Sunday 28 October 2012

Chronicles of Europe: Germany

German cuisine cannot be compared to Spanish, French or Italian... it's a whole different kettle of fish. Like the foodie pun? But it does have that ability to warm your heart from the inside out. Just not everyday otherwise Mr or Mrs Heart won't be thanking you.

One of my favourite breakfasts comes from Bavaria. It consists of Weisswurst (a sausage made out of... better not say) with Hausmachersenf (a sweet mustard), pretzels served with butter and good German beer!


When in Germany and in the mood for a hearty meal, don't look past a delicious pork knuckle covered in crackling. We made the trip out to Andechs from Munich on a beautiful sunny day and sampled such a meal. The band was playing traditional music in the background while we shared the pork accomplished by a pretzel (they are everywhere!), sauerkraut and a cream cheese spread with paprika and Camembert (yum!). A new drink I discovered was mixing beer with coke... strange for some but I would definitely recommend, and best serve it ice cold!


My tour of Germany also consisted of a visit to Berlin. A city which had many Italian restaurants among others. A classic Berlin dish is Currywurst. It is simply frankfurter sausage covered in a tomato sauce with curry powder sprinkled on top, and usually accompanied with chips. Not the height of sophistication, but it's good when you're hungry!


And a classic drink is Berliner Weisse. It apparently (I'm told by a tour guide) was created by the French in Berlin as they couldn't stand beer. It involves mixing a beer with Raspberry (red) or Waldmeister (green) syrup. Sweet and good!

Something else you notice is the constant presence of bakeries. I would suggest visiting one of the Kamps bakery franchises as they stock a delicious assortment of Germany pastries at a reasonable price. The stores are well designed and you'll really enjoy sitting back with pastry and freshly squeezed orangensaft in hand!

 
And when you are looking for something a bit special, Cafe Luitpold in Munich is where you will see the ladies of leisure sipping on coffee and delicately eating cake.


I had the raspberry tart, a pastry base with ground almond filling topped with fresh raspberries and cream. If that doesn't put a little foodie smile on your face, I don't know what else will!

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