Shop Local: Poultry Farm Shop

This blog post combines two of my favorite things: Falconry and shopping in local farm shops!

It's perhaps not a post for vegetarians, but Kaya is not one of those and neither are we.

Our mentor showed me this farm shop in Neustetten, a tiny town about 18 km / 20 minutes from home. The big grocery store is just four minutes away by car. Is the drive worth it, with gas prices so high? 

ABSOLUTELY!!  (especially with our electric car...)

This is the shop connected to a chicken farm, and our mentor told us they slaughter on Mondays, which means on Tuesdays they have fresh chicken and chicken parts for sale. So whenever we're running low on tidbits for Kaya's training, I make a drive here on Tuesday morning. I buy two packs of Hühnermägen (chicken stomachs) and today I also picked up Hühnerherzen (chicken hearts).

Gross, you think? I beg your pardon! This is Swabia, where generations ago many people were poor. Nothing - or very little - from the animal, be it cow, pig or chicken, was wasted, and Innereien (offal, giblets) were turned into delicacies that are still enjoyed today. Ok, not by me, but when I told my Schwiegermutter what I'd bought this morning, she did not know if it was for Kaya or for us. A family friend has cooked Hühnermägen and according to her, M liked them when he was younger!

In fact I plan to get there within an hour of the shop opening, because I want to make sure they're not sold out of the giblets. Because the demand is perhaps not SO high, these bits are also not expensive. From one package I can get portions for 12 training sessions, and it only costs €2,50.

Hühnermägen rinsed and ready to be cut up for tidbits.
It's just meat, really.

This shop is not just about chickens. They sell fruits, vegetables, spices, fresh herbs, plants, flour, oil, canned and jarred goods, nuts, noodles, and today I saw traditional German Christmas treats like Zimtsterne, Lebkuchen and Schoko-Vanillekipferl. 

Later I spent half an hour cutting one package of Hühnermägen into tidbit pieces for training, and when we trained Kaya this afternoon she had fresh (not frozen-thawed) tidbits, which she must have enjoyed even more than usual.

At the end of training; she's still manteling
to let M know she'd happily take some more.

These local farm shops are one of the many reasons I love living where we do - basically out in the countryside. We will keep doing what we can to support these shops even though they're not as convenient as the big stores where all the goods arrive on delivery trucks from who-knows-where.

I bought more today than what Kaya needs, of course. I brought home some Hähnchenkeulen (drumsticks) to make Jamie Oliver's Hit-and-Run-Chicken, along with all the vegetables that go in it. Bananas, raspberries, and shelled walnuts topped off the items I snatched up. 

Their special for this week reflects another southern German tradition:

November 1st is Allerheiligen (All Saints' Day) and November 2nd is All Souls' Day. Allerheiligen is a stiller Feiertag here in the south, which means stores, schools and businesses are closed and people visit their relatives' graves, decorate them for the season, and light candles. The shop is offering Grabschmuck, or decorations and flowers most fitting for the pre-winter planting.

On the way home I stopped at another favorite family-owned shop - the bakery in our neighboring town. Fresh bread, rolls, croissants, and a sweet treat. Those were all for us humans, though. Kaya is all about the meat.

I wish you a happy end of October!

Swabian Traditions: Christbaum loben

"Welch ein schöner Christbaum!"

After five years in southern Germany, I believe I have learned about most of the customs, traditions, and events connected to the Advent and Christmas holidays. Sankt Nikolaus, Christmas markets, Glühwein, Adventskalender, Adventskränze, Heiligabend (Christmas Eve), Dreikönigstag (Epiphany), Weihnachtspyramiden, Räuchermänner and Weihrauch (incense), and "Dinner for One" on Silvester (New Year's Eve).

There's one Swabian tradition I haven't written about yet, though, and that is Christbaum loben - Christmas tree praising. M and I had the opportunity just last year, but now that I've learned more about it, I realize we botched it and need to try again!

Christbaum loben is something that Swabians do "zwischen den Jahren" - between the years, or between Christmas and Epiphany. Traditionally the Christmas tree goes up and is decorated on Christmas Eve, so this can't be done in the weeks before Christmas, as it could in Wisconsin where Christmas trees and decorations are often up the whole month of December.

Here's the procedure:

• Visit a friend's, neighbor's, colleague's, or acquaintance's home, even unannounced.*

               *Do not ever visit a Swabian's house unannounced at any other time during the year. Phone first.

• After being invited in, make your way toward the Christbaum.

Photo & tree credit: Heather (one of my students)
Used with permission

• Proceed with voluminous, enthusiastic, very un-German praise** of the Christbaum.
  **It does not actually matter if you like the tree or not; this is the one situation in Germany when sincerity and directness is tossed out the window. Even the negative qualities of the tree should be lavishly praised: "Look at that beautiful bald spot! Where there are no branches at all, it's so easy to grab hold of the trunk to move the tree! How convenient!"  "How ever did you get such a lovely stumpy tree to lean so far to the left?!"  "The wall color shows so nicely through the branches!"  "Look at that - the entire tree is decorated in only one color! And what a lovely shade of brown it is!"
  Praise the shape of the tree, the Schmuck (ornaments), the candles or lights, the Standort (location) stuffed into the corner between two sofas... Every conceivable trait.


• After every single guest has generously extolled the virtues of the Christbaum, the hosts bring out the reward. Act pleasantly surprised and over-pleased at this, even though it's obligatory: the Schnaps (or wine)! The hosts also offer Christmas cookies or Stollen, or leftover Christmas fruitcake that nobody wanted in the first place.


