All the Wine, A Lot of Running, and a Castle

Greetings! Did you all celebrate Pi day? Cheeky hopes you didn't sacrifice any pineapples to enjoy this nerdy day. The commissary didn't have any "traditional" pies such as apple or cherry, so we had a strawberry cheesecake, pecan pie, and Reese's pie. Still delicious! I wrote a few pi jokes on our whiteboard as well. We all had a good laugh and good treats! But this post isn't about pie or pi. It IS about wine and running, which is way better!

Mary and Alfred's Winery

Last week Saturday about a dozen of us stuffed into three cars and headed an hour and a half north to the tiny town of Briedel. It's situated on the Mosel river, which is a fantastic place to grow grapes. We went to Mary and Alfred Eigelshoven's winery. Now, when I think of a winery, this is not what I pictured. Their entire operation is at their home in a garage that might fit 4 vehicles. When we arrived, Mary was waiting for us in this garage with a long table that had a few baskets of home made pretzels fresh out of the oven not 10 minutes before we arrived. I was not shy about eating them! Mary is the one who spoke to us for the entire time we were there. She speaks great English. Alfred understands some, but he didn't speak much and would wander in and out while Mary was telling us all about their wine, the family history, and the wine making process. She has a fantastic sense of humor! She kept mentioning that only Alfred's name is on the wine bottles and not hers.

Mary and Alfred are in their early 60's and have two adult children. They do all the work themselves from grape to bottle! The land they own has been in the family for many generations and they don't intend to sell the land either. They are determined to keep it in their family!

Once we were all settled after our arrival, Mary explained to us the process of getting grapes to wine. She said that this time of year (Feb-Mar), they go out and prep all the plants for spring. When they tie the vines to their posts, they use wicker, so when it gets cut off later in the year, they can just leave it on the ground since it's a natural plant. It will go back to the earth. In May, the plants start to bud and grow. Then they can see grapes and estimate how much wine they might get. Surprisingly, the same amount of grapes can give a vast range of wine depending on the year! Some years the grapes give double of others. In October, the grapes are ready for harvest. Mary, Alfred, and maybe two others go out to all their vineyards for 4 weeks and harvest grapes. The grapes are all juiced the day they are harvested and put into metal vats. In this region, they don't like to use wooden barrels to add oak-y or other flavors to the wine. They prefer all the flavor to come from the grapes themselves. The wine is then fermented for as long as Alfred determines. The longer the fermentation process, the higher the alcohol content. When the time is right, the wine is then put into bottles, corked and labeled. And it's all done in the same room we had our tasting. Mary told us that they have switched to synthetic corks because the natural ones were altering the flavor of their wine and sometimes breaking off into the bottles.

                                           

While we're getting our education on how Mary and Alfred make their wine, we were tasting it as well! We were able to taste 9 wines. Three reds, one mix (not rose!), and five whites. I was a driver, so I only had little sips of each. Everyone else drank the equivalent of an entire bottle! It was a good thing Mary had those delicious pretzels! We also brought cheese and crackers to snack on. All of the wines were delicious! I was having a hard time deciding which ones I wanted to buy. I knew going into it that I'd come back with wine, just how much was the question. Other folks who had gone a few months back all ended up with a bunch of bottles and now I understood why. Delicious, local, and, inexpensive! Mary explained that an expensive wine doesn't always equal a better wine. Those wineries have more people to pay. Mary and Alfred do almost all the work themselves and their price reflects it. They just have to buy their supplies and make a living off of it. No extra people to pay. All their bottles were 5-6 euros ($6-$8) a piece. What a deal! Out of the 9 wines we tasted, I bought 7 different ones, 12 bottles total! I hope to get most of them home, but I'll have to drink a few in the mean time.

Trying to buy all the wine

                 

After the tasting was done, our group walked down to the Mosel river to check out the area. One of our group is in Public Affairs and he brought his camera. Some of the photos in this post are courtesy of him!

Our fun group!

Once we got back, the rest of my day was relaxing. An early bed time was in order as the Bienwald Half Marathon was the next day!

Bienwald Half Marathon - Kandel

Before I even left for Germany I thought it would be a great idea to find a race in Europe. I had done races on three continents up to that point, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to add a fourth. I originally had the grand idea do run a full marathon. I even got up to 16 miles for a training run. Well, after being sick a couple of times, plus Ross' three week visit, and my increase in work/decrease in training, I decided it might be better to scale back to the half marathon. I recruited two other co-workers for the half and one for his first full. At least I wouldn't be alone! The race took place in the small town of Kandel which was not quite an hour and a half from Ramstein. Lucky for us the race didn't start until 10am, so we didn't have to get up too early to make the drive.

