Now its here....now its not

From what we have see so far the Germans are quite efficient. The Lionel Richie concert was on Tuesday night. Two days before the put up an entire stage, fencing to block off the bowling green, and seating for hundreds. On Wednesday afternoon everything was gone and you would never had know that a huge concert had taken place outside in the parks/streets of Wiesbaden.

We have been told the same is true with this sand. We were having dinner one night and saw the workers putting sand down on the cobblestone streets. Now 2-3 feet of sand across this entire plaza is no small feat in itself. We later found out there will be volleyball and soccer played on this field.

Last night when we walked by the work was finished and folks were already enjoying the "beach scene". We'll keep you posted on how quickly this gets cleaned up. We were told that if festivities ended on Sunday the sand would all be gone by Monday afternoon.

A day out: Golf and Softball

Tuesday was a busy day for us. Javier's office had a golf tournament at the local golf course. Our friends Kristin and Keith made up our foursome and the game was Captain's choice. We had a fun day, though our T-Mobile "sponsors" probably expected more from our play (the pink T-mobile hand was a complimentary gift from the bike race a few weeks back....I don't think anyone would have sponsored our team except for maybe Bitburger, a local brew). The one picture I did take was Javier getting a "low" 5 after an amazing drive that saved us on the hole -- It was one of his few straight drives that day :)

After the tournament, his office had their weekly softball game. It was Javier's first time playing with the team, but enjoyed himself and plans to go back next week. This is a picture of Javier just after his great hit.

First glimpse of Rüdesheim

Sunday we decided we take a drive up the Rhine river to do some exploring. Javier also wanted a chance really test out our new car on the autobahn. We drove about 30 minutes north to Rüdesheim which is a small town just along the Rhine. Since it is part of the Rhinegau region there are lots of vineyards here as well.
http://www.ruedesheim.de/

We drove up the hillside to this spot. By chance we had found the upper most point for the gondola rides. Though we didn't ride the gondola's we certainly got to experience a similar view. If you look closely you can see the gondola. From this view we could see all the vineyards, some castles, the Rhine river and many towns that bordered the Rhine.

We also stopped in at the Niederwald Monument. You can see just how big it is when you get a glimpse of Javier sitting at the base. You can read more about this monument at: http://www.ruedesheim.de/en/sehenswert_niederwalddenkmal.html

Wine Fest on Hochheim

This weekend we headed to a small wine town nearby called Hochheim am Main for their annual festival. Like other fests there are always lots of people and lots of food. At this fest you also find lots of wine. Here's the group that made it out on Friday.

Located near the famous Rheingau region there are many wineries that come and have a stand. It is mostly white wines and Sekt (a sparkling wine). You can buy just a glass or a whole bottle, but either way you need to pay a Einwegpfand (single-use deposit) or commonly referred to as a fand. These are not to be looked upon lightly. When you buy a glass of wine you get a real wine glass. To make sure they do get their glasses back they may charge as many as 3 euros for their fand.

On Saturday we found ourselves a spot among the grape vines. Between the nine of us we were able to polish off quite a few bottles. Javier's favorite part was eating the grapes right off the vine!

Our weekend

On Friday we hung out with some friends. We had Thai for dinner (our new favorite since we have been enjoying German food and Italian food altogether too much. While we were having drinks at Scrooge's we caught a glimpse of some real acrobatics right in the street. Check it out (he's behind the crowd of guys with a red shirt on).

This past weekend was also our first opportunity to check out some of the amazing castles along the Rheine river. Every year there is an event called Rheine Aflame where a fleet of boats travel along the Rheine while a series of castles and villages set off fireworks. The views were amazing. Fortunately it was a beautifully clear night (and not raining like it had been for the last week). If only it had been a warm summer night!

Our New Car!!

Today was a big day for us - we picked up our new car. We had decided to sell both of our beloved cars before leaving for Germany so we could experience the Autobahn in true German fashion. So we sold both cars and once getting some solid footing here started looking for a used car that would be able to keep up with our adventures.

We're proud to say we are now the owners of a 2003 BMW 316i. Its a silver car with a sunroof, seat heaters, CD player and roof rack. We've got a ski bag built in and Javi's favorite: the sports package.

Here's a picture of our baby!

Our first bike race (from the sidelines)

Sunday we joined friends to watch a german bike race. The race was 13 laps through the city of wiesbaden; the winner got some sort of special privledge during the tour de france (you can see how closely we follow bike racing). We got a late start to the day but managed to catch the end of the first lap coming down Wilhelmstrasse (a main street in the city).

To get to where Kristin and Keith were sitting we had to climb Idsteinstrasse. This hill could certainly have rivaled any in San Francisco. To our surprise this was the path the bikers were actually taking. Check out their climb up the hill and the beautiful view.

Water from the tap? Not in Germany

We have learned quickly that in Germany tap water is not served. You can purchase a liter of mineralwasser (mineral water) or mineralwasser ohne gas (still water) but those are your choices for water. And even if you order still water they still sort of look at you funny.

So at dinner each night there is either a glass of beer or a bottle of wine and always a bottle of water. Things start to get a bit crowded with all the glasses and bottles. Here's a glimpse of our table a dinner one night in the hotel.

Paulaner

Right in downtown Wiesbaden is a restaurant called Paulaner. Yes, it refers to the beer Paulaner and serves beers and food local to Bavaria (the home of Paulaner). We of course had to stop by so Javi could have a Weis beer Dunkel. Here's a pic of Javi enjoying his first Paulaner in Germany. We promise it will be the first of many!

Our first Fest - Mainz

On Sunday night we decided to check out Mainz ( the neighboring city) and its big fest. Fests in Germany, as far as we can tell, mainly consist of carnival like games and rides, lots of food, and lots of beer. The streets were crowded so it was hard to get a real sense of what Mainz was like but for sure we plan on spending a good deal of time there.

The area along the river was the most beautiful. The old houses had so much character and of course a great view. Here's a picture of Javi sitting along the wall at the river's edge. Behind him to the left are the beautiful houses. We can only imagine the view those pent house apartments have!

Our last stop in Mainz was a beautiful church in the center of town. It was hard to get a good picture of the outside with the fest going one, but here's a picture of Kristine in front of the center couryard.

Europa NFL World Bowl

We're a bit behind but wanted to share some pictures of what we were up to our first weekend in Wiesbaden. We took the train into Frankfurt for the Europa NFL Superbowl game. It was an experience unlike any other. European fans are the most energic fans you'll ever see, and since noisemakers are not banned here like they are in the US, they are also the noisiest fans too.

We went with some of Javier's friends from work. The day started out warm and sunny, but by the time we got to the pre-game fest it was cold and rainy. We enjoyed ourselves none the less, standing out in the rain drinking beer and eating brats. Check out the size of those beers!!

Though the quality of play would not rival the US NFL or even college football in the states, the fans made the game lots of fun. Meatloaf played the pre-game show and the teams were announced with cannon fire and fireworks. Hamburg Sea Devils played Frankfurt Galaxy and in the end Hamburg was victorious.