• After a dram and a nibble, it's time to make your way toward the door - not forgetting to throw a last bit of additional praise at the Christbaum as you pass - thank your hosts for their hospitality, and decide which house you'll visit next.


• Repeat at each subsequent home.

Sometimes with a Verein (club), the members will make an afternoon and evening of visiting each other member's home, or the hosting duties are rotated from year to year. They sometimes make a competition out of it, using actual score sheets to rate each tree on its size, symmetry (or lack thereof), Nadelfestigkeit (are the needles still strongly attached or are they starting to shed already?) straightness, decoration creativity, etc.

If, for any other reason, you happen to pop in to visit someone "between the years," you should be ready for "spontanes Loben" - spontaneous tree praise. Basically, whenever you find yourself near someone's Christbaum, praise it! It's enough to use the line with which I started this post: "What a lovely tree!" You may probably will get a Schlückchen (nip/dram) for your trouble, because Swabians always have a bottle of wine or Schnaps on hand.

What if you go visiting and your host doesn't have a tree? After all, some people don't bother if they're older or the kids aren't coming home anyway. No problem! There's a solution for that as well (Germans are great planners) - "Loben mit eigenem Baum" (praising your own tree). If you think you might face this potentially awkward situation, just bring your own! Most flower shops have small tabletop trees which fit in the back of your car - just bring it in and set it in the middle of the room for everyone to compliment! The host is still obliged to provide the Schnaps, and you can take your tree with you when you leave.

Swabians apparently started this tradition around the end of the 19th century. There are several theories as to why it developed, one being that Swabians don't have time during the year for social contact - because they're working all the time. Many people are off "between the years," so the Swabians get their socializing for the year accomplished then. It also makes for a good excuse to share a medicinal dram without feeling guilty. It's tradition!

We wish you and your  loved ones a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, 

and a good slide into the New Year!

10 Things I Love About Life in Swabia

I came across a blog post with a similar title and theme the other day, and I loved the positive tone of it. This world needs all the positivity it can find these days, so here we go, though this is not a ranked list - it's just a numbered list.

Ten Things I Love About Life in Swabia

10. die Lage / Location

While I happily spend most of my time in the Schwabenland, its location in southwestern Germany allows for us to travel in just a few hours to other favorite spots as well:

• der Bodensee / Lake Constance
• Breisach on the Rhein and the Elsass area of France (also Straßburg)
• Niederau in Austria
• München
• Bamberg
• Switzerland
• Vienna 
• heck, even Rome was just a short flight away!

Austria (2008)

Bamberg

9. das Essen / the food

Maultaschen, Zwiebelrostbraten, weißer Spargel in the spring, Kässpätzle, Kartoffelsalat, Butterbrezeln...What can I say? I enjoy eating and I love Swabian food. Not all Swabian dishes, I assure you. I like my Wurstsalat Swiss-style (the Swabian version has blood sausage in it), I don't plan to try saure Kutteln (innards of some sort) anytime soon, and I prefer my Linsen mit Spätzle und Saitenwürstchen without the lentils. I do like many Swabian dishes, however, and I enjoy trying to make several of them at home from scratch.

Zwiebelrostbraten mit Bratkartoffeln

Maultaschen dough needs to be thin enough to read a newspaper through it!

8. meine Nachbarn / my neighbors

By this I mean the people I have met here in the area and also literally our neighbors. One neighbor has shared the bounty from his apple, plum, and quince trees with us, another has invited us over several times including for Christbaumloben and we've had them here for a Grillfest and fun conversation, two have offered to let us use part of their small driveways to park our car during our construction phase (we're having all our stone replaced - walkways, patio, and driveway). The people we know here are genuine, friendly, helpful when help is needed, reserved, and kind. 

7. die Geschichte / the history

The history of Württemberg especially is very interesting to me. The Württemberg royalty had connections with the Romanovs, there was much strife within the family line regarding successions and residences, and many of them (including the wives of rulers) did important things for the country and its people. The Reformation played a crucial role in Swabia's history as well, but all I knew about it from my education in the US was that Martin Luther nailed 95 complaints to the door of some church and then split from the Catholics. I have much still to learn, but even today the divide between the Catholic and Protestant communities is significant and intriguing.

I'd have to get out my notes to give you more, so I'll just say that I enjoy digging into the history of every new town I visit, discovering new castle ruins, and expanding my knowledge about the area. For me, living in a place where I can learn something new every day if I choose...that's huge.

6. mein Dorf / my village

Others might be bored to death here, but I love it. We have one star-worthy restaurant, a quality butcher, and Mustafa with his produce truck stops in front of our house every Tuesday evening. It is so quiet here that we know when the neighbors' grandchildren are visiting, because we otherwise hear nearly nothing. Not even dogs barking. I can walk the perimeter of the three sections of the village in about 45 minutes, we have a peaceful little cemetery behind a lovely little church, and we are within walking distance of our supermarket for those days when I'm feeling less lazy than usual.

5. andere Städte und Dörfer / other cities and towns

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know my favorite city in the world is Esslingen. Talk about history and beauty... But in the Schwabenland you can also visit Nagold, Herrenberg, Stuttgart if you want a big city, Ludwigsburg, Tübingen, Schwäbisch Hall, Ulm, Rottweil...

