yawn! din go anywhere today. weather outside is -3C. couldn't even feel the nose when walking the dog today. the face was numb as soon as i got out of the car. but the thick jacket did its job of keeping me warm although it was a bit heavy...goose feather mind u.
so it was only snacking and in front of the computer the whole time. gosh...i flew all the way to do that here huh....
went grocery shopping...it was interesting looking at all the food on display. the different types of chocs, bread, fruits, vege, meat (loads of sausages), etc. and we went to 3 stores today: lidl, plus and aldi. aunt was looking for fresh flowers to put on the prayer altar...first day in the chinese lunar calendar today i think...or 15th.
in deutsche, this is johannis berry. very small but really bright red. aunt picked one out for me to try.. hahah...curi....it was neither sweet nor sour...and it had 3 seeds inside..no good.
paprika chips...but this is not good. those like pringles type is better. bought 2 pringles too: cheezy cheese and hot and spicy. how not to get fat? dun want to buy anymore chips lah hor...maybe ice-cream...haha...luckily it is too cold for me to attack ice-cream. another diet killer.
brüchen or bread...my favourite breakfast. just toast it in the oven and it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. sometimes just spread plain butter and sometimes add pieces of sausages or ham. and a cup of hot coffee in the hand...bliss while reading the star paper in front of the pc. a routine already.
and still about eating...yesterday we went to limburg again...the town on the way to frankfurt to aunt friend's house for dinner. aunt had to bring them the anchovies i brought from malaysia. she drove there in the dark..6p.m. with the help of the navigator. damn it was scary and she was on the panicky end. i also had to stop myself from panicking...imagine later driving back at 11p.m. on a quiet stretch of road with woods on both sides. so eerie. had to control my imagination while in the car. photo of the road was already shown in previous post...the one covered in snow and closed for traffic.
ok back to eating. her friend cooked mutton curry, fishball with vege, steamed fish, cow intestine and pork ear, and watercress soup. later lots of fruits: apple, persimmon, grape, orange, pomelo and tangerines. soo fulllll.
and then they talked talked and talked...about food in hk, about saving water and electric. utilities are expensive here, even the german tv station teach u how to save water. oh, i find one way that we can use too...to save water in the toilet. fill one 1.5 litre bottle with water, then put it into the tank. this way less water will be filled into the tank. we dun really need to use so much water anyway to flush urine right? but then again...who would be bothered to do this in malaysia? water is subsidised and at home, mom only paid rm1.50 for water.
lastly, the highlight of yesterday's trip to limburg...a minor accident which we did not witness. aunt's car was slightly 'kissed' at the back because someone was trying to squeeze into the narrow space on the driver's side. so at the corner of the back bumper, there was some black paint mark left...but very very little, almost not noticeable if u dun point it out. but the interesting thing was, a guy actually waited for us to come out of the house, with his torchlight (the parking area was dark) and told us the whole incident. he even recorded the car registration number (his neighbour). he really scared the shit out of us when he knocked on our windows and told us to get out of the car. luckily aunt's friend was still in the carpark and they talked to the guy.
aunt deliberated today whether to report to the police and let the police deal with it...in the end, no action taken because the damage was almost invinsible. the question in everyone's mind was: is the guy a real good samaritan or he had other motive? oh, but someone did leave a piece of paper on the windscreen scratched with a name and some illegible words and the numbers 44. who wrote that?
one of the interesting streets here, very narrow and only 144m long: drosselgasse. cafes and souvenir shops along the way. pic on the right shows a christmas band performance. i wonder if they could really feel their fingers. my hands were freezing and i stared in envy at those ppl with gloves on. have to get aunt to lend me a pair glove now.
kathe wolfahrt's store. it is christmas all year round for this store. all sorts of x-mas deco u want. all hand-made in germany. all expensive :P
their intresting window display.
the buildings all facing the river...day and evening.
view from the hill. u can either walk up, take the car or go on a cable car. we chose cable car. €6.50 return. expensive. if u choose to walk, u will be walking through vineyards...good on a spring day.
the cable car ride. they lent everyone a polyster blanket to use in the gondola. some ppl wrapped themselves in the blanket. it was not that windy but my hands were freezing.
interesting buildings again and christmas decorations. walk slowly and lift your head to catch the unique windows. however, too many ppl along the street will just push u to move ahead following the crowd.
the rhine. there are many river cruises between towns here...from boppard to rudesheim, from koblenz, etc. one will enjoy views of villages along the river and castles on several hills along the way.
vineyards everywhere.
some food found in stores. candies, fruit bread and coated almonds (bottom right). we bought 100g of rum coated almonds €2.50 ...yummy.
roasted chestnut anyone?
Niederwald MonumentThe monument commemorates the re-establishment of the German empire following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. The main figure is "Germania" holding the imperial crown in her raised right hand and the imperial sword in her left hand. There is a marvellous view from the monument far into the Rheinland-Palatinate countryside.
we stopped at a roadside stall selling fruits on the way. bought a packet of pears. those wines are loreley wines...loreley is another town along this stretch of road.
asbach products.
as we drove along...
the cosy restaurant where we had our dinner. the christmas deco was really neat.
opposite the eck. Ehrenbreitstein fortress stands 118 metres high, overlooking the Rhine opposite Deutsches Eck (German Corner). It began with a small castle being built here around the year 1000. This was then gradually expanded into a fortress over the centuries by the Electors of Trier. After being destroyed by the French, Ehrenbreitstein was rebuilt and fortified by the Prussians. It became one of the strongest fortresses built in Europe after 1815 that is still almost completely preserved today. (source: 
along the compound of the eck.
some cruise boats plying the river.
somewhere near old town area...all cobbled streets. many quaint shops in this area. selling all sorts of things: jewellery, antique, furniture, clothes, bags, porcelain goods, shoes, stationery, art, book, kitchen ware, etc. many boutiques. did i tell u they even sell chritian audigier here? luckily i am not into house decoration, it is a haven here.
