#turns out the guy was homeless and hungry so they bought him some dinner later

[devildomwriter]

City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks, Dressed in Holiday Style | Thirteen x Reader

.9K words | GN! Reader | CW: none, just fluff and fun

The snow gently fell as you stroked down the slippery sidewalks of the city. Everything was lit up, there were carolers on every corner. The windows of every shop were decorated for Christmas with big sale signs. You could feel the happy energy in the air. You were happy too, not just for Christmas but because you were shopping with Lucifer’s card and you had Thirteen with you to do it.

She was dressed in a faux fur coat and rocking a pair of sunglasses. She blended right in with the big city while you prioritized comfort over appearance. That’s why the first thing she did when you met up was drag you into a high-end clothing store.

Thanks to that you had dozens of bags on your arms.

“You’re totally going to freeze in that,” Thirteen said with concern.

“My sweater is plenty fine to protect me. Your gloves are too thin.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

“Then what about your tights? Aren’t those too thin?”

“Have you forgotten who I am? The cold doesn’t bother me.”

“Okay, Elsa.”

“Who’s Elsa?”

“You’re going to learn when we get back home.”

“Sounds fun,” she grinned and spotted another store she wanted to look in.

She grabbed your hand and pulled you after her. “Let’s check out this place!”

“Hobby Lobby?” You questioned and she nodded.

“This place looks perfect for some things I can get for traps and they have a big sale right now too!”

You sighed and agreed. You made a mental note to warn Solomon later but he’d probably be fine either way. Seeing how Thirteen smiled just planning a trap made you question whether or not to ruin it.

You decided Solomon would probably live and seeing what Thirteen had planned was too interesting to pass up so you relented and followed her in the crowd.

“Yikes. They’re so many humans here,” she groaned.

“Of course there is. It’s Christmas in a couple of days and people of all ages benefit from this store.”

“Ugh. I don’t even wanna know what those lines are going to look like if I can’t get down the aisle…”

She was right. You both found a few things you’d like and she made a note in her D.D.D. of which items she’d need to locate later.

You stepped outside with a few more things than you entered with and checked her notes. You looked around and spotted a superstore.

“Hey, Thirteen. I think that store will have the springs you’re looking for,” you advised and her eyes lit up.

“Nice! Good job, __! Let’s go, I wonder if they’re having a sale too.”

“Probably.”

“Perfect! This really is the best time to be in the city, huh?”

You nodded and took her hand to wait by the crosswalk light. She looked at all the cars passing and the crowd around you, also waiting to cross.

“Can’t we just walk?”

“No, we’ll die.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone reap your soul.”

“Okay, well we can’t do that in front of all the witnesses.”

Thirteen huffed and relented, waiting for the crosswalk signal. When it did she seemed surprised by how quickly the crowd moved, not worried about bumping into each other. She squeezed your hand, making sure not to lose you.

You made it safely to the other side and walked around the corner of the block. The doors slid open as people rushed in and out.

“Maybe you should teleport your bags back home, aren’t your arms getting sore?”

“A little bit,” you agreed. “We just have to find somewhere no one will see it.”

“What about the alleyway?”

“Trust me, never go into the allies in the city.”

She tilted her head in confusion but took a minute to think about it. “Yeah…I suppose I do reap a good amount of souls from alleyways.”

“Comforting…”

“Okay, what about the bathrooms.” She checked for the bathrooms and found herself at the end of a long line. “I…don’t even want to know the state of the bathroom. Let’s try something else.”

You nodded and followed her around the aisles, arms growing heavier as you did so. She took a few from you. After all, she’d been the one to insist you buy yourself some nicer winter clothes to match hers.

You finally found an aisle with only a few people. “We just need a distraction…” she mumbled and you began to sweat nervously.

“Uh-oh, don’t tell me you brought—“

“Happy the holiday lobster!”

The name alone had people turning to see her as she whipped out a magic mini-canon with a live lobster inside.

“Oh no…”

The isles went from wild to wild and loud as Thirteen distracted everyone and tried to catch the lobster before someone ran off with it for Christmas dinner.

