Day 11: Schrebergärten (Wednesday, August 31st)

We will get to what is a Schrebergärten later. I get out of bed just before 09:00 this morning so this was by far my best sleep. Not sure how many hours I slept, but it was a decent sleep with some waking up and going back to sleep. When I got up Lana already on the couch. I did have my custom ear plug in my ear and we had the side blinds down which helped with railroad noise and light. In all probability the Thai massage worked wonders and the Melatonin may have assisted. 

It has rained already this morning as the forecast was for rain during the day and a thunderstorm in the early afternoon. Neither of us could get moving this morning. It is 22 degrees in the late morning and mostly cloudy. We try to figure out our plan for the early afternoon. Our Weingut appointment is not until 15:00 so we have some time. Finally we decide on our first hike of the trip and Lana finds a trail that is only about eleven minutes by car and should have some great vantage points of Trier. She brings her umbrella in case of rain and I wear my SAP wind shirt. Lana preps some cheese, cold cuts and rye bread so we can have lunch on the go. 

Tricky finding parking for this hike. Lots of "Parken Verboten!" signs and we are on a narrow lane in the middle of nowhere. After parking we decide to eat our lunch in our vehicle and then get hiking. It is always complicated trying to find the start of these trails and then head in the correct direction. Our hike is MOSELHÖHENWEG trail and it connects with the famous Moselsteig trail. We follow the signs below that identify our trail. This link will take you to our hiking data. Just click on it. It was not a long hike and only about 100 metres elevation gain, but we were in the woods with some great views of the Mosel and Trier. Very smooth paths and it was rare we ran into any other hikers. Some birds chirping, but otherwise no wildlife. Good first hike for our Deutschland trip. 

            The black Capital M sign Moselhöhenweg is what we need to follow on our little adventure in the forest. 

Yup, the Germans are pretty good with their signage on these many trails. In this area there are a number of trails and some run parallel to each other. 

This is a restaurant at the top of the hill and on our hiking trail. Lots of parking for cars as well near the restaurant. Great views from their dining room. Plus, they had a washroom just beside the front door. Out front of the restaurant was a huge patio that must be a dining area and beer garden on sunny warm days. 

The following two pictures were taken from a vantage point near the above restaurant. Between this hill and the small city of Trier is the Mosel River. This river originates in France and is called the Moselle.  

While driving to our Weingut appointment we came across a sign for Fart Diner. Yup, it is true although I cannot find it via Google. While we are driving Lana spots a Smart Car Roadster model and loves it.

We simply can't resist posting these pictures of the Mosel and Saar Riesling vineyards. They are on the sides of mountains and hills. Super steep grade. Not sure how they manage these vines and then having to pick the grapes!

The Mosel River with many vineyards along the river and on super steep grades. 

We arrived at Weingut Carl Loewen exactly on time for 15:00. Driving in the countryside it is imperative you have a GPS unit either in the car or in a cellphone app. We were tasting here six years ago with Christopher and loved all their Riesling wine. At that time his Dad was still the winemaker although they shared responsibility. His Dad is recently retired so Christopher is the winemaker. We spent almost a full 90 minutes sitting at his informal tasting table. It was good to catch up with him and enjoy their Riesling.

      Randy posing in front of their home which doubles as their business centre and wine tasting. 

Randy and Christopher Loewen sitting at his wine tasting table. Pretty informal. No wine tasting fee either. Very charming young man who is now a chair on the powerful VDP. Interestingly he asked us which Weingut we were planning on tasting at and he was pretty happy with our choices. He considers these Weinguts to be among the very best and they follow the same standards and techniques. 

These are my notes from our wine tasting with Christopher:

- the growing season has been very dry this year due to global warming

- he knows the wine director at Weingut Robert Weil in the Rheingau (Nico Pfaff)

- Christopher is involved in the organizing of the huge German Riesling Wine Auction this year

- he employs the traditional Riesling wine making with no cooling or heating of the wine during its fermentation phase

- simple process is pick, ferment, press and then only one filtration

- use the old fuder casks

- 2021 was a dry vintage due to the climate

- preference is for old vines as they have much deeper roots and even growth and the old growth wines have more length and complexity plus less alcohol

- 2021 vintage had good acidity which made for more elegance in the wines

- working in the cellar to ensure the wines are balanced between sugar and alcohol/acidity

- being a winemaker is like being a parent: nature vs nurture

- their oldest vineyard is from 1896 planting and maybe the oldest Riesling vineyard in the world

- when Napoleon took over this part of Germany he decided to classify all the vineyards which had been operated by monks -- he forced the monks to sell their vineyards and his ancestor bought some land

- he treats his wines "gently"

- the Mosel valley is mostly Catholic and not Protestant --- due to the fact that Trier was the northern capital of the Roman empire

- GG designation (Großes Gewãchs) is the Grand Cru of German dry Riesling wines

- a couple of years ago he spent 10 days in the USA visiting 10 states and was amazed at just how different each area was from the other states

