Wiesbaden and German/American Club - August 10th

So as I mentioned before, I had planned to visit four different vineyards today with Magali. However, because of some email issues, my inability to dial a French cell phone number, and some general miscommunications, the vineyard trip fell through. I went to the train station to meet Magali at 8am as our original plan entailed, however when she did not show up by 8:30am I decided to give her a call. Luckily she was in her office and we sorted everything out. So the plan now is to meet Sunday morning at 8am and do the vineyard tour then. Getting up early and heading to the train station was not a complete waste of time because it fun to see the hussle and bussle of the Mainz train station during the morning rush. Although not as hectic as a major city, it was cool to see people of all types running from trains to street cars, to busses, etc. And it also definitely gave me the chance to check out what is “in” with European fashion. Some of the clothing combinations were questionable, however most were very Euro and a cool combination of things we have in America but would not think about combining. All in all I definitely dig the style here.

I returned back home and told Petra about the fiasco, and we decided to salvage the morning by heading back into Mainz to check out some model trains. As a child I grew up playing with my Dad’s model train set that he has had since his childhood, and since its been so long since I’ve played with it, I decided to check out the sets here and see if there is something new I can buy for my Dad’s collection. Petra took me to a very large toy store in town that has quite a large collection of model trains, from the super small to the very large. Even though I know the world of model trains is vast, I am always surprised at what you can purchase for your train collection. You name it, they have it, from everything to street lights, to building decals, to wildlife, and every type of tree imaginable. Its so cool but so expensive!! A couple fake trees can cost up to 10 Euros, and a sweet train with 3 passenger cars is about 300-400 Euros. I wish we had more of this stuff in the states, and if we do, will someone please tell me where. After looking around for a while, I think I have a few ideas about some reasonable purchases to make later this year, or at least things to look out for and to price around.

After the toy store I decided to check out Wiesbaden since I had not yet spent any sizable amount of time in the city. Petra told me where to go once I exited the train station so I had a general idea about what I was doing, but when I arrived in Wiesbaden I ended up just walking around and following stuff that looked cool. I first walked through the park that Petra had indicated and it was so beautiful. The park was filled with tons of flowers, trees, and some fountains. Unfortunately the day was overcast, again, but at least it was not raining. I followed the park until I came out by the town hall and the cathedral. Both buildings are very beautiful but with very different architectures. I think it’s amazing when two buildings with very different styles can stand adjacent to each other and still create a seemless image. Ok, enough of that. Encircling both buildings was, what I later learned, the Wiesbaden Wine Festival. This Festival was no small event, but lasted about 10 days and spanned two weekends. Every wine and food vendor/stand were still in the midst of setting up, but I walked around for a bit to see what they were offering. I definitely want to head back and check it out when the Festival is in full swing.

After checking out the festival I walked around the pedestrian zone and it was packed with people. I’m sure a good portion of them were tourists, however I didn’t hear much other than German. The architecture in Wiesbaden is very different than that in Mainz. Unfortunately most of Mainz was destroyed during the second World War, but Wiesbaden was not. Therefore many of the buildings date back well into the 18th and 19th centuries, unlike the buildings in Mainz, which were rebuilt after 1945. To me Wiesbaden felt a little like Salzburg and the cities of Southern Germany. The stores in Wiesbaden are also great. Though many are small, pricey, boutique stores, they do have several large department stores and H&M. For lunch I enjoyed a Bavarian favorite of mine, Leberkase, however it was not the best I have had…sad.

That evening Werner took me to the monthly Mainz German/American club dinner. Aside from being the youngest person there by about 30 years, the evening was quite enjoyable. I meet many great people who have lived in Mainz there whole lives or who have moved here from the States and decided to stay. Its definitely a good feeling to know that there are other Americans around the city, even if I only get to see them once a month or so. I was also told that more students tend to show up at these meetings in October and November once the Fall Semester begins at the University here in Mainz. I think that will make the meetings more enjoyable if I can interact with folks around my age. :)