“Hey! Don’t mess with Happy!” She shouted. You quickly teleported the bags, successfully unnoticed, and began chasing back after Thirteen and the strange man who’d picked up the lobster and started running.

“Thirteen!”

“Happy!”

After a few minutes, you rescued the lobster and changed clothes to disguise yourselves. Unfortunately, you had to do so in the bathroom after cutting the line and pissing off everyone there.

“What was that guy’s deal?” She grumbled.

“The lobster.”

“Clearly. Who steals lobsters?”

“Who shoots them out of canons?”

“You’re just jealous I have such amazing taste,” she winked. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be with you.”

You blushed and rolled your eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

[hoodie-at-the-bar]

rapunzel

I really wished I was free the night after, the night I was elbow deep in pizza dough. I try to play it cool, and not sound over eager since I knew Michael was already taking a risk when the timing wasn’t right for him.

I kept a distance until the night before, then messaged him to make sure the date was still on 

That damn kissy emoji again! He better not be giving those out like candy! Still, I was excited to see him.

The next day I made my way back to Columbia Tower, this time making sure I wouldn’t be late. I arrived at the lobby, but couldn’t go up the elevators this time.

I enjoyed his humor, but my insecurities had me frolic to the land of “wait, did he make the joke about throwing food up here because he didn’t really wanna hang out with me?!” - I quickly shook it off, knowing the insanity of that reality. 

He came and grabbed me, and immediately we started talking like we had known each other for a while. Then I paused and thought: crap, did I friend zone myself? Are we like buddies now? It was just so easy to talk to him, I immediately assumed it was a “pals” thing. “But that damn kissy emoji- ” thinks every girl to herself.

We set up shop and started having some teriyaki. I brought a bottle of red wine and some cups, We drank through that fairly quickly, and I wished I brought a second bottle. Michael seemed energized. Like he wanted to continue hanging out. He asked if I smoked pot and I said yes, and the next thing you know we were walking to Belltown to the pot shop. He asked if we should call an Uber, and I said let’s just walk it - I’m big into long walks to destinations. This time, Michael and I walked for about 1.5 miles, just chatting away. Work, politics, relationships - it was perfect.

We got to the pot shot and bought a joint to smoke together. I don’t normally engage in marijuana mayhem so early on (like Slurricane) but I felt comfortable with Michael. Our conversations got more giggly and fast as we walked back. We stopped by the park next to Pike Place Market that was usually taken over by homeless residents. By this hour, it was dark and Michael and I picked a spot on the grass to sit and started talking.

Michael sat closer to me and asked me about my vision. He asked how close he’d have to be for me to see him. I said pretty close.

“How about now - can you see me?” he asked as he leaned in closer to my face, just before he kissed me.

I had that cool numbness on your fingertips as you do when someone you actually likes kisses you - there’s a difference. We exchanged a few more words that I can’t remember, before I returned the action and we kissed again. Short, nothing too crazy, but enough to make me feel I wasn’t just a pal.

We talked some more, and took turns asking each other questions: what instrument did you play in high school? How many partners have you slept with? What country do you want to go to next? What are red flags for you in a relationship? We asked soft pitches and curve balls - it was great.

“Wanna grab some food?” he asked as he perked up.

I wasn't hungry, we had just had dinner! But I wanted to continue seeing him, so I said sure. We walked back to Belltown to O’Hana, a Hawaiian restaurant with sushi on the menu. I ordered a drink and he went down on a few rolls. I helped where I could. He dropped off some cash and we started walking back to Columbia Tower. September in Seattle is wonderful, and a great time for evening walks.

We got up to his office, and I wasn’t sure if this was my cue to leave. He was no longer sober and started tearing into the snacks at his office as we walked around. It was clear to me that he was no longer in the Can you see me now romantic park setting, but a stoned frat boy who wanted to make love to a small bag of Cheetos. I wasn’t counting on a goodnight kiss at this point, but I was still hopeful this awesome date would continue to move things.

We both left the building and called our respective Lyfts. We hugged goodbye and went our separate ways. Again, I sent him a text to show I was still interested.

The next morning I followed up with an auto-correct. He normally takes up to 24 hours to respond, but this time it took a bit longer.

