There was a big thunderstorm last night… did not sleep well, and finally fell asleep at 4 or so… did not even notice the alarm going off that morning.
Mr. Lober, the owner of the b&b, knocked on the door (to bring my breakfast) and was surprised that I wasn’t dressed yet – usually I am all ready by 7am… not today.
work work work… After work enjoyed a nice sausage / cheese / bread dinner at the Franken’s, but this time passed on the “Hand Kaesse mit Musik” which roughly translates to “Hand Cheese with Music”.
Hand cheese is prepared different than other cheese because it is totally natural – one would simply put milk in a container and leave it for weeks.
The taste (and smell) is very different, to say the least. The “music” actually is played by your stomach AFTER eating the dinner…
Also had a bowl of spaghetti with Helmut’s home made tomato sauce… Das schmeckt gut (tasty!)
I think that is what I may look like someday… scary. Okay now onto happier thoughts.
May 13.
Rita scheduled me in for a haircut at her salon, so Sunday morning I woke up and we went into town…
After the haircut Rita drove me to the free-range farm (actually the butcher) to pick up a chicken – Helmut is grilling a chicken tomorrow…
I borrowed Lena’s bike and rode around Moerlenbach, looking for some souvenirs… didn’t find much, so for all of you who are expecting presents, sorry! Shortly after lunch Helmut and Rita drove me to Heppenheim (where he was born) to show me around:
While I was there I got to visit the Heppenheim Open Market, which happens one a year. This day merchants from all over Germany drive their trucks with goods and tries to sell them to people. Each merchant uses a microphone and loudspeaker to promote their goods, sometimes over the loudspeakers of other merchants:
Cheese merchant: “Hey the guy next to us (sausage merchant) is a killer. He butchers pigs. Be a pacifist – buy cheese, not meat!
Sausage vendor: “Yeah right – be a pacifist like the cheese guy and suck on cow t*ts all day. If you want to be FAT like him, eat cheese. My recommendation is to buy sausages!”
Fruit merchant: ” Eat fruits and not worry about getting fat! A full basket for 20 Deutsche Marks!”
What was incredible was that EVERYING went for 20 German Marks – like it was the standard price – a full basket of fruits (1 pineappple, a bag of kiwi fruits, a big bag of oranges, bananas, apples, grapes) for about $10… nice. Helmut went to the pasta guy and bought this bag… yes also for DM20… About 7 pounds of pasta for US$10!!!
On the way out of Heppenheim I saw a strange-looking car (actually a LOT of cars in Germany look like this)… a two-seater hatchback… WITH NO TRUNK.
Ironically, my brother Kevin bought the same car about two months after this trip… SMART – a collaboration between Mercedes Benz and Swatch…