüdesheim, Germany

No, these are not the wine barrels we’ll be staying at tonight. This photo was taken as a note to our future selves, reminding us that we might want to stay here at Rheingau 524.

Hindenburg Bridge in Rüdesheim, Germany

Wow, was my exclamation as we approached this collapsed bridge. It is the Hindenburg Bridge in Rüdesheim and has been left as a relic of World War II when it was intentionally destroyed in the closing days of the war to slow the United States’ advancement. My photo does NO justice to the scale of elements; I’ll try to share another tomorrow if we walk by.

On the Rhein River in Rüdesheim, Germany

Weather is moving into the region with rain forecast to begin tonight, but in the case of this sunset photo, these clouds are a welcome addition adding drama to the sky.

On the Rhein River in Rüdesheim, Germany

Sorry, Mr. or Mrs. Swan, but we have no snacks that you’ve obviously been conditioned to expect when humans pass.

Lindenwirt Hotel in Rüdesheim, Germany

Time to check into Hotel Lindenwirt here in Rüdesheim.

Caroline Wise in a wine barrel at Lindenwirt Hotel in Rüdesheim, Germany

Did you think I was joking about staying in a wine barrel? In the list of unique lodgings, this is certainly one of our most interesting.

Caroline Wise in a wine barrel at Lindenwirt Hotel in Rüdesheim, Germany

How often do you walk into your hotel room and need to laugh out loud at your good fortune that you’ve snagged something that few people will find as enchanting as you do?

Into the old town, trying to spot something for dinner. Many establishments close at 8:00, which doesn’t leave many options.

I found the one corner that was scruffy enough to lend character to all the shiny new Disneyland-like points in this famous wine-drinking village by the Rhein River.

After dinner, we took a walk looking for a Spaghetti Eis (spaghetti-shaped ice cream I’ve described on many other occasions), and while all four shops we stopped in proclaimed to offer this frozen treat, all of them had already started their closing procedures at 8:30, and the first thing cleaned is apparently the whipped cream dispenser. First of all, good German ice cream shops do not spray fake whipped cream from a can with bright red words on it; they make real whipped cream that tastes like the real thing. Second, Spaghetti Eis without a bed of whipped cream is ice cream with strawberry sauce. Third, I was angry, not because I wasn’t willing to compromise but because these shops close at 9:00, and people visiting from other countries or are on Rhein cruises might forego dessert on their cruise ship or at a local restaurant in order to sit in a cafe and enjoy a parfait are going to be limited in their options to a scoop of ice cream or two.

When I came to Germany earlier this year, I talked with many a restaurant worker or owner who lamented their industry being closed for seven months due to the pandemic. Now here, with the tourism industry open again, the business owners who should be enthusiastic to welcome visitors back appear to only be concerned with their convenience, not my luxury.

Hey Rüdesheim ice cream shops, just shut your operations and leave dessert to the restaurants as you’ve left a blemish on this town. True that many come for the wine, but in such a small town as yours that supports nearly a dozen ice cream shops, it seems that tourism is integral to your economy. Either operate your business honorably for those of us visiting or go away.

And with that lament out of the way, we head into our Winkeler Hasensprung (rabbit jump) wine barrel. The name originates from a local vineyard’s hillside near the town of Winkel. As for the experience of sleeping in a barrel? The bed was inches too short for me, but that didn’t matter one bit as I made it work. Sure, sleep was a bit restless as I had to adjust my contorting position, but who cares? I slept in a wine barrel.

Gott und Wählen

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Can’t forget that we’re in a pandemic, though we are thousands of miles from home on vacation as occasionally the explosive numbers and widespread movement of a new variant in America take hold. While trying to avoid current events, people want to talk, and headlines pop up in the subways on animated billboards. So, we’re going home later this month to the breakout of the COVID variant called Mu. Germany will vote on a new chancellor a few days after we leave, and a note or two about Afghanistan made it to our eyes. Enough of that stuff; I only mention it because today I’m opening with this photo of us on the subway that has us in masks. In previous days, I’ve tried to keep masks out of the picture to offer a semblance of normal as it existed before the age of the Pandemic.

