Apartment and Weinfest

I appears that I have really lucked out with my apartment.  It's on Annastrasse street, which for an American is probably one of the easier names to pronounce.  Always a plus when trying to explain where you live to Germans.  Anyway, Annastrasse is this lovely tree-lined, quiet street with nice houses and within easy walking distance to the main shops in Darmstadt.  I'm really loving that I can just walk over to the stores and buy whatever I need instead of having to drive everywhere.  The novelty may wear off during rainy, rainy November, but I'm enjoying it for now.

Today's big find was Joy of Figs take II.  Nine large figs for just 1.5 euro.  And the fruits and vegetables (Obst and Gemuese) are so fresh and delicious at the markets. I could totally get spoiled with this.  I have to say that I appreciate the quality of the food.  The selection is not as diverse as American stores, specifically with international food options outside of Europe. Although, I did find a small selection of Old El Paso dinner kits. That was bizarre and appeared strangely out of place.

Back to the apartment.  It is very nice.  It's all white and clean, and I seem to have this whole changing room filled with closets.  It's a bit wasted on me since I only have two suitcases of clothes right now. The only downside to the apartment is that I don't have a microwave.  Not an insurmountable problem, but slightly less convenient when it comes to reheating food. My TV has one English language station, CNN, and possibly MTV.  Music is all in English, but the explanation and VJ commentary is in German. I suppose in that regard I could view it as a chance to practice listening to German. Oddly enough, German MTV actually plays music videos.

The Weinfest:
Around September and October Germany breaks out into Weinfest mode, with many towns hosting their own Weinfest.  The one in Darmstadt is small, as I understand it, but I had fun.  It's basically a whole bunch of stands serving wine, food (wursts and wursts), and live entertainment. The live entertainment is best viewed after copious wine. There were two stages, one with a pair of guys singing what sounded like Proud Mary but with all the pep and enthusiasm of a funeral dirge. The other stage had this guy in a shiny gold Elvis-style ensemble plus giant sunflower corsage singing German songs.  He was definitely a source of great entertainment to our little group. I also learned an important lesson at Weinfest.  Never let Germans order the alcohol.  My repeated requests for HALF glasses of wine kept morphing into FULL glasses of wine. Since my alcohol tolerance is about as impressive as my command of the German language, the evening got very fuzzy very fast. I did have the presence of mind to periodically empty my glass of wine into Adam's glass of wine when he wasn't looking.  For those as work, Adam has some great pictures of the Weinfest including one of my person Adam dubbed my "boyfriend".  It has to be seen to be believed.  Anyway, really fun time and I think I might stop by again on Sunday for some of the food.  I'm currently off wine for a while...

Today I just got back from visiting the Rhine Valley with my German Navquest.  Lovely, lovely area and gorgeous weather. I'll leave that for the next blog.