A day and a half later, he replied.

There it was: reality. He was honest from the get go that the timing wasn’t right. I wanted to play it cool and say no sweat, so that’s what I did. I often wondered if I should have fought harder or reasoned my way, but I thought to myself: I barely know the guy, it’s been two dates. Besides, I can try him again later right? And that’s what I did

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FOUR MONTHS LATER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I decided to say hi. In these cases where the guy doesn’t ghost you or say “I do not feel ti” with you, there is still some chance, if I were to assume men weren’t liars. Timing is a real thing, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and reached out again.

He responded fairly quickly and went into how he was doing. Michael had taken three months off work because it was too much and he needed a break from everything. I was conflicted: do I feel relieved because it means that “the timing wasn’t right” was indeed in fact true, or do I feel pity on myself that he had time off and didn’t even think to reach out? Sounds silly in writing, right? But to be vulnerable here, we all get these irrational thoughts. The difference is what we do with them.

I decided to feel neither side of confliction and keep talking.

Again looking back I wondered, should I have continued to pursue him? He didn’t shut me off abruptly, but said “talk later?”. Granted he also never tried, but neither did I. Since then, I’ve invited him to various social gatherings - but he could very well not be into crowds given his nature. He had friended me on Facebook and we follow each other on Instagram. It appears that in current time (October 2019) he has now been coupled up with a new lady friend. I

I’m not sure if I missed the boat with Columbia Tower, or if the timing was off, or he just wasn’t that into me. It’s all speculation and in the past, so I again decided to brush it off. Instead, I just think how lucky I was to have had two great dates.

-September 6, 2018

Date # w/2 Columbia Tower Suitors in 2018 YTD: 23 Dates in 2018 YTD: 28

[myxtina]

One Night Chapter 13

Life at home is totally different than hospital life.. LJ wakes up a couple times a night.. Which most of the time is me getting up with him as he is hungry and well Jared doesn’t have what it takes to feed.. lol.. I don’t mind, it is mommy and baby bonding time.. Jared does sometimes come in and changes diapers before i feed.. We settle into a routine.. I love being a mom.. I spend my days playing with LJ.. And doing all the fun mommy stuff.. About a week or so after LJ is home Jared and the guys are working in the Lab.. I take the baby down for a visit.. I peak in to make sure the music is not crazy loud.. Jared notices me at the door.. He motions me in and i bring the baby in.. Jared takes him and walks over to where the a playing around.. LJ seems to like the music.. I check to make sure Jared is good if I step out.. He says sure.. I am like ok because I need to run a couple errands.. Shannon yells “Go little momma, we got the J man.” I look at him and then at Jared. “I don’t think I want him around our son” I laugh as I walk out. 

I go and change clothes.. This is the first time I have been out since the baby came home.. I need clothes.. Since starting to breast feed, I have lost alot of weight.. Doctor says that is normal.. I have a credit card Jared has given me saying I can use it for whatever I want but I feel strange about doing so.. But I need clothes, I can’t go around looking like a homeless person. I head out stopping to pick up clothes.. Nothing to fancy, I mean where do I go.. I grab a few things for LJ.. Diapers, wipes and the fun stuff.. lol.. I also stop at the grocery.. The way Jared goes through Almond milk is crazy.. Ready to head home and I am approached by a young woman.. “You live with Jared Leto, right?” she asks.. “Do I know you?” I ask. “No, but you should know I have been to his place while your baby was in the hospital and fucked in every room..” she smiled and walked away.. Oh joy I think, let the games begin.. I drive home thinking about what she said.

I get home and walk in.. I hear laughing coming from the kitchen. I walk in and the guys are making faces at the baby. He just looks at them like they are crazy.. I take the groceries in and start to put them away not saying anything. “Hey, did you find everything you were looking for?” Jared asks. “Yeah, no problem. Can you bring him up so I can put him down for his nap?” Jared follows me upstairs and I take the baby.. I rock him while he is eating and hum to get him to sleep.. As I look at him I think he is the only thing that matters. Once asleep I put him in his crib. I take the clothes I have bought and put them in the laundry hamper to wash before wearing. I go to change and Jared walks in. “Is everything ok?” he asks. “Sure.. Can you leave so I can change clothes?” I say. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist pulling me close. “Not until you tell me what is wrong.” I sigh “Well one of your whores approached me on the street to tell me that you fucked her in every room before the baby came home. Please don’t do that now.” I say. I pull away from him and ask him to leave again. He turns to leave when he reaches the door he says “For your information, I have not fucked anyone in this house since you” And leaves.

