Taunusstein Street Food Festival

Taunusstein Street Food Festival

A Street Food Festival is where, unlike the average German fest, here FOOD is the main event and not a side attraction! The Taunusstein street food festival offered an array of new treats and also long time favorites.

Street food festivals are so great because there is something for everyone’s taste. Also I love them because you can pace yourself and try many different foods. A great idea is to bring a food buddy and share everything so you are able to try more. So my little food buddy and I hit the trucks!

First truck that caught my eye were the amazing rice balls. I tried these at the Wiesbaden Street Food festival and even though they incredibly scrumptious I had to keep walking because they are so filling.

I asked my 5-year-old, food-sharing food-buddy if she wanted a falafel, which later I learned she thought I said ‘waffle’ so I ended up eating the whole thing myself. It is okay because it was fantastic!

The next truck had a very interesting part-appetizer, part-dessert: fried ice cream! I loved the photo of the happy little fried ice cream ball wearing shorts.

While we were there the winner for the longest line and which looked the most popular was the angus beef burger truck.

I love the diversity of this food fest because right next to it was a vegan burger truck, with a pretty good line as well!

Gotta love the vegan burger names!

Like any good German fest they had a wine stand!

If you were looking for another alcoholic drink other than wine, there was an Amato Wiesbaden Dry Gin stand. I love supporting local brewery’s, winery’s and distillery’s. The first thing I thought of was that this gin would make an awesome going away gift for a co-worker or friend so they can remember Wiesbaden. They have three classic flavors - juniper, citrus fruit peel, coriander. Then they also have more unusual botanicals such as thyme, tomato, cucumber and apricots. 

At the next truck I had a ‘where have you been all my life’ moment. It was a Choco Kebab truck! A kebab that was made from a cone wrap, shredded chocolate and whipped cream as sauce. The most awesome part of it all was that they SCRAPE the chocolate off a big hunk of “doner” chocolate! It is like a doner kebab stand in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! (Is this what Oompa Loompa’s eat at 2am after a night out drinking?!)

After eating all of these different types of food, I said pass on the electric bull! But it was a nice idea for kids to try out.

For dessert my foodie buddy and I went for some good ole’ frozen yogurt. We love going to the frozen yogurt places back home in New York City with our besties, so we wanted a little taste of home.

We ate our frozen yogurt and listened to the Taunusstein Street Food Festival music man. Such a fun day! We look forward to the next street food festival in Germany!

Getting there:
Taunusstein-Hahn
Old Train station


Author’s Profile: Gemma is a Jersey Broad Abroad living in Wiesbaden, Germany, and she is enjoying her extended European vacation.

Fun in the Sun at the Lorelei Toboggan Run!

Fun in the Sun at the Lorelei Toboggan Run!

Picture yourself zipping down the side of a mountain, sun in your eyes, wind in your face, on your own speedy toboggan pretending to be in the Olympic games, and going as fast as you dare! Also add a huge smile on your face when you envision this because it is so FUN! This exhilarating experience is possible at the summer toboggan run in Lorelei called, ‘Sommerrodelbahn Loreley-Bob’.

The toboggan run is located in one of the most beautiful areas in Germany: the Lorelei lookout high above the Rhine River. This is a spot not to miss during your visit to the toboggan run. You can go to the look out and See Through the Eyes of Lorelei.

After following the signs for the toboggan run it will take you down some steps down the mountain, but have faith, the toboggan run is around the corner.

At the ticket booth you can buy your ticket for the toboggan run. It is very affordable, so the three of us went three times each.

They have a sign in English.

You then swipe your ticket to enter and it is time to ride. Your toboggan awaits!!

Children can sit right in front of you and they have a handle for them to hold on to. When you get in you will first be pulled up the mountain nice and slow. This was very relaxing. Good opportunity to take a photo or two...or ten. #TobogganSelfie

While getting pulled up you can see the toboggan run that you are about to go down.

The last thing you see before it is just you and the open track is a cactus waving goodbye to you. Tschuss!

And you’re off! You can brake by pushing down on the lever or pull up to let it ride. They have some signs before the turn that suggests that it is a good time to brake.

