Der Stammtisch

Last fall when we were in France, we were waiting to catch a bus in a small village near Nice.  We had some time to kill, so nearby we saw a German Bierstube.  A good German beer sounded perfect.  We sat outside and I looked into the bar through a window.  I was immediately attracted to something on one of the tables.  Not wanting to look foolish with my camera, but still wanting a photo, I took a picture through the window.

This is a typical German Gasthaus or Bierstube adornment.  It is a metal stand which holds an ashtray and it has a bell.  On one side of a metal plaque it written "Stammtisch" and on the other side is "Reserviert."  It sits on a special table that is reserved for the regulars who come to the bar.  Found mostly in Bavaria, this is  very typical Old World German.  Historically, a sign such as this meant socializing, card playing and often political or philosophical discussions.

The second half of the 19th century, a Stammtisch consisted of local dignitaries such as the mayor, doctor, pharmacist, teacher or wealthy farmers.  Inviting a stranger to take a seat was indeed an appreciated invitation.

Needless to say, the Stammtisch has been in my mind for quite some time now.  Just by chance, I decided to check eBay to see if I could find one.  And, there it was!!!  A real Stammtisch from Germany.  We won the bid and by chatting with the owner, found out that it had been purchased in Germany some years before.  Perfect.  I was so excited.  Today it arrived.

So, I am inviting you all to be guests at my Stammtisch.  I know I will enjoy the novelty of this, especially after having lived in Germany for a year and enjoying all the history and culture this wonderful country gave to us.  

Rose Liquor

I really like odd and unique shaped bottles.  Always have and don't know why.  This past spring when we were in Germany, the Trout and I came across a little distillery where you could sample just about anything your little heart desired.  Always thinking with a practical vice around my heart, I knew we had little room for anything breakable.  But, can you imagine?  Of all the flavors of liquors in this tiny place, the one that struck both of us was Rose Liquor?

It hits your tongue with a perfume that is very strong and then it lingers on the tongue for a long time.  WOW!  This was very DIFFERENT.  We bought this small bottle (I also liked the shape) and last evening, we had our first opening and taste.

Just a little taste..I have to make it last.  And then we started imagining where we could use it.  Like in a flavoring for a white frosting on a cake, a vanilla pudding, frosting on a sweet roll.   Or, just another sip after a good dinner. 

Idaho Sweet Corn

Growing up in Iowa, we always knew we had the best sweet corn in the nation.  (I bet there are several other states that proclaim this feat.)  But, I will admit, the people from Idaho know how to grow corn also.

Our neighbor brought over some of this beautiful corn after a trip through Idaho.  He said he just saw a farmer with a pickup truck selling corn along side the road.  Actually, that is the best place to buy corn.

It was beautiful and tasted outstanding!!  It reminded us of our dear friends from Germany.  In the late 70's we were living in lower Michigan and were quite active in a Sister City program with a town from northern Germany.  We hosted a couple and corn on the cob was on the menu. 

At first, they were quite shocked.  To much of Europe, sweet corn was not something to eat as it had never been available to them.  Only pigs ate corn in their part of the world.  Well, after that first slathering of butter, and watching us carefully as to how to eat this vegetable, they changed their minds.  When we met up with Dieter and Heidemarie in Germany this past May, the sweet corn was the first thing they wanted to talk about.  It seems some people are starting to grow it themselves, so it is becoming more available in Europe.

Corn also reminds me of when The Trout and I were living in Germany in 1968-69.  Our landlords were an elderly brother and sister.  They invited us down one evening to enjoy their television and they had a special treat to serve us.  It seems they had just become familiar with popcorn.  To our surprise, they served it in a bowl, with a spoon, and covered with cherry juice.  We did not say anything about melted butter or salt, just ate their style of popcorn and actually enjoyed it.

If sweet corn is still available in your area, enjoy it.  I am looking forward to this winter as sweet corn is available from the farmer's markets all the time in Florida.

Some thoughts as we leave Germany

Imagine being greeted by this basket of breads for breakfast every morning while in Germany. Those slices of bread in the middle of the basket are rye bread that had just come out of the wood oven. I truly ate more bread in the almost 3 weeks in Europe than I have in the last year. Three times a day...at least!! It was that good.