Once changed I head down to start dinner.. Everyone has gone. I start cooking and Jared walks in. “I am sorry.” I say. “It’s okay, I am sure you will hear a bunch of crap.” He says. “No, I have no right to say anything. This is your house, I am a guest. You can do whatever you want.” I say as I put dinner on the table. We sit and eat in silence.. “Well LJ is 3 months old now, if you want I can start to pump my milk so you can feed him too.” I say “I would like that” he replies. We finish eating and he offers to clean  up. I let him and head up stairs. I hear Jared come up stairs.. He goes and checks on the baby. and then comes into my room.. I lay in bed not moving so he will think I am asleep.. I feel him move by the bed and run his fingers through my hair. I lay perfectly still.. I feel his fingers trail down my arm. Finally he walk away. What the hell was that. 

Another month passes.. LJ is getting big.. 4 months and he weighs 12 lbs.. His doctor check up was great. Today Constance is coming to visit.. So I get him up and bathed.. Put on a cute outfit and when she arrives he is on a blanket on the floor in the living room with his toys.. Constance comes in and gives me a hug and sits down next to the baby. I get us coffee. And we sit and talk. She asks how things are going with Jared and I.. I tell her we get along.. He is great with the baby.. She asks about Shannon and I, I tell her we talk every now and then. She says she will watch the baby if there is something I need to do.. Actually I would love to take a nap.. She kicks me out to go take a nap. I wake up a few hours later. She has gone and Jared has fed the baby and put him down. I walk down and notice he is out by the pool.. I walk out “I am sorry, I should not have slept so long,” I say “It’s ok, you needed it” He replies. “Do you want some dinner” I ask, “No, i am good” We sit a little longer and I get up to go do laundry. He comes in and tells me that they have to go on tour in a few months. “For how long?” “Just a couple shows, nothing outside of the US” he says. “Cool, sounds like fun,”

[cuscuzdetapioca]

Fandom: i only put it for the fun i care so much lol I WILL DO A BIG POST WITH ALL OF THIS IN THE END

Summary: that chap gotta be intense i think. Mari is back and I missed her

@potatomcmuffin​ @digirose

It wasn’t hard to track him down once she knew where he worked and found where he lived. She could had gone directly to his place, but decided to watch him for a little bit.

So, she was again at that cafe but she didn’t enter it. Instead, she maintained a good distance of it, waiting for that one waiter to exit. Soon, as she already knew, he did and she followed him from a safe distance. She wore dark and different clothes, that made her mix with the people on the streets. The good part of living in a city as overpopulated was when you needed a cover.

She watched as he made his way, nodding at people on the streets and most likely greeting them, even if most didn’t even acknowledge his presence and kept their rushed paces and empty eyes. Jorge walked in a slow and careless way, as if he was enjoying the view even if the streets were clearly visually polluted with holograms appearing in middle street and signs flashing everywhere and the loud voice of the traffic light telling people when to go and when to stop.

It made following him easy but she had to be extra careful to not end up going faster than him and maintain the same distance. Anyway, she knew place was nearby and they should be arriving soon.

But of course, he didn’t follow her expectations as he seemed to be taking a longer route and turning into a street he wasn’t supposed to.

He stopped at a ramem shop, talked to an elderly Asian woman who seemed very fond of him by the way they both laughed and she seemed to scold him for whatever reason. He bought something for travel she couldn’t tell by the distance and in some minutes he was leaving, giving the woman a peck on her cheek before continuing.

Even if he didn’t turn right away to where he was, he entered smaller alley and seemed to be making his way to his home now. She choose to let him go first, as less people were on that alley and just after some minutes she followed.

She found him not far away from there. Talking to a group of girls. She quickly recognized by their clothes and the bright sign right behind them that they were replicant prostitutes. 

