TILIG - 27 Jan 2017

I have a Dr that has an office in a nice building.  The first time I went, there was no street parking, but there was underground parking.  This one was odd, because you didn't get a ticket when you went in, you just pressed a button, and it let you in.

When I was done with the appointment, and went to leave, I noticed that there was a coin slot there.  I tried a bunch of coins, nothing worked.  Pressed the "Connect me to a human" button. It didn't work.  So, I had to back out and park again.  I went inside looking for a pay station to buy a token, nothing. Then I noticed a small sign, about 10 meters from the entrance that says it's run by tokens.

It turns out that the tenants of the building (including my doctor) have to pay for those tokens and they give them to their customers.  Except mine.  He's too cheap.  I had to get one from another business to get out. They cost 50 cents.  I'm pretty sure that Audi R8 that I saw in the parking lot was his. 

Here, there are very stealthy speed cameras.  I never seem to notice them until I'm almost past them.  Here's my process:

1. Say: "Huh, that's a speed cam...."   
2. Look at my speedometer.  
3. Hope that I haven't been speeding past this one every day for a month and that I might have 15 tickets coming. 

This one's pretty obvious, but usually they're hidden in bushes.

Some of the highway numbers are very long.  The GPS lady always says the number (ex. L9735) like this: "Neun tausend, Sieben hundert, fünf und dreißig".  When I say the number to someone, do I say it as digits: "Ell neun sieben drei fünf" or like the GPS lady says it?

We ran across these cups.  They have a large cup on one side, and a small one oh the other, on swivels. No idea what they're for, but I'd assume they're for the toast at a wedding?  I happen to know that my wife can out-drink me, so for us, I'd get the smaller side.

Gratuitous Santa Claus selfie statue

We get these strange pop up stores in front of the supermarket that we use.  Depending on the season, it can be vegetables, "new wine", or booze.   But I find that it's usually booze (alcohol.)

I had Tuna on pizza for the first time last night. It's a thing.  It wasn't bad, but I didn't notice the tuna (thunfisch) before I bit into it, so it was a surprise. 

Then again, I really love pineapple (Ananas) on my pizza, so clearly I have no reason to complain about unusual ingredients on a pizza.

TILIG 2017 New Year's edition

We were at the house of a good friend for Sylvester (AKA, New Year's Eve for my American Friends.)

We had fondue (without cheese), which consisted of raw meat that you ''cook'' in hot broth and dip in any one of 10 dips.   It reminded me of Sukyaki, a bit.

We brought over a no-bake peanut butter bar that was a surprise hit, considering it had "american" levels of sugar in it.  I could hardly eat it because it was so sweet.

As Robin noted in HER TILIG, we also watched Dinner for One, a short play in English that's quite the tradition here in Deutschland. It's widely considered to be the most re-broadcast piece of film in the world, despite never having been broadcast in most of the world, only in Europe (and once in the US  in the 70s'.)  Everyone gathered around the TV, and it made everyone laugh.

Watch it here. 

Many of the people at the Sylvester party spoke Deutsche to us, but we had to revert to English as the night wore on. It was just easier on everyone.

After midnight, the neighborhood (and all of Deutschland) fired off more fireworks than we've ever seen before.  They lit them off with great abandon, and many, many younger folks were very drunk and came over to wish us a frohe neues (Happy New, short for Happy Near Year - Frohe neues Jahres.)




We were also wished (after New Year's day)  Guten Rutsch, which means good slide.  Or Have a good slide into the new year!

Overall, it was a blast. Almost literally. Some kids were firing off fireworks next to our car.  Luckily nothing caught fire.

Just before New Years, we took a friend to a local Tapas place.  It was quite good, and we were very well treated, especially considering we were Americans and only one staff member spoke English.  It was actually easier to read the German as compared to the Spanish descriptions.

We bought a 20 Euro platter of Jamon Iberico ham that, while good, was far too large.

That night,we also found out that we'd been committing a Faux Pas since we've been here in Germany.

As a family, we've always been very business like when it comes to eating out.  We get there, we eat and then leave.  It comes from feeling a bit of pressure to "turn over the table" so the restaurant can seat someone else.

Certainly in higher end restaurants in the US, a 3-4 hour meal is expected, but at most restaurants, you get in, eat and get out.

Here, it's generally assumed (at almost all restaurants) that you come in, eat and then spend time after eating socializing over coffee, dessert, etc.

It turns out that leaving quickly has confused some friends of ours.  But now we know.

It also turns out that when you invite someone to your house for dinner, it's expected to be a many-hour thing.

Kicking people out after only 3 hours can cause hard feelings,

This post's German Food Glossary (that I will probably get wrong.)

Krautschupfnudeln - A blend of Spätzle, sauerkraut and speck (basically bacon or pork belly.)  Common in Bavarian, I believe it's actually Schwabian. Often served at Wienachtsmarkts.

Fleischküchle - I guess it depends on where you're from, I think.  For some, it's like a hand-held meat pie surrounded by cooked dough.  For some, it's like a fat hamburger patty, more round than flat.   I believe this might also be Schwabian meatballs.   Alternate names:  Frikadellen, Fleischpflanzerl, Buletten.   I had it as a fat beef patty.

Lango - Deep fried dough with toppings like Apflemusse (apple sauce), sugar, shincken and kase (ham and cheese) also commonly served at Weinachtsmarkt.

An obligatory weird product photo or two.