Weekend in the rain: Part II

Blogductivity has decreased this week due to both minor illness and a treaty reach by the Houstonian and German within this blogger prohibiting further blogging until achieving adequate progress on an unfinished manuscript.  The Chinese and Canadian were witnesses.  Hopefully you gained more time with less time on the internet.

Last Saturday, I tunneled back through the paths of old city and found the markets by Mainzer Dom, the giant central Cathedral.  The temperature was about 10 degrees C cooler than it is today, perfect temperature for long strolls without breaking a sweat, and I donned my rubber-soled clogs, with my sneakers still saturated from the rain storm in Wiesbaden the previous night.  Dozens of stands showcased ripe and colorful produce and flowers in the large open area in front of the big tower.  Around a bend were the denser foods: breads, cheese, meats, fish, spices, oil and vinegar, and of course, a wine tent.

Vinegar tap, many oils available as well

Purple beans!

Irene's boyfriend's favorite vegetable!

Now there's a spice!

Mainzer Dom

Mainzer Dom at night, by Matthias from the previous week's roaming

A big store full of yarn for you, Mom!

Most sidewalks and intersections have bike lanes.  NYC , pay attention, see Casey Neistat's video on youtube. 

Mainz Hauptbahnhoff, or Main Station for buses and trains

Most of the meat trucks served breakfast and lunch.  Why did I eat breakfast?  I asked myself.  I did walk about an hour to get there.  I helped myself first to a glass of Riesling, trocken, or dry, and then to a brötchen mit Bismarckherring.  It's a simple roll with a barely cooked fillet of bismarkherring with lots of lemon and some onion slices.  The acidity of the wine and lemon with the fish oils mingled so well together!

Brötchen mit Bismarkherring mit ein Glas Riesling trocken

I finished my wine in the company of some good music.  Turns out I was also next to the Gutenberg Museum.

Too cute for me

The Gutenberg Museum, the view 90 degrees to my left from the previous cute picture.  

Cool things by the Gutenberg Museum.  Ya, there you can see the Gutenberg Bible called B42.

While playing foodie paparazzi, I purchased a beautiful head of radichio, some neat looking mushrooms, berries, and a delicious ziegenkäse, goat cheese, with tiny flower buds that added both aroma and nuttyness that smoothed the flavor.

I was already close to the river and my affinity for scenery and wandering didn't let this excursion end.  Another 5 minutes toward the river I found myself at Rheingoldhalle, a hall where I meant to go for an exhibit 3 weeks ago.  A few rain drops fell.  I passed by 'beaches', basically sand plots created next to the river with rows of lounge chairs arranged almost theater like facing the river where people can buy a drink and tan.  There is no swimming in the Rhine, you don't want to compete with barges.  The obsession with tanning here is bad.

I saw this in a postcard.

Art by the river

More art by the river.  Sweet boat back there.

Another 5-10 minutes later, I crossed the bridge going over the Rhine.  My father recently asked me how wide the Rhine was here.  On the way back, I counted 710 paces from where the water started to where the water ends.  At approximately 50 cm per pace, that's about 35500 cm, or 355 meters, let's give that a plus or minus 20 meters.

A bridge!

I think I should cross it, she said

This tractor full of hay came toward me.  The next 5 minutes smelled of freshly hacked grass.

This boat went under me.

'Bad' weather is more interesting that 'good' weather

As our heroine docked again onto Mainz's solid ground the rain picked up and she meandered among playgrounds, statues, and museums, to eventually find herself back in the old city and hungry again.  After chowing down on at a Lebanese shop, she stopped at a supermarket for some spices she didn't have the foresight to get at the market, then at a bakery for bread she also neglected earlier, to find Yuriy and a friend finishing lunch.

Back on land

The swing on the right is dry because our heroine decided swinging in the rain would be fun

Sweet tree by the playground

The caption to the previous photo

Including the street name in the photo means I can find it again

Sandwich with spiced (mildly, for Germans) ground lamb and vegetables and  a yogurt sauce and a spicy sauce and a cup of good strong tea.  

Indeed, following Yuriy's previous comment, a group of us went to Wein Markt that night, ein groß Wein Fest.  This part of Germany is wine country, and this part of the year is for wine festivals, opening from the earlier afternoon until 2 am on the weekends.  More on wine later, mwah!