She made a scoffing sound, not very surprised by it. No wonder he was so intent of flirting with her. Really the type to see them as merely dolls. 

The girls seemed to know him as they were very close to him and touching him, talking intently as if it wasn’t the first time they saw each other. Jorge seemed to be charming them and they were all falling for it, either because they were programmed to it or not.

She didn’t like seeing that scene and wasn’t very fond of the idea of staying and watching so she walked past them, using the other side of the street and went to where his place was. She just hoped whatever ‘business’ he’d have with those girls, she didn’t have to wait much.

But, contrary to what she expected, soon she saw him approaching. She was already well hidden in the shadows of a large pilaster, close to a group of apparently homeless men.

She waited until he was in front of the small metal door in the bigger building, away from it’s main entrance to approach him quietly. 

He was taking a moment fighting for his keys and as soon as he opened it, she decided to talk.

“I’d like to enter as well, If it’s not a problem.” Her voice was cold and demanding.

He didn’t turn right away, seemed surprised but quickly letting a smile cross his features as he looked at her.

“Officer Vie, what a pleasure. Came for the massage?”

“Inside. Now.”

He kept the smile as if he had just won something and open the door fully. “Ladies first.” 

She entered the small corridor, being followed by them. It was small and long and whatever that place used to be, it certainly wasn’t a living place before.

After that corridor, they arrived at the part kitchen, part living room. He had a sofa bed and it was turned into a bed, pillows and blankets on it, messy as if he had just been there. The sink was full and there were clothes in the ground. Typically a place of someone who lived alone and didn’t care much about organization.

“Sorry for the mess. I wasn’t really expecting company today...” She turned at him and he continued, his smile dropping a bit and looking at her with knowing eyes. “... Although I did expect you to come.” He moved to the kitchen side of the room. “Hungry? I bought ramem for myself but I have some food ind the fridge so you can have it if you want to.” He said, leaving the aforementioned food on the small table and he went for the drawers.

“You were a memory maker in an upgrade center, five years ago. I wonder what you’re doing in a cafeteria now, with this curriculum.” She said, ignoring his question.

“Well” He began as he finally found a fork. “If you did your research well, you also know it was closed, five years ago. It’s hard to compete with the Stelline Laboratories, you know? They say Miss Stelline makes the best memories.” He put the fork besides the ramem’s box and leans on the table, looking at V. “Mister Wallace only wants the best of the best of course. I had my own complications and after working alone for so long, I wanted to start something new and be closer to people. But you’re not here to discuss my job choices, are you?”

“You lied about not knowing their names that day. I could tell.”

He looked away, clearly not liking it but sighing, knowing he had nowhere else to go. “Touché.” He said looking up. “Can you really blame me? I don’t know what you want from them and they’re good people. I don’t like how most of the police hands justice nowadays. I didn’t lie about not knowing where they live, though.”

“I want a name.”

“Cedric Diggory.”

“Is this all you know?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, as if she did believe him and moved as if she was about to leave. But on a quick movement, she approached  and immobilized him from behind, slamming him into the wall.

“Wow. Didn’t know you were into SM.” He laughed and she put he gun against his head, making him instantly go serious.

“Is this all you really know? What about that hotel?”

“Grand Hotel. But they had been there years ago I don’t think this will help much.”

“What else?”

“That’s all.”

She forced the gun against his head and he closed his eyes.

“What else?”

“That’s all! That’s all! I swear!”

“Your relation with them?”

“Just their waiter! I just grew fond of them, they’re very nice people! I swear!”

She considered it for a minute. She didn’t have any proof against him or any clue on how that replicant could be related to this Cedric. Interrogating Jorge now could be a waste of time.

She let him go. 

“Fine. For now.”

“Geez, you’re a hard one, aren’t you?” Jorge said as he fixed his clothes from the way she had hold him. “Too bad this just makes you look more attractive.”

How. Dared. Him. Really.

“I’m not like one of those girls back there. Stop.” She said, and she knew she wasn’t just feeling irritated, but her face was showing it, with a frustrated frown.