Tübingen

Esslingen

Nagold

Herrenberg

4. der Schwarzwald / the Black Forest

We live almost on the edge of the Schwarzwald, and when we have a few free hours, we can just go for a drive along windy, hilly roads (M does the driving, of course). The scenery is gorgeous, and if you like hiking, biking, wellness hotels, river fishing, camping, nature in general, skiing, or motorcycing, the Schwarzwald is the place to visit. Cuckoo clocks are a thing too, for the touristy types among you.

on the Lotharpfad

der Titisee

3. Weinberge / wine country

I'm not a fan of beer except on a horribly hot day when the beer is diluted with Sprite (a Radler), so it's a good thing M didn't settle in Bavaria. The most typical Swabian wine (Trollinger mit Lemberger) is not my favorite, but regardless, there are usually plenty of options that fit to every dish I might want to order in a restaurant. And the servers in the restaurants know about wine. If I don't recognize on the wine list what I like, I can tell him or her that I like a dry white wine but not Riesling, and s/he can recommend one that is usually right. The vineyards themselves are beautiful in the summer and fall and provide lovely scenery for a Sunday walk.

near Esslingen

2. meine Freunde / my friends

If we didn't live where we do, I wouldn't have met the folks who were my students and who have become my friends. I would have met other people, probably equally nice, but not these guys. We meet for coffee now and then, and they bring a huge American smile to my face when I see them in town. When I haven't gone to the almost-weekly Sprachcafé for a while, I miss them! One has moved away, though, and another is moving in a week. They are going where they have relatives or better opportunities, but selfishly, I wish they'd stay here.

I also met my friend and Sprachpartnerin, Hedda, right in our town at the second Kochkurs we attended two years ago. We've had quite a few interesting experiences together since then - I joined her on a trip to Straßburg to visit the EU Parliament, she visited my class at the Hermann-Hesse-Kolleg twice and met my Syrian and Eritrean students, she took us all to a café after their final language test, she came to watch a riding lesson of mine, and I've been to a Kaffeekränzchen (tea party) at her home with a group of her friends.

1. unsere Zeit / quality time with M

I won't get too schmaltzy or kitschig, but truly my favorite thing about living here in Swabia is the time M and I spend together. We are best friends and soulmates, and after living the first 6 years of our marriage on two different continents, this is our time. I don't like being gone in the evenings, and I don't plan anything on the weekends that we can't do together. This why it's hard for me to return to the U.S. for a visit, because he normally can't come with me. I feel out of my element when we're not together, and I'm generally irritable. We're both better people when we're together. Home is where he is, and although I love to travel, this is where I want to be.

What do you love about where you live?

That is SO German...

In Germany there are clocks everywhere.
There's never an excuse for being late!

Since I have been teaching students from all over the world*, there have been many classroom discussions about what is typical for our various countries, languages, and Landsleute (countrymen and -women). I always find these talks fascinating, and I learn a lot.

We also, of course, talk about what is typical in Germany. Today something came up that made me realize just how German I am becoming.

The topic was social behavior. The Italians are laid-back and loose, they like to party and eat with friends, and it's not necessary to plan ahead for casual social gatherings. They are pretty spontaneous, and ready to drop what they're doing to have a good time. The Argentinians are much like the Italians: they enjoy hanging out with friends, they love a good festival, and it's no problem in Argentina to drop by at a friend's or family member's house without calling ahead first. They have lunch around 13:00 and then a siesta, which is nearly sacred. Dinner is often at 9:00 pm or even later.

They were amazed at the German need for planning, which they have already noticed though they haven't been here more than a week or so. "They plan SO far in advance for little things!" "You can't just say to someone, 'Want to grab a drink?' They need prior notice - several days at least - just to hang out for a while!"

I sheepishly recalled what I had been working on for the last three days - arranging a reunion of my former class to meet at a local café for Kaffee und Kuchen two weeks from now - and had to laugh at myself. Indeed, I'm settling in quite well here. I remember those students commenting on this same German quirk a few months ago. They said it seems like German life is all about Arbeit und Termine - work and appointments.

Then the Italian lass who is quartered in the apartments above our favorite local restaurant (and whom we saw last night when we dined there) piped up with a huge, incredulous smile: "She and her husband reserved a table last night for next month!" This is totally true, by the way. Hey, we were there anyway and chatting with the chef, and his reservation book was right there. Why not?

If you are invited to a German's home for coffee at 10:15,
this is when you should show up. Plan accordingly.

That was when one of the Argentinians mentioned that it's no problem to drop in unannounced at someone's house. I said, "Um Gottes Willen, don't ever do that in Germany!" Perhaps this is more of a Swabian thing than a German thing, I really don't know. But I've seen the face M pulls when our doorbell rings - even during the lunch hour when it's probably the postman with a box from Amazon!

The students asked me how it is in the US - are the Americans so punctual and anal about appointments and prior arrangements as the Germans? I said it's different there. When an American acquaintance tells you, "Let's get together soon/next week/after work some day", it means nothing. It's a variation on "See ya!" and you'll likely never hear from the person again. What's more, if you approach him or her again and say, "You suggested getting together soon. How about tomorrow?" the American will look at you with that "Huh?" look and start grappling for excuses why tomorrow won't work.

For appointments in the US, you should be on time, but you'll sit and wait a while anyway, so bring something to read. It's even standard in doctors' offices to find a sign saying, "If you have been waiting longer than 45 minutes, please let us know." When you report that to them, you'll hear, "The doctor will be right with you." And then you'll wait a while longer. [What's missing from the sign is "We're not going to do anything about it, but we know telling us will make you feel better."] Incidentally, German doctor offices don't bother with that sign. Despite the German emPHAsis on punctuality, you'll wait and wait at a doctor's office (unless you're privately insured), and they don't care.