- with current climate change they pick the ripe grapes in a much more narrow time period than previously so logistics are completely different and much more challenging

- they are a small winery so Covid was not such a challenge as they kept smaller employee bubbles during harvesting

- business is still good and sales are strong - they sell out each vintage

- 40% wine sold within Deutschland and 60% exported

- they are not selling any wine to the Russians

- overall great conversation which even involved global politics

We loved all the seven bottles of Riesling he served. He provided a one-pager outlining his wine with various details. Also, I made notes on this paper confirming residual sugar numbers, acidity and alcohol by volume. Lana made her own notes as well as we need to make decisions on which bottles we want to buy and take back to Vancouver. Alte Reben means old vines. Christopher's wines are very inexpensive compared to other Riesling Weingut as he is smaller and not much overhead. He describes each particular vineyard by its slate:

- grey slate creates a saltier and more mineral forward Riesling

- some of the grey slate vineyards also have quartzite rocks

- red slate creates more iron content, more herbal tastes and can be more powerful Riesling

- Herrenberg vineyard is red slate with 100+ year old vines and is at a higher altitude which means these grapes ripen later in the year and are picked later of course

- the highest alcohol volume is about 8% so not much alcohol in his wine

- he produces dry Riesling, medium-dry Riesling and the sweeter Riesling like Auslese and Spâtlese

- the winemaker is trying to balance the acidity with the sugar levels and have a low alcohol wine

- we purchased three bottles of his Riesling totalling 59 Euro and all were 2021 vintage

- 2021 Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett, 2021 Ritsch Auslese and a 2021 Maximin Herrenberg "1896" Riesling Alte Reben Trocken

Back on the road and I am getting hungry as it is now around 16:45. Also, many road diversions due to road construction. Maybe I did a few illegal u-turns?  I ask for more German cuisine and Lana googled a few places in Trier. She finds an interesting place with 4.7 out of 5 rating and it is not too far from where we are staying but too far to walk. Vereinshaus Tempelbezirk Trier Süd. You can find them on Facebook. They are listed also as a Beer Garden. You cannot get parking anywhere close to this place and we find out as soon as we park and then walk. 

This very casual restaurant is located in a Schrebergarten. If you have been to Deutschland and traveled on their train system you will have seen these interesting places along the rails. Basically small plots of land with a cabin and lots of gardens. Well this place is located right in the middle of a Schrebergarten (German Garden Colony). No cars can drive into these areas and given their more rural nature difficult to find parking nearby. 

This is our German restaurant located within a Schrebergarten. Pretty informal and you might walk right by without realizing it was a biergarten I can bet not too many fellow tourists make it here. No English menu is a give away. Our server was friendly and helpful. We sat outside on their huge patio and under one of their massive Bitburger umbrellas. It was cloudy, but warm. Their prices are very cheap compared to other places we have eaten. Plus, portion sizes are not quite American size, but pretty big! You won't find a picture of Lana's meal as she was too busy eating my dinner. She ordered the braised pork cheeks in pork sauce and they were delicious. Dipping the rye bread in them was special as well. 

Lana's mineral water and my Humpen Pilsner beer. I could not resist the name. 

Wow, this is my first schnitzel on our Deutschland trip and it was awesome! I ordered the Schnitzel with Spargel (white asparagus) and ham and käse baked on top. Two schnitzel patties means I won't need to eat for another 24 hours. The fried potatoes reinforced my feeling that the Germans do the very best fried potatoes! Well, they are not healthy but they are delicious! LANA: And Randy's secret talent for ordering the best dish on the menu strikes again!  I would have never thought that schnitzel with ham, asparagus and cheese melted on top would taste so good--too much going on to appreciate the simplicity of the schnitzel, but it was ridiculously delicious and I would definitely have Randy order this again so I could eat it. 

A typical German salad with carrots, marinated cucumbers, lettuce and marinated Daikon radish.

Back to our apartment before the major rains hit just before 19:00. I am busy comprising our blog while Lana is trying to stay awake sitting on the couch and watching German tv. Stopped raining after about 30 minutes. The trains are zooming along on a regular basis. For some reason the people staying below us love to slam their door? Randy gets to watch a live DFB-Pokal (German Cup) match between his favourite Bundesliga team Bayern Munich and their opponent Viktoria Köln. The opponent is terribly outmatched by Bayern's talent.   

Lets hope for a good sleep tonight!! Gute nacht    :-)

Day 10: Our Riesling Pilgrimage (Tuesday, August 30th)

Well, another weird night sleep wise for both of us. At some point Lana got out of bed and went to the living room to try and minimize the noise from the trains. I woke up at 02:30 and never fell back asleep. For a few hours in the early morning there were not many trains, but before 05:30 they started coming on a regular basis. As you can see from the picture I took from our bedroom window these trains are just below us. While most of them move very fast they are noisy. Plus, they shine lights when they pass that enter the room given the drapes are pretty flimsy. When I booked this place, there was zero mention of living beside the rails. Yikes. Not sure how the people that live here get used to the noise?