“Those girls--- Oh, you were stalking me? How cute! Those girls are just friends. You might not believe but I didn’t really have anything with them. Might not seen like it but I don’t like the coldness of money exchange for something like that.”

“They’re replicants. I’m a replicant.” She said, for no reason she could tell. She just wanted hi to follow what everyone else did and not frustrate her by his weird ways.

“Yeah, and... ?” He really seemed clueless.

She sighed. “Ok, never mind. I’m out.”

“Aw, really? Aren’t you even going to stay for dinner? I’m sure I have candles somewhere I could lit up.”

She opened her mouth, a million retorts in her mind but at the same time not knowing what do say. “I really don’t like you”. She ended up saying instead.

“Ouch.” He put a hand over his heart and again putted on the kicked puppy face. “I’m sorry for existing, Vie.”

“You better really be.” She answered. Again this Vie. Ugh.

“Nah, I’m really really not. Many people do like me, did you know? You will too, we just need more time together.”

She was about to retort when she realized she should had been gone minutes ago.

“I don’t know why i’m still talking to you. Open the door, I want to leave.”

He went to the door and she followed but didn't let her go without one last phrase.

“I know I’m irresistible. Now that you know where i live, feel free to pass by when you’re free, officer.” He winked and closed the door before she could make a scene. Honestly.

-------

Upon searching the names Cedric and Mary Diggory, she quickly got information on them. Seemed like they were from a somewhat wealth family and they both had been orphaned when the younger girls turned 17. There was some brief topics over their names of apparitions in important parties, but nothing really relevant to her case. But she had an address and that’s was what mattered now.

-------

“That guy then, Jorge, he seems like a very suspicious type. Are you sure that’s all he knows?” Mari asked. Today they were at her apartment, lazing on her coach.

“No, but I don’t have proof or a clue of what exactly I want to know without making him aware of the case. He probably say the replicant but by the way he acts, he probably treated him as any other costumer. Besides, by the lighting in the photo, whoever took the photo couldn’t be him. His turn just begins later.” V explained.

“Wow, you really did your research on him.”

“Just doing my work.” V answered far too quick for her own taste. “He was also a memory maker.”

“Memory maker?” Mari leaned back in surprise. “Wow. Never met one before.”

V nodded. The job of a memory maker was to fabricate memories for the replicants. Every replicant had memories, that were to help them to deal better with human emotions and stabilize them, but all of them knew their memories of childhood and teen years were fake.

“Do you ever wonder about your memories?” Mari asked.

“Not much. Why wondering about something I know never happened?”

“Well, yes. But It’s fun”. She shrugged. she leaned her head in the sofa, looking up. “My favourite one is a childhood memory. I’m in the garden playing with a smaller boy, chasing him with a hose.” She grinned. “He is my younger brother. His name is Matthew but I prefer to call him Matt.”

V just nodded along, having nothing to say on the matter and jsut letting Mari daydream.

“I have other memories with him. It makes me wonder if there’s anther replicant somewhere who have memories of me. The real Matthew.” 

She kept staring at the nothing and V looked on her way, feeling bad for her inside but couldn’t bring herself to say much.

“What are your memories, V?” Mari looked at her and V felt a hint of disappointment for coming back to being one letter again. She might be getting attached to that ‘Vie’ story, even if she still didn’t like Jorge. “You never tell me about it.

V smiled weakly, mimicking her and leaning her head so she can stare at the ceiling. “Nothing like yours. I’m an only child. I have good grades on school.”

“That’s all?” Mari sounded disappointed.

“Well, education is very important I don’t know how you can think this is not a good memory.” She looked at her friend and Mari laughed. V joined and they relished the moment for a bit. Then, they fell into silence each one to heir own thoughts. Mari had that fierce dreamy stare and V closed her eyes.

The memories were just tools to make them more sympathetic. There wasn’t anything bigger about that. They didn’t create a special story for each of them and there certainly weren’t replicants with matching memories as Mari liked to think. 

She wondered if those things Mari said, were only to keep her sane and that she didn’t believe in it.

V wished she had an easy way like that to make herself have hope.

