While the trip back to Germany
was to see friends and family, it was also our first family vacation with Oskar
and probably the only one we will ever have without the constant reminder of
work back at home (with me on maternity leave and Martin not checking work
emails we were truly off the grid). So I insisted that the three of us take a
mini-vacation for a few nights while in Germany. Many ideas were thrown around, I wanted wine
tasting somewhere warm, Martin wanted something close so his parents could join
for a night and we both wanted something easy travel-wise (we had already
travelled 12 hours by plane and 2 hours by car to get to his town). So we landed on Dernau in the Ahr Valley.
Famous for its wine, Dernau is a
cute little German town nestled in a steep valley created by the Ahr River. The region is known for their
Rotweinwanderweg, or Red Wine Hiking Trail, that connects the various towns
along the river with a hiking path/trail that runs through the vineyards. Yes, you can literally walk from one town to
the next on a valley-long wine tasting adventure… it was like the W-Trail in
Patagonia, but for wine lovers.
I was sold.
We rented a tiny apartment near
the center of town and made the village our home for 5 nights. With Oskar’s early bed time routine and
lingering jet lag (or possibly general overstimulation) we cooked dinners in most
nights, and with our morning breakfasts of rolls and coffee, we quickly became
known to both the local baker, the butcher and grocery store clerk.
Our days were spent exploring the
town and region, trying to stay dry with the ongoing rain (so much for warm
weather) and doing a little wine tasting.
And I truly mean “tasting”…not what pre-baby Lisa used to call
“tasting.” Wine “tasting” pre-baby
really meant wine “drinking” which was typically an all-day affair that
resulted in a mid-day nap and an early evening hangover. Post-baby wine tasting is actually closer to
the original intention.
On Thursday, we stopped by two
wineries to taste the local wines (Weingut Schlosshof, the oldest winery in the
region and Weingut Ernst Sebastian, picked for the name). With Oskar in the stroller, Martin and I calmly
sipped the wines and I took advantage of the wine bucket to pour out what I
didn’t need (something that I would have considered sacrilegious just a year
ago). We made a few purchases at each
winery and tucked the bottles into the bottom of the stroller (one of the
biggest perks of wine tasting with a baby).
On Friday, with the weather
finally giving us a break and letting a little sun through, we ventured along
the wine trail to the nearby town of Marienthal and old monastery turned winery
and restaurant. Oskar was strapped into
the ErgoBaby and we walked the 30 minutes along the valley and through the
vineyards to the historic old property. We
enjoyed our lunch of Pflannkuchen with two glasses of wine and our desserts
with coffee and tea and then headed back to Dernau just as it began to
sprinkle.
Later that afternoon was the true
test, or rather defining moment, of how much things have changed. At the recommendation of our apartment owner,
we stopped by one more winery/restaurant for one last taste of the local wines
before heading to the store for dinner. Halfway through our full glass of wine
(it was less a winery and more of a restaurant so I ended up with a full glass)
it started to rain. Not a downpour, but
definitely enough that we were going to get wet. Our old selves would have ordered another
glass of wine to wait out the rain, which would have normally turned into
ordering a snack followed by more wine and eventually dinner… it was a really
cute restaurant and I could have stayed all night. But responsibility kicked in and we didn’t
order that second glass of wine.
Instead, we covered up Oskar’s stroller with a swaddle and braved the
rain long enough to grab stuff for dinner and get Oskar home in time for his
bedtime routine.
Looks like we will need to head
back when Oskar is a little older to properly enjoy wine “tasting” in Dernau.
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