                                                      These electric powered trains are really close!

Another facet of this apartment is that the wooden floorboards are very creaky! Whether you are quietly stepping or striding the boards constantly squeak. This is the same for the persons living above us. Someone around 06:00 got up and then eventually went down the stairs and I could hear the entire time they were in their apartment then down the stairs to the outside. Another yikes!

We were trying to figure out where our current Airbnb apartment is in relation to where we stayed six years ago in Trier? I finally obtained the exact address of our first Airbnb apartment. I can see it is about a 25 minute walk north from our new place in the south of Trier. Our old place was located right in the downtown area and close to the Mosel River and downtown amenities. There are about 120,000 people living in this small city situated along the Mosel River. It is the most ancient city in Deutschland, courtesy of the ancient Romans making this their very first settlement in the area now called Germany. 

We decided to return a second time to Trier as we are huge fans of Riesling! In our humble opinions the best Riesling in the world is here in the famous Mosel valley. We visited up to 25 wineries (Weingut) during our 2016 visit and have some real favourites. The vast majority of German Weingut you need to make an appointment in advance. Plus, this ensures they have an English speaker on staff although Germans are like the Danes as many speak fluent English. Unlike our first visit when we were visiting between two and three Weingut each day we are limiting ourselves to one Weingut each day. We have most of the day to relax and/or figure out some activities before we do our wine tasting later in the afternoon. 

Funny thing when I was talking to our friend Markus (lives in Frankfurt am Main) last night about Riesling and our opinion of the Mosel having the elite Rieslings in the world, he stated the Rheingau had superior Riesling. We do love their Riesling and it is excellent, but on a rating scale we would go with the Mosel. He said Germans describe the difference like this..."the Rheingau is for a Man and the Mosel is for a Woman". I am pretty sure that is an insult of the Mosel and me!  ha ha

Lana is a pretty good navigator on foot with her iPhone Google Maps app. We need to walk down this narrow lane to get to the main street. 

Pastries we purchased this morning at Brotsube Albertmühle (no website) located on Matthiasstraße (main drag in this neighbourhood). Lana did her research for a great bakery located nearby. Long morning walk, but worth the effort. The clerk was super helpful and spoke decent English. The bread is sourdough style but 1/2 rye and 1/2 wheat flour milled by the owner of the bakery. The crust is a dark brown and when we had some with our dinner tonight it was toothy, inside soft and baked crustier = flavourful, good chew and tasty. This bakery bakes their bread loaves to different "doneness" recognizing that some customers prefer a crunchier crust on their bread. Pretty cool concept for how they sell their bread based on customers tastes. The light coloured pastry on the left was Lana's choice = rhubarb creme Danish style. The chocolate covered looking cookie is a cheesecake style treat. The long white pastry is plum filled goodie. As usual with European pastries they are not super sweet so the taste is superior to our North American style treats. 

On our way back from picking up pastries we stopped at Natsuda Thai Massage place fairly close to our apartment. A Thai lady who spoke excellent German, but no English tried to help us. We did figure out she had appointments available for 18:00, but we were not sure about our schedule. The idea is we both could use a massage in my case I have had great success with my jet lag insomnia having my head properly massaged. We need to figure out what time we are back from our Weingut tasting/dinner so we could make a massage at that time. 

We determine we can make it work. Also, we want to head out for the long walk in the heat to the Zentrum (central) area of Trier. The high today will be 29 degrees Celsius. While walking along Matthiasstraße we find the shadows from the buildings to avoid as much direct sun as possible. Plus, Lana has brought her trusty umbrella for more shade and protection from the UV rays. Yikes, it is hot but we choose to keep a good fast pace as we are both hungry. 

The Zentrum area is comprised of an outdoor pedestrian walking mall that goes on for quite a distance with many side feeder streets. Lots of shops, restaurants, businesses, tattoo joints, hookah shops, grocers, jewelers etc. We decide to get lunch at Kartoffel Kiste and they have an outdoor table that is in the shade! Today there is no way we are eating outdoors unless it is in the shade! Lana says we ate at this restaurant six years ago. She has an excellent memory for restaurants. The restaurant is packed and always newer customers lining up. Its specialty is fried potatoes and they are indeed perfect!  

Lana's order of mit Trierer Wurstsalat which is a sausage salad Trier style (sausage, onions, cucumber). This is a different version than the Wurst Salat I make for us. Lana says my version is 10-X better!

Randy's order: mit Gebräuntem Leberkäse und Spiegelei. With Fleischkäse (a German type of meat loaf) and one fried egg. I am a sucker for any food order that has an egg. Plus, I love Leberkäse. There were two slices of Leberkäse so that was even better. I loved this version. The mustard was your typical German mustard (senf) with a little bit of punch to it. I absolutely loved the fried potatoes!