One afternoon we came back to the farm a little early. Elfriede was a little embarrassed. She was entertaining a group of hikers who had passed through the farm and had reserved with her a little snack for their stop. Little snack was not the wording I would use. It was a downright feast of cold cuts, pickles, breads and beer and schnapps.

She said she usually does not entertain the guests staying with her, only those passing through. But, she invited us in and we quickly downed a kirschwasser (cherry brandy) that is so prevalent in the Black Forest. She then went into her Germanized Minnie Pearl skit. She spoke in rhyme about a country girl going to the big city. It was hilarious but it certainly lost something in the translation. The Trout did not understand it, but was entertained at how heartily everyone was laughing at the entertainment.

This is a very sad statue sitting in the courtyard of the church in Gutach, Germany. The lady is dressed in traditional folk garb and she is mourning the men who died in World War I and II. Most every town has a memorial to the fallen. This one was very striking.

So, one last glass of Riesling wine before we leave Germany.

And, of course, a large beer. We had a wonderful visit with our old friends, ate well, toured well and would highly recommend staying at Joklisbauernhof in Gutach, Germany.

Some folk dancing and some glass blowing

May 1 was a holiday in Germany. We walked to a nearby gathering where the children dressed in costumes danced the local folk dances for us. This precious girl, who had tons of blond curls under that hat, and her mother posed for me. Regretfully, I did not learn her name.

Here is the group of children dancing. It was so cute as they danced to an accordion playing. Notice the little boy on the left with the glasses. He was the show stealer and we quickly found out his name. "Otto" was constantly being reminded by his mother to behave.

Okay, so don't laugh but I was able to scratch something off my bucket list. I have always wanted to get involved in glass blowing. Little did we know as we walked into this glass blowing business, that I would be able to do just that.

Of course, this dear artisan did 98% of the work, but I was able to help shape the glass vase with his guidance. Luckily, I knew enough German to participate.

And here I am, with such a cheeky look on my face, holding my vase (not vaaase) with my certificate. Nothing special, but I did enjoy it.

So what should I eat in Germany?

Oh yes, this picture above is one of the reason we love to travel in Europe in May. White asparagus!!! We walked to our local restaurant in town, "Zum Krone" and ordered the asparagus. We also got two pieces of perfectly cooked pork tenderloin, boiled potatoes and the fresh white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. A little pricey at 17 euros each, but the time to eat these beautiful spears is short and every restaurant cooks them in every way possible.

These asparagus differ from what we know in America as green asparagus. Why our ancestors did not bring this tradition with them is unknown to me. They are grown differently. You see fields of peaked rows, probably up to 12 inches tall. The asparagus never sees daylight, totally grown underground. Though the spears need peeling before cooking, they are very tender, very sweet and very fabulous. I could eat these every day of my trip and in the past, I almost have. There is a small town near Heidelberg, Germany, where they actually have a festival week where the precious white asparagus is honored. "Spargelfest".

I love the simple salads. Here you see fresh leaf lettuce from the garden, carrots and white radishes, all napped with a pleasant, light vinaigrette.

But, of course, I needed at least one schnitzel dinner. This was served with fried potatoes...very golden potatoes. The potatoes in Germany are also very different than ours. Finally, with the availability of Yukon Gold potatoes, we are getting close to a good flavored potatoes like you find in Europe.

This meal was for two, our friends Dieter and Heidi. A little of everything. Spaetzle, salad, pomme frites, carrots and peas, two fried eggs, potato croquettes (the oval shaped items) and two sausages, two pieces of ham and two pieces of steak. They ate it all and proclaimed how great it was.

Not just an ordinary bed

People sleep differently throughout the world. When in Europe, I tend to always take pictures of beds. The pillows are usually square, very different from American pillows. It has been many years since I have slept under such a deep feather bed. Actually, it is a down comforter. The feather bed is something you lie upon. This bed was in the same B and B I talked about yesterday. The comforter had to be at least 24 inches deep. I felt like a little duck, all tucked in. Only a bottom sheet on the mattress which was comfortable, but very hard. One King sized headboard and two twin mattresses side-by-side.