Yesterday, I visited St. Leonhard church and learned of the oldest building in the area, St. Justinus church in Frankfurt-Höchst. Ironically, we had just cycled past it the other day on our family bike tour, and I had no idea. As I brought this up with Caroline, she pointed out casually that this had been one of her many “Fun Facts of the Day” at work but hadn’t thought of it until I mentioned it. With some time available this morning, we took the train out to cross this important historical building off our list of places to visit.

Well, that was the plan. Little could we have guessed that a Catholic church would be closed Monday through Thursday due to the pandemic. Maybe we can come out to Höchst on a subsequent visit to see the Saint Justinus church that’s been standing here and in continuous use since 830, and I do mean the year and not 8:30. I posted a photo of the church from the river the other day during our bike ride and I can’t find a better view from where we are now so I snapped this image of Jesus on the Cross at the side of the church where two gentlemen informed us about the closure much to our disappointment.

Nothing left to do but make the best of a poor situation and return to the square where we had lunch the other day (under the blue umbrellas) and grab a bite to eat before going to see Jutta.

Our very German meal at Gasthaus Zum Schwan of pork variations with bratkartoffeln and cabbage was on order. Caroline opted to supplement the food with a hefeweizen.

Though we couldn’t commune with Gott (God) in his house here in Höchst, we could take some time to appreciate the old town.

There’s so much being said here with stickers that go beyond personal brands and veer into politics and social commentary, but with me falling behind in my blogging, I don’t really have time to decipher the sticker about Bolsanaro, Fuck Peter Booth, or FKTN which is not Fukutin a.k.a., a protein-coding gene.

While this distant suburb of Frankfurt has some quaint and historical qualities, there’s something provincial I sense here, making the place unappealing. I should blame this squarely on my own bias as there’s something about the inflection of the working-class Germans and their chain-smoking that gives them the appearance of blunt dullards on the verge of losing their humanity as they slide down the evolutionary ladder.

Caroline most certainly let out a loud groan reading this last sentence, but to ignore Germany’s class awareness is to simply stick one’s head in the sand, just as Germans are apt to do. I’ve written before about how Germans do not vacation in their own country unless they are skiing in the Alps or visiting Sylt up on the Wattenmeer. This, in my summation, is because, in those two locations, Germans will encounter other wealthy Germans, while in nearly all other locations they risk running into those fellow citizens that embarrass them.

Enough of picking at scabs; time to get on the train and return to the big city.

I walked with Caroline over to Lebenshaus, where Jutta lives; they have a nice clean toilet that’s free. From there, the plan was for me to catch up on writing.

As I headed away from the ladies, I ended up going to the coffee shop I knew they’d be visiting so I could surprise my mother-in-law.

And here they come.

We are at Einstein Kaffee on Römer, where mother and daughter are having a slice of Johannisbeeren cake and coffee while I try to focus on the writing. Once the cake was devoured and the last drop of coffee gone, the ladies headed back to Lebenshaus.

A little later, Klaus joined me for a short time, and when Caroline returned from Lebenshaus, they walked off to meet with Stephanie for a rice bowl dinner at a nearby favorite joint while stayed on to finish my writing for the day. A crowd had been developing in the center of the square outside Einstein; it was a political rally held by the Green Party.

People in the cafe were complaining about the size of the crowd and how last year’s Christmas market had been canceled due to expected crowding, and yet, for politics, the authorities are afraid to impose restrictions as they find that their own voices being heard face to face with the electorate is too important. Whatever serves power is allowed; whatever serves the individual is tertiary after power and money. I do not mean this ironically, as with Germany being in the driver’s seat of the Europan economic engine, they better keep the balance of governance in top form if the EU is to survive.

