Deutschland versus the US

I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones working overtime, but lately I am really missing Deutschland. I'm constantly wrapped up in nostalgia, thinking about all the little things that made life in Germany so different from the US. To indulge in this, I've decide to make a list of the stuff I miss, and just so I can keep a balanced perspective, I'm also going to list the things that I like better here.

Things that I miss about Germany:
- Bakeries on every corner. I think I anticipated this one a bit, but good bread and pastries in the US are not easy to come by. Good bread I think just doesn't exist here, and good pastries require great effort to hunt down. In Germany, even the regular supermarket had an amazing bakery as part of the package deal.
- Public transportation. I find myself missing the bus and bahn system in Germany. It was so easy to get around without worrying about driving and traffic and who was going to stay sober (although in my current state, this last worry is non-existent).
- Nice cars. I had conveniently forgotten how many junkers there are in the US. The fact that it's legal to drive a car that spews smoke from the engine, fumes from the tailpipe, is missing its tail lights on one side, and has a bumper held on with duct tape is truly amazing.
- Speaking German. I can't really fault the US here, but I do miss speaking German. After being immersed in a second language for 2 years, speaking English with other English speakers just doesn't seem challenging enough.
- Wasen/Oktoberfest. As my German friends know, I am a sucker for Wasen. Those beer festivals in Germany are so fun. I miss singing silly songs at the top of my lungs and dancing on the table benches. I miss getting served beer in ridiculously large and heavy steins, and I miss eating giant soft pretzels. Sigh.
- Beer. There's no contest when it comes to German vs. American beer. German beer is better tasting, cheaper, has higher alcohol content, and comes in bigger bottles. What's not to love?
- Restaurants in the forest. The whole culture of taking a hike on a Sunday and eating a delicious meal at a tiny restaurant nestled in the woods is entirely missing here.
- Kaffee und Kuchen. The cafes in Europe have us seriously beat in the categories of coffee and cakes. Their desserts are so intricate and amazing, and even compared with the most admirable American joints, the coffee there is simply better.
- Proximity of borders. We were definitely spoiled when driving a couple hours west, south, or east took us to another country entirely. Now we have very few things in short driving distance, and driving to big cities in neighboring states is at least a 10 hour drive.
- Doner Kebab. Possibly the best fast food every invented. The Turkish version of a Gyro. There are doner kebab stands all over Germany, and intense debates can ensue over which ones have the best ones. For a hangover, there is no better cure.
- Ritter Sport. Delicious chocolate bars. Although you can get some flavors here, pretty much all my favorites aren't exported to the US. Guess I can't blame the Germans for keeping the best to themselves.

Things I like better in the US:
- Mexican food. There were so many times that we ate "Mexican" food while in Germany, and it was just never the same. They would get the concept kind of right, but then do things like use kidney beans instead of pinto beans, gouda cheese instead of queso fresco, and ground pepper instead of jalapenos. It was basically a mess. Not to mention that avocados in Germany are nothing to write home about, and salsa there is more sweet than spicy. Here, mexican restaurants are more abundant than stoplights, and pretty much everywhere you go is good. And, things like pan dulce and horchata are easy to come by thanks to the Mexican grocery stores.
- Thai/Sushi/Korean/Vietnamese/Chinese/Indian food. Actually, save for German food and Italian food, the US has Germany beat in almost every ethnic food category. We particularly out-do them when it comes to Asian cuisine.
- Slang. Even though I miss speaking German, it's so nice to be back in the world of slang. In Germany, I hardly ever used English slang words and stuck to a reduced vocabularly to be more easily understood.
- 24/7. It is so nice to not have to worry about the grocery store closing before you can get there after work, or needing eggs on a Sunday when everything is closed. Shopping is so much easier when you don't have to meticulously schedule your shopping trips within skimpy store hours.
- International sections at grocery stores. One great thing about America is that you can get almost any ingredient for any dish of any ethnicity pretty easily. Even Wal-Mart has a decent international section, and if you can't find what you're looking for in a big supermarket, you can almost always find a small specialty market that carries what you need. In Germany, it was really hard to find authentic ingredients for so many things. Although, it was always funny to see what they had in the America aisle....is our cuisine really defined by Pop Tarts, marshmallow creme, and Kraft mac anc cheese?
- Late night food. Hungry for a pizza/burrito/burger at midnight? No problem! America has the late night food thing down pat. In Germany, when the bars close and everyone spills into the streets tired and hungry, there's almost no where to go. We often wondered if we'd be overnight millionaires by selling pizza on street corners at 2am.
- Cookies. Although the Germans are good at making meticulously decorated Christmas cookies, simple drop cookies like oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, and snickerdoodles are non-existent. And when things like chocolate chips and brown sugar aren't sold on the economy, it makes it hard to whip them up at home.

Wow, I guess I should've guessed that most of my comparisons would be food based. Especially now that snacking is becoming as involuntary as breathing. :)

Sweetness

Man, it seems like we've been so busy this summer....and I guess we really have. It all started with our trip to Greece in the spring, then led to trips to the US, Paris, Munich, France, London, and (coming up this weekend) Amsterdam. Busy, busy bees.

