Monday, 2 May, 2016 – Heidelberg to Mainz
Well, it is time to say goodbye to Heidelberg. The following are a few photos of Ciaran’s apartment as we are ready to go.
We really liked Ciaran and his apartment and gave it a very high Airbnb rating.
We need to catch the train to Mainz around 12:45 and, because the weather is again stunning, we decide to leave the apartment early and go have brunch up at the Bakery which is just opposite the Taxi stand so headed up there with our suitcases. Two things went wrong (1) The Bakery is closed on Mondays (2) No taxis came to the stand. Eventually Julie goes into another shop which kindly calls a taxi for us which comes by shortly and we make the trip to the train station with plenty of time to spare.
There are some ordinaary food stands within the station, we should have gone outside where there was better choice. I got a croissant with a crappy sausage in it while Julie went to a juice stand and got some fruit salad smoothie combination.
Eventually the train comes and although crowded I manage to get us two seats while Julie stows the suitcases. We have a train change and as there is a bit of time I go try to find a loo. There is one but I walk right by it since it does not have a norml labelling. I get back to the train just in time, Julie was panicking because I was so late but I made it. It is crowded at the start, I get one of the last seats and Julie stays up above with the suitcases.
A pleasant enough trip with the train eventually crossing the Rhine which is a magnificent river. There is an electronic sign which shows the next station but it is typically one station behind so I don’t know when we have reached Mainz until Julie calls out to me.
We proceed through the station and Karim, our Airbnb host, is there waiting for us. Karim is young, vibrant, outgoing and very friendly. It is about a 20 minute walk, at my pace anyway, to the apartment and Karim puts my suitcase on his bike so I don’t have to lug it on the walk.
The building in which the apartment resides is not very special but boy the apartment is! Apparently, Karim had completely remodeled it himself to be very modern. Large in size, just like the photos on Airbnb. Further, Karim is a great host having provided fresh flowers, a bowl of fresh fruit, (Julie’s favourite) and some German beer in the fridge. He explains lots of info about the apartment, the area etc while he has a map on his Airbnb page showing highlights in the area including bars, restaurants, shops, etc.
After Karim left, Julie went out prancing to learn the area. I unpacked the suitcase a little bit, did Blog work, sat out on the balcony, had a nap, all the important things. When she returned, we decide to have a drink. She opens a 2004 Rioja that we had picked up in Heidelberg, cork was very difficut, falling apart, but the wine was OK. Julie also opened a Riesling that we had bought from the wine atrium in Heidelberg. It was quite nice.
We go with our wine onto the balcony and start searching through Karim’s locality map to find a place for tonight. We settle on Laurenz which is a wine bar with “good food”. We take off to it, around a 20 minute walk but Julie guides directly there.
There are tables available outside and we are shown to one by a very helpful waitress. We asked about German reds and after some discussion she goes away and comes back with two glasses of reds to taste. We select one and it is a good choice. She also brings us an English menu.
Julie is initially very grumpy because she had not had a lot to eat that day and was quite hungry. She did not want tapas, which is what the menu looked like. Again the waitress was quite helpful and we ordered.
The Waitresses start bringing our food, in two lots.
I did not finish the broth but Julie lapped it up claiming I had left the best part behind. Main courses arrived and what treats they were. I had ordered loin of veal but they had run out so there was a replacement.
Julie loved her marrow and also the green sorrel sauce on my boar. The cheesy thing was interesting. So after initial reluctance with the menu, we agreed that this might be the culinary highlight of the trip. Thanks, Karim.
We walk back a different way seeing a few restaurants along the way. Back at the apartment, I finish the Rioja and fall asleep in the chair, how unusual while Julie went to bed. Another day tomorrow.
BTW: does anybody recognise anything unusual about this Post? Yes, there is no mention of Salmon at all. In fact there are none of the usual TagsOops, I needed to add a Tag