How I nearly lost my toes in Aschaffenburg

19 December 2009

How I nearly lost my toes in Aschaffenburg

Anna and I slept in a little bit on Saturday morning. We had a leisurely breakfast in our hotel lobby. I had to try a little bit of everything: rye bread with soft cheese, chocolate muesli with milk, whole wheat roll with pepper cheese, butter & black currant jam and of course, some German yogurt. Europe has the best dairy products! Anna and I made our way to the Hauptbahnhof for a 1000 train to Miltenberg, a small pretty town I had read about that is just over the Hesse border into Bavaria. There was a bit of a rush and confusion as we tried to figure out how to use the automated ticket kiosks at the station while surrounded by loads of other rushed travelers. No where near as chaotic as Newark airport, but clearly the holiday travel season does not bring out the best in any of us. When we finally did get our tickets, we saw that we would have to make a train transfer in the town of Aschaffenburg. Anna said, “That is supposed to be a nice town! Shall we stop there too?” “Let’s do it!” I said. And just like that, we changed our plans. This is why I love traveling without a specific itinerary. It is so much more fun to plan as you go!

We got to take an ICE train to Aschaffenburg. The ICE trains are the fancy long distance trains in Germany. They have wood paneling inside, recessed lighting, automatic sliding glass doors, and fancy dining cars. The 45 minute ride went quite fast and we were leaving the comfort of the warm train before we knew it. It felt at least 10 degrees colder in Aschaffenburg than it had in Franfurt. Anna and I were both freezing within the first few minutes even with our long down-stuffed coats, hats, hoods and gloves. We stopped in a small grocery store and bought two pairs of stockings for an extra layer of warmth on our feet and legs. We went to the first place we could find to use a bathroom and change, and that happened to be the town library. It was actually a lovely library sunny inside with glass walls, where many of the townsfolk were sitting and reading books and newspapers, children drawing or looking at Christmas books. The locals were stopping through with groceries in hand as they were clearly making their way back home.

We felt more confident braving the cold now with our extra layer. Right outside of the library was the Weihnachtsmakt as well as some other sites. We took a stroll over to the town schloss (castle) called Johannisburg Schloss, built in the Renaissance period and used as the summer house of the Mainz archbishops. Everything was especially beautiful with a dusting of snow on it. Right outside the moat of the castle was a Saturday morning market which I assume is likely running year round regardless of the presence of the Weihnachtsmarkt. Each stand was actually inside a tent to keep the sellers some what warmer but I would have to assume they were freezing nonetheless. It reminded me of the farmer’s markets I frequent at home. At this market one could buy fruit, vegetables (most of which were local), regional cheese, cured meats and dried sausages, and fresh pastries and sweets. There was a table of organische produce, another one just with a pile of garlic, local honey and beeswax, another selling loads of different root vegetables (I felt at home among the parsnips and turnips.) I would have loved to have bought and tried many of these fine foods, but I figured the cheese and meat purchasing had better wait until later in the week closer to my departure for home.

We meandered around the cute narrow cobblestone streets, taking in the sights of the colorful homes, many with the timber beams, and all decorated ever so quaintly with Christmas adornments. The locals were out buying food for the weekend. It seemed every couple had their reusable shopping basket full of bread, eggs, cheese, and produce. In the US, we are just catching onto the “green” movement by shopping local and toting our items in reusable bags. They’ve been doing this in Europe since forever. Everyone was also sharply dressed with their angular colorful glasses, bright scarves, wool coats, felted caps. The children had colorful pompom topped hats, some were even wearing full body snow suits. I was honestly a little jealous; I wished I had a full body suit to keep me warm that day.

It started to become painful to walk around after awhile. I spotted an outdoors store called Jack Wolfskin and went immediately inside. They were selling all kinds of things for the Alpine lifestyle. I picked up some thick warm hiking socks and even though they were a bit pricey, I was desperate for podiatric warmth. I put them on right in the store and then we went back into the cold. I think it must have been about 25°F but it was damp and windy and thus felt much, much colder. As we learned the day before, the best solution for the cold was a hot mug of glühwein! Anna and I shared a cup and further upped our sugar intake by ordering not one but two waffles (or wafflen)…one was covered with Nutella and powdered sugar, the other wafflen mitte apfelmus (applesauce) and a cinnamon sugar mix. Despite the hot wine and food, we were still terribly cold and my toes were painfully throbbing at this point. I think this may have been the coldest my feet had ever gotten, even worse than when skiing or snowboarding. So back to the warm library we went, where I stripped off my shoes and top layer socks and placed my feet on the radiator. The toe defrosting process was actually more painful than the freezing process but I felt so much better after warming up.

We went out for one more loop around the weihnachtsmarkt. We browsed through stalls filled with gingerbread cookies painted with decorative frosting, fruit breads speckled with nuts and seeds, bratwurst glistening with grease, delicate handmade Christmas tree ornaments, sparkly metallic glass ball decorations, freshly made crêpes, star shaped lanterns, woolen hats and socks, and crystalline sugared nuts—and that is just naming a few. Every stall was filled and decorated in excess. Before we took the next train out of Aschaffenburg, I had to try one more greasy treat. There were a few stands carefully deep frying potato pancakes, or reibekuchen. The potatoes had been very finely ground and mixed with some herbs. The reibekuchen could be served with sour cream or apfelmus; I opted for the apfelmus. It was dripping with grease but it sure tasted good!