Jason, Me, Maj Carr

The drive was easy (especially since I didn't have to do any driving!) and pretty. The sun was shining for a little while, but eventually went back behind the clouds and stayed there the rest of the day. It's still rare for us to have sunny days here. It stayed in the upper 40s, lower 50s and was a little damp. Once we arrived, we were directed into a great parking spot right by the start line and packet pick up area. We all gathered our numbers and t-shirts. While we were in the tent that had the shirts and running gear for sale, Jason and I noticed the race medals at the end of a table. We wandered over and figured out that if we wanted a race medal, we had to buy them since we didn't pay for it during our registration. Probably why the race was so cheap! We of course wanted a medal, so we forked over the 5 euro each. With medals in hand we joked that now we didn't even have to run! That was definitely a first for both of us. We stood in that tent chatting about running gear and random stuff for a little bit then headed back to the car to drop off our things, have a snack and get ready for the race. Once that was complete we sat in the sportshalle (sport hall) stretching for a bit. While we were talking about past race experiences, Major Carr and I figured out that we both did Ironman Louisville in 2015! Eventually we noticed everyone started filing out of the gym to go line up. We followed suit and positioned ourselves in the starting areas that lined up with what we thought our finishing times would be. Maj Carr was hoping for 1:30, Jason 1:45, me 2:00, and Capt Luber 5 hours for the full.

Jason and I lined up together, took a selfie, and just like that we were off!  The first couple miles were crowded (There were about 1200 runners in the half and maybe 500 in the full), so it was a slow start. I think that worked out in my favor. I didn't have too many expectations for this race and wanted to enjoy it. I wish I had photos of the first few miles because it ran through the town of Kandel. Kandel is a quaint German town complete with half-timbered houses, nice gardens, and a few farm fields. At one point we got a whiff of farm air. There were plenty of locals that opened up their windows, peering out to see the flood of runners pass by. Most didn't seem amused or excited. Just watching. We did get a few cheers and claps on occasion.

Jason and I before the race

After about 3 miles we were headed out of town and into the near by forest that had paved roads. It was a nice nature run! Just about all of the remaining 10 miles was in the forest. And, the entire route was flat, which definitely helped everyone's times! At one point I saw Maj Carr and Capt Luber, but somehow missed Jason. I had picked up my pace a bit because even though I wasn't planning on running a personal best, I still wanted to give a good effort. And it paid off! In the end, I ran a 1:57:12. Three minutes under my goal! Jason ran a 1:44 and Maj Carr crushed it with a 1:25! Everyone was happy with their results. Capt Luber still had a few hours of running, so the three of us found showers then went in search of food.

Once we were all cleaned up we went walking into Kandel for lunch. A lot of places are closed on Sundays in Germany, so we were a little worried. Then we spotted a woman carrying a to go pizza box. Perhaps there's pizza near by?! Sure enough, around the corner, we found the restaurant. Of course it had to be in a basement, so we had to walk down a flight of stairs. All of our legs groaned in disagreement! Not long after we took our seats, a big group came piling in. It ended up being a wedding party! We were sitting right next to them. Everyone came up to greet the bride and groom with congratulations and small gifts or cash. We thought it would be a big spectacle, but shortly after they sat down for their meal and we didn't notice them much after. After perusing the menu for a few we each came to our decisions. Once pizza was delivered, this might have been the moment I was most thankful that I switched to the half marathon. I was eating a delicious pizza instead of still running. I told Jason that if I ever come into his office one day talking about running a marathon he should stop me and tell me to "eat pizza, don't run marathons". Solid advice if I do say so myself. Let's see if I stick to it!
                                                            

Part way through our meal, we ordered another pizza to bring back to Capt Luber. Once that was delivered and the bill was paid we headed back towards the finish line. We were hoping he would finish in about 5 hours, but we hadn't seen him yet. We split up and kept an eye out. It started to rain and I was happy I brought my umbrella with. Finally, just when we were getting a little nervous and Maj Carr had gone off again to check elsewhere, Jason and I saw Capt Luber come around the corner! He made his way into the sports complex, ran the 3/4 lap around the track and into the finish. Victory! He had finished his first marathon in 5:20. Congrats! He slowly hobbled away from the finish line with that familiar post-marathon shuffle. Another reminder on why I shouldn't run another one! Remembering that they don't hand medals out at the end of the race, I took Capt Luber's bib number and ran over to the tent where the medals were located. He had paid for his in advance, so I was able to just scoop one up. Before I made it back to the group, there was a small farmer's market on site. One of the vendors was selling spices. I couldn't pass it up, so I went over to scope it out. I ended up with a few Indian and Thai spices that are still filling up my room with their aromas despite being in two plastic bags and one paper bag. I can't wait to use them at home! Once I was done buying my wares, I ran back to the group. I happily placed the medal around Capt Luber's neck. Well deserved! He was grateful for the pizza and eventually made it to the shower himself. Jason was nice enough to do the driving back.