This German/Swabian quirk fits me perfectly, though. I'm tired of the "Sure, let's get together soon" thing, so if we're going to do something, let's put it in the calendar. Then I'll plan around our get-together and won't let anything else get in the way. I received an email just the other day from a woman to whom I proposed a project for the Horb website. She responded and said, "Perhaps we should meet and discuss this. Are you free on Thursday next week at 7:00 pm?" Yep, I am. The appointment is now in my calendar and I will be there. This all seems perfectly logical to me. But to the laid-back personalities, it seems stiff and rigid. I get that, but I still prefer it the German way: clear, consise, organized.

I'm having visions of Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory" and his bowel-moving schedule. Somewhere behind his southern Baptist roots also lingers a German, I am sure.

That train's leaving at 15:18, I assure you. Not 15:20.
You late, you wait (for an hour for the next train).

Esslinger Rathaus with its astronomical clock;
not only do you know what time it is, but also
which zodiac sign we're in.

There are clocks here on Medieval town gates

Sometimes all you get's a sundial.
Still - watch the time, and have a Plan B
on a cloudy day.

*To date my students have hailed from
    Syria
    Eritrea
    Tanzania
    the Ukraine
    Saudi Arabia
    Japan
    Russia
    Switzerland (the Italian-speaking part)
    Denmark
    the Dominican Republic
    Turkey
    Hungary
    Italy
    Argentina
    Poland

Another Swabian Compliment

I've written about Schwäbische Komplimente before, and I assume my readers trust me that I wasn't exaggerating. M dished out a spontaneous one the other evening that I thought I would share.

Let me premise it by saying that M doesn't really enjoy baked chicken for dinner. It's not that he doesn't like chicken, but more that it isn't a juicy steak. I like making it, though, because it's a meal I can do without any help from him, I can start it in the late afternoon so it will be ready by the time he gets home from the office, and the recipe I use is very easy, resulting in tender, juicy chicken every time. What's also great about it is that I can use the leftover chicken for a pasta salad or quesadillas the next evening and make a broth out of the carcas. But to M it's still "just chicken".

source

While I was teaching the DaF class for the past few months, I wasn't home in the afternoons and therefore couldn't make any roasts or meals that required lots of prep. When he playfully grumbled about the time I was taking in the evenings planning lessons and writing worksheets, I'd usually say, "Well, look on the bright side - at least you don't have to eat chicken!"

Now the class is finished, and I'm back to planning meals like I have for the past 3 years. Last week one of those meals was baked chicken, potatoes, and glazed carrots. M crinkled up his nose and I said, "Bet you wish I were still teaching, don't you?"

After the meal he very genuinely thanked me for cooking, and added:

"Since we haven't had chicken in so long, it wasn't even....."

He let the rest of his Swabian compliment disintegrate into the wind with a sheepish grin, but his meaning was clear. To be honest, I hadn't expected such high praise!

He accepts that I will bake a chicken for dinner every now and then, and I accept that he doesn't love it like many of the other meals we make. Since Spargelsaison opens tomorrow, we're about to spoil ourselves royally, and there won't be another chicken on our table for quite a while.

Bring on the Spargel!!

Here we go again

It snowed here yesterday. ALL day long. We have had no more than ten flakes of snow this season until yesterday, and temperatures have been nearer to autumn than winter. It's still not very cold by Wisconsin standards - hovering close to freezing, but still warm enough that sidewalks are clear of snow and ice in the sunny bits where they have been shoveled.

It might be pretty if I liked snow even a little. I do not. The only thing snow means to me is work (shoveling and snowblowing), potential injuries from slipping on our front steps, and even more danger on the roads.

I readily admit that photos of snowy mountains - the Alps, the Tetons, the Rockies - and snowy Alaska in the winter look gorgeous...as long as I am looking at postcards or online photos from the cozy warmth of my living room. I have fond memories of cross-country skiing with my family in northern Wisconsin, a few vague memories of downhill skiing on bunny hills, ice skating with friends in a park near my childhood home, and sledding on the one hill in my hometown. I'm glad I have those memories, and I have no desire to resume any of those activities.

So we have deep snow now (deep for here). Hopefully it will melt in the next few days so I can drive again. You see, here's the problem...

Shoveling in Germany

Streets are narrow, and the sidewalks are right against the curb at the street - no spacious row of grass between the sidewalk and the street. As I've written before, most Swabians have fences or huge hedges at the edge of their property. So when it comes time to shovel a healthy dose of the "weiße Scheiße", where do they go with snow? They push it into the street.

In the above photo I'm standing on our sidewalk looking at our driveway, and beyond is our neighbors' sidewalk. I took this photo because it shows the width of the sidewalk with and without snow, the height of the neighbors' hedge (in other words, there is no way for them to throw the snow over the hedge into their yard), and how much snow is on the street. If I'd taken a photo in the other direction, the street would look the same because I had to teach yesterday afternoon and didn't have time to do a proper job.

When dry and snowless, our street is just wide enough for two cars to drive slowly past each other. With snow it's a single-lane street with the thankfully infrequent traffic going both ways. 

With a high hedge, wall, or fence at the property line, I get it that the snow has to be pushed into the street - there's nowhere else for it to go. All the neighbors on the left side of the street above have an additional problem of having no front yard. They have only driveways, garages, and hedges, so there is also no place to throw the snow. But even people who have low hedges or fences do this. Our hedge is now chest-high on me, and it's a pain, but the Wisconsinite in me cannot shovel the snow into the street. I throw it over the hedge. Luckily we have a snowblower, so if I were willing to use middle-weight machinery, snow removal would be even easier for me.

