It wasn’t raining at breakfast so we decided to go to Mainz for a German city experience.  Of course, the rain began as we were parking the car there.  Feeling  my most intrepid traveler self, I put on my rain jacket and Ken opened his umbrella and off we went.  

We strolled the lovely old town center and the open market.  I saw the biggest, fattest ginger root ever.

At the Dom of St. Martin I  tearfully lit a candle to honor the anniversary of a dear child’s death.  As we emerged from the cathedral the rain became more daunting, and I less intrepid.  We took the long way back to the car, stopping to watch the traffic on the Rhine.

Five minutes out of Mainz, the rain ceased so we decided to go to Kloster Eberbach, an old monastery for the Cistercian monks.

Wine is also produced there and there is a contemporary style tasting room. The setting is beautiful and the self-guided tour was informative.  The church was consecrated around 1150 and much of the original architecture remains.

I especially enjoyed the sculpture garden with life size bronzes by Dutch artist Hanneke Beaumont.

As usual so far this trip, it rained most of the time we were there.

Back to Julias, I got our payment organized, our boarding passes printed, and a new suggestion for dinner.

The Gelbes Haus (Yellow House) in the next town over, Erbach, turned out to be our best meal yet.  I really wanted to eat a little lighter so I ordered pumpkin soup which was dark orange, rich, and tasty, but without the coconut milk or curry we are used to.  Then I had a lentil salad with smoked trout, both fresh and delicious.  Ken had (a huge portion of) pork filet with mushroom sauce.  With a glass of white wine and a beer, our tab came to €37.  Can’t beat it.  We had a nice, if chilly, stroll around the town before we called it a day.

Tomorrow—off to Italy!