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Food, Glorious Food!

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Jaegerschnitzel with croquettes
 Of course, in true "Hyre" fashion, food has taken a large place of importance in our German experience. Just down the road in the next village, we have what we affectionately refer to as "our restaurant". We eat there on a regular basis enjoying scrumptious German food. The Jaegerschnitzel with croquettes is my personal favorite. It's a lightly breaded pork filet with brown mushroom gravy, and croquettes are these cool little things that can only be described as fried mashed potato sticks. If we aren't in the mood for German food, they also serve really yummy pizza and calzones.
It might be hard to believe, but we've gone almost four months without a single taste of saurkraut. Finally, this past weekend when we were down in Bavaria, we got some. It was really good. They served it with a super tender slice of pork roast and the best bread dumpling I've ever had. This is the wierd part- they served it with brown gravy over the top. At first I thought that was really wierd, but it was actually delicious. The saurkraut we had was sweeter than what we're used to, so the gravy actually worked well.
We're also incredibly blessed to have our own little bakerei (bakery) just a few blocks away from our house. Now that is one thing that is totally missing in the States- family owned and operated bakeries that make everything on site. Can you say "YUM!"? The lady that owns the bakery is the sweetest thing you'll ever meet, and she speaks English. The first time we went in there, she spent like 5 minutes going over everything in the cases so that we would know exactly what was what. Everytime I walk in there and smell that "bakery" smell,  fond memories of Pap Hyre come flooding back. There is nothing like a homemade donut, or a maple pecan pastry to bring back nostalgia. Haley has discovered the Milka Croissant (Milka is a brandname of German chocolate), which I have to admit is every bit as scrumptous as anything I've ever tasted. It's definitely going to be interesting at the beach this year. I'm still trying to figure out how to tuck all my extra "bakery pounds" into my bathing suit. 
The other popular thing to eat in Germany, is a Doner Kebab. "Doners" as they're called, are Turkish sandwiches made of meat (here it's either pork or chicken) that has been grilled on a huge vertical rotisserie. The meat is put into a pocket of really delicious bread, veggies and cheese are added, and all is topped off with Tzatziki sauce. I have to admit, they are pretty delicious.
The overall dining in Germany is a little bit different than it is in the States. First, there is no such thing as ordering plain old water to drink. Water comes in a bottle only- with gas or still, meaning with bubbles or without. A lot of places serve this really gross tasting mineral water, so I find that I'm ordering soda a lot more often than I used to. Speaking of which, the soda here is also different. Although popular brands like Coke, Sprite, and Fanta are readily available, the Germans mix it differently, and it is much less sweet than traditional soda. Germans also don't believe in watering down their drinks with ice. If you're lucky, they will take pity on you when they realize you're American, and they'll put one or two icecubes in your drink, but that's about as good as it gets. For an ice glutton like me, that has definitely taken some getting used to. Oh yeah, there's also no such thing as free refills. I find that I'm drinking much less these days because of it.
Another different thing in German dining, is that tips are not expected. If you've received good service, all you are expected to do is round up the bill to the next euro or so. This is a good thing because it offsets the additional expenses you acrew in purchasing beverages. LOL
I guess no post about German dining would be complete without a mention of that old American staple, and the most beloved fast food establishment in Europe-McDonalds! We've now had the experience of eating McDonalds in several different countries. They are everywhere!! I have to say though, that as much as I did not care for McDonalds in the States, I do actually crave it every now and then, and it's always a comfort when you're not in the adventurous mood to be able to walk in and order a Big Mac. Not only do they taste pretty good, but they are pronounced the same in every other language as they are in English. The only difference is that you order a Big Mac "menu" instead of a "meal". (This is a big plus when your German vocabulary is pretty much limited to "hello", "goodbye", "please", and "thank you"). The menu is almost the same as it is in the States, but one cool thing we've discovered is that in Belgium a breakfast meal consists of an Egg McMuffin, a croissant with butter and jam, hot chocolate, and juice. Pretty cool. You totally feel so cosmopolitan when you eat there.
Learning to appreciate different foods than you're used to has really been a fun experience, but if I'm being honest with myself, I have to admit that there are days when all I can think about is a big juicy steak and yeast rolls from Texas Roadhouse, or shrimp scampi and cheese garlic biscuits from Red Lobster. It's definitely one of the things I'm looking forward to when we go to Florida next month. Texas Roadhouse, here I come!







McDonald's in Belgium-pretty fancy!


Courtney and Me eating doners



 
McDonald's menu in Holland

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