You’re driving down the Emmerich-Josef-Strasse in Mainz. These signs say: If you turn left into Walpodenstrasse, you’ll hit a dead end. (True) You can’t turn right into Breidenbacherstrasse (one way)…
Blue skies. Chestnut tree. Answers on a €500 bill, please. Solution after the break ———————————————————————————————————— As far as I’m concerned… A draft wheat beer A Brezel A Weisswurst with sweet…
Which is – I suppose – how the pansy got its German name: little stepmother (Steifmütterchen) I kid you not. Look it up if you don’t belive me…
Two Euros and 50 bloody cents to take your bike across the Rhein at Ingelheim Highway..er…fluvial robbery. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask…
Feridun Zaimoglu is a 50 year old German author of Turkish heritage and the recipient of the 2015 Mainzer Stadtschreiber literature prize. Which is €12,500 donated by the city of…
..er..POPPY syndrome. If you know New Zealand, you’ll know the Tall Poppy Syndrome. You can be successful. Just don’t get TOO successful. If you do, the media and vox populi…
The reason that Klein-Winternheim has mass plantings of daffodils on the major access routes is because my late cousin Graham (died 2 years ago in his early 60s and it…
…to Kita (pre-school) on Tuesday, forget it. First of all, you wouldn’t have got there, all major thoroughfares being blocked by striking workers (making such a din that even I…
Show me another kiddies’ playground that backs onto a medieval city wall and I’ll send you a signed 10c coin. Only in Mainz…
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Handkäs… Handkäse – literally “hand cheese”, traditionally formed by hand – is a sour milk cheese – a cheese that has been curdled…
…and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me Serious seeds at the Oppenheim Garden Market yesterday
Some strange stuff turns up at our place, vaguely reminiscent of familiar blossoms, but “they’re new” and “not really that expensive..” Compared with a Ferrari, that is…
…… Paul and Christina frantically refer to “Espresso Making 101”. “It says here “Grind the coffee beans”. Do you remember how we used to do that? Sorry jb – this…
The occupancy rate of these tables will increase in direct proportion to the ambient temperature. Bro Paul will doubtless provide us with the formula….
….edible. Mesclun (I’ve seen it written as “Mescalin”…..that woke me up…) with edible blossoms at Stein’s Herbs in Gonso
Looking over Rheinhessen’s vineyards towards renewable power generation on the distant ridge. Ugly as shit, but hey, they’re subsidised….
Either that, or the Nestles factory in Mombach is assaulting our olefactory glands again…..
A springtime and autumn ritual. (Seen at Euromaster in Mombach) Shedding summer/winter tires (as appropriate) and donning the reverse. Back in the day, it was common sense to have tires…
This is Tony, newest addition to Paul Bonna’s galaxy of stars at kaffeekommune 2 Born in Mönchengladbach to British parents (Dad was in the BAOR – British Army of the…
(-ray) marks the spot. You’d be surprised at all the things that the locals have invented over time- X-Ray by Wilhelm Röntgen Refrigeration by Gottfried Linde The theory of…
Back in the day, Mainz used to have in exces of 50 breweries. We’re now down to 2 or 3. Good thing we’ve got Bavaria just down the road, then…
…and two for tea one for coffee. Here we are again! I had the pleasure of first meeting Petrea Burchard of the erstwhile Pasadena Daily Photo way back in June…
Free range eggs, natural dyes, wood wool from pedigree trees. All gluten-free and the vegans among us can snack on the wood wool…
I’ve become accustomed to the affectionate and overly generous gifts of our neighbours across the way, but I’m at a loss to explain the second-hand chocolate easter bunny and the…
Didn’t know that I’d missed the Chagall windows in the Stephanskirche that much. (That, and making Kate‘s day…)
When Mum (born in the UK) moved from sub-tropical Auckland to temperate Nelson, she said “It’s great to have seasons again” I’d agree, but it doesn’t have to freeze overnight…
Or was it The Rapture….?