[juniorformulamotorsport]

Wednesday September 27th – Day 5, Bernkastel-Kues

After slightly more driving than anticipated the day before we decided we’d take it easier on Wednesday and would spend the day pottering gently round Bernkastel-Kues, just 5k down the road. It was another foggy morning but we weren’t going to let that stop us. It boded well for the afternoon, and there was plenty we could do indoors while the cloud burned off.

After we’d parked up, and been side-tracked by the local market where I bought a much-needed new wallet, we started the morning on the Kues side of the river, at the Cusanusstift, an institution founded on 3rd December 1458 by a man of whom you will hear more in this post. It was intended as an almshouse for 33 men over the age of 50, which at the time was a very respectable age. It is still an old people’s home, these days for both men and women and has never been used for anything other than its original purpose. So that’s 559 years of providing care for the elderly of the town.

Now obviously that does not sound like a place anyone would be much interested in. Who wants to visit a hospice, after all? However, the late Gothic building also contains a glorious chapel, and a library containing numerous books owned by the founder Nicholas Cusanus.

Who he, I hear some of you say. Well, according to Wikipedia “Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus, was a German philosopher, theologian, jurist and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renaissance humanism, he made spiritual and political contributions to European history. A notable example of this is his mystical or spiritual writings on ‘learned ignorance‘, as well as his participation in the power struggles between Rome and the German states of the Holy Roman Empire.“

Something of an all round smart guy then, with a wide ranging career. He was born locally (hence Cusa for Kues) to a ferryman, of Johan Krebs (or Cryfftz) and Katherina Roemer. As a result of the family name, Krebs, he took a crayfish for his insignia and these can be found all over Bernkastel-Kues if you look hard enough.

and was educated at the universities of Heidelberg and Padua, before going on to teach at Cologne, and turn down a post at Leuven. He wasn’t lacking for employment, despite not going to Leuven. He was papal legate to Germany from 1446, was appointed cardinal by Pope Nicholas V in 1448 and became Prince–Bishop of Brixen two years later. In 1459 he became vicar general of the Papal States. And in the middle of all that, found time to set up a foundation in his own home town.

We has a nose round the chapel, which is tiny but lovely and has some very well preserved and rather fabulous medieval wall paintings. It’s also the burial place of Nicholas’ heart (the rest of him was buried in Rome) and of his sister Klara Cryfftz.

After we’d finished in the library as well, where there was a small exhibition of books owned by Nicholas, we headed outside and crossed the courtyard to the Wine Museum, which supposedly provides lots of interesting information about wine cultivation in the region. Well, it would if the machines in the place actually worked; most of them didn’t, so it was short visit before we crossed over to the associated Vinothek where you can taste and buy wines, and exchange your museum ticket for a glass of local wine. You could also taste a large number of wines for a relatively small outlay, but as it was only midday, we decided we’d best not!

We enjoyed our wine, and then headed along the riverside to search for the Cusanus birthplace. On the way we found the old railway station, which is now a splendid looking brewery.

There are also a good handful of splendid art nouveau houses, a repeated feature we would find in most of the reasonable sized towns along the river.

A short walk later and we’d found the house we were looking for.

It was supposed to be open, and so we rang the bell as instructed. A voice from the top floor proved to be owned by the museum’s curator who eventually appeared and opened the door for us. There is an small but interesting exhibition of Cusanus’ life and works, and he was even able to rustle up a copy of the guide in English for Lynne though he did make her promise to hand it back as it was the only one he had. He was also more than happy to tell us as much as we wanted to know about Nicholas and his life.

Half an hour later we headed back towards the town bridge knowing a lot more than we had about a medieval scholar we probably should have already known about. The Kues side of the town is a wonderful mix of medieval, modern and in between, and has the plus side of being almost unknown to the cruise ship tourists. It is thus not rammed and you can wander the streets untroubled by traffic.

There is also a church well worth a short detour for. This is the evangelical church, and although it’s not that old, it does – no surprise – contain a crayfish coat of arms or two.

