I Love My Neighborhood: Wiesbaden’s Nerotal

Welcome to another edition of “I Love My Neighborhood”, where I ask expats from across the globe to share the joys of local life they’ve found in their corner of the world.

If you’re just joining in now, check out the other cities that have been covered so far here.

One reason I love running this series is because I get to learn about places I’d never heard of or considered visiting before. This week’s post finds us in Germany once again, where Californian Kate lives with her husband and dog in the American military base town of Wiesbaden; while I never really had a desire to visit Germany, after last week’s post on Wolfsburg and now hearing about lovely Wiesbaden, I’m starting to reconsider.

Kate: Why I Love Nerotal

Our part of town is a smaller section of Wiesbaden Nordost (northeast) surrounding Nerotal Park, which is nestled at the foot of a small hill with vineyards and a golden-domed Russian church overlooking the city. My husband found our apartment in the month he had moved here to start work while I was still packing up our home in the States. We knew we wanted to live in Wiesbaden because we liked how it was a big town, but still had a smaller-town feel and really old architecture (we took a quick trip here the month prior, as I had never been to Germany, to make the decision to move and scout apartments).

Not really knowing much about the neighborhoods of Wiesbaden, he picked this apartment because of its proximity to the Nerotal Park (two blocks down) – with two others a few blocks in the other direction — and the two grocery stores on our square block. While the big mansions that line the park with names like Villa Nerotal (which coincidentally, our friends just moved into!) were a bit of a giveaway, it wasn’t until we started to see all the little old ladies walking around in their fur coats that we realized we lived in what some saw as the swanky part of town.

Most people are familiar with Wiesbaden because of its proximity to Frankfurt (about 40km) and the heavy American presence from the military base in town, but we fell in love with the history and architecture that were spared during the War. Not to mention the fact that we can afford a beautiful apartment that would cost about 4-5 times as much where we’re from in California. Score!

Why do I love living in the Nerotal? Where do I even start…

Architecture and History

Even though our building is the shabbiest one on the block (thankfully, the hardwood floors and tall, ornate ceilings inside make up for this), the fact that the buildings here have such a long history feels really special. Ours dates back to the late 1800s, but some are even older and have their dates printed on plaques on their exteriors.

The Park

Little did my husband know when he picked out this apartment because of its proximity to a park that this would become my favorite park in town. Sure, it’s where I spend most days walking our dog, but I love that it’s smaller, quieter, and just far enough away from the main streets to feel like you’re in your own secluded part of town. The view of the hillside vineyard and beautiful gold-domed Russian church from it don’t hurt either.

Location, Location, Location

I’ve already mentioned the park, but just beyond the park, there’re also forest trails for even more space to commune with nature. About 7 minutes walking in the opposite direction is the town center, where all the pedestrian streets are with loads of shopping and restaurants and seasonal festivals. We’re close enough to get to everything with little effort, but far enough away to enjoy a little more quiet. It’s really the best of both worlds. And did I mention 20 minutes down the Autobahn is the well-known Rheingau wine region?

The (Friendly) Fellow Dog People

Germans are not small-talk people and would never chat with you if they didn’t know you, or even say hello, but they love their dogs and think nothing of standing for a long while to chat with a stranger about their dog. With our often faltering German, it’s nice to be able to connect with people through the basic conversations about our dogs. This now-established rapport means they will say hello or nod when they see you around town. Who knew our crazy dog would be our ‘in’ with German society?

Best Thai in Town
The absence of Chinese food here made me really sad at first, until I realized that Thai food is the exotic take-out they do here — and that it’s even better. Not to mention that the best place we’ve found in town — and we’ve tried them all! — is just around the corner from us. Their Pad Thai is the only one I’ve found that even comes close to my favorite in San Francisco.

Nearby Cupcakes
German cakes are notoriously different from what Americans are used to (some would call them dry and not very sweet) and as an avid baker, I have hard time swallowing what the Germans consider dessert. Lucky for us, when I don’t feel like baking or need a quick treat when out with friends, there’s a cake company in town that sells very American-style cakes and cupcakes to several local restaurants, cafes and coffee shops. Their carrot cake is the best!

Friends
Apparently we live in such a desirable part of town, some of our closest friends here have since moved into the neighborhood. Another couple we met at a summer festival, we discovered lived just two doors down from us! We feel really lucky to run into our friends regularly in the park, at the grocery or just on the street. In a country where more often than not we’re reminded of what foreigners we are, it’s nice to feel like we belong amongst people we know in our little corner of Wiesbaden.

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About Kate: Kate is a born-and-raised San Francisco Bay area girl who fell in love with Europe on a French summer study program in high school. Lucky for her, her husband-to-be was offered a job in Germany literally a week before their wedding — and thus began a whirlwind of life-altering changes. She also has what some might call a serious obsession with shoes. You can find her on her expat blog An American in Wiesbaden, her shoe blog Sole Satisfaction, and on Twitter @shoegirlinDE.

All photos courtesy of the author.