I was all tucked in, feeling rather ducky and cozy. It only took about 3 hours and I woke up and the only words coming to mind were, "the goose is cooked!" I was near explosion stage, so warm. So, I opened up my down nest and immediately became cold. And so it was for the rest of the night.

We lived on the economy in 1968-69 in Germany. That means, the American government was not housing us, we were renting from German civilians. Our bedroom did not have any heat, just a bed similar to this. During that cold German winter, I never complained about how warm the down was. Getting up in the morning was another problem though.

This bed above was in the B and B in Alsace, France that we rented. I will write more about this delightful place later. Believe me, you will also want to visit this one. No down here, but a very heavy, thick comforter. Again, the square pillows.

I have slept on these sheets before. In 2005, we stayed in this B and B/gite in Burgundy, France. Veronique, our hostess, told us she had special ordered these sheets from Paris. Since these are colors I love, would you believe I have been surfacing the Internet for the last 5 years, searching for these sheets? No luck. We spent one night here again and I was actually checking the labels on the sheets again. No clues.

So, this was a quick visit through the bedrooms of Europe. The comforters are usually hung out the windows in the morning and then replaced on the beds later in the day. Since there are no screens on the windows, this is an easy way to freshen the bed.

A friendship is reunited again!

Our friends Dieter and Heidi from Germany

left to right-- Susan, Dieter, Heidi and The Trout

In 1978, we were living in Coldwater, Michigan. We had a Sister city program with Soltau, Germany. We got involved immediately. After living in Heidelberg, Germany, 1968-1969, we had developed a real love for the people of Germany. The fact that I learned to speak German before English was just an added bonus.

In 1978, we hosted Dieter and Heidemarie in our home when Soltau came to the USA. We had lots of fun and we started a good relationship. In 1979, The Trout and I traveled to Germany and stayed in Dieter and Heidi's home. There were several more visits back and forth and phone calls on birthdays and always, always, a call from Germany at 5 p.m. Christmas Eve.

Though Dieter does not have a great love for the Internet, we do correspond this way and Skype each other also. It is still easier for them to phone us. This past Christmas Eve, we told them about our plans to spend 3 days in the Black Forest of Germany. Immediately they responded that they would like to meet us there. And so the plans began.

We found a bed and breakfast in Gutach, Germany, in the Black Forest, named Joklisbauren Hof. I will speak of this wonderful place in my next blog.

The Trout and I landed in Paris, went through customs and caught the TGV, the bullet train, right at Charles de Gaulle airport and headed for Strasbourg, France. There we rented a car and drove for just a few hours and arrived at the farm where we were staying for 3 fun days. Ten minutes later, our friends from northern Germany arrived by car. It was quite the reunion, blessed with a toast of beer which was very appreciated for our parched throats. We caught up right where we left off after seeing them the last time in 2001.

We had 3 days of sightseeing and eating meals together. My talks with Heidi revealed how much we had matured since our first meeting 32 years ago. We have two daughters and they have a son and our children are all married now. We compared those growing up years, retirement, and just living each day with fun and laughter.

Of all the great experiences in this world, my favorite, by far, will always be reunions. I love meeting with old friends and reconnecting. Tomorrow I will tell you about some of good things that happened while in the Black Forest.

Over the big pond we go!!

Only in Europe can you find a scene like this one. This was taken in France several years ago. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for the Black Forest of Germany and for the Auvergne region of France in south central France, Massif Central. I will not be taking the computer with us, but hope to find an Internet cafe now and then to simply check on things.

I will be back in 3 weeks and will be blogging again then. I plan on taking lots of notes and lots of pictures so I hope you will be back then to share the journey with me.

It is always the wine

It must be the Christmas season, because I always seem to reminisce more during this time of the year. The Trout has been collecting wine for many years. During those early years of marriage, when we had the good fortune of living in Germany on behalf of Uncle Sam, we had a dear, single friend with whom we would spend a lot of time. His family owned a bar in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and they were friends with quite a few wine growers in Germany. "The Fox", as we lovingly called him, would make trips to these wine growers whenever he had a free day from the Army. The bar was called "Kurtz's Bar" and I remember he ordered a suit of armor to be sent to the States to be displayed in the bar.