I want our entire sidewalk to look like our driveway does - no snow at the curb. Our neighbors would probably think I'm nuts - I forget to do Kehrwoche on Saturdays, but I waste time shoveling snow from the street/curb.

It would probably be futile anyway, because of course when the snow plow comes through the snow would all be back. That's no big deal - I'm surely used to that from Wisconsin. You just go back out and do it all again. The joys of winter.

"I know you just spent 2 hours shoveling, kids,
but the plow just came past again. I'll get the hot cocoa ready."

One more thing about snow in Germany: there are lots of paths snaking through our village behind and between houses allowing pedestrians to get around more easily. There's one directly across from our front gate, and that's M's usual route to the office.

This is the path during a nicer season,
and just beyond the bicycle barriers is our front gate.

At the start of winter city workers put up a sign here saying "Kein Winterdienst", meaning they're not going to bother shoveling or salting this path during winter. But we (and others) use this path all the time - I use it when I walk to the butcher, the bus stop, the recycling center, the mailbox, and the grocery store. Since we have a snowblower, M usually plows this path up to the point where it turns into someone else's driveway. That person shovels or plows his driveway, of course, but stops at the start of this path (behind me as I'm taking this picture). Yesterday evening when M plowed here, that guy was shoveling as well and said to M, "You know, you don't have to clear snow from there." M said he knows, but since he uses that path everyday, he would rather clear the snow.

While I am slowly turning into a Swabian (or at least a Neig'schmeckte), some of the American has rubbed off on M as well. An American - if he had time and especially a snowblower - would shovel or plow this path because 

  a. it makes sense to do so especially if he uses the path, 

  b. he's already bundled up anyway and it won't take long, and/or

  c. ...why not? 

A German would tend not to clear the snow here because

  a. he's got enough to do with his own chores, or

  b. it's not his property, or

  c. there's no law or rule that says he has to.

Those are M's footprints from this morning. He would be tromping
through ankle-deep snow if he hadn't cleared this last path night.

The path forks here - clearly people also use the path to the right,
though no one but time and nature will clear that snow.

It's not that I'm blaming Germans for not clearing snow they're not required to clear. Life in Germany is so heavily regulated by laws and rules for what one must and may not do, that if there isn't a rule or law for something, there's no need to think about it. Winter brings snow and snow means boots, because sometimes you'll be trudging through snow banks (like when you need to cross a street in our village) or snow-covered paths that no one is required to clear.

My point, in case you've read this far, is that although I am often hard on Americans and tend to favor the German way of doing things, clearing snow is one of the things Wisconsinites do better. Granted, they have much more space available for shoveled or plowed snow - huge yards and parking lots, for instance. But even though most Wisconsin streets are wide enough for at least three cars to drive abreast with or without snow, Wisconsinites do whatever needs to be done to keep the snow off the streets.

I'll end with a few more photos of what I do not miss about Wisconsin.

This is Wisconsin - pretty much all winter long.
And it's so cold that any uncleared snow quickly turns to ice
and stays ice until sometime in March.

There were weeks when - even with all this space - we didn't know
where to throw the snow. The drifts were too high.

We sometimes had to climb onto the drifts next to the driveway
to shovel the pile further into the yard so we could add the snow
from a new storm.  Fun times.

P.S. This post was not approved by a German. M sees nothing unusual or wrong with the way Swabians shovel, and I accept that. :-)

Expat Win

You gotta love it when you're reading a book about your Swabian neighbors and the writer includes a line in the Swabian dialect that you totally understand:

"Wenn er frech wird, dann hau i em abrr eine!"

("Wenn er frech wird, dann haue ich ihm aber eine!" or in English "If he screws with me, I'll give him one in the kisser!").

But when you look at the Hochdeutsch translation provided by the writer...

"Wenn er frech wird, dann ziehe ich ihm eins über!"

...you know you wouldn't have understood it.

Translating into English, I would have thought the Hochdeutsch line meant "...then I'll pull one over on him", which would mean to pull a prank on him. Not the same.

OMG...I'm getting there!

Unless you're an expat, you have no idea how much this means.

Out for Dinner in Nagold

On the enthusiastic recommendation from an acquaintance of ours, we went out to eat last Friday night at the Eisenbahn in Nagold. Since we can't always eat at our favorite restaurant, it's helpful to hear about other good restaurants in our general area. Nagold is a lovely small town with plenty of history, beautiful buildings, several parks, a large playground, and castle ruins to hike to on a hill above the town, and it is good for shopping. It is not touristy but absolutely worth a day's visit.

The  Eisenbahn is located at Olgastrasse 1, not far from the Bahnhof. It's a Gasthof, so they also have rooms for overnight stays. The short version of our review of the meal is that the prices are reasonable, the portions are sizable, the service was excellent, and the menu definitely appeals to those looking for regional Swabian cuisine. The atmosphere is nice and gemütlich, the room and table decorations are simple and inviting, and the menu is varied. There is a lot of Schwäbisch on the menu - sayings, descriptions, etc. - which I find charming.

My dad would (will!) love this restaurant. When he comes to Germany he wants authentic German food, not Italian, Chinese, etc. He likes to try local specialties, loves Maultaschen, and appreciates a filling and satisfying meal.