The part of the Menu that applies to our orders; #46 & #47.

Following our yummy and filling lunch we decide to walk around this area although it is very hot. We go into a DM drugstore/market as we are still looking for a third suitcase (for our wine) and Lana needs more Melatonin. She finds a spray Melatonin and will give that a try although she usually does the pills. The sales girl was very helpful. They do not have Viraleze which has been recommended during the pandemic as a nasal spray that destroys viruses. 

Lana has a great idea while we are walking in the area about buying some pretzels for our car ride to and from the Weingut. We pick up our goodies at Lohner's Back-Spektakel and later while returning from the Weingut we loved their flavours. 

Time to return to our apartment although walking even in the shadier areas along the main street is extremely hot. Stopping at a couple of more shops so by the time we arrive at the apartment we have time to get changed and into our air conditioned rental vehicle and then the 25 minute trip to Saarburg. 

Lana finds this novel place in Saarburg and takes a picture. It looks like an ATM machine which is supposed to make pizza in 3 minutes. It was getting fixed though so she couldn't see it in action. Interesting concept though. 

Funny sign at the Weingut we visit later today. Basically you are asked to stand a minimum of 18 Wine Bottles apart. More fun than 2 metres...

We decide to take three photos in and around Saarburg which is on the banks of the Saar River. Their vines grow on the incredibly steep slate hillsides and that is what gives their Riesling flavours that can't be replicated elsewhere. Seeing these steep hills covered in vines brought back our awesome memories from six years previous. I think the pictures speak for themselves. 

We arrive at Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken a little early for our 15:00 wine tasting appointment with Hanno. They were one of the first Weingut we visited six years ago and at the conclusion of visiting about 25 wineries this was one of our very favourite Weinguts! Normally, they charge 20Euro per person for wine tasting of up to eight Riesling wine. If you purchase a certain value of their wine then they will waive the tasting fee. In our case they have already waived the tasting fee as they know we are sincere about tasting and purchasing Wein. 

We spend up to sixty minutes tasting and talking with Hanno. He was our wine guide six years ago and now retired as the former winemaker. Very knowledgeable and proud of his Weingut and rightfully so. He provides each of us with a pamphlet listing each of their wines with details for each bottle inclusive of pricing. Most of the wines we will taste are 2021 vintage, but we taste a 2009 and 2005 vintage! How many wineries pull out these old vintages when you visit? Also, his pours are generous. No problem with potentially getting drunk as the alcohol volume is never more than 8%! Compare that to 95% of other wine varietals as they are always much higher in terms of alcohol volume. 

I made the following notes:

- the 2018 and 2019 vintages were pretty decent

- their Weingut has three VDP categories from lower quality to higher quality being Estate, then Village and at the top Grosse Lage which only involve the very best grapes from the very best vineyards. 

- they have a Zilliken Butterfly label which represents their style of winemaking identified by Stuart Piggott (finely layered)

- when naming their wines only the peak of the vineyard grapes gets the name of the actual vineyard

- 2021 vintage was more humid weather than the previous two years

- comparing residual sugar levels against other Weingut is misleading as each winemaker's technique varies and the grapes vary so like comparing apples and oranges

- Ontario is the only Canadian province that imports their wine and they are not importing right now

- when we are tasting the 2005 Rausch Auslese Goldkapsel Riesling he describes it as "Meditation Wine" meaning it drops on your palate and while you savour every drop before you know it the bottle is empty!

- holding a Riesling quality wine for many years in the bottle means it will become drier

- the reason the 2009 vintage was a taster is that vintage had great aging potential

We have some tough decisions to make in terms of purchases. Prior to visiting Zilliken we knew we would love all their wines so would limit our buying to four Riesling. Lana chooses the first three wine and I select the last wine. The total price for the four bottles is 183 Euro, but the 2005 1/2 bottle costs 85Euro. We picked one Feinherb (semi-dry), one Kabinett (sweeter with strong mango flavour--Lana's favourite) and two Auslese which have a much higher residual sugar level. We will hold each of these wines for at least a few years before opening. We have enjoyed our time and learned more about Riesling wine. What an awesome start to our Riesling Pilgrimage!

Lana drives us back to Trier and our apartment. Beautiful countryside and smart villages along the Mosel and Saar rivers. It is super hot and still around 29 degrees Celsius. For certain we appreciate the fact our rental vehicle has a strong air conditioning unit. 

We don't have much time before our 18:15 massage appointments so we decide to stay in our apartment and eat the cold cuts and cheese with slices of our bread and some of the pretzels. Very casual and we don't have to rush to find a restaurant and then rush to our massages. Plus, I can get started on the blog by transferring today's photos. It is a good meal and we are both pretty full. It is a five minute walk to Natsuda Traditionelle Thai Massage and the two massage therapists are ready for us. Lana loves massages and a Thai massage is especially valued. I need a massage as well and thinking it will dramatically impact my jet lag insomnia. We enter the massage room which is open for both tables. You take off your clothes except for underwear and lie face down.

