Mondschau und Bad Neunahr

"Why go to München when you can go to Mondschau?" That was the question Benito asked himself when he got out of the car again at this quaint little town. It was quite picturesque! The little rivers wound their way around down the hill and the castle sat all lit up on top of the hill to the east. Benito was planning his trip to the east to arrive shortly! But for now he was content to listen to the waters and count his blessings. This time in Mondschau they approached from the south and immediately came upon the Christmas tree. Benito was struck by that sense of deja-vous one encounters from time to time, but this time the notion was well-founded, having depth to it, for not long before had Vicki bought a certain hat which Thorsten had worn in the Greek restaurant where Benito had supposedly spoken the language, but nothing looked familiar when staring at the paper napkin next his beer! Oh, well, another time.

So, observing the orchestra atop the nearest building, braving the cold, they continued along, stopping briefly to take some photo's and get a good look at the tree. They peeked inside the hotels and little shops, but did not go in just yet. They were afraid of spending too much of course, or at least Benito was apprehensive, having spent €300 in one day in Aachen. But that was important for him, for he was about to enter real winter conditions in the distant East in Serbia! It was quite a scene. And Benito recognized some of the shops from his earlier visit, or thought he did at least, and then he was sure, for coming along they came upon that bridge where the Seiß's had stopped to sip their Gluh-wein. That was the clincher. And there was the church. But this time they did not stop there for the church was not open. Instead they continued to the end of the road and looked at some gloves and hats, for winter was coming on fast! But nothing to their liking did they find, and instead, played some kind of children's games at the nearest stand, but could not get their heads around it, though demonstrated perfectly by the salesman. So, they did not get that, but Benito found himself a nice little house to poke his head into, which was rather like a Swiss chalet, but declared vy Van to be most certainly German. Then they feasted on potatoes and all was right in the world, as they sipped their Gluh_wein. Yum! Don't tell ma and pa! Well, it's only a glass of Gluh_wein afterall. So they did sip on it. And went their way, checking on the price of a room for the night, which was €72 for two. Too expensive was the declaration of the night, but the cheese was not, and hwo smelly it was! And they sampled the local schnitzel, finding it to be a bit salty... No matter, for there was a hat stand just down the way, specializing in American brands made especially for Germany, but that did not convince 'El Benito', and so he went his way, vowing to find a real German cap. He already had plenty of mugs at this point, but what he really wanted was a Bavarian coat, and so he made his pledge.

Coming around into the wine country, they made for the Roman baths. These were special and cost a lot. But they just made note of the decorations and went their way. It was special, indeed, with streamers and apples and cones dangling like pendulum's and special classical music playing on the bridge, serving more Gluh-wein. They made their way to the end of the bridge and went into the Martin Luther Church there at the end where there was some kind of choir rehearsal going on. Benito could tell the churh's affiliation by noting the little projected screen and then he knew that they were indeed evangelical, which he rather fancied following his sojourn at Middlebury College's 'Christian Fellowship'. No need to fret, he did not stay long, only to snap a picture of one Martin Luther, and then continued on his merry way, past the jewelry stand, and stopped for another sip of wine before he made his debut in the nearby hotel, which was not known for it's splendid piano, for there was no one playing. After a time, they were granted permission and Benito assumed the position. But the piano seat was not up to par, and so Benito's playing was neither good nor bad, and was deemed similarly to not be quite up to par. Thusly, the man in typical German manner said, "Please to play the first movement and not the third, as the third movement needs more work. Thank you very much indeed!" But Benito did not know the first movement. He could not as yet play by ear... So, instead he played the Debussy. This was greeted with a courtesy, but a request that perhaps it was time to give it a rest, so Benito held his head high and exited the premise with a quick nod to the hotel staff. He would work on the 1st movement.

Then they went to the German baths......

But first, they stopped in the Casino, which used to be used for dance parties, but now had hardly anyone inside. Oh, well, another time. This was not Benito's first encounter with the baths and he was looking forward to it. He could smell the chlorine right away. Changing, he left everything in his locker and continued towards that large edifice which contained the hot tubs and the pools, including the outdoor one, which was rather cool, and the mist drifted off the surface of the water as if they were in Iceland. They tried everything for one hour's time, going in the waters and then in the hot tub, and then back in the pool. And that was how it went, until it was time to go and Benito made his way to the showers where he took a warm bath, relieved himself, and got changed. Home again, home again, singing all the way! It had been a good weekend overall and now Benito was looking forward to more piano playing back at the home base and more chocolate parties, which they celebrated on Sunday, while watching CNN and playing more piano at the cafe's where Polish men appreciated the Chopin music and tried to hit on the mentor, but to no avail. And Dana Horakova's book was searched for a not found, but there was plenty of Chinese food to go around and a beer was drunk in Euskirchen in the bar, served up by a middle-aged bartender who liked like she could use a pick-me-up. But no matter, for they were on their way out without looking back and Benito was outside looking at fake Rolex's, but knew he could prob's get a better deal in NY, so they left, stopping briefly at the Backerei, which Benito often mistook for a 'Backpacker's Hostel', but no matter for Benito was headed to cooler clime's....

Next stop: Serbia. Hooray!