Highlights of a German Year
Last week, I began my reflections on what it was like living abroad in Germany for a year. My three, big takeaways were meant to dig deeper than the surface just as what I’ve got for you today is meant to do the opposite. Quite simply, I want to share a few highlights. Five, specifically—four places and one animal!
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We’ll begin with an establishment that filled my belly and met all my caffeine needs.
Reismühle Kaffeemanufaktur—Landcafé
My husband and I first went here back in late January. He’d heard about it from a co-worker and knew he had to take me. So, he had me hop in the car one morning and drove us out. Not only do they roast their own coffee beans at Reismühle, they offer an incredibly delicious brunch.
Over yummy food, boysy and I hashed out plans for my website (it was a very productive meal), and then, when we finished eating, we popped into the little shop where they sell all their coffee, tea, and coffee accessories. We very happily went home with their Christmas and Winter blends.
For each season, they make a special roast, and we made it a point to get out there to try each one (I haven’t been able to crack into the fall flavor yet, but hopefully I will soon when my grinder arrives!). When my mom and grandmother were visiting, I took them so we could enjoy treats at the café, which was great because the brunch buffet would have been a bit too much for them but a slice of cake hit the spot.
This establishment, half an hour from us and just outside of a small, rural town, was a great recommendation. Rustic and cozy, it was the perfect place to plunk down with a coffee and enjoy a tiny excursion. Taking their beans home with us was even better because they sure beat anything I bought at the store. Don’t get me started on how sad I was when we learned they don’t ship internationally. Now that we’re back stateside, we agreed we’ll have to find a new, local roastery, but Reismühle will be hard to replace.
Next up is a slice of history that was just ten minutes from us:
2. Burg Hohenecken
There was a route we often drove that took us through the town of Hohenecken, and, at a certain point, you could look up and out the window to catch a glimpse of castle ruins on the hilltop. When our first visitors were out, we took the trail that led us up to it and were not disappointed by what awaited us.
Once upon a time, this burg was a proper spur castle. It was constructed around 1200 AD and was home to the descendants of the knight Reinhard of Lautern. Unfortunately, it didn’t fare well during the German Peasants’ War (1524-1525) and, during the War of the Palatine Succession (1688-1697), was destroyed by the French.
Today, it serves as wonderful fuel for the imagination and a great place to get some scenic views. A helpful diagram points out where certain rooms used to be (ex. the kitchen, armory, knights’ hall, etc.), and you can wander from ruined room to ruined room and down around where the gate and moat used to be.
If you’re interested in wandering the forest, too, there are a handful of designated trails you could take. Another bonus is that, to keep tidy the wooded hill upon which the castle sits, they have a small herd of goats. One time when we were there with friends, we got to help carry hay into the goats’ enclosure. Most of the time you’ll just find them chillin’ or eating the underbrush.
The very best thing about Burg Hohenecken has to be how it ignites my imagination. Because so much of what once made it whole and intact is missing, you must wonder and do your own envisioning. It always made me think of the castle in Narnia, Cair Paravel. In Prince Caspian, the Pevensie siblings stumble upon the ruins of it, though it had once been their magnificent, mighty home. They have to orient themselves a specific way among the stones and debris to remind themselves, “Oh, yes, this is the place we once knew.” And then they can better see phantoms and visions of what used to be.
Obviously, I never lived at the burg nor am I familiar with how it was prior to the Peasants’ War. But I can sure imagine. I can pick my way around the ruins like walking through a daydream of knights and ladies and dragons (okay, maybe there were never dragons, but I did say my imagination was in full gear at this historic site). The only thing I never wanted to accurately imagine was how much work it was for those poor laborers to haul their materials all the way up to where they’d be building. I’ll take my little hike and medieval daydreams over those more burdensome wonderings, thanks.
Moving on, I want to tell you a bit about the big city boysy and I loved best.
3. Trier
Established by the Roman Empire in 17 BC, Trier is considered Germany’s oldest city. It was about an hour from us and delighted us each time we went. Took me by surprise the first time we visited, actually!