Lana falls asleep almost immediately! In fact after a few minutes she is snoring and making some other noises. In my case, much of the Thai lady's massage was through her very strong hands and arms. She found some major tight places in the back of my neck and the back of my shoulders. I really love that type of pain as I know working the deep tissues is beneficial. I do get drowsy towards the end of the sixty minute session, but not close to falling asleep. They use a hot oil on your skin and press over your upper body mostly. Cost for the sixty minute session is 50Euros each. 

After updating our blog Lana has found a German DFB Pokal (German Cup) match Leipzig (top Bundesliga team) versus Teutonia 05. Wow, what a way to end the day. I get to watch top caliber German soccer with the fans cheering and chanting. Great atmosphere at German football matches and we hope to be at the Eintracht Frankfurt match September 10th. Lana reading magazines online. It is still around 25 degrees Celsius outside so we have our huge windows open to get as much cool air as possible. No air conditioning in this apartment and tonight no real breeze. 

 

Day 9: The Explosive Incident (Monday, August 29th)

We are both up and about around 06:30. Lana had a long period during the night where she could not sleep as well as me, but at least I got about six hours sleep for the first time during my trip. Overcast and coolish morning in Copenhagen. Our Lufthansa flight from Copenhagen airport to Frankfurt am Main is scheduled to take off at 11:55 AM. We decide to leave our Airbnb apartment by 09:30 as it is only about a 30 minute trip via M3 subway/M2 rail to the airport.

We had some excellent news this morning from our real estate agent that the buyers did their own walkabout home "inspection" and all is good. By Monday, their agent should have the deposit cheque in his hands, therefore, our condo sale would be confirmed and time to celebrate! Huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Given the current climate with real estate in Vancouver, the potential further rising of interest rates and sheer uncertainty of our economic drivers we believe our timing was good. We will not need bridge financing and have a better idea of what our new mortgage will total. We have not had a mortgage on our home properties for about fifteen years so that will be new.

Lana's sister Marilyn shared a YouTube video about Copenhagen which is brilliant and captures the vibe of this city. For those who have not been to Copenhagen and/or Denmark we would totally recommend this as a travel destination. We can see why it is always in the top 3 of the world for "happiness" index. I text our host Ole to confirm the time we are departing as he has a maid that comes in to clean up. We always leave our Airbnb rentals in at least the same condition it was if not cleaner than when we arrived. Thankfully we have a great rating on Airbnb so that helps with being able to book places we see and like. We drop the key through the mail slot on our way out.

Uneventful commute to Copenhagen International Airport. Our first stop in Departures is Lufthansa. We were not expecting this airport to be as large as it is and as busy as it is. We get in the Star Alliance Gold/Business Class queue in order to have our boarding passes printed and Lana needs to get credit for this flight for her Aeroplan account. Although we are first in line the group of eight persons in front of us take forever with the agent. Lana obtains a Fast Track status so she can speed pass everyone at Security. We believe that I will be able to follow her no problem like we do everywhere else. We are wrong.

You need to scan your ticket code on the machine and in her case her gate opens quickly and closes. When I scan my pass the gate won't open. We try her code from the other side and that does not work. I get in the regular initial Security line where you scan your passes only. Once I am in I scoot under the tape to join Lana in the Fast Track Security line. 

Security was pretty fast and neither of us had any problems. We discover we have no gate # on our boarding passes. No problem as according to the monitors in about 40 minutes we will know our gate #. About 20 minutes later while sitting in the SAS lounge they confirm our gate #A14. We have no idea where that gate must be? In gaining entrance into the lounge we have learned from our previous experience in Security. As soon as Lana scans her boarding pass (Star Alliance Gold) I race in behind her and that works. 

The SAS lounge is gigantic and is on two floors. Pretty good food and drink choices. We get to have more of that brilliant rye bread with some cheese, cold cuts, jams and more. I can't fill my water bottle though. Boarding for our 11:55 flight is 11:25 and we are fortunate we leave early as our gate happens to be at the opposite end of the airport! The gate is full of flyers and hard to find a seat. Our flight is delayed. One reason there are not many seats is there are many "man spreaders" so you have to squish yourself in to accommodate the fact these guys have their legs and knees all over the place. We have Zone 1 boarding privileges per Lana's AC status. 

As we are going through the gate check on way to our seats Lana is stopped by the agent and asked to see if her luggage will fit in size checker gizmo and it doesn't. She is forced to hand over her luggage and we need to pick it up at Baggage Claim. We are both in Row 7, but Lana has the aisle seat and I have the window seat and no one in the middle seat so lots of space. We lift off the runway at 12:20 and land in Frankfurt am Main 13:26 so a pretty quick flight. 