Captain Luber nearing the finish!

While we were on our way back to Ramstein, Maj Carr mention that he saw another race the following weekend in Landstuhl, which is right next to Ramstein. It was a run up to Nanstein Castle, which you can see from base. The catch is that it's up a small mountain. Heck yes! So on St. Patrick's Day, I did the 7.1 kilometer run to Nanstein Castle.

 Mountain Run to Nanstein

Originally Jason, Maj Carr and I were all going to run this race. Well the day of, Maj Carr got pulled into work and Jason was not feeling well after an overnight flight back from Africa. I was on my own. Luckily, the drive was only 15 minutes and I only got slightly lost once on my way there. The race didn't start until 3pm, so I happily slept in since I was up at 3am for a quick work escort duty. Once again I snagged a great parking spot and made my way into the sportshalle to register. It's a little more of a challenge when everything is in German! Just by watching other runners, I figured out where I needed to go, got registered, and hung out inside for a bit before the start. Typical me was a little too early. But, it did get me a good parking spot, so I say it was worth it. While I was waiting one gentleman started speaking to me in German. I tell him "I'm sorry I don't speak German", so he says, then "I'll speak to you in English". I should have practiced more. I know about 10 words in German. He was very nice and wondering where the bag drop was. I was sure they had one, but I didn't know where it was located. He wished me luck on my first time at the race and we went about our own business. I heard a few other Americans here and there, but stuck to myself. About 2:45 I made my way outside and towards the start line.

It was a cold day! The past week had been creeping into the 40s and even 50s, but this day was barely 30. Brrr! I did a little running as a warm up and just to keep warm. This race was small. Less than 300 people for sure. The run was 7.1 kilometers (approximately 4.4 miles) and had 350 meters (1150 feet) in elevation. I thought it might be like the first 5k of the Great Wall Half Marathon in China. Remember that, Jess & Tom?? We definitely had to run up, but it wasn't all up all the time. It was a trail run and the course weaved back and forth and up and down. I think mile three was almost all back down. In this case, what goes down, must come back up! Mile 4 was headed back uphill. It was a change from road racing and a big challenge! One of the neat things was that as we were going up, you could look across the valley and see Ramstein Air Base. Towards the second half of the run I started keeping pace with another woman. Eventually she said something to me in German, and once again, I could only say I don't speak German. So of course, she could speak English to me. She was saying that the part we were running was an easier part and the worst was right near the end. She wasn't kidding! The last kilometer (just over a half mile) was some of the steepest climbing we would do. But at the top of that climb was Nanstein castle and the finish line was around the corner. Phew! We made it! I had my timing chip clipped of my shoe and was handed a cup. I made it to the tent where they were handing out warm sweet tea instead of water. It was delicious and perfect after a cold run. I walked around the outside of the castle for a few minutes. It didn't appear that we could go inside, so I took a few photos and finished my tea.

                             
                                                               

So now that I've just run up a mountain, I needed to get back down. No, I didn't have to do another 7 kilometers back. There was a trail that was only about 3/4 mile back down. I considered it my cool down run. Most people were jogging back down the trail as well. I popped my head back into the hall, found my results and went back to my car. It looked like most people were sticking around for food, warm drinks, and awards, but I knew it would all be in German, so I headed back to my room. I was happy for my great parking spot again and didn't get lost on the drive back. I fired up the shower right away because I was still frozen! I capped off the evening with some co-workers drinking wine from Alfred and Mary's and snacks from a local German bazaar. Not a bad day at all!
All this fun has left Sunday with laundry, grocery shopping, and blog writing. Still a pretty easy day. We got a dusting of snow overnight too! Why is February and March colder than December and January?! Isn't Spring right around the corner? I sure hope so! Only a few more weekends left! You'll hear from me and the Pine a few more times before we head home! Until then!


Stats of the Blog:
Wine Purchased: 12 bottles
Half Marathon Stats:
     Finish Time: 1:57:12
     Overall Place: 788/1226
     Gender Place: 138
     Age Group Place: 26
Mountain Run Stats:
     Finish Time: 46:28
     Overall Place: 176
     Age Group Place: 3
Weeks Remaining: 4.5