Too Weird

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Caroline Wise on train to Cologne, Germany

Dropped Caroline off at the main train station at 6:00 this morning for her visit to Köln. That all went well, but after that, things got too weird. I’d like to share why she went into the area of Cologne (Köln), but it was a secret mission to collect “special” equipment and meet someone who shall remain anonymous. Hi Claudia 🙂

Woman with open stoma in Frankfurt, Germany

The photo should say it all but it wasn’t taken under the best conditions as I wasn’t of my mind (or stomach) as I first passed this person. Coming down the escalator the first thing that grabbed my attention was that a woman was sitting topless at a subway stop. That was nothing compared to what I saw next when she stuck her finger in her stoma and flicked what she cleaned out of it on the ground next to her. I had to look up what that technical name was, as I only knew that the abdominal exit thing was her forward-facing new butthole from a colostomy. My stomach turned hard as I grew instantly nauseous, and what the hell was up with the two old guys sitting a couple of seats away from her? That’s the price Germans pay for ignoring the world around them. Finding it rude to look upon people who are “out of sorts” they are in denial of BIG details like this, where a half-crazy person is flicking shit at their feet. I was approaching the valley of hurl and had to avert my eyes. As I boarded the train that had finally pulled in, I saw my opportunity to snap a photo or two, but my camera settings and the lighting weren’t perfectly coordinated, so this was the best I got before the door shut.

Breakfast at Eifler Bakery in Bornheim Mitte of Frankfurt, Germany

With that out of sight, I made my way over to Bornheim Mitte so I could have breakfast at the Eifler Bakery I had been frequenting regularly back in June. All was going well; my nausea had faded, and I got to writing about Klaus and my trip to the Celtic burial mounds at Bulau. Meanwhile, Caroline and I were chatting back and forth about her ride to Köln, her looking for the train bathroom, the train running late, her first sighting of the famous cathedral (Kölner Dom), and, of course, how much we love each other.

Man eating boogers in Frankfurt, Germany

Then it had to go and get weird. This guy sitting just on the other side of the glass a few feet from me started picking his nose, inspecting the catch, and gobbling it down. This wasn’t a one-off thing either, and for the next half-hour, I watched his technique carefully so I could best understand where he was failing at what should have been a stealthy action. Well, he wasn’t failing, as he wasn’t even trying to conceal his booger-picking/booger-eating Frühstück of Popel und Kaffee.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve witnessed such behavior in Germany, but it was the first time I was able to point my camera at a person and snap away as he was too deeply engrossed with finding those annoying nostril obstructions to pay attention to me. So I looked things up online to find out how socially acceptable this is here in Germany, and it seems as though it’s not. The first search result was for Joachim Löw, who’s taken the German national team to win the FIFA World Cup and himself to shame for not only eating his Popel (boogers) on national TV but also sticking his hand in his armpits, under his balls, and into his butt crack before sniffing his fingers. As far as I can tell, these behaviors are not normal for Germany, though I also learned that Dutchmen seem to pick their boogers in public more than any others, though they take pleasure in rolling and flicking them.

Now, I’m afraid to venture out into the city as I have no idea what I’ll see next, but after four hours here at an extended breakfast, it’s time to get going.

Bike horn in Frankfurt, Germany

To any of those people who might have read about my previous visit to Germany back in May and June, just because I’m posting this bike horn doesn’t mean I’ll be diving back into the diversity of bike bells as I did on that particular day in June.

Graffiti and call to action poster in Frankfurt, Germany

It’s voting season in Germany which also means it will be demonstration time too. You need not read German to hopefully be able to see #fridaysforfuture is the theme of this “Climate Strike.”

Jutta Engelhardt and John Wise in Frankfurt, Germany

Let’s say you have an extra four hours where you’re hanging out in Frankfurt with nothing better to do as your significant other is somewhere else, doing god knows what, and you were too lazy to jump on another train to a place like Stuttgart or wherever (actually I was too busy trying to catch up on some writing) so you find yourself at a loss of what to do. Oh, I know, I’ll go and see Jutta because my mother-in-law can be entertaining in funny ways, plus I know she likes spending time with family.

Frankfurt, Germany

Because I showed up without Caroline, Jutta assumed Caroline wasn’t in Germany with me and that maybe it was June all over again. When I told her that Caroline would be visiting tomorrow, she asked if her daughter was on the plane already. Nope, she’s in Köln. Jutta followed with, “What’s she doing there?” Visiting a friend but not Claudia, who probably doesn’t live in or near Köln. Maybe 20 minutes later, Jutta asked where Caroline was and was surprised to hear that she was in Köln and not in Arizona. Can you figure out for yourself how the remaining three hours played out?