It was now time to bite the bullet and cross back into Bernkastel, which while not quite the quintessential chocolate box medieval town on the Mosel (that title probably goes to Beilstein), is certainly a close runner-up and is thus overrun by tourists, including on this occasion the passengers of a Dutch river cruise ship who were all over the place, generally getting underfoot, stopping dead to take selfies, and making something of a nuisance of themselves. To be fair, when you hit the market square, you can see why everyone comes here:

Frankly by now all that history was making us hungry (and thirsty) so we needed a short break for cake and it needed to be outside! That meant we had to opt for Cafe Hansen as the only place with a table available.

I opted for a piece of plum cake, and a glass of federweisser, something I’d not seen before. It was because I wanted to know what it was, and was curious. What arrived was cloudy and seemed to have a certain amount of pétillance going on. It tasted very fruity, and not at all alcoholic, like a slightly fizzy grape juice. It wasn’t till I stood up that I realised it must be quite a bit stronger than I thought. A small amount of research later and I’d discovered that what I’d drunk was new wine, which basically continues to ferment in the bottle (or large plastic container). It does mean that apparently you mustn’t fasten the lid fully or the container or bottle may explode! Oh and it also comes in red.

We followed the town trail we’d picked up at the Tourist Information office earlier in the day from the market square, round the old houses of Bernkastel, and along to the wonderful Bernkasteler Doktor vineyards, which run along the edge of the town.

From there we found the Graacher Tor, which is a museum with possibly the oddest opening hours we found (basically about 4 hours a week, between 18:00 and 20:00 on two days). The original town gate was built in 1300, but the in 1689 it was partly destroyed by the French, under Louis XIV. It was later reconstructed and was used as a prison, and then as a hostel for the homeless, before ending up as the museum of local history.

We finished the afternoon off in St. Michael’s church, which is one of the more distinctive buildings in the town. It has a 600 year old tower that is a well-known landmark along the river, and the inside of the building is pretty snazzy too!

The church has three naves, which is unusual, and has a Baroque facade, restored in 1968. The sacristy dates from 1664 and the central feature in the chancel is a Calvary scene from 1496. There’s also a “plague altar” in the annexe showing a scene from 1630 where the town’s inhabitants have gathered in the market square to carry a victim of the plague to his grave.

It’s thought that the tower has been used for defensive purposes in the past as well as for attracting worshippers, and the whole is fascinating. It’s also a welcome respite from the tourists, as most of them don’t bother.

And as we were about to run out of our paid for parking time, we decided it was time to quit and head back to Zeltingen.

That night we had decided to try and eat at Saxler’s in the village. However, they were fully booked when we got there, so we booked for the following night, and then stayed in their bar for a pre-dinner drink before heading for the Zeltinger Hof, where we’ve eaten in the past (and stayed).

The meal started well enough, though they’ve redecorated and the dining room has lost a lot of its character as a result. We ordered the rather complicated starters. In Lynne’s case, the “Mosel-Faßdaubenschmaus” which should be served on a plank from a wine barrel and includes smoked trout in a saffron sauce, cream of pumpkin soup, toasted goat’s cheese with confit tomato and ham on gräwes (potato puree and sauerkraut). This arrived on the plate/slate for the other starter.

I ordered the “Zeltinger-Schieferterrasse” which should have been on the slate that the other starter arrived on, not the plank it did come on. Anyway, that aside it was fresh goat’s cheese with juniper berries, smoked game, a Barbary duck breast on an apple and lentil salad, smoked salmon fillet with horseradish sauce and a minced beef soup.

The starters were fine but things went downhill from there. First we were brought the wrong meals, having ordered venison steaks (and it took ages for the proper dish to arrive rather than the ragout that had appeared initially), and what did arrive was pretty tough as well as off-puttingly huge. Neither of us could finish it, and we ended up taking it home with us more on the waitress’s insistence than because we wanted to, but we could probably find something to do with it. If not, we could bin it and they’d not be any the wiser. I reckoned I could chuck most of it into a soup or something.

It was getting late and so we took a slow riverside stroll and then went home to bed.

Travel 2017 – Moselle Road Trip, Day 5 Wednesday September 27th - Day 5, Bernkastel-Kues After slightly more driving than anticipated the day before we decided we'd take it easier on Wednesday and would spend the day pottering gently round Bernkastel-Kues, just 5k down the road.