I don’t know about you, but when I read things or hear people talk about German cities to put on your itinerary, I hear Munich, Berlin, Cologne—not Trier. It was on my husband’s radar because he’d been during a previous deployment to Germany, and my mom gave us a Rick Steve’s travel book that talked about it (highly recommend that resource, by the way, if you’re planning a German adventure). I just wasn’t prepared for how darling and fun-colored so many of the old buildings were. Going up in Porta Nigra (Black Gate) was way cooler than I thought it would be. The cathedral was absolutely breathtaking. Dining at Zum Domstein was such a treat; the food was delicious, and the tapas boysy and I shared was straight from an ancient Roman cookbook. We got in so many steps because there were so many streets to walk and so much to see.
Trier is, quite simply, a jewel of a city on the Moselle River. We made it a point to patronize Zum Domstein again on our own, and I took my mom and grandmother out to lunch there. The cathedral, aside from being a stunning piece of architecture, houses a Holy Nail from the crucifixion in its treasury and the Holy Robe of Jesus (not in the treasury; it’s rarely taken out for public viewings). How incredible is that? Saint Helena—mother of Constantine the Great, who had the cathedral built—is the one who brought the relics from Jerusalem, after she was sent out by her son to find them. What great pieces of history are in that church.
All this to say, we loved Trier. I only wish we’d been able to make it to their Christmas market!
We’re making a hard pivot now to my next highlight, which is the animal I mentioned at the start.
4. Yard Cat
The house we lived in had a nice, little backyard, and, on either side of us, were neighbors. And pretty much every day who would wander through everyone’s yard? A cat! He was grey, slight, and friendly.
At first, before we discovered just how friendly he was, we figured he was a stray. He certainly wasn’t the only one we saw around our village. However, he was far less skittish than any of the others and was quick to come up to our kitchen door, if we were there. So, then we started thinking he belonged to someone around town. Because we didn’t know his name, we affectionately began calling him Yard Cat, for obvious reasons.
The only things Yard Cat accepted from us were chin scritches and chunks of feta. We tried offering him other scraps and things that are cat-friendly, but alas. Only feta for that feline.
And then we learned one day the cat wasn’t just any ole stranger but our neighbor! We heard someone next door calling out, “Cookie! Cookie!” Who came running but our very own Yard Cat. You know, we couldn’t even blame him for wandering over to us like he did. His home yard was often loud and rambunctious thanks to the children who lived there, and maybe he preferred more peace and quiet. Also, it was like our own version of “If you give a mouse a cookie.” If you give Yard Cat cheese and love, he’s going to come back for more.
As someone who grew up on a hobby farm where at least one dog and a smattering of cats/kittens were always running around, it felt right to be befriended by Yard Cat. Boysy and I have been wanting to rescue a dog, Germany wasn’t the time nor place, so our feline friend was the best we got. And what a good little guy he was.
We’ve arrived at my final thing. Though it is last, it certainly isn’t least.
5. Bann
So it is we’ve come to the village we called home for the year: sweet, sweet Bann.
Boysy knew right away that he wanted to find us a place that was close enough to base for a decent commute yet far enough that we could feel like we were really in German culture. We landed in the perfect spot.
With a population of just over 2,000 and nestled in between two hills, Bann was cozy and cute. Our house was very spacious, considering it was just the two of us, and we lived down the street from our landlords, who were a lovely couple with a lovely family. I really liked the neighborhood we lived in because it was tucked back from Haupstraße (the main street), and the streets I liked to walk were lined with unique, beautiful homes. Often, those homes had well-tended, blooming front yards to go with them. It seemed that, from April to September, there were flowers of some kind offering pops of color to the neighborhood. I loved how many people used woodstoves to heat their houses. On a crisp day, the air was delightfully autumnal thanks to the smoking chimneys.
Down on Haupstraße was a bakery we enjoyed more than a time or two, and our afternoon walks often took us down to a trail system through the woods. Or, on the other end of town near the Netto grocery store, there was another trail system we really liked.
There was a back way out of Bann, and we referred to that as the Secret Hill. At a certain height on Secret Hill, you could look out over Bann and have a clear view of the whole little village. If we were walking up the hill (because that was yet another good walking route, and it took you near a pasture of cows), I loved to stop and appreciate the scene. Sleepy, cozy Bann. It was a quiet, peaceful place. Our temporary home that was right where we needed to be for a season.
There are, naturally, way more things that went into our year, that added spice and color, but I wanted to shine a spotlight on the places (and the cat!) that we visited on more than one (or two) occasions and that meant so much to us.
As always, thanks for tagging along. I hope you had as much fun reading about these things as I had writing about them. Catch you back here next week, and, until then, be well, friends!