I recall many times we invited him to dinner and to play gin rummy, and we would bring out a bottle of German wine. He would comment on it and then pause. He would stand up, all 6'3" of him, and say gently, "I have a bottle downstairs in the Volkswagen that you might like." And so began, our education of German wine.

Fast forward quite a few years and you find The Trout doing a lot of research on wine. It used to be through the magazine Wine Spectator that he would become informed about wine. We found a very nice wine store in western Wisconsin and in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, and then the education started becoming serious. We found a wine store in California that would send wines to Wisconsin and so it began.

One of the main reasons for traveling to Europe after retirement ten years ago, was to "check out" the wines. In those ten years, we had eight trips to Italy and France. Before 9/11, we would bring a lot of bottles back with us in carry-on luggage. That, of course, cannot be done anymore. Wine can be checked into luggage, but that is always a worry for me. So, we enjoy it while we are in these wonderful countries.

Fortunately we can still find quality wines near our residence and also have some shipped in. This is all leading up to the last two wines we had with our dinners.

Last evening we had a mustard coated pork loin with a Shiraz from Australia, McLaren Valen The Footbolt, 2001. It had survived all of our moves in the last few years and was thoroughly enjoyed.

Today we had our favorite grilled lamb chops marinated in garlic, rosemary and olive oil, with Tuscany white beans and grilled asparagus. The wine matched with this dinner was a Novelty Hill, Columbia Valley, 2002 Merlot. Once again, it was perfect, but I have not met a Merlot that I didn't like. This last wine had the label on it showing where we bought it...Pike and Western Wine Shop in Seattle. That brought back even more memories for us.

Wine collecting is a wonderful hobby...in moderation. We are getting to the age when we know collecting wine for a time in the future might not be the right thing to do as we generally try to age our wines from six to ten years.

Our early Thanksgivings

With Thanksgiving approaching quickly this week, I always have a memory trip this week of the year.

Our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife, we spent at my parents' home. It was the typical turkey dinner for my mom. She always roasted the turkey breast down because that way the juices would stay in the breast and provide a very succulent turkey. I have tried it this way, but the family has always looked as me strangely. Granted, it is not something to photograph, but gosh, it tastes good.

Our second Thanksgiving of married life, we were living near Fort Knox, in Louisville, Kentucky. Small apartment, but we loved it. We invited a couple also stationed there who were from Iowa. He and the Trout were drafted on the same day.

Actually, the turkey was beautiful, tasted great and so did all the fixins! But, almost immediately after the meal, John, our guest, excused himself to the bathroom. He was sick, very sick, throwing up with the flu. At least we decided it was the flu since no one else got sick from my meal. I had my doubts though and a little insecurity set in.

No, I will not tell you about every turkey I have ever roasted, but the following year was a memorable one. We were living in a tiny apartment in Heidelberg, Germany. The kitchen was on the upstairs landing. It had a sink, which we also used as a bathroom sink, a tiny refrigerator and a very tiny two burner gas stove with an even tinier oven. I measured and measured that oven and told the Trout that no turkey would ever be able to see the inside of that oven. He simply would not fit. I suppose I could have gotten a very small Cornish hen in there, but no turkey. Disappointment!! Even though we were living in Germany, we were Americans, and turkey was a tradition. It had to be.

We went to the base exchange for our groceries and I searched and searched until I found a turkey that would fit. Oh yes, we had turkey that day with the fixins, but the turkey was a turkey roll. You know the kind, turkey meat rolled together in a cylinder and then frozen. Well, it tasted great and even the landlady and her brother were impressed. Back in 1968, turkey was not a typical food in Germany. Only many years later did Europe start using turkey and putting in on restaurant menus.

These are precious memories for me. I have trouble believing how long it has been and how quickly the time has passed. This Thanksgiving, well, it is just the Trout and me this year. But, we will have a real turkey, roasted breast up and with all the fixins! I can hardly wait.

Oh yes, one more thing....Speaking of turkey breasts, tomorrow is my annual mammogram and NO ONE will take that privilege away from me, no matter what my age!!!