In this first week of June, when the blue skies have been almost dazzling and the temperatures have soared to the mid-thirties, I’ve spent lots of time outside enjoying the sunshine and lots of time inside, trying desperately to cool down again. I’m not very good with the heat – well, not when there’s no sea to hop into – but I can’t complain about having the opportunity to sit in the sunshine and enjoy cold drinks with friends.
This week, I met up with fellow Wiesbaden blogger Annie at the lovely Haselnuss farm shop in the Westend. Since it was our first date, I don’t have a photo of her enormous pear and chocolate brownie, but I believe it comes highly recommended. I also enjoyed a very refreshing strawberry, mint and lime lemonade at Du & Ich; and a wonderfully thick chocolate ice cream and fresh banana milkshake (and, yes, a very tasty cheese and bacon burger) at Jodena’s Diner, Seerobenstrasse (between Sedanplatz and Dürerplatz in Wiesbaden), which opened on Saturday.
It started really heating up here on Friday afternoon, when I hid with friends and babies at the Wellritz Café on Wellritzstrasse, ignoring the lovely sunny terrace to sit inside, where it was a little cooler as well as virtually empty. We enjoyed our food – I had a really good vegetarian chilli – whilst our little ones scrambled up slides and fell head-first into boxes of giant lego.
This afternoon we were treated – and I mean really treated – to a very late lunch (or very early dinner) at Weingut & Weinstube Kruger-Rumpf in the Mainz-Bingen village of Münster-Sarmsheim, where the heat in the flower-filled courtyard was rather stifling but the traditional German dishes were as light and elegant in portions and flavour as it’s probably possible to make them. I’m tempted to go on about how good my cold roast beef with green sauce was, not to mention the mini crème brûlée, but I’m planning to write about it all in detail soon, so it’ll have to wait for today (update: review now up!). Also, I have a feeling my computer’s about to burst into flames if I don’t let it rest. Tomorrow it’s forecast to be hotter than Africa – I think I’m going to relocate to the cellar.
Food news and recipes from Germany…
★ Photo tour of Hamburg’s fish market
★ German and American flour equivalents
★ A vegan burger guide to Berlin (in German)
★ Brewery tour of the Geisinger Bräu in Munich
…and further afield:
★ 6 ways to make ice cream without an ice cream machine
★ Six people, six lunches: what do you eat each day? I love the flight attendant!
★ How to cook adventurously without spending a fortune
★ Awesome vegetarian barbecue recipes.
Yes, the chocolate brownie was very nice indeed and will pop over there again also to shop! However, if you’re from the US you may consider the brownie more ‘cake-like’ than the type of chewy dense consistency in which it’s usually made in the States. I thought the pear was a nice idea to lighten it a bit and cut the sweetness 🙂 Pity I didn’t take a pic of it either!
Sounds like you’re a bit like me with the heat… I’m so desperate for the sea or a large lake to cool down in!! It’s been just SOOooo HOT! Good to hear that Jodena’s Diner has not disappointed you. In fact I was kind of hoping you would post your opinion, as we may pop over there today after a walk in the woods (hoping it’s cooler there). Thanks for linking to me again 🙂
You’re welcome! Jodena’s didn’t disappoint, no, but I did go there with the absolute lowest of expectations 😉 I’ll write about it in a bit more detail soon, but they’ve definitely made an effort with it. Hope you managed to stay cool today. We failed!
I was actually going to suggest the cellar… That’s where I have spent most of today! 😀
Haha! I’m thinking of going to sleep down there… why is it still so hot and humid at this hour?!! Roll on winter I say…