Well this is where the explosion takes place. We are given free small water bottles by the attendants. Lana doesn't finish her bottle and it is flat water. Lana had filled up my water bottle in the lounge and it was carbonated. I did not know that. When we landed I decided to top up my bottle with Lana's bottle while sitting in my window seat. As I screwed the lid off my bottle it exploded out of my hand and actually injured my finger! It made quite a loud explosion (popping sound) and many persons on the plane were looking at me. My finger hurt for about two hours afterwards. 

We now have to head to baggage claim to get Lana's bag. It is the fourth bag off the conveyor! Yeh! We are now walking towards Car Rental signs and that is quite a while. We find the Hertz counter and nobody ahead of us! Quite a long production as our agent had to physically to get a number of keys and then return to us. After another long walk we are at our parking area and discover our Audi Quattro full-size vehicle. We think it is more than full-size as it is an SUV. I am not used to driving a vehicle that large. We ensured Lana has the ability to drive it as well and that cost us about 95Euro. I can get carried away wine tasting sometimes. In the case of German Weinguts they always have generous pours.

Our rental car. Lots of room in the trunk for our future three suitcases and the back seat for our wine purchases! Air conditioning and the latest technology. Remote starter key and it rides so well on the open road. Great acceleration and handling as well. 

As usual it takes at least ten minutes for our Garmin GPS car unit to recognize the European satellites. We park our car and wait for the GPS to be ready for our German destination which will be Trier. Overall, our GPS unit works pretty good, but we do have instances where it goes completely bonkers! This happens more than once on this drive. Fortunately, I have a good navigator being my lovely wife Lana. 

The German drivers are pretty good. Some observations while driving:

-    we had forgotten the huge number of wind turbines that exist in this part of Deutschland

-     so many semi trucks on the road due to the fact that there is the absence of good railroad system for freight

-     our GPS got confused and had us in the fields according to the screen many times this afternoon

-    on the Autobahn sections you only get in the left hand lane briefly to pass and then move back into the middle lane as there will be a car driving like a rocket right up on your rear bumper

-    lots of road construction and when that occurs you drive in very tight corridors where you have to be very careful steering your vehicle as you could side-swipe another car or truck quite easily

       The driving distance from Frankfurt am Main to Trier near the French border is about 200 km or 2 hours and 15 minutes duration. It is mostly freeway type driving and in our case it involved a slight detour through Wiesbaden due to a wrong turn. Overall, we do quite well in making it to Trier and relatively fast. It is a beautiful sunny and hot day. Our a/c is working very well!

Our Airbnb apartment is in the south area of Trier and our GPS unit works very well in finding our apartment. Dedicated parking across the small lane. It was not easy finding the entrance to building 22 and then we realize the second floor in Deutschland really means on the second level. Good instructions for the lock box. Our apartment is huge! Two bedrooms, large living room/dining room, kitchen massive and our bathroom has a bathtub for Lana! We open the windows to get a fresh breeze and discover the noise of the passing passenger trains with the train tracks that run right beside the building. 

Given we have arrived around 17:00 our priority will be dinner. Lana finds an authentic German restaurant within walking distance so that makes sense. We walk in the heat to this German restaurant located up the hill from us and on the other side of the rails. Every few minutes it seems a passenger train rips by our apartment as we are that close to the tracks. When booking via Airbnb I had no idea of this situation. Oh well, they are moving so fast that with the windows closed it may be OK.

We did get a good walk uphill getting to the restaurant and it is quite hot. Orchards full of ripe fruit in the area as you can tell this is pretty good wine grape growing country. For certain, we are in a  more blue-collar neighbourhood with many young families. This is not a foreign tourist area. Our Airbnb host Sandra communicates only in Deutsch. 

Online picture of Alte Brauhaus Trier. Lana found it via Google and it was highly rated and very German. The exterior doesn't do it justice. In the rear of the restaurant is a courtyard full of greenery and many dining tables. We did not eat outside as the one server who spoke some English warned us about insects such as Wasps. I am not copying the website link as it is Facebook and all in German. 

Glass of a Riesling Halbtrocken style. This is our first glass of Riesling of this specific trip. Halbtrocken style means semi-dry. Another great glass of a Mosel Riesling. Most casual wine drinkers believe all Riesling are super sweet. So wrong, but it leaves more Riesling for us!   ;-)

Lana couldn't wait to order a dish of Wiener Schnitzel--this version came with a fresh mushroom cream sauce and fries. Definitely worth the walk here to indulge in. 

Lana loves the Gruner Salats in Germany--they come with lettuce leaves but also a small scoop of grated carrot salad, beet salad and a lovely cabbage salad underneath. The salad dressing can be much heavier than North America, but somehow it works. 

Randy ordered a special Flammkuchen that came with salami, tomato and mozzarella cheese on top of the white Quark cheese or creme fraiche that is used as the base sauce. It was delicious. Light/very thin crust with a tasty cheese that was not too much and complemented the meat/tomatoes. 