All of that is of no serious matter except to remind Caroline and me that one or both of us may be facing a similar future and that, like Jutta, we need to laugh at the silliness of the situation and accept that, “It is what it is.”

Jutta Engelhardt in Frankfurt, Germany

After more than two hours for lunch at Schwarzer Stern, we ambled along at old-lady-with-walker speed to the nearby ice cream shop. Jutta asked for something with fruit, so I got her the €9.50 Deluxe Fruit Boat (about $12). When they delivered it, she was certain she couldn’t finish even half of this giant of the ice cream world. Well, this champ at eating sweets left barely a morsel when they came to take the dish away. Okay, maybe it was a tenth of what was there, but I swear that my mother-in-law can enjoy a good dessert with the best of them.

St. Leonhard Catholic Church in Frankfurt, Germany

After walking Jutta back to Lebenshaus, I took a look at the church next door. St. Leonhard Catholic Church had been closed for nearly nine years before finally reopening recently. The renovation was a major undertaking and surely, attending a guided tour and paying a visit to the nearby Historical Museum would help to put the full picture of the effort together.

St. Leonhard Catholic Church in Frankfurt, Germany

As I entered the church, there was a lady up at the organ practicing, which I chose to appreciate as a free concert. She added the appropriate ambiance to my visit to yet another beautiful little church.

St. Leonhard Catholic Church in Frankfurt, Germany

A man named Karan was watching over the church and offered up some details about the renovation. He noted that St. Leonhard is the second oldest surviving building in the Frankfurt area; the other is St. Justinus over in Höchst, where we were yesterday.

On Zeil in Frankfurt, Germany

Walking through Frankfurt is like weaving across time. I see so many iterations of myself, Caroline, situations, fashion, and variations of themes I’ve experienced before during my life. I don’t see this in New York City, Los Angeles, certainly not Phoenix, and yet this is a composite of those and a hundred other places I’ve been. From singing beggars, thugs, sexy and conservative women, boring business people, addicts, homeless people, foreigners, young people trying to fit in with peers, kids with balloons, all with faces from around the world and ages from all years.

On Zeil in Frankfurt, Germany

With this comes a certain melancholy as I witness so many eras of my own life replaying here in each successive moment. Maybe it’s the density of people combined with the fluid integration of all economic corners in constant movement. Old meets new, and from no-tech to hi-tech, a generation glides by on electric scooters; some walk, others ride bikes, weaving between the heavy pedestrian traffic, too many smokers, and an endless parade of those who glean trashcan after trashcan just minutes after the last person on the hunt for anything refundable. Between those gleaners are the pigeons picking up every morsel of dropped crumb and fry they can run to and snatch before one of their flying rat brethren beats them to it.

On Zeil in Frankfurt, Germany

The music comes and goes as one street musician gives way to another. Busking and bottle collecting might be the most legitimate forms of begging here in Frankfurt. Guys, and I do mean mostly guys, have boxes strapped to their backs and scooters under their feet as they speed by to deliver some food or other across town. The woman who was offering prayer songs had given way to an accordion player who was too much competition, or she had made as much money as she was looking for. I suppose if I spoke better German, I’d get into trouble by asking people about their activities, such as I did when I ran into a member of MS-13 earlier.

How did I know his gang affiliation? The facial tattoos were the first indication. I spent a moment studying his face as we walked along near Römer, making eye contact he gave a look acknowledging his awareness of me staring at him so I said hello. It was enough of an opening that I was able to learn of his Mexican and Moroccan heritage while we walked along, talking in the bit of German I could muster. It took me a minute to gather enough details out of the intricate tattoos before my eyes fell on the area below his bottom lip tucked between his heavy black beard that said, “Stay Away.” Oops, I apologized for not staying away; he laughed and said, “Kein Problem” before we parted directions. Yes, I absolutely wanted to ask for a photo but felt it inappropriate. I regret my timidity in this situation.

