Lesson #5: Food is a way of connecting the dots.

I have to admit, I was excited about the food prospects in Germany.  I've had some German cuisine before, but as I was researching, I realized how much more diverse their culinary flavors were than what my experience was. They are unabashed meat-eaters though, and I'm surprised I didn't have more intestinal problems as I can only think of two times during the week where I had a vegetable or fruit.

Breakfast was always hearty.  I use that word because this meal  different from what we eat to start our day.  While there was some variety depending on which hotel I was eating at, and items like cereal were present on occasion, there were a few constants there that never make it to our breakfast tables in the USA.  Cold cuts of ham, prosciutto, and salami were always served, as well as sliced swiss cheese.  Bread, especially hard rolls, were ever present with a complementing selection of jellies, butter, soft cheeses, and Nutella.  Juice, coffee and tea were available, as well as sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.  If eggs were there, they were in the hard-boiled version.  But I loved it!  I would sometimes make an open-faced sandwich, and other times would eat it as daintily as possible with a fork - I wasn't sure what proper protocol was.


I ate at a sit-down restaurant twice.  As I previously posted, there were many occasions where I felt frightened at the prospect of engaging in any sort of dialogue, and a restaurant would guarantee that that would happen.  After my first meal in Rothenburg, my fears were squelched a little, if only because of the advice of the advice in Rick Steves' travel books.  At this first meal, I wanted to try something that a) I had never had before and b) that I would probably never see on a menu in America.  My selection was roasted venison with spaetzel and cranberry relish.  No vegetable in sight.  The meat was literally swimming in gravy.  As there was no spoon to slurp it up and no bread to sop it up, I figured that that was where the spaetzel noodles came in.  I'm still not sure if I used the cranberry relish properly, but I mixed those three together, pretended I knew
what I was doing, and had so much fun eating!  It wasn't the best meal that I have ever had, but I can only think of a few meals I've ever enjoyed as much in my life.  I ordered Apfelsaftschorle, which was recommended in my travel book, which is apple juice with carbonated mineral water - an authentic German soft drink - and prided myself with not settling for a Coke just because it was easy.  It was a culinary adventure, even if it wasn't that daring.

Round 2

In order to save money and time, most of my meals were from- for lack of a better or more accurate term- fast food stands.  I had a cheese pizza at a pizzeria run by Italians who were still speaking their native language in the kitchen (that makes it more authentic,right?)  and washed it down with a Coke, just like I would at home.  The pizzeria was filled with laborers from the surrounding offices, shops and city workers who were clearly regulars.  I ate slowly, not only in an effort to warm up, but also to just enjoy that I was eating pizza in Germany.  Most of my meals consisted of sandwiches though.  Germans eat them for just about every meal, even breakfast, so there were plenty of places to grab a pre-made meal.  While I did see a McDonald's once or twice, the most recognizable American fast-food transplant to the FRD is Subway (and Starbucks).  I had no trouble fighting any sort of urge to go there because there are so many bakeries and convenience store-style sandwich and drink stands that were full of delcious, if not mysterious, looking sandwiches and sausages.  Yorma's was a favorite of mine in Munich, but there were counterparts in every city I passed through.  I ate my first bratwurst on my
third day in the country, ordering it at one of those shops while I waited for a connecting train on my way to Rothenburg Ob-der-Tauber.  It was the first time I had seen the popular sausage, and I didn't want to miss the chance to eat real German bratwurst at least once in my life.  I would later realize that it is available at all hours of the day in just about every building in Germany.  Oh, and is SOOOOOOO good, enough so that I would enjoy it two more times on my journey.  I also twice enjoyed mozzarella and tomato sandwiches on a baguette with a little olive oil.  Sandwich shops are fast, conveniently located in train stations (which equates to good on the go) and cheap - about 2.5-3 euros.  I can hardly buy a Subway sandwich for that, and I long for those reasonably priced crusty baguette pre-made sandwiches!

Imagine a photo I would have taken,
and add the ice and whipped creams

My second sit-down experience was on Thanksgiving day.  I told myself that I would celebrate this American holiday with a proper meal.  I had been touring the Dachau concentration camp earlier in the day, walked briskly to the old city center to try visiting the Wittelsbach palace, only to get there moments after it closed, and had gotten lost (on foot) searching for an art  museum on the other side of Munich.  I was tired, cold, and my feet were literally throbbing with pain, so to be honest, I almost forgot about the holiday.  But upon remembering, I chose a restaurant I had to pass every day on my way to and from the train station.  I knew their prices weren't too bad and paid it a visit.  It looked very Bavarian inside.  I say this because when I've gone to German restaurants in Wisconsin, they always looked like they were trying very hard to incorporate every component of German-ness into their decor.  I am pleased to say that what I thought was overkill in German-American restaurants is actually how German cuisine restaurants often look in Germany!  I was all set to order whatever bird dish was on the menu, but, true to form, there wasn't a single winged creature on it.  Pork, beef, and veal only.  I hadn't brought my my German dictionary with me to help guide my choice, and with no English translation like the restaurant in Rothenburg had, I settled for the one dish I did recognize:  Wienerschnitzel.  It was tasty in all of it's fried glory.  I washed it down with Apfelsaftschorle again, and treated myself to the closest thing to pumpkin pie I could:  Apfelstrudel and the creamiest vanilla ice cream I've ever tasted.  

Ducking in to a little bakery in Rothenburg
to get warm with a pastry and drinking chocolate

The food I ate during my adventure was special, as I supposed it is for many people who travel.  For me, ordering, smelling, and experiencing the food made me feel connected - I was interacting with people, but also there was a little taste of my heritage and home mixed in.  Wandering through Munich's food markets was a visual wonder full of wonderful smells, colors and people.  The shared need of needing to eat, as well as the shared custom of eating for pleasure and celebration, is not unique to any particular creed or culture, but it does not lessen the specialness of individual experience.  In particular, that Thanksgiving meal really wrapped up the experience of this trip for me.  My trip was almost finished and I had managed to survive.  I had gotten horribly lost in the dark earlier that Thanksgiving evening but had managed to turn the map around and head in the right direction.  I'd found my way, and the food found its way to my stomach.  There was a lot to be thankful for.