The bill for our meal totals Euro 40.20 so a much better deal than in Denmark. We consider German good comfort food. There is nothing pretentious about their cuisine and it simply satisfies your appetite and is welcomed by your stomach. In Deutschland you don't leave a tip, but you can round up and that goes to the server. Given we were basically ghosted by the one server who does not speak English we were not inclined to even round up. Fortunately, one of the servers spoke decent English. Normally, we can do a pretty good job in a restaurant with our German and know how to order. The one server never gave us that chance though. 

Easier walk downhill to our apartment. We need to make contact with our Frankfurt friend Markus in regards to getting tickets to a Bundesliga match on September 10th in Frankfurt. Markus' friend Christian has season tickets and willing to see them for 70 Euro. I make contact with Markus by phone tonight to confirm the logistics for the ticket handover and our paying Markus in cash. Good to talk with Markus again. 

Also, we need to visit REWE to purchase groceries for our four nights/three full days stay in Trier. This is a popular grocery store in Deutschland. When we were temporarily living in Heidelberg we used a REWE for most of our purchases. We will need to drive. Lana will use her iPhone to Google Map us to the nearest location. We did notice a REWE when we drove into town earlier. Where the heck is this different location REWE? We drive by it twice apparently, but cannot see it. We will discover after circling more than once it is in a pedestrian mall and the entrance is on the other side of the building that faces the side streets. We park our car and walk to the store. We get to use our Euros! We buy some bottled water, fruit and other supplies. We will not buy any pastries as we will get those at a German bakery tomorrow.  

Time to get to bed as it is already almost 22:30! We are both tired. Just checked my email and found our real estate agent's confirmation email in my Junk folder. The email confirms our deal is in place and there is a deposit cheque with the agent. We have officially sold our apartment! Yeh! Too late to celebrate though.  

Day 8: Last day in Copenhagen (Sunday, August 28th)

We are both out of bed around 07:30. Lana had another good sleep and my sleep was decent although I woke up around 4:30. I needed to finish our blog for yesterday's fun and talked about our condo sale although again not official until Monday. Overcast start to the day. The usual fruit bowl and I finished the last pastry. We finished watching a Danish Netflix 2022 movie "Loving Adults" which is a suspense mystery genre. Lots of twists and turns in the plot with Lana saying "OK--did not see THAT coming" a lot. Worth watching. The title is an example of sarcasm. 

Map of M3 subway system (circle line in red). Such a great way to get around Copenhagen and connects to other train systems. It reminds us of the Tokyo Yamanote Circle line. 

A couple of observations:

1. you can drink your beer in the street or basically anywhere in public it seems

2. Lana's nephew is learning Danish and mentioned that speaking Danish is very hard for an english speaker and there are some vowels you need to "swallow" to emit the correct pronunciation. Our english language doesn't use those throat muscles. Some of Danish words are very guttural much like some German words. 

The weather forecast is for overcast skies for most of the day and perhaps some rain later. Also, not as warm as the previous week. We decide to head into the M3 subway to venture south and grab some lunch and then attend the Nationalmuseet (Danish National Museum) which was recommended by soccer teammates. When we depart the subway at ground level we see a crowd around a competition so we stop to watch. It is the UCI Trials World Cup which neither of us know anything about. Very interesting and what they do on their seatless small bikes is amazing as they navigate onto the top of obstacles and need to be on their back wheel when they jump off through "gates" to score points. They are incredible athletes and pretty brave given the potential danger from falling from height. We find a vantage point from the fence and watch for a while until we decide it is indeed time to find lunch.

                    These star European riders may it look easy. 

We found great seats to watch the competition after we had our lunch and visited the Museum. High up and nobody in front of us. The crowd cheers on all the riders regardless of their national affiliation. The commentator gets everyone keen on cheering. The woman riders are supported as well. I am cheering on Nina from Deutschland. Vera wins the competition easily and is the current world champion. We hand around for the Men's 26" Finals which also involve a current world champion. While it is not sunny and not warm it is easily a good day to sit and relax. We even learned many of the rules and scoring system. 

                      Yup, great seating and Lana holding her treasured Chai Latte from Starbucks!

Lana's iPhone video of one of the competitors who just happens to be the World Champion. Super impressive technique and athleticism. Check it out using the link to YouTube. 

Lana has done her research as she is keen on eating Danish meatballs. She finds a small place called Restaurant Carla located very close to the Rãdhuspladsen subway station. We ask for a seat inside given it is not warm outside and still cloudy. They provide English menus. We learn the Danish word for lunch is Frokost. Also, Vin means wine. This place was rated 4.5 stars out of 5 which is decent. Overall, our lunch was pretty good and we would recommend the place. 