I was going down each time with my GoPro in hand and I was still able to brake and control the toboggan.

‘Langsam’ means slow, but it will be pretty obvious what they want you to do after you have plastic ribbons smacking you in the face.

All good things come to an end! You get off your toboggan and go check out how crazy you looked in the photo and also check your speed.

We got back on line and went two more times. Those two times we tried to make our photo more ridiculous than the previous one!

Tables are available for light snacks and ice cream. What a fun place to hold a birthday party!

Perhaps I should join a German bobsled team like in the movie ‘Cool Runnings’. Or maybe not and I will just stick to the toboggan run in Lorelei! This photo pretty much sums up our day!

Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.

A Night Out Dancing in May

A Night Out Dancing in May

Although my wild and crazy nights out dancing until the sun comes up like God’s flashlight, were in my 20’s and are behind me, I was interested to see how they celebrate ‘Tanz in den Mai’ in Germany. An exciting Saturday night for me now might consist of a tournament of Candy Land and doing Mickey’s Hot Dog Dance. However, this 30th of April we were going to have a groovy night out dancing May in!

Our blog Tanz in den Mai, Party with Witches! told about the history of this mischievous yet fun day and it also had a list of events around Germany. My party destination of choice was the Bavarian themed Brauhaus Castel in Mainz-Kastel. They offer delicious Bavarian food, brew their own beer and they were throwing a party with a band that started much earlier than most of the other parties. When I say earlier I mean the party doors open at the same time as I switch off my nightlight to go to sleep. So, since wearing your pajamas and having an exhausted 5-year-old at a club is normally frowned upon…the Brauhaus Castel was a perfect choice.

The restaurant has a fantastic party atmosphere! You get to party hearty and eat like a Bavarian while saving the 5-hour drive to Munich. I ordered my sparkling apple juice and was so ready to order dinner before the dance party started.

Since it is prime spargel time I ordered from the seasonal menu. For an appetizer I got spargel crème soup and it was so incredibly delicious! Every year I look forward to ordering it.

Even though I didn’t want it to end, after my appetizer the party music started the place was filling up with people dressed in their dancing outfits and also some really nice older ladies were doing a raffle for a children’s charity. For one euro each you could pick a mysterious mini-scroll and possibly win a prize.

Our dance in May luck was strong because we won!

The restaurant was pretty much packed at this point and we danced our way across the dance floor to go to the back beer garden. They have a nice little playground for kids to go on while parents sip some fresh brewed beer, or like me, take a break from dancing and wait for your main course.

I just couldn’t pass up that temporary spargel menu so I ordered, yup you guessed it, more spargel. With buttered potatoes and a big side of Hollandaise sauce, the spargel was fantastic!

Now with a belly seriously filled with spargel, the last thing on my mind would be to go boogie down and do the spargel twist on the dance floor. But May was only hours away and we came here on a mission to dance May in! We might have been the youngest ones there, but for sure we were the worst dancers on the floor! Oma and Opa sure know how to two-step together and it beat our step-side-to-side and clap action. The dance floor was moving like a well-oiled machine and we were pretty much just getting in the way.

Saved by the beer! It was time to tap the keg! They did a Bavarian tradition where you sledgehammer the tap into the first keg of a party. You yell, O’zapft! to declare that the keg is tapped. Then that barrel is for free and everyone can have some beer. Who doesn’t like free beer?

While this dance in May party just seemed to be picking up some steam, unfortunately ours was running out. However, we had a really fun night out and was glad to experience my first Tanz in den Mai!!

Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.

  

For the Love of Spargel

For the Love of Spargel

Like a little kid on Christmas, my anticipation is high for one of the best times of the year in Germany: Spargel Time! When spring is finally here with budding daffodils and blossoms on the trees it also means it is time to enjoy the seasonal white asparagus called spargel.