Speaking of which, I thought I would show off the super cool ice cream treat I got a few weekends ago at the mall here in Stuttgart. *Technically* it's an item from the kids' menu, but the waiter let me order it anyway. It's three scoops of ice cream, made to look like a bumble bee. Pretty sweet, huh?

Andy also got ice cream, in the form of an enormous berry-tastic Sundae. It was super good. Those of you planning to come visit can have these delectable treats to look forward to. The whole Gelato thing is really big here.

In other random news, I remembered another funny word in German. Hummer = lobster. Kind of makes me giggle now when I see one of those giant tanks driving around. Not that I see them that often here in Europe. I don't even know how you'd park one of those things on these narrow little streets! There's a reason those tiny smart cars are so popular here.

Until we meet again, I'll leave you with one final sweet picture: the lemon cake that I brought to a friend's baby shower last weekend. Lemon sponge cake, with lemon curd filling, and lemon cream cheese frosting. I wish I could take credit for the whole thing, but the lemon-slice border was Andy's idea. :)

Who doesn't love Sunday brunch?

A couple of weekends ago, we were invited, along with some other friends, over to Petra's apartment for a Sunday brunch. Petra had told us not to worry about bringing anything, that it would mostly be cold things, like fruit, cheese, and bread, and that she would have no trouble putting it together on her own. So, we were expecting something simple.

Well, here's what we saw when we arrived...

...Amazing, huh? I mean, her presentation was just so gorgeous. I totally felt inspired to do more with my presentation the next time we host something. Petra made for us: fruit salad, fresh squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs, sweet potato and ginger soup, chilled roasted duck slices, beef and ham rolls with seasoned cream cheese, tomato and mozarella skewers, and additionally served us all sorts of fresh breads, cheeses, and meats. Plus, for dessert she made us red wine cake (her specialty) and tiramisu--by far the best we've ever tasted! I managed to convince her to share the recipe, so if you want it just send me an e-mail. :)

Silly Christmas Pics

Before I post the Prague pics that I just finished organizing, I thought I would put up some of the pics from our family Christmas celebration. Since we travelled to Prague on Christmas Day, we decided to celebrate "German-style" and open up presents on Christmas Eve. I roasted a Christmas goose, stuffed with wild rice and green apples. It was very good. And of course, we ate lots of Christmas cookies, since I went a little overboard with the cookie baking this year. :)

The goose before...

...and after! (pay no attention to the silly antlers on my head :))
My two Christmas gingergread houses (on display before consumption)Pretty carved wooden creche Mom bought at the Weihnachtsmarkt
Showing off our Christmas hats
The traditional Christmas Canasta game
Pretty gingerbread men :)

Oh, the humanity!

I thought I should tell you that tragedy struck Gingerbread Land last Thursday. That unusually sunny day, my pretty gingerbread house was proudly perched on our dining room table, right in front of a large window. While Andy and I were unknowingly enjoying a regular day at work, the little gingerbread people were staring in horror as their chocolate roof melted into a pile of chocolate mud.

So sad. But kind of funny too. :)

























Oh no!

Ritter Sport Factory Visit

Sweet! I found a good chocolate back in the states called Ritter Sport. At Cost Plus World Market you could find boxes with unique fillings including marzipan, cornflakes, etc. Ritter Sport is EVERYWHERE here - and for great reason; it's made here! Instead of being shaped like a bar, this chocolate comes in SQUARES of one, four, or sixteen (and larger.. achey tummy and I've never even eated the large large one). We learned that the factory is very, very close, so of course we went to visit!

Along with the factory, which rumor has it we can't enter unless we're under 18 (that's a new one), there is an art museum of Square-like art (which we didn't enter) and a history of chocolate museum (which was concise). Heading up the stairs I snapped a quick pic of a square art installation.

By far the coolest history item was a miniature factory where kids (or, ahem, adults) could push a button and have a packaged sample delivered to them by truck! Below is a picture of Tad (not shown) requesting one of 22 samples. :) Don't worry, he gave them to all the bystanders also marveling about the miniature factory:



Press button, truck gets candy, truck leaves "factory," truck drives to you, and finally truck drops chocolate - hopefully in the right spot.









Unfortunately some unlucky kid had to wait for another sample, but not TAD! Here's his Jogurt sample comin'!








The factory also includes a chocolate store where you can purchase items at cost. We barely made it out of there with money in our pockets.... No comments! Worth noting is that you can purchase TEST flavors that aren't even available to the public. Also worth noting is that Ritter has chocolate with alcohol flavors that aren't available in the States. Some of these include Amaretto, Jamaican Rum, Vanilla Liquor.. There are more, but I can't HIC think of HIC any more of them.. HIC. Just kidding. The museum says a person of 70kg would have to eat over 500 bars to = 2cl of alcohol. You'd have a bit more to worry about than the alcohol at that point... Tata for now. We've got to get crackin.. on the chocolate.. that we didn't buy...