I took the picture of the menu before I'd settled on my decision, but I ended up ordering the Waidmannstopf, which is pork tenderloin and chanterelles in a cream sauce with Spätzle. I forgot to ask for a kleine Portion (small portion), so I had to request our server to box up my leftovers, which she gladly did. I probably could have finished it, but I wanted to leave room for fresh strawberries with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream!

The meal began with a gemischter  Salat (mixed salad), and I really liked the dressing. It was somewhat creamy and not too tart. In Germany a mixed salad has some lettuce, tomato, sometimes peppers, etc., but underneath there is also potato salad, finely grated carrots, thinly sliced radishes, corn, cucumber salad, and/or a red beet salad. There are usually five different types of salads on the plate. Americans need to know that restaurants in Germany have their own house dressing, and you do not get to choose a different one from a list of ten possibilities.

Notice that I always have the sign for the strawberries in my sights...

M ordered the Schlemmertopf, which was similar to my dish but also with beef and a darker sauce. We tried each other's, and I am really happy that I ordered what I did. The Schlemmertopf was also good, but for me the pork and sauce really hit the spot. Both are very Swabian dishes - meat and mushrooms, Spätzle (homemade noodles), and tons of sauce. They were very filling, the Spätzle were clearly homemade, and everything we had was convincingly made from fresh products. We cook with fresh produce and meat at home, so it's a real turn-off for us to be served frozen or canned vegetables, deep-fried potato products, packaged Spätzle, or sauce from a jar or prepared mix at a restaurant. At the Eisenbahn the Spätzle and sauces are homemade and the chefs use recipes from the current owner's great-grandmother!

This was what was first served on my plate, but there was another hot plate on the side with the rest - another serving about the same size! Since I had my mind set on this since I'd walked in...

...I went easy on the main course and brought it home for leftovers.

Naturally, since it's May, they had a special Spargelkarte (asparagus menu) and many of the choices looked quite tempting. I had just bought two kilos of Spargel that morning, though, to cook for Mother's Day - so we decided to order from the regular menu instead.

The service was friendly and attentive in a German way. This is one of the things I love about dining out in Germany - the server will usually check on you once during your main course, but otherwise he or she leaves you in peace to enjoy your meal! In the States they're at your table every five minutes interrupting your conversation to ask how things are, refilling your drinks whether you want a refill or not, and often whisking away people's plates while they're chewing their last bites and before others have finished their meals. In Germany the server usually waits until it appears that everyone at the table has finished (which you can signal subtly by placing your knife and fork together at the side of your plate), then she comes once and asks if everything was ok - which is exactly how it was at the Eisenbahn. Lovely!

Our only complaint is that the side dishes were limited to mainly Spätzle or Pommes (french fries). We like Spätzle, and theirs were really good! But I don't really like french fries, and I'm not always in the mood for Spätzle. With a Zwiebelrostbraten, for instance, I prefer Bratkartoffeln. They do offer Kroketten (like tater tots), Rösti-Taler (hash browns), and Salzkartoffeln (boiled potatoes) with certain dishes, so perhaps it's possible to request one of those sides instead of Pommes or Spätzle.

Update: I have heard from the Wirt (owner) that it is certainly possible to substitute side dishes, and that they sometimes have Bratkartoffeln as well. Good to know for next time!

All-in-all, we were pleased with our meal and will definitely return to the Eisenbahn, especially with guests. Parking is not a problem near the restaurant, and they have a nice Biergarten for when it's nice enough to sit outside. Although it was not busy the Friday evening we were there (it was Mother's Day weekend, so most families were saving dining out for Sunday...), our acquaintance recommended reserving a table because it was very busy both times he dined there recently. It is possible to reserve a table via email, which was a bonus for me - I still don't love talking on the phone in German if I can avoid it - and I received a response within one hour.

Wednesday is their Ruhetag (the restaurant is closed), as it states on their website, "damit d'r Wirt a'mol Zeit für d' Wirtin hat!" (so that the innkeeper also has some time for the hostess/his wife!).

This is Why I Love Bookstores

The other day I had a dentist appointment, but as usual I was early and had some time to kill. Happily Horb's bookstore is just a few steps from my dentist, so I popped in there for a few minutes. I don't think the store has a website, but it's located at Hirschgasse 17 (the internet is wrong - she has relocated from Christophorusbrücken 1).

Look, Amazon is great. There's almost nothing they don't have, delivery time is quick in Germany, and searching online is easy. But it's still not a bookstore. The kind where I can wander in, amble around, flip through pages of books on display, and ask for assistance finding just what I'm looking for even when I'm not quite sure what I want.

Granted, I rarely ask for help because I love browsing. But one of these days I will ask Frau Kohler to recommend for me some German historical fiction novels written originally in German, because I do not want to read English books translated into German. I'm pretty good at finding historical fiction on my own, but I want to make sure they are written by German authors.

In the store in Horb I usually migrate straight to the ample section about the Schwabenland, though, which is what I did the other day. I saw the usuals, some of which I've already bought and read, and some I haven't bought yet. But this one jumped out at me:

111 Reasons to Love the Swabians

I flipped through the book, spotted words like Laugenweckle, Kehrwoche, Neigschmeckter, Maultaschen, and Stäffelesrutscher, and I bought it. And then for the next few days I had to force myself to put it down - to take care of things like the laundry and Kehrwoche.

I have searched for and bought several books on Amazon about the Swabians, but still this book hadn't shown up on my recommendations from them. When I went to enter it into my Goodreads collection, I discovered it had only just been published a month earlier, on April 1st, 2015! I even wrote a review of the book on Amazon because no one else had yet done so.

