Reggie, The curious kitty

October 31, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

Reggie is a fuzzy furry welcome—a neighbors Mommy kitty bore a cute litter and once weaned, needed new homes and thus, Reggie came into our lives.

Reggie arrived about a month ago and what a joy!!! Reggie brings much love and excitement, entertainment and laughter to our house with his antics, playful behaviors, and has even started ‘talking’, which cracks me up.

Reggie is kind of small but growing well–he even likes to share his meals with us by eating scrambled eggs and sweet potoatoes in addtion to his normal kitty kibble, being the gluten he is–when he is not perching here or there or bounching all over the house.

Reggie loves Thomas Best.

Reggie likes to perch near the heater

Comfy time

Reggie loves to snuggle

Giving a Schwarzwald tour

October 26, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

Woohoo!! My Grandfather came to visit me….and I marked off another item on my dream-list. I gave a family member a tour!!! Yes, it is true and I found it fun and exciting.

My Grandfather visited from Sunday through Tuesday evening here in Southwest Germany and willingly adventured with me around the area. We had so much fun!! I enjoyed being a tour guide more than I had anticipated. Grandfather was a great companion and we had so much fun together–I found it super nice and enjoyable to experience new coffee places as well with him–while going to some of my favorite places.

We went to the Monastary Ruins in Bad Herrenalb, the Kloster ruins in Frauenalb, the Schloss in Karlruhe and Ratstatt, and enjoyed the lovel art and architecture in St. Alexanders on Marktplatz in Ratstatt. A lovely fountain, bridge, and river tour in Ettlingen also had taken place, with coffee and lunches intermixed in our ventures–we used the tram and sometimes the car, making transportation very versatitle and easy.

All the places we went to gave us the beautiful sites and scenes of the Black Forrest, also being able to see the changing of the leaves this autumn–all in all, quite an event.

Want to check out some of the hot places we dined and enjoyed coffee?? The links and references are below.

Golden Mann Cafe Am Schloss Ratstatt

Schwarzwald Stub (Restaurant) Bad Herrenalb, Germany (no website) Kurpromenade 5, 76332 Bad Herrenalb, Germany

DLounge (Coffee shop), Karlsruhe, Germany

Täglich (Restaurant), Ettlingen, Germany

Drinking from a fountain, Karlsruhes Downtown

The River Alb, Running through downtown Ettlingen

Schloss Karlsruhe Statue Tours

The River Alb, Frauenalb Germany

We stopped at a local Bakery for snacks and coffee, a German classic

Taking a break from touring the Black Forrest at the DLounge, Kronenplatz, Karlsruhe, Germany

1000 year old ruins at Frrauenalb, Germany, in the heart of the Black Forrest

My grandfather in Frauenalb, standing next to a very old, established trees by the ruins.

Grandfather and I riding the trams to adventure together

The Verranda on Schloss Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe,

The Crest of the Markgraf Wilhelm von Baden Baden, primary resident of the Schloss Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Baden Wurtemburg Germany

Exquisite Cappucinos at the Cafe Am Schloss, Ratstatt, Germany http://www.goldener-mann-rastatt.de/kontakt/

the Tour guide (me) outside of St. Martins Church, Ettlingen, Germany

Grandfather crossings the Lockets of Love Bridge, Ettlingen, Germany

The flood water marker on St. Alexanders Cathedral, Marktplatz, Ratstatt, Germany

Wooden Pews and grandfather, St. Martins Church, Kirch platz, Ettlingen, Germany

Roman Ruins, Bad Herrenalb, Germany

Grandfather and I, Kloster Ruins, Bad Herrenalb, Germany

Dropping postcards in the post for loved ones back in the States

Roman Ruins near the Protestant Church (1650) Bad Herrenalb, Germany

A tradtional German lunch at Schwarzwald Stub, Bad Herrenalb, Germany

Date Night at the Irish Pub

October 20, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

Thomas and I on our date night

Thomas

Date nights are always fun!!

Thomas and I ventured to downtown Ettlingen to the Irish Pub on the Alb River!!!

The barkeep speaks very good English, which is always a big perk for me.

The good news?? We had a lovely date night but i also found a place that serves a pretty good Grog, which is always welcome when the weather starts to get cold and chilly.

I found Grog!!!

Grog is awesome!!!

Brunch

October 15, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

An Eggy Brunch

Ingredients

6 eggs

1 Bell Pepper (your choice of color), chopped

1/2 small onion (purple or yellow), chopped

2 medium tomatoes, slices in half moons

4 tablespoons salsa

2 bananas

4 pieces of sliced bread (white, wheat, rye, sourdough, your choice)

honey

Salt and Pepper

2 large sliced of real, natural cheese (cheddar, Tillister, gouda, your choice)

Method:

Omelette: Lighlty saute the bell pepper, onions, salt and pepper with Sunflower oil (or your favorite oil) in a medium sized skillet, remove half and set aside.