Stumbling Stones on Zeil in Frankfurt, Germany

The old-school punkers who’ve set up camp nearby, while kind of silly looking, archaic even, would probably not disagree with their photos being taken, but if history is a good indicator, they will want a nice donation to the beer fund, and they are not so original to warrant even a Euro. The beggars that walk up and present their card in German, offering some plea for money, are the worst as they tilt their heads in some sympathetic nod while muttering “Bitte,” an act I’ve grown tired of.

It’s belly season in Frankfurt with many young ladies showing midriff; more than a few are sporting solid six-packs, to my surprise. Guys looking for those girls are just as likely to have the most incredibly chiseled beards and sharpened hairlines that must certainly slice through the bullshit of flirting and just draw each other in.

On Zeil in Frankfurt, Germany

In America, I feel like I’m on the cultural sushi belt of all-you-can-eat banality being performed on a 30-second loop, trying to induce nausea by repetition. Maybe it is all the same here, but my eyes have difficulties finding it, and my ears cannot pick up on it either; that’s a luxury of my limited German for sure. I have to wonder how long it would take, sitting here watching people on Zeil before it grew old, and I’d run low on inspiration and finding entertainment in the play of life. Just then, the two guys who’d been sitting across from me, eyeballing the girls from Wiesbaden on my right, made their move and approached them. I’m probably smiling too much as the guy who mustered the courage strikes up a conversation. And then it turned a bit creepy when, after trying to exchange info, he enquired where they had parked their vehicle, and it started to feel like a stalking situation. With no interest being offered, the guys moved on, or so I hope.

Central Grill in Bahnhofsviertal Frankfurt, Germany

Here I am back in Bahnhofsviertel, feeling leary as usual as I’ve seen crazy in this area, and while much has been gentrified, there is still that element of tension. I’m at the Central Grill for some solid Turkish food. I know it’s solid, as this isn’t the first time I’ve eaten here. The last time I visited, I wanted lamb, but they were out; tonight, I feast on an order and a half of lamb chops.

While I wait on my dinner, I’ll add this to my blog: my history here near Kaiserstrasse dates back to 1985 when, three days after landing in Frankfurt (courtesy of the US Army), I was introduced to the red light district that was thriving here back then. Since then, only fragments of relics really continue to hold on. How they’ve maintained their spaces during COVID-19 is a mystery, as I can’t imagine hooking is a legit gig during a pandemic. Back in the day, the open use of heroin was just a thing that was going on while pimps patrolled certain areas as women in their control worked illegally on the streets. Legalized prostitution was limited to houses licensed to offer such services. The last time I held my breath and entered one of these old decaying buildings, the charm as it was, was long gone and replaced by trepidation. I never had felt things were all that sketchy, although I had watched all manner of things unfold, and here I am today, possibly feeling vulnerable due to my age but all the same, I’m still drawn into the underbelly.

Bahnhofsviertal Frankfurt, Germany

Then, when I’m exposing my inner-sissy, I watch a couple of older people walking by two young women are out for a stroll, another old guy on his e-bike rides down the street, and here’s this overweight aging American conditioned to suspect anything that looks different to be potentially hostile. This realization eats at my ass as this idiotic fear has been planted long ago, and every time I’ve confronted it when as a young teen walking thru Skid Row in Los Angeles, visiting squatters’ flats here in Germany, looking for the goods in various red-light districts across Europe, or buying drugs from some shady characters, and even striking up the conversation with a member of MS-13 just today, I find that my anxiety wanes as soon as I confront this BS.

Here at 8:00 p.m., Caroline just reached out that she’s on her first connection that will bring her from the area where Claudia lives to Cologne for the transfer to a high-speed train that will zip her back to Frankfurt and into my hugging arms. In the meantime, I sip my Turkish tea, work on finishing the bottle of mineral water, and fret that I only have 71 minutes left on the battery for this notebook. I suppose that as I finish this and settle my bill, I can go people-watching at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and hope that I don’t encounter stoma lady again.

It’s only 90 minutes before Caroline arrives, but then again, it’s 90 minutes.