But this is why, although I'm grateful for Amazon when I need to order something quickly and know exactly what I want, I will always prefer bookstores for browsing. I wrote down the titles of two other books I saw that day that I'd like and found them on Amazon for the same price, but I will return to our little bookstore in Horb to buy them because I know bookstores are struggling, and I hope she stays open forever.

Spending time in a bookstore is for me what candy stores, clothing and shoe stores, and hardware stores are for other people. I can't get enough. When M and I are meandering through a town and a bookstore looms in the distance, I usually hear, "Oh no." But hey - there's usually a cafe nearby where he can have an espresso, so everybody wins!

Folks, wherever you are, support your local bookstores! Wouldn't it be sad if 20 years from now no one remembers bookstores because Amazon has taken over the world and we can't hold real books in our hands anymore before we buy them? I can't tell you the number of times a book I later loved has all but jumped off a shelf into my hands and screamed, "Buy ME!! I am the book you came here for!" That's never happened to me on Amazon.


P.S. I just have to add one of my favorite lines from this book: "Würden Psychiater nicht so viel kosten, hätten sie hier im Schwäbischen bestimmt mächtig was zu tun." ("If psychiatrists didn't cost so much, they would have a load of work here in Swabia.") That said, the author, Jo Müller, presents Swabians in a very positive light and really shows what there is to love about these people and their land. I sometimes feel like I know a lot about the Swabians, being an observer of them for quite a few years - since long before I moved here. But I learned a pile more from this book!

In the News III

Time for another round of "What's been in the local paper lately?" 

Toads on Tour

It's still too cold at night, but soon the local frogs and toads will begin their annual migration across roads to...get to the other side, I guess. In areas with heavy frog and toad populations, commuters will have to reckon with traffic restrictions such as lowered speed limits (often 20 km/h, or 12.4 mph) and stop-and-go traffic as conscientious drivers attempt to squash as few of the slimy or warty beasts as possible. These road restrictions are expected to last until the end of April, when all the hoppy critters are either deceased or on the other side of the road.

26. Feb. 2015

Haben Sie....Kabelbinder?

The British builders' supply chain B&Q dramatically increased their supply of Kabelbinder (cable ties), Seile (ropes), and Klebeband (tape) in the first half of February, not because of a building boom in the U.K., but because of the release of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. They want to be able to assist their customers who want to reenact various scenes from the film. To this end management also ordered hundreds of copies of the book to loan to their employees so that they can give good advice to customers' "sensitive questions".

12. Feb. 2015

Big Brother is Listening

The NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ used hacker methods to steal the codes to millions of Sim-cards manufactured by the Dutch company Gemalto, allowing them to listen in on private telephone calls of cell phone users worldwide. It sounds like this was done several years ago. Gemalto is one of the main producers of Sim-cards (the little device inside your cell phone usually under the battery that allows the phone to connect to networks), but there are others as well and the manufacturer is not identified on the device. Only about 50% of Sim-cards are made by Gemalto, and I'm sure the NSA/GCHQ didn't steal the codes to all of them, so don't worry. Your phone probably isn't one they're listening to. Besides, if you're not talking about something illegal, what difference does it make?

Hey, it's all in the name of national security and our safety, right?

21. Feb. 2015

I Lost My Key!

About a week after the Kabelbinder story above appeared, we got another peek behind a door most of us would rather not open. This one takes us to London, where the police have reported an increase in 9-1-1 calls (to the emergency center) since the release of the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. It seems many would-be Greys are not able to free their partners from the Handfessel (hand cuffs) they bought to use in their sex games. Each incident costs British taxpayers about €400, according to the London fire and rescue chief.

The writer of the article, D. Leibbrand, went on to say that Brits may have a reputation for being stuffy, but clearly they are more loose and casual than we pietistic Swabians are. The Stuttgart rescue squad has not been called to any such emergencies despite the movie having been released in Germany more than a week ago. Perhaps it's because of the price - here in Baden-Württemberg the handcuffed sex kitten or her partner would have to pay the cost of the rescue.

Ms. Leibbrand also suggests that the order-loving Stuttgarters - keyword Kehrwoche (weekly sidewalk sweeping) - probably simply make a point of remembering where they laid down the key...

21. Feb. 2015

Local Reminder

Hedges, thick bushes, and large trees may not be cut back after March 1st, so get it done this month. The purpose of this rule (I think it's a law) is to protect the Lebensraum (living space) of the local feathered community, who may have already taken up residence in such prime locations. On March 1st they start scoping out where they will build their nests, and it is unfair - not to mention unchristian - to reduce their options once they've started looking. The poor little bahstards have a hard enough life, so do them a favor and cooperate. You'll save yourself paying a hefty fine, as well.

That just about covers it for this round.

Schmotziger Donnerstag, or Dirty Thursday

I wrote the following post last year, but I think it's appropriate to resurrect it for today with a few minor updates and new pictures.

Today is Schmotziger Donnerstag ("Dirty Thursday") in Swabia. This day is similar to "Fat Tuesday", which some Catholics in Wisconsin celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday. Even at my former (Catholic!) school in Wisconsin we teachers organized a "Fat Tuesday" luncheon, a potluck of sorts, so we could pig out before settling in to the guilt and penitence of Lent. We had that in the staff room during the lunch period, and then we went back to our classrooms to finish the day.