Crack three eggs into to skillet (with half the vegetable mix), stir to mix everything-breaking the yolks on medium/ medium low heat.

Once the eggs start firming up on the bottom, flip entire egg-veggie mixture over (like a flap jack), place half a slice of cheese on the cooked side of the egg mixture.

Once the second side has fully cooked (the eggs are not runny nor crispy-burned) fold the omelette in half over the slice of cheese and remove from the pan (cut this in half to create 2 omelettes)

Repeat these steps with the last 3 eggs and remaining half of bell pepper-onion mix (for 2 more omelletes.)

On eachof four plates: Half of each omellette (topped with salsa), half a banana, half a sliced tomatoe, and a piece of toast (with honey drizzeled on top and cut in half)

Riding the lines

October 6, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

The view of my tram

The ‘stop the tram’ button

Adventuring is so much fun, easy, and convenient while using the tram.

I rode the rails today to view the country side during this love autumn season and the changing of the leaves in the Black Forrest.

I stopped off in Bad Herrenalb and enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a Backerei–and warmed my hands with cup of coffee—

I hopped back on the tram and headed towards the Karlsruhe Hauptbanhof, where I could get other trams to other areas, while I waited for another tram, I enjoyed yet another coffee (Coffee Crema) at Dlounge on Kronenplatz–an easy walk to the tram platform where the s41 tram would arrive and transport me through wonderous landscapes.

I learned something new today–while the concept of ‘regions’ within the tram network system is not an unfamiliar concept, I discovered that the tram stops in smaller towns and villages have yellow signal boxes, often seen on posts in the cities to allow pedestrians to cross the street (pushing a button ‘alerts’ the system that people want to cross.)

Well, this same style yellow box, with a button, is required to get the tram to stop on such said platforms, an error that I made as I watched the tram blow right past me. So, my ignorance cost me a 35 minute wait—but I did get to see the sunset in the heart of the Black Forrest in Autumn—with my river below me and the sunset on the horizon…breathtaking.

My River, Near Kirschbaumwasen, Germany

Breakfast in Bad Herrenalb

Cafe Crema

A Sunday Drive Home

October 2, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer 1 Comment

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.

Eddie Cantor

Driving to Freiburg was a simple, direct drive on the Highway but…

the adventure began as we drove home, the ‘back’ roads, meandering through small towns and villages along our way.

Sure, the drive home required more time to get to our final desitination…and yet, we thoroughly enjoyed the scenic route, laughing, joking, and eating italian ice-cream along the way. What is not to love than sharing fond memories, making new memories, and laughter with your sweetheart??

We made a pit-stop in Lichtenau, a small town at enjoyed great ice cream at Eiscafe Paradiso Lichtenau (see photos below). A young boy was riding his bike around the plaza and visually became distracted, crashing into a feature item in the plaza, got up, danced about for a minute, and continued to ride his bicycle like nothing had occured, which made Thomas and I roar with laughter.

On the Sunday drive, we witnessed a German corn harvest (see the Combine in the video), lovely towns, funny kids, and the beautiful German country side on our way home.

Corn Harvest

Eiscafe Paradiso Lichtenau

Thomas and I being silly and cracking jokes on our way home.

Eiscafe Paradiso Lichtenau

Coffee and Postcards in Freiburg

Farm Machinary on the way to the field

Eiscafe Paradiso Lichtenau

Fusion Taco Salad

October 2, 2016April 25, 2017Anna--The Adventurer

Ground beef browned on low heat

Add half of a chopped onion

Half a chopped onion, diced tomoatoe, and small bell pepper chopped

Add one can of drained red kidney beans with the chopped vegetables into the ground beef and onion mix all together in one pan

Simmer all together and stir for 5 to 7 minutes

My friend has sent me a taco seasoning sauce packet as part of my birthday gift and I added the seasoning packet to the pot of ingredients. It is possible for you to make your own taco salad seasoning on your own but considering I had a mix already on hand I used but my friend had given me

I chopped up a half a head of lettuce and divided it between two bowls

I laddeled to have two scoops of the taco salad mix on top of the cut lettuce and serve it garnished with Hatch Chiles from a can

My Travels

Anna Potthoff

Month October 2016

Reggie, The curious kitty

Giving a Schwarzwald tour

Date Night at the Irish Pub

Brunch

Riding the lines

A Sunday Drive Home

Fusion Taco Salad

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