I can't believe that I haven't blogged about this yet. One of the essential parts of my day--my life really. I can't live without it (and neither can you).
FOOD.
German food! How can I forget the German food! It is delicious! Most everything about it is delicious. Traditional German food consists of some kind of meat, some potatoes, and some bread. How can you mess that up? Answer. You can't. I've had lots of bratwurst over here. Bratwurst alone, bratwurst with mustard (Senf), bratwurst with saurkraut, bratwurst on bread, and the list goes on and on. I would make one suggestion to the German people: you need to understand the concept of the bun a little better. We all know how hot dogs and buns work, and I was under the impression that that concept was international. Nope. Germany uses what they call "Brötchen." Brot is the German word for bread, while "-chen" is a diminutive suffix. Put it together and you've got little bread...literally. If you order a Bratwurst mit Brötchen, you'll get a gigantic bratwurst with this mini-bun in the middle. No joke, it probably only covers about 1/3 of the sausage. I'm not going to complain too much because the bratwurst is excellent, but take that step to greatness Germany.
One thing that I don't order too often, or anymore, is currywurst. I don't understand what Germany's obsession with this food is. They love it so much that they're opening an entire museum dedicated to currywurst. What it is is a sausage chopped up, smothered with ketchup, and dusted with curry powder. In my opinion? Waste of a perfectly good sausage.
Honestly, though, I haven't been eating obscene amounts of German food. It isn't like I'm chomping on bratwurst mit brötchen every day. Berlin is actually pretty well known for its culinary diversity. I eat Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Lebanese, American, etc, etc. One staple is the Döner Kebab. It is a pretty delicious meal, and it is super cheap (we're talking 2 Euro). When one goes into a Döner shop, you'll see this giant barrel of meat roasting vertically on a spit. It's either chicken or lamb, and how they form this meat into a barrel shape is beyond me. When you order, they'll hack some off, stuff it in some bread (which is usually toasted), put some lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and some kind of magic dust on there and send you on your way. OH! There's also sauce. Typical Döner sauce is some white cucumber concoction. Many of you are familiar with my aversion to sauces such as these, and while I must admit I don't hate this sauce, I go with the red spicy sauce. When you're on the run or looking to save a couple Euros, a Döner will absolutely hit the spot.
I've been to two sporting events now, and some of you might be saying, "Will, can you get a big order of nachos or popcorn or peanuts at a German soccer match?" My answer to you is sadly, no. At both matches, I had bratwurst. But what I found most amusing (and different) was what they sold in the stands. We all know and love the beer man, the peanut man, the ice cream man--these hard-working salesmen greatly improve my experience at sporting events by allowing me to stay in my seat without getting thirsty. They come to me! In Germany, they have the beer man. That much is clear. But they also have the bread man. Yes, the bread man. He travels the stands just like the beer man, but instead of carrying 10 or 15 beers, he carries a giant wicker basket full of pretzels and rolls. It is really endearing to see a big, tough, drunk soccer fan picking a giant pretzel out of a wicker basket that, more often than not, has some nice decorative lining.
I've been completely satisfied with the German food. I can say that I've yet to go hungry. Some of you might also be thinking, "But Will! This is only the food! What about the drink?" Meine gute Damen und Herrn, I would do the drink injustice if I tried to include it here as well. Another post for another time.
Take care and feed yourself,
Deutsches Wort des Tages:
das Essen -- food
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