Today was our 7th day in Germany, and it feels like it was nearly a month ago that we left Phoenix. Watch how I change my tune when, in two weeks, we are about to board our flight back to the US, and I lament how it all went by too fast and that we barely had enough time to do much of anything. Maybe our next trip we’ll finally take in Paris or Amsterdam, which for some reason seem to hold a lot of weight in measuring if we went far enough and saw all there was to see. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel cheated as our time spent anywhere is usually deeply immersive, and this certainly qualifies for that, but the more we pack into our limited schedule seems to burst the experience quotient.

Have you noticed that on a day without my wife by my side, I’m a verbose guy with nothing better to do than write? Yeah, I’m noticing it too, but you’ve got to appreciate that when we’re together, I’d rather spend time with her than with my computer. Time to call a server over so I could pay the bill and use their toilet, which is not a toilet at a train station.

Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany

Seriously? The next bit will be hard to believe as I was just worrying about such a thing at dinner. I headed down Munchenerstrasse towards the main train station, and as I started to round the corner, a group of 7 or 8 men was crowding the sidewalk as I tried sliding between them and a woman with a stroller, one of the guys with his back to me stuck his leg out behind him, catching my left foot and as soon as he did he and a couple of others turned around and joined their buddies leaning against the wall. I’d imagine that had I gone down, there would have been three or four guys helping the old guy who just fell down back to his feet. Only then, I’d be minus a thing or two, such as the computer bag over my shoulder or the camera I had wrapped around my wrist and gripped tightly.

This pumped my adrenalin hard as I’ve seen this very thing happen years ago, but the guy that had been brought down was pummeled to disorient him. Situated in a sketchy part of the train station, it could easily have been deduced that the victim must have been drunk or on drugs and was simply suffering from his own stupidity. Such is the danger of walking alone on a street I knew I should have left but didn’t want to be paranoid about.

Now, in the train station, sitting at track #20 waiting for Caroline, I have to contend with the occasional beggar asking for “Kleingeld” or loose change. My answer is always the same, “Ich hab keins” (I have none). With a notebook in my lap, my phone/hot spot in my pocket, and a DSLR on my side, I always wonder when someone might run by and grab something. This, too, happened when I was 16 or 17, leaving a concert in Los Angeles as someone tried grabbing my SLR (back when film was still the thing), but then, like now, my camera strap was wrapped a couple of times around my wrist, and the lens gripped tight. The guy didn’t get my camera, but I went down and damaged the lens.

Thinking about these moments, I remember when my 1969 Chevy Nova was broken into at Huntington Beach in California and all of my cassettes stolen or the time in Amsterdam after visiting the Van Gogh Museum when I got back to the car and found I couldn’t open my trunk. It had been forcefully opened, and the key no longer worked. Feeling nauseous about why this would be, I stuck an arm into the trunk through a hole where a speaker used to be before I had torn it out, and my searching hand found nothing. That nothing included a very expensive (for the time) Sony Hi-8 pro video camera. The idiot who stole it probably got $50 to $100 for it so they could score some heroin, and the buyer picked up a useless NTSC camera that wouldn’t have worked on any European television as they used a system referred to as PAL that was incompatible with the American system.

Damn it, I’m tired of these panhandlers and need to put the writing to the side and go walking around in the busier areas.

Caroline Wise at the Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany

And here she is, finally, and on time: Caroline, returning from a lovely day with her friend. The colorful bag is a caddy for craft items hand-sewn by Claudia. The backpack contains a travel spinning wheel that only weighs 3.5kg and should fit in an airplane overhead compartment. Overjoyed, we hugged and made our way to the U-Bahn. I would like to say that the rest of the night passed uneventfully, but the weirdness returned once more. On our last leg out to Heddernheim, a young man tried to pass by a couple of old guys who were hogging the space in the middle of the train. He asked one of them politely to make space, and the old man, for no apparent reason, went ballistic, shouting insults and ranting about Auslanders (foreigners). Just as I considered the necessity of getting involved, a tall younger man slowly moved between the angry old man and the young guy who was defending himself verbally yet dignified. Eventually, the old guys left the train, and the tension was released. The day, in some ways, was “Too weird.”