German Food

Considering that I am obsessed with food (aren't we all?), I can't believe that I have neglected to share anything about German food!

Schnitzel and spätzle 

German restaurants are on every street corner, and we have eaten our fair share of good and bad German food in the last year and half.  In warm months, almost every restaurant puts the tables outside, which is so relaxing and great when eating out with kids.  The biergartens are also great for families, since most of them have a play area for kids.  

Pork with knödel, red cabbage, and gravy

German food is very hearty, and includes a lot of pork, sausages, potatoes, cabbage, and wheat.  Of course we all love bratwurst and schnitzel, and my son can eat an adult-size portion and ask for more.  Knödel (in the photo above) is a giant dumpling made out of bread or potato flour (my kids will sometimes eat them, but my husband and I think they are awful).

 

Maultaschen

Maultaschen is the German equivalent to ravioli, and can have meat or veggie filling.  In the above picture it is served with a mushroom gravy, but it is also often served in soups.

Ryan's favorite-Weißwurst and pretzel

A traditional Bavarian breakfast food is white sausage (weißwurst), eaten with a pretzel, sweet mustard, and a beer (beer at breakfast?!).  They are served in a large bowl with hot water, and the sausage casing is removed before eating.  The sausages are mild and tender, and made with veal and pork meat.

Käsespätzle

Cheesy spätzle is my favorite indulgence when we eat out, and reminds me of homemade macaroni and cheese.  It is more of a regional specialty for southern Germany and Austria, and it is often served with fried onions on top.   

Flammkuchen

Flammkuchen is another regional specialty of southwestern Germany, and the Alsace region of France (where it is called tarte flambée).  It has a very thin crispy crust, and topped with crème fraîche, chopped bacon, and red onion.

Unfortunately, since German food is so hearty, it is definitely not food that can be eaten very often.  I must admit that I did gain weight after moving here, and I have German food and beer to blame!  

Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp

Over the holiday break, my mom and sister were here visiting, and we decided to go visit the Dachau Concentration Camp.  I had been wanting to visit since we moved here, and was so grateful that I was able to share the experience with them.  My husband had visited many years ago during a business trips, so he volunteered to stay home with the kids.

Main gate to the camp.

Dachau is located about 10 miles northwest of Munich, and a little over an hour from where we live. It was the first concentration camp opened (1933) and used as a model for other camps.
For complete information:  (Wikipedia) Dachau Concentration Camp

The main gate held a door that said "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" meaning 'work will set you free'. The gate was despicably stolen in November 2014, and has not yet been found.  The forced labor was used to torture and punish the prisoners, even to death.   

Above is the yard where prisoners lined up everyday for counting, and were also forced to stand for extremely long durations as punishment. 

The barracks at the memorial were recreated to show how prisoners were housed.  There were originally 32 barracks, which were ultimately leveled and are now indicated by their concrete foundations and concrete numbered stones.

Bunk beds stacked three high.

Locker room with tables and stacked stools.

Washing area for prisoners.

Toilet facility.

Central walkway through the camp that originally was
lined by the 32 baracks.

Former barrack #3

That camp was used for 12 years by the Nazi Regime.  During that time, there were over 206,000 prisoners recorded, and approximately 32,000 recorded deaths.  This number is known to be grossly inaccurate due to the effort to conceal deaths and the chaos of prison transports and death marches at the end of the war.
 

The prisoners came from 30 different countries, with two-thirds being political prisoners (Communists, scientists, Gypsies, writers, military personnel, politicians, resistance fighters), and one-third Jews.  There were also more than 2,700 priests (mostly Catholic) imprisoned at Dachau.

Pistol range used for executions.

Gas chamber disguised as a shower.

Inside the crematorium

Many prisoners were executed by firing squad, and some by gas chamber, but most of the prisoners died from starvation and disease.  There were also upwards of 400 'experiments' performed on prisoners, such as induced high-altitude and hypothermia.  During those experiments 80-90 people died.

Site where the ashes were discarded from the crematorium.

"Grave of Many Thousands Unknown"

The museum at Dachau provides a great deal of information.  Entrance to the facility is free, and there was a small fee for tours or use of an audio-guide.  We chose to use the self-guided audio tour, which lasted about 2-1/2 hours.  

  

Museum

Visiting the concentration camp was a gut wrenching experience.  The day we were there was very cold, and it was snowing in the way where it seems like the snowflakes are dancing upwards, which gave it a very eerie feeling.

Even now in Europe and across the world, people have so much fear and hatred for cultures other than their own.    With recent events in Paris, the Middle East, and many protests against foreigners in European cities, it is easy to see that the fear that led to these horrific crimes during World War II are still always sitting just beneath the surface.