Here in the Catholic communities of Swabia, the lead-in to Lent is quite different. It starts in earnest today. The Narrenzünfte (fools' guilds) put on their costumes, take over the towns, ceremoniously take the key from the Bürgermeister (who cheerfully gives it up because he has no other reasonable choice), set the school children loose at noon, and wreak havoc in good fun. The town keys are humbly and sheepishly returned on Ash Wednesday by those who can still walk, as the local beverage store owners gleefully count their tills. It's like Black Friday for the venders of beer, wine, and liquor.

The Narrenzunftmeister has the key to the town

crazy witch-creature on the town hall

Our Bürgermeister says a few words imploring the Narren to be good

One of the three Fasnet costumes of our town consists of black skirts with black and yellow striped stockings. They are the witches. We also have a group of Blockstrecker who wear white costumes, black hats, and bells. The third group, which I hope to catch a good photo of next year, are the Wildschweine (wild boars). They have a special name, but I didn't catch what it is.  Each town has such groups that identify their allegiance, but there are other common costumes as well - witches, devils, and other scary figures intended to chase away the demons of winter, which was the origin of Fasching/Fasnet/Karnival, after all.

the masks are made of wood
This is one of the witches standing in the Hexenwagen (witch wagon).

Blockstrecker

Last year I was invited to the after-school reception for teachers at the school where I teach the Englisch-AG, so after giving the students time to disperse, I headed over there. The headmaster, a friend of mine, greeted me wearing Lederhosen and a felt hat and playing the accordion, his brother (also a teacher and a friend of mine) was dressed in overalls and funny glasses, and most of the other teachers were in costumes as well. It's a bit like Halloween in Wisconsin. The work was over for the day, so they had donuts (Fasnetsküchle , which are like Berliner but diamond-shaped and lacking the jelly filling), cookies, and Sekt (sparkling wine) spread out on the conference table. Back in Wisconsin, at least during my years at the school, we had to relocate from the school grounds to a nearby bar to toast the start of a break.  Not here!

Fasnetsküchle (Swabian for "little Fasching cakes")
These are homemade! Our wonderful neighbor just brought them over!

The group sang Swabian Fasnet songs as the headmaster accompanied with his accordion, danced or clapped along, and generally just had fun. They then brought out a contraption that made me a little nervous at first - but all it was was a mini-catapult that they loaded up with a Schokoküssle (large chocolate-covered marshmallow). You had to throw a ball at one part of the machine, and if you hit the right spot, the Schokoküssle was flung at you to catch. Each of us had a go, and most of us successfully caught the Schokoküssle (and then had to eat it).

My teacher-friend explained to me that Fasnet (called Fastnacht, Fasching, or Karnival in other parts of Germany and Mardi Gras in N'Orleans) is and has traditionally been mainly a Catholic thing. In traditionally Catholic towns like Bildechingen, Eutingen, Horb, Rottenburg, etc., Fasnet is very popular, and you're kind of the odd-one-out if you're not in costume. In Protestant communities like Mühlen (3 km from Bildechingen), Tübingen, and Freudenstadt, business goes on as usual. In Horb if you're not into all the shenanigans of Fasnet, you might want to pack up and get the heck out of Dodge until Ash Wednesday. If you live in Freudenstadt and want to party, you pack up and settle someplace more Catholic and fun for a few days.

As if on cue to illustrate his point, a man came in with a delivery of something and briefly said hello as we were singing, dancing, and toasting with Sekt. As he was leaving my friend called enthusiastically with a twinkle in his eye, "Schöne Fasnetszeit!" ("Have a nice Fasching-holiday!") The man replied, "Nein, nein. Ich bin aus Freudenstadt. Zum Lachen gehen wir in den Keller." ("No, no. I'm from Freudenstadt. We go into the cellar to laugh.")  The point being, if that wasn't clear, that when Protestants have fun around here, they do it in the basement so no one can see or hear them behaving so shamefully.

Believe it or not, another person showed up during a song when we were all swaying side to side in unison, and stood for a moment in the doorway. She was wearing bright green shiny pants, so I thought she was a teacher and that was her costume. We stopped the song and the swaying and the headmaster gave her a "'S'up?" look. She said "I'm here from the school in Dornstetten (my friend whispered to me that that's another Protestant town), and I'm supposed to pick up [something I didn't understand]."  My friend offered her a Fasnetsküchle while the headmaster went to look for the thing she was supposed to pick up. He came back with it, and the woman pointed to her pants and said, "Well, I'm somewhat dressed up..." The headmaster replied, "Yeah, that's close enough for Dornstetten." He serenaded her with the accordian as she left to return to her boring little Protestant village, where the schools are still in session...

In the interest of accuracy, I wasn't really correct when I said that the lead-in to Lent starts today. It actually started in Swabia on Jan. 6, with the 12th day of Christmas. Every year right after the local children go around and write the Epiphany blessing on everyone's doors, the villagers get ready to party. There are mask-dusting-off gatherings, anniversary celebrations for various Narrenzünfte, a parade now and then, Fasching-themed parties, dance shows, and so on from January 6th to Faschingsdienstag ("Fat Tuesday"). But the heavy stuff (including, for some, the heavy drinking) begins today.

One of the things that fascinates me here is that nearly everything from the local customs, the architecture of buildings, the habits, the rules, and the fun-and-games have a rich history. One way to look at Fasnet is to see a bunch of drunk costumed fools running around causing traffic chaos, a mess, and a nuisance. But I'm learning there's much more to it than that. It's not really my thing (I grew up Protesant, after all), but I am starting to see why it is fun for others. I can't get excited about drinking and partying, but I can get into anything where there is something to learn about local traditions.

Happy Dirty Thursday!  Bleibt sauber!  ("Stay clean"!)