City Life in Wiesbaden

View from our bedroom window

We took another train ride with London Tube connections to Stanstead, outside London. We decided we did not have time to do justice on London, so we avoided it altogether. We really enjoyed the small cities and towns of England, Wales, and Ireland. My favorite part was the footpaths that criss-cross the countryside. Our last night in England, we walked around the village, and found a "public footpath". These paths are marked, and often go between two hedges.

Footpath sign outside Manuden, England

We were happy to get back to Wiesbaden. John and Elizabeth live right on the Marktplatz, or Market Square. They have a lovely fifth floor apartment, over top of commercial spaces. The view of the Marktplatz and the Marktkirche (along with the bells of that church) is amazing. It was also wonderful to stay in one spot for five days, and there was plenty to entertain us in the city, with the Erntedankfest (Thanksgiving festival) in the park and the plaza, and lots of good restaurants. We also had a few tourist attractions we did not want to miss.

Nerobergbahn, a funicular railway

Our first day back, we roamed the Erntedankfest, saw some wooden exhibits, including a chaise lounge carved from wood, and a crosscut saw exhibition that entertained the children. We also ate our best Bratwurst sandwich from a street vendor, and drank a pint of German Beer, while we watched an oompah band. It was a very nice way to get the feel of Germany, and it was a gorgeous day.

That night, we went to the opera, and saw The Marriage of Figaro (Die Hockzeit of Figaro) at the Staatstheater, a wonderful Baroque opera theatre. Fortunately, we read the synopsis before we went, because they sang in Italian, and the subtitles were in German. It was beautiful, nonetheless, and well-sung. We had to read about Act 4 again after we went home because it was so confusing with all the disguises and various lovers.

Relaxing on a wooden chair

Sunday afternoon John took David and me to the Therme, a classical spa using the natural hot springs for which Wiesbaden is famous. Initially built in the 1880's, the baths have saunas, steam rooms, ice cold showers (and warm ones), jacuzzis, and hot and cold pools. Of course, I do NOT have pictures of this. Bathrobes are the garb for walking from locker rooms to all the various forms of treatment, but nudity is the rule in the saunas and pools. We stayed for two hours, and I felt wonderfully relaxed and rejuvenated when we left, even without a massage (which costs extra). If I lived there, I would go   once a week, just to clean out my skin pores. Elizabeth made her wonderful black bean burgers that night, which were just as wonderful as the other food we ate in Wiesbaden. ( I have not weighed myself since I got home, and I don't want to know.)

Monday, Elizabeth was our personal tour guide around Wiesbaden. We took the tourist train around the city, and also took the Nerobergbahn, a cogwheel train, down from the top of Neroberg, where you can see the whole city and the Rhine River. We also visited the Russian Orthodox shrine, very peaceful and beautiful. We had the traditional snack for this time of year at the mountaintop cafe, an onion cake and federwiesser, which is the first crop of this season's Rhine wine. It has not finished fermenting, and almost tastes like it has lemonade in it. It also has less alcohol than the finished wine, so it was perfect in the middle of the day. Of course, the Germans seem to be able to drink wine and beer all day.

Mauseturm (being refurbished)

Elizabeth, Jessica, and David on the Rhine tour boat

Statue of Hildegard von Bingen

Tuesday we took a four hour boat tour down the Rhine to see all the castles, with a lunch stopover in a small town. We saw fifteen castles along the river, some in ruins, and some still habitable. We also stopped by the abbey of Hildegard von Bingen, a wonderful, peaceful place.

Now we are home, and gradually getting used to being home again. It was a wonderful trip, with a mix of seeing friends and family, and new sights, with some good relaxation, and lots of good eating. I feel less stressed and rejuvenated, and determined not to go too fast and get caught up in the daily hustle and bustle. I will remind myself to go at a measured pace, and take time to sit in the sunshine and listen to the birds.

English countryside hikes

Traveling by train is a great way to get around. We had Britrail passes, and the day before we headed to a new destination, I just looked up schedules online. We had a few frustrating moments, when we tried to figure out what platform we needed when we changed trains, but overall, it was a very relaxing way to travel. It was much less stressful than driving in a strange country on the wrong side of the road! So we headed down the rails to Exeter, to visit a friend from long ago. This was a friend from my college days, but David did not really know her, and neither of us knew her husband. But we had contacted her by e-mail, and she was willing to entertain us for a couple of days. Her husband Fabian picked us up from the train station, and drove us into the country about ten minutes. They have a modern house with a wonderful large garden. We drank Pimm's and cider, and got acquainted, and re-acquainted. It was the first time we stayed out in the country, and it was beautiful and peaceful.

Fabian, Jane, Jessica, and David, outside the Warren House Inn

The next day we went on an excursion to Dartmoor National Park. Remember the moor in Sherlock Holmes and Wuthering Heights? That is the kind of place this was, lots of gorse and heather, sheep, cows, and wild horses. After a good lunch and pint at the Warren House Inn, on top of the mountain, in the middle of nowhere, we hiked up and down hills to the Grimspound, a late Bronze Age settlement, where a huge circle of rocks still shows where the town wall was.

At the entrance of Grimspound

We were home in time for tea, and then went one village away, to the local pub the Red Lion for dinner. The next morning we took a brief stroll through the village. We got to see some British building techniques. Thatched roof houses have a "cob" wall, which is earthen bricks made of clay, sand, straw, and water.

Builder with pallet of cob bricks

The Grimspound in the distance

Another Castle

We have enjoyed touring the old towns of England, and Warwick was no exception. We checked into our room at The Tudor House, an old building from the 15th century, complete with short doors, and wonky floors. They have a nice cozy Pub, with a decent meal (the traditional Sunday Roast). Since we had already walked through the old town with our suitcases, we stayed there our first evening for a meal. We met some nice guys at the Pub who entertained us with their humor, and also bought us another pint of ale.

The next day we toured the famous castle that is right in the town. It was owned by the original family until 1978, so it never fell into ruin. But evidently, the upkeep was more than the family could handle, and they sold it for 1.5 million pounds in 1978. Madame Tussaud bought it and turned it into a major attraction, but of course, had to dump about ten million pounds into it. Our hosts at the Inn gave us a two-for-one coupon, so that made it affordable.

We spent the whole day there, and it was very impressive. They had some shows, that were really amazing. One was the falconer, with birds of prey. He showed off an eagle, and some vultures, flying up to the castle towers.

The next show was the archer. He definitely caught my fancy, but he was also good archer, and explained how the english had made the Longbow so famous, by using it in the Hundred Years' War. He also explained that the peasants were the archers, since they were plentiful, and had a high likelihood of dying in battle.

The views were fantastic from the towers. There was an amazing armor collection, and the scenes of the "party days" of the 1920's were fascinating.

View from the tower

The Great Hall

The last show was the trebuchet. This was a machine used to throw fireballs into a castle that they were attacking.The pictures do not do it justice.

Trebouchet at rest

Trebouchet is ready to fire, arm is completely pulled back

Dog on the train

Fireball is in the sky!

Warwick was a lovely old town, full of old buildings and cozy pubs. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The next morning we bought bread, cheese, and fruit, and walked though the town to the train station. Then we caught another train to Exeter. The trains are lovely, and they even allow dogs!