Chowing Down at the Christmas Market

'Egg Punch'
Unfortunately, not as good as eggnog!

When we go to the Christmas market, it is quite clear that eating, drinking, and being merry is what people are there to do!  The food at the market if far from healthy, and certainly not gourmet, but it is just so much fun to eat sausage outside surrounded by Christmas cheer.

'Fire Sausage' and French fries
REALLY spicy

This year I tried to get around to the different food stands and try the different offerings. Unfortunately, it often didn't occur to me to take a picture of something until there were only two bites left.   But, I thought I could share the pics I did manage to take.

Fresh-made waffle with cinnamon sugar

There was a stand that offered small cheese and antipasti trays, which we hit up a couple of times.  It was a nice way to try some new cheeses that we wouldn't typically have chosen.  They also offered baguettes smeared with different flavored cream-cheese-type spreads that looked delicious.

Roasted Chestnuts

It is amazing to me that the food is served on real dishes with real utensils.  When you pay for a meal, you give a deposit that you then get back when you return the dishes.  I think that would never happen in the US, where we always get plastic throw-away dishes and utensils!

Gulash soup

 Something we discovered this year were the 'feuerzangenbowle'.  With a cup of mulled red wine, a spoon is placed over the top with a sugar cube, and extra rum poured over the cube.  The rum is then lit on fire and the sugar caramelizes and drips into the wine.  It is a fun drink, but a bit terrifying trying to push through the crowd of people with a fire ball in your hand. 

'Fire-Tongs Punch' mulled wine
Feuerzangenbowle



Fried apple cake with cinnamon sugar

The apple cakes, along with the candied nuts were my favorite indulgences at the market.  The kids loved the made-to-order cotton candy, baked apples, and bratwurst.  Needless to say, 'go on a diet' is at the top of my New Year's Resolutions. 

Traditional gingerbread heart cookie
It says 'My sweetie'

We so enjoyed the festive atmosphere at the Christmas market, with the tantalizing aroma of all the different foods.  Going to the market was a fun way to spend some family-time together, and it was fun to bump into friends there.  While this was our second Christmas in Germany, I am already sad that next Christmas will probably be our last here.  Seeing these wonderful differences in culture and traditions is the reason we are here, and we are loving (almost) every minute!

Hiking in Germany

Fall hike at Partnach Gorge

If there is one thing that we have noticed in Germany, it is that people love to walk- in the neighborhood, to the bakery or grocery store, along farm roads, or in the mountains.  Even if it is raining in February and only 35 degrees, there will still be loads of people out for a stroll.  We have found that Germans love fresh air, and that going outside regularly is an important habit to them.
 

Summer hike at Breitach Gorge

We have been trying to embrace this habit, and we have started going on some short hikes.  Before we had kids Dan and I used to go hiking frequently, and he even asked me to marry him during a hike to a waterfall in  the North Carolina Mountains.

Partnach

Two of our favorite hikes have been at gorges in the Alps.  We have visited the Breitach Gorge in Oberstdorf, and the Partnach Gorge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  These gorges are so beautiful, I know that my photos cannot do them justice.

Partnach

We have found that our kids are happiest when we have them outside and in nature, where they can go at there own pace and explore.  We have also found that we never seem to have enough snacks along.

Breitach

These photos somehow depict that we had the trails to ourselves, but that is far from reality!  Both trails were absolutely jammed with people.  

Partnach

There are so many interconnecting trails through the Alps that people can choose paths vary from easy wandering paths to week-long mountain treks.  There are also many mountain huts scattered throughout the trails for hikers to overnight.  There are also a lot of mountain top restaurants that people can hike to, eat and have a beer, then continue on their way (often you can also take the easy way by means of a cable car, which suits us a bit better!)

With all the toys we have the kids are
happiest to play with sticks and rocks!

Since our daughter is still only five, we do our best to keep the hikes short.  Hopefully as the kids get older, their endurance will improve and we will be able to explore the trails a bit more.  When we lived in North Carolina, we were in a very flat area with few hiking possibilities, so we hope to capitalize on our mountain experiences while we are here in southern Germany.

Daily Life in Germany: Grocery Shopping

Seeing as how I am a housewife, dietitian, and mother of two, I do a lot of cooking, and with all that cooking comes a lot of grocery shopping.  Grocery shopping in Germany is a bit different than shopping in the US, mostly due to the fact that I have to put a little bit more effort into the process.
 

 There are some larger grocery stores here (such as Edeka and Kaufland), but there are also many smaller neighborhood stores (such as Aldi and Lidl).  I typically shop at a larger Kaufland, and my neighborhood Aldi.

My two shopping helpers

I will admit that I actually drive past one Kaufland to go to one further away simply because I don't have to park as far away at the latter location (Who wants to have to park in a parking garage and push your shopping cart a quarter mile?)  The parking lot where I do my shopping is actually on the roof of the store, and I bring the cart down to the main level via conveyor belt.

Coin slot for unlocking the shopping cart

Every store that has shopping carts makes you pay a deposit of an euro, which you don't get back until you have returned your cart to the proper location and hooked it into another cart.  I always try to keep a couple of euro coins in my car, but occasionally they get used and I have found myself unable to get a cart!

Unrefrigerated eggs would horrify American shoppers!

In Germany all cashiers sit in chairs while they work, and in the US, cashiers have to stand throughout the shift, so they can bag everything for you.  Cashiers in Germany do not bag groceries, and they scan the food so fast that you cannot even bag the items yourself during the time of checkout.  I have seen people with items falling to the floor because they don't move everything to the cart fast enough.  Most people just load everything back into the cart as fast as they can, and then organize everything when they get back to their car. 

If you need a bag at the checkout, you have to pay for each bag you take.  For years in the US I have been using my reusable bags, so it is pretty ingrained in my head that if I go into a store I need to bring bags, even at stores like Toys-R-US.  Most clothing stores give you bags for free though.  I have actually started using milk crates to carry groceries because they are faster to load, which is useful when you are standing in the rain or it is freezing cold! 

In the US, I would do one major shopping trip per week, and maybe one more smaller one if I forgot something.  Here in Germany most people go to the store many times throughout the week, and often everyday.  Therefore, at checkout, people are usually only buying 5-10 things at a time, and the line goes pretty quick.  If you have an entire cart full of food (in typical American shopping style) the people waiting in line behind you will be quick to give you impatient stares.  I have found that I have also fallen into the routine of shopping every couple of days instead of once a week.  My refrigerator/freezer here is much smaller and cannot hold that much food. 

 Prices for prepackaged food are about the same as in the US, but often cheaper (organic whole wheat spaghetti is only 0.99 in Germany, and I think I paid about $2.50 in the US).  My favorite thing about buying groceries in Germany is how inexpensive the produce is.  In Germany I buy red peppers for 0.99/pound, and in the US the price was often $2.50 for one red pepper!!  We eat so many more fresh vegetables and fruits here than we did in the US.  (please note that I am comparing the prices from eastern North Carolina, and hopefully other people have lower produce prices elsewhere in the country).

I find myself dreaming of the day that I get to go shopping at Harris Teeter again, where I get to park right in front of the store, have everything bagged for me and then even smile while they offer to help me out to the car!  I know that time will come before I know it, and I am sure I will then be saying how much I miss shopping in Germany...maybe.

Tut Mir Leid, Ich Bin Deutsch Lernen

It has been almost two months since I have posted anything on this blog.  This is not for lack of good stories to share, because I have many fun things to share from our summer adventures. Rather, it is because I have been taking an intensive German course in an effort to improve my horrific language acquisition abilities!

In August we passed our one-year mark for living in Germany.  I had thought that with a little bit of studying and simply by living in Germany and being surrounded by the language, I would have no trouble learning Deutsch.  Unfortunately, I was very wrong about this!

My kids attend an English language International School, and because of this, it was very easy to make English speaking friends.  Therefore, because we speak English at home, at school, and at social events, I have found that I have not been as immersed in the language and I had imagined I would be. 

 

The language school I attend is called Inlingua.  In the spring I had some private classes, which were helpful, but very expensive.  When the kids went back to school in August, I jumped into the intensive course, and I go Monday-Friday for 3-1/2 hours each day.  Now that I have attended for five weeks, I can clearly see that I am finally improving.  The problem is that the more I learn, the more I can see how much MORE I need to learn if I can ever dream of being able to hold a decent conversation without sounding like a toddler! 

At this point I am registered for three more weeks of classes.  I am afraid that I will feel like a failure if I quit before I can speak comfortably, so maybe I will continue on a bit longer if possible. 

 

In any country, the citizens (understandably) want foreigners to speak the language if they want to live in certain country.  While most people are kind, or at least tolerant of my incoherent attempts at speaking German, every once in a while we come across people that can be downright rude about the fact that we are living here and can not yet speak German.  It has made me wonder about how foreigners in the United States are treated.  So please be kind to people who may not speak perfect English, because living as a foreigner at trying to learn a language is more difficult that it looks!!