Fun with Gingerbread

This week, I decided to have some girl friends over for some creative fun: gingerbread house making. We each picked our own template for our house, then bought LOTS of candy to share for the decorating process. Five hours and two kilograms of powdered sugar icing later, we had finished our works of art. The whole process was so fun, I felt like a kid again. Pics of our houses are shown below. For pics of the whole she-bang, click here.

Katie's Wintery Snow Chalet



































Petra's Whimsical Fairy Tale Cottage































Shravanthi's Stained Glass Palace



































My Cozy Gingerbread Home


































Christmas tree and fireplace inside. :)

Double the Turkey, Double the Fun

Two Thanksgivings in three days equals roughly seventeen single meals and four times that in dessert weight. I love American Holidays, and extending this one "hands-across-the Atlantic-Style" to G-Town gave much reason to be thankful.

We hosted Thanksgiving at our place on Saturday evening for a few neighborhood and lab friends. Our flat has comfortable living, but it's not ideal for hosting large events, so our invitation list was modest. We had a blast, but I always wish we could have invited more people. It's hard to be exclusive when we're surrounded by so many people who are very, very helpful and genuinely nice. Of course, seeing four people try to work in our kitchen preparing food confirms why we could only host 8 (total) last night. Wait until you see our kitchen in person. It has everything you need like cabinets full of random glasses and the standard utilities (oven, micro-fridge, etc), but I think our balcony has more space.

Here's a quick pic of Petra (Pay-truh) and Guillaume (Gee-ohm) preparing some foodstuff in the kitchen. Actually, Guillaume made fantastic mashed potatoes - using a ricer (presumably for potatoes?). Amazing!

Everyone's foods were great. Petra brought a dish of green beans (with magic spices yet to be determined; please be not MSG!) and another of a baked red and yellow bell peppers casserole. Beth, Sean and Tad brought corn casserole, stuffing (yum) and an Apple / Apricot dessert (as well as graciously supplying a unified set of dishes from which we ate), Shravanthi brought a muy tasty salad and pear crisp dessert, and in addition to Guillaume's potatoes he also brought a French Apple Tart (which he made) and a bottle wine from his family's vineyard.






Here's a pic of his fam's wine label; if all French wine even hints at this flavor then bless me a winesnob and know that I'm heading there right after Munich and Prague to tour the Alsacian region from where his family lives. Alsace is to wine what Illinois is to corn. The Alsacian region has a historic identity crisis. German and France have fought over ownership of this region for many years (click on Alsacian region to read more).


Between cooking and hosting, I managed to snap a picture of Tad during a more complacent moment. He's a great kid, and I'm jealous that he's learning English and Deutsch simultaneously. His understanding of "mein" and "nein" are unprecedented. :) Plus, his parents are generous and very supportive. Psst, hey kid. Just remember the good times when your angst fully matures at 16. Besides, your parents were the ones who suggested taking a walk to a nearby lake (Bärensee) between dinner and dessert so we could (in my words) fit more goodness in our bellies. Smart & European (they're Americans). Good Times.

The night's many conversations evolved from holiday tradition to local music to Geocaching Riddles to Guillaume's secret ingredient (marzipan)to a second dessert - and somehow to this re-enactment of a rugby scrum:





















Did I say good times?

We hope you all had a great holiday, and that you had as packed of a dinner table as we did! Hello from Partyland Deutschland:

Nothing says Thanksgiving like sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

So, our (first) Thanksgiving on Thursday was super. The meal was hosted by Bob and Laura (and their son 4-yr-old Jack) in Denkendorf. We had met Bob's parents, Glenda and Vic, at an event in downtown Stuttgart for a local English magazine....off-track story: the event was at a British pub that hosts team quiz events, and our team, "Hell's Angels", won. We got a big bottle of sparkling champagne, complete with a lit sparkler stuck in the cork. We rock......Aaaaaaaaand, we're back. Anyway, Bob and Laura's place is really nice. They rent a big, old German house that's just beautiful. Also attending the dinner were Simone, a German friend of Laura's from book club, and Manfred & Andrea, a German couple whose son, Danny (also in attendance), goes to Kindergarten with Jack.

The food was great. I brought some Linzer Plätzchen (pic) that I made using my fancy new cookie cutters that Andy bought me at Tchibo, quite possibly the coolest store ever. See how pretty? Jack and Danny certainly liked them. :)


The rest was made by Laura and Glenda. We had Butterball turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, fruit salad, yeast rolls, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, green bean casserole, stuffing, mincemeat pie, pumpkin pie, and ice cream. It was like being in a little American bubble, because Laura was able to get all the traditional goodies by shopping at the Base. She even had Juicy Juice for the young boys.

We had so much fun there, that we stayed for 6 hours, just chatting it up and having a grand time. Manfred and Andrea offered to have us all over to their place next time, for some real Swabian food (Swabia is the region in which Stuttgart resides). We're definitely looking forward to it.

Stay tuned for Andy's picture-filled update of our (second) Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday!