We had been practicing food and restaurant oriented language for a week and were ready to try it out. We were also hungry for German food after talking about it.
Above is Doug's selection of classic sauerbraten. I made sauerbraten in the seventh or eighth grade as a home ec. project. I remember my mom saying something like, "What's sauerbraten? Why sauerbraten? Why not spagetti?" I saw it in a magazine or newspaper and was drawn to it. Come to think of it, I guess it was destiny.
The restaurant, Old Europe, was in Georgetown. It was a beautiful day for a field trip. I felt like I was in elementary school again. I even wore a skirt instead of my usual jeans. ("You'll behave as you are dressed." I hear my teacher admonishing us. "So dress nicely.") We parked a few blocks away and walked. The waitstaff were all dressed in dirndls - traditional German wear for women. They were adorable. Old Europe was decorated for Christmas which set a nice mood.
There was a round of ordering drinks - glüwein, beer and Spezi (pronounced 'shpaytsee') which is a popular soft drink in Germany. It's rather like a mixture of Coke and orange juice. It's light, sweet and refreshing and, maybe best of all, doesn't taste too bad after the ice melts in it.
I have off all the days between Christmas and New Year's Day. Poor Douglas has to go into the Institute for independent study. I'll still be studying; I've even set goals for myself.
As with all Christmases, I'm trying to write the next great Christmas story. This year I'm working on one about the legend that says on Christmas Eve, at midnight, the animals have the gift of speech. Does anyone out there know any good stories about that legend?
I'm also looking forward to the New Year and considering resolutions. I don't always keep my resolutions, but they usually make an impact in my life. To quote Bill Murray from "What About Bob", "Baby steps, baby steps." I think this year's resolution will have to do with keeping up my writing while I'm studying German. Studying German was a convenient excuse to not post every week or two, but I think I can handle doing two things in my life at one time for crying out loud. You, dear readers, will be the first to know if I succeed.
Here's a picture of our little "Who Tree". What's a Who Tree, you ask? Well, you know the story of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas don't you? Remember all the wacky decorations the Who's in Whoville had? That's our tree.
Merry Christmas from me.
"Prost" from Douglas!
Oh, this brings back German language classes I had years ago at NYU. The Sauerbraten and those dumplings are actually Southern German or Bavarian--at least, the version I see pictured here looks that way. Every region has its own version of this dish and they can be quite different: there's a zillion ways to cook pork, and the guidebook to Germany that I bought in 1997 still holds true: that Germans use every part of the pig "except for the squeal!"
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