When I first moved to Germany I just didn’t understand how a vegetable could get so much attention and excitement. I would drive on the autobahn and also on small roads and see huge ‘Spargel’ signs with pointing arrows to these little wooden shacks. Then to add to my amazement of it all, there would also be a huge line of people at the shack waiting for this mysteriously popular vegetable! I just didn’t understand it. And sadly the only thing I could compare it to in the States was during my first trip to the south and I saw cars zipping into Krispy Kreme when the ‘Hot Donuts’ sign was suddenly lit along the highway.

While we are familiar to the green asparagus in the States, this is a white asparagus which is grown slightly different. The spargel is grown surrounded fully by dirt which prevents sun from hitting it and thus turning it white. You can see the spargel mounds sometimes on fields and the mounds are also covered with white cloth. Being covered like this during the growth, it gives the plant great flavor while being rich with nutrients. So it is healthy and delicious… a win/win!

Timely Crop

Spargel time is an actual range of dates when it is available and which leads to why it is in such high demand. The season starts in mid-April, depending on the weather and it ends on the 24th of June. You are not allowed to harvest spargel anymore after this date to preserve the crop for next year and the quality of the vegetable.

We live in Spargel Land

Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony is the epicenter of spargel awesomeness. They even have scenic “spargel routes’. The Baden route runs through Schwetzingen, Reilingen, Karlsruhe and Rastatt. The town Schwetzingen is proud to be the “Spargel Capital of the World”. Like many towns they have a big spargel fest on 11 June from 10 am to midnight! Here you of course can eat spargel all day, listen to live bands, drink, watch the spargel peeling contest (yes that is a real thing!) and also the main prestigious event of the crowning of the queen of the fest, Miss Spargel (yup, that is a real thing too).

History

This luxurious vegetable is not new the vegetable world. Spargel goes back to as early as 2000 BC and consumed by Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The oldest documentation of how to grow spargel comes from Stuttgart dating back to the 16th century!

Buying Spargel

When you buy spargel the key is to buy it fresh and use it that day. Some advice on what to look for would be to make sure the stems are crisp, firm and have a nice smooth texture. They told me at the spargel stand that you should be able to rub to stalks together and hear a ‘squeak’, then you know they are fresh. If you aren’t going to eat them the same day you can still wrap them in a moist towel and put them in the fridge for the next day.

Not really a chef?

Okay if you are like me and would rather go to a restaurant for your spargel dish you will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of options. The basic dish would be with melted butter and potatoes. Also you must try it with a side of hollandaise sauce because it is so delicious! Meat lovers can order spargel with ham on the dish.

My favorite spargel dish is the spargel soup! If this is on the menu any discussion of what to order is immediately over. The answer is always spargel soup! My other half who is also the chef in the relationship made spagel soup for dinner and I was in spargel soup heaven!

Traditional spargel dish:

Where to buy spargel:

Kaiserslautern Area:

Ernst & Funck

Ramstein Saison

August-Süßdorf-Straße 2A

66877 Ramstein-Miesenbach

Sa 8-14 hr

Kaiserslautern - Trippstadterstr Saison

Trippstadter Straße 125

Mo-Fr 9-18 Uhr

67663 Kaiserslautern Sa 8-18 hr


Enkenbach-Alsenborn

Rosenhofstraße 1

67677 Enkenbach-Alsenborn

Do-Fr 9-18 Uhr

Sa 8-14 hr



Stuttgart Area:

Spargel & Obsthof Wendel

Spargelhof 1

64673 Zwingenberg



Wiesbaden Area:

Nordenstadt Globus Ostring 2, in the Globus-Parking lot

65205 Wiesbaden

Monday to Saturday from 9.00-19.00 hr



Wiesbaden-Bierstadt, Sonnenberg

Nauroder Str. (B 455) / Ecke Bayernstr., 65191 Wiesbaden

Monday to Friday from 9.00-18.00 hr,

Saturday, Sunday- and holidays from 9.00-18.00 hr



Spargel Fest not to miss:

Schwetzingen Spargel Fest

11 June 2016, Inner City

10am to Midnight


Author’s Profile: Gemma is a mom, a veteran and an Army civilian living in Wiesbaden, Germany. With New Jersey roots, she is enjoying her extended European vacation.