On my return to Germany, from Romania, I stayed with the Wudi family in Laubenheim, near Mainz, which is near Frankfurt. Hildegard and Alfred have a beautiful home in a small beautiful town. Lots of parks and walkways and very friendly and quiet. On the first evening, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and the local small gardens.
Meeting Hildegard was a beautiful experience. As with all the German women I met, she was ever busy doing something. Our communication was a bit difficult but with pointing, eye contact, and the dictionary, we managed. Alfred has a large woodworking shop and also raises canaries.
Bernd lives at home in the upstairs apartment type space. But he was gone a lot of the time. He works for the Deutsche Bahn, the German railroad system. He has worked his way up to a top level job in Frankfurt. 
On Thursday, I think it was, we drove into Mainz and got on the Rhine river boat for a tour, heading northwest to St. Goar. The weather was sunny, the breezes cool, and the sights were outstanding. I had seen this area from the train on my first day in Germany but I was very different to see it from the river. This is a major grape/wine area.
There are many castles along the Rhine. In times past, when the river was used for commerce, the travelers had to pay a fee to each of the feudal castleowners to pass by their stretch of the river.
We invited an American couple to sit at our table, mostly because I was dying to talk English. And then I had to try to translate! They were on a delayed honeymoon (Flitterwochen) and were checking out family history.
We had lunch in St. Goar, prowled through some shops, checked the high flood water levels on the buildings, and I found an Internet Cafe and checked my E-mail. Hilde and Alfred were both very interested in that and maybe they will get a computer one of these days. We returned to Laubenheim on the train.
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Alfred loves to talk! and he is very interested in people, what they think, how they operate. I don't remember what his profession was but Hilde was a dental technician. 
One of the many beautiful castles along the river, surrounded by grapes. |
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This picture shows one of the other boats at one of the small towns. You can see how determined these farmers are, to grow grapes on the hillsides. |
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Hildegard and Alfred. Alfred is displaying the German-English dictionary that was a lifesaver for me, and him. 
Bernd has a kiosk that he takes to many of the festivals. He sells some specialty dishes; a Chinese type vegetable dish, mushrooms, and a garlic Quark topping. We don't have Quark in the States that I know of. I think if you would mix regular yogurt with creme cheese, it would be about right.
In this picture, Bernd and his girlfriend and her daughter are preparing the garlic quark, using a paint mixer!! What a stink! This was Thursday night.
On Friday aftenoon we went to the cemetary to take care of the grave of the Wudi daughter. She died of leukemia at the age of 5. On the way home we made the customary stop at the local bakery for our sweet-treat for the day. Kaffee und Kuche!!!
On Friday evening Hilde, Alfred, and I took the bus into Mainz and took in the festival. (I've forgot what it was). Lots and lots of peolple, loud music, and lots of just strollng along. We enjoyed Bernd's food and looked at some of the older building in Mainz. |
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