Lana's orders the Frikadeller consisting of Danish meatballs served with creamy potatoes, salad, pickled cucumber and rye bread for 138 Kroner. Meatballs were delicious. Crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. Potato salad great and good complement to the meatballs. She loved the rye bread; dense and grainy. 

Randy's order of a Danish Smorrebred (Danish style open-faced sandwich). Specifically, I ordered a Regetål Med Røraeg which is smoked eel served with scrambled eggs and some lettuce on top of rye bread. Wow, damn good as I love eel although the majority of eel I eat is in Japanese restaurants. Like Lana I love their rye bread as it is thin, dense and flavourful. 

After lunch it is a short walk to the Danish National Museum. I am very interested in the Viking exhibit. I am pretty sure neither of us has seen an authentic Viking exhibit. A huge difference here with storing your backpack is they have free lockers and it is easy as closing the door and then entering your own 4 digit code to lock it. No getting in a lineup or spending money. Three story building with a courtyard in the middle so you basically navigate around the courtyard. The building is an old rectangular Palace. No audio guides. Great news that in each room and with all information there is an english version. 

                                             Map of the Museum and its exhibits--they were out of paper copies so told people to take a picture of the ones on the walls.

Runestone which was created pre-Viking by the clans in memory of their dead around 970 AD. We think a runestone is an early rendition of a "tomb stone". 

Recreated clothes worn by wealthy Viking persons. In that age if you were dressed very well you were obviously wealthy and accepted into the world of the rich. 

Ancient Nordic wind instruments found in the bogs from the Bronze Age. Lana thinks they look like Dr. Seuss musical instruments. 

We started on the ground floor and covered the Stone Age, Bronze Age and then Iron Age exhibits and learned a lot. We spent quite a lot of time there and then is was up one floor to the "Viking World". This is a huge dark room with very little light. Lots to learn. In the middle of the room was a recreation of a super long Viking wooden ship used to transport settlers across the world and for warfare. I discovered a tour led by a Danish guy speaking English so tagged along to learn more. He ended his talk with the usual maxim that history is written by the winners. This is so true in regards to the history of the Vikings who are generally represented as crude warriors eager to loot and pillage. This is partly true of some Vikings, but mostly they were exploring the world as farmers and looking for a better life. 

I joined up with a twenty minute film experience called "Join the Raid". Basically, you are shown five segments of a film chronicling a Viking leader trying to conquer his way using ships to get to Rome. It was pretty corny and probably not true. Even the tour guide was not very complimentary about the movie and he works there! 

Basically, the Vikings ruled large parts of northern Europe, but once they became Christians and stopped raiding history wrote them off. The word "raid" in Danish is Togtet. 

While we were in the exhibit hall Lana indicated she could not continue in the dark room as it made her sleepy so she went downstairs to relax in the couch and hit the Museum shop. She bought a XMas tree ornament of a Danish hot dog wagon. She is super excited that with our new half-duplex we can have a real Christmas tree again! Our condo did not allow real Christmas trees like most condos in Vancouver. 

As stated earlier, once we finished the Museum tour we returned to the UCI biking competition and spent quite a long time watching the riders and being part of the crowd cheering on the riders. We even stayed around for the first round of the Men's competition and then it was time to leave and find a pizza joint for our dinner tonight. Lana did find a Starbucks so got to indulge in drinking her usual Chai Latte.  We looked for a highly rated pizza joint somewhere near where we were watching the competition and then it was off for a long walk. Good day to walk and get some steps in. I will probably finish today with around 8500 steps which would be my lowest day in more than a week. 

Walked through some areas we have never been to before inclusive of a park with a large pond/lake. Our pizza joint for pickup was Da Aldo Pizzeria. They had an english language menu. Small place with some outdoor seating although we are buying pizza to go. We bought a Ortolana pizza comprised of tomato, ham and bacon with cheese of course. In the usual square cardboard box and we ate it as soon as we arrived home. Pretty decent pizza being thin crust and some good ingredients. Probably rate it as average compared to other pizzas.  

                   Our dinner of pizza and finishing the bottle of Argentine Rosé eaten in our apartment. 

 

I have an opportunity to complete the blog for today's adventures while Lana is busy watching Netflix. It has been a good day with no rush to get anywhere. Weather was decent as it did not rain on us. Lana is already packed. My next priority is to repack my carryon suitcase to be ready for our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt am Main. Scheduled to leave at 11:55 am and a short flight from Copenhagen. 

While we have loved being in Copenhagen for the land, people and experiences it is time to begin our Deutschland vacation. Our Airbnb has been comfortable. We are doing our last load of laundry. Not a lot of packing given we are not checking our luggage and we booked cheap economy tickets. Any stuff we have left over in the fridge like some cold cuts and cheese we will carry with us to Deutschland. 

Finally the dryer has finished its work. Lana is fast asleep on the couch while watching a Korean Netflix series and it is around 21:00. We don't have to leave our apartment until 09:30 as it is about a 30 minute subway/train ride to the airport.