Another 45 minute train ride and we were further into the state of Bavaria to visit a village called Miltenberg. Miltenberg is located on the Lahn River and still has some of its medieval buildings. The outskirts of the town were quite sleepy on this Sunday afternoon. The streets had not even been plowed from yesterday’s snow so everything was pristinely white. Before crossing the bridge to the aldstadt of Miltenberg, we admired it from afar. Every rooftop was painted white and had a smoking chimney. There were some large houses, castle-like, up on the hillside. The skyline was speckled with timbered houses and church spires. After a quick walk over the bridge, we were strolling down the main street in Miltenberg. It was also well decorated with lights and Christmas greetings strung across the buildings. Every store front had colorful decorations. It was very picturesque to look down the lane and see the cobblestone road twist through town lined closely by the colorful historic buildings.

We stopped at a café which was almost entirely pink on the interior. I had a cappuccino and Anna ordered some tea. Choosing just one dessert to sample was the real challenge! This country is a dangerous place for a person with a sweet tooth. The glass display case had apfelstruedel, appenkeller cake, petit fours, frosted cakes in all flavors, cinnamon rolls, all kinds of fruit crumble cakes, chocolates and so on. I think my pancreas just released a little insulin from remembering this array! I had a wonderful apple crumble cake and Anna tried a petit four with a sugar Christmas tree on top.

Before we got too cozy inside the café and slipped into a sugar coma, we went back outdoors to face the elements and explore the Miltenberg Weihnachtsmarkt. It was a much smaller market than any of the ones we had seen earlier but all of the staples were still there: glühwein, bratwurst, wooden figurines, glass balls, candied nuts, and marzipan. The marzipan stands were quite amusing…it seems the German’s have gotten a bit carried away in designing and shaping their marzipan. I have been accustomed to seeing marzipan in the shapes of various fruits, but here they had gotten more creative. There were marzipan shaped like curry bratwurst, eggs and bacon, potatoes, asparagus, and then there was the x-rated section with breasts, penises in different sizes and shapes, lips, and even two pigs caught in sexual rapture…forever preserved in almond paste.

After doing a good bit of shopping, we saw an enticing little street that ventured up a steep hill towards the woods beyond. We could just make out an arched doorway ahead that appeared to go through the gatehouse of the old city walls. We gingerly walked up the hill, the cobblestone slippery with ice and snowy slush. Once we passed through the arched doorway in the gates, we were in the silence of the German forest. It was a beautiful scene, every tree branch covered with snow. We passed a couple hiking through with walking sticks. The small trail brought us to a wider street which was the home to some of the big castle-like houses we had seen from across the river. From this viewpoint, we could look down on the lovely village of Miltenberg snuggled between medieval walls and the river Lahn, blanketed in snow. It was right out of a children’s story book. A picture could not capture this beauty and serenity.

With the sun down now, and the mercury dropping in the thermometer, it was time to find a cozy restaurant for dinner. We passed one on the main street with a sign outside advertising schnitzel. It seemed like as good of an option as any! We sat down inside, and the woman brought us the “English” menu translation. I was a bit confused considering the menu was only written in two languages: Italian and German. Anna and I most definitely do not look Italian! What was going on here? In further inspection of the menu, we came to the conclusion we were in an Italian restaurant not a German one! I did not come to cute little Miltenberg village to eat Veal Scallopini! I wanted würst, schnitzel, spaetzle, sauerkraut! We whispered at the table, conspiring as to how we could cordially ditch this restaurant for another. What could we tell the kind woman who showed us to our seat? “I must rush back to the weihnachtsmarkt before it closes! I simply MUST have those marzipan breasts to bring back to the US!” or “I just heard a yell from the street below!! Sounds like a woman in labor! Doctor Kate to the rescue!” or perhaps Anna could run hysterically to the bathroom at which time I could explain that too much glühwein had done a number on her bowels. In the end, it was just easier to get up and say, “Sorry, but we have to go!”

Down the street we found a lovely spot to eat, called Hotel Reisen. It had a medieval feel inside, with little dining nooks resembling a cavern. Now we could finally enjoy some German cuisine!! First things first, we ordered some Faust bier which is locally made. So local, in fact, that earlier that day we had walked past the brewery on the Miltenberg main street. For food, we ordered the following: Weißwürst münchner art mit sußen send und brezel (weisswurst munich style in a broth with mustard and a pretzel), Hausgemachter frankischer kochkase mit zweibeln, schwarzviertlerbrot und butter (house-made cheese with caraway seeds and onions served with bread and butter), and finally Bayerischer schweinebraten mit rotkraut und knodel (Bavarian style pork with red cabbage and dumplings). I really wanted to try the dinkelnudeln (spelt noodles) just because they were so fun to say, but maybe next time! I thought the food was delicious. I was most excited about the weisswurst as I love eating those at home. I find the veal sausage much lighter and easier to digest.

It was about 1930 when we finished dinner and time to start making the two hour journey back to Frankfurt. We walked over the bridge one last time, stopping for short moment to admire the town of Milltenberg at night with its golden glow. On our way to the train station, an electric sign told us that the temperature was -11°C which I believe is about 5°F. With the wind and dampness, it the temperature was truly lower than this too. No wonder our toes have been like little ice cubes in our shoes! But I have to admit, most of the time I was enjoying my surroundings so much that I did not notice the cold!