I {heart} Madrid

Favorite architecture

 plaza at 10:30 pm

Yeah, it's been awhile... What can I say, my trip to Madrid inspired me to write again. Four days of seeing as much as possible of the city and a few nearby towns gave me plenty to think about and so much that I want to remember. There is so much to love about Spain... Our visit to Andaluza in March was fantastic and I figured that the laid-back feeling of the area was partly due to its reputation as a vacation spot-- or the other way around? But Madrid is a huge city, with lots of residents and tourists, and yet it is still as laid-back as the south! I don't know if there's one specific thing that makes the city so great, it's the combination of the people, culture, architecture, and how easy it is to get around. I can easily relate to the Spanish lifestyle, you know how some people feel like they've been born into the wrong gender? I feel like I was born into the wrong nationality. I don't understand 'morning people,' it's a concept so difficult for me actually that I've been struggling with it ever since I can remember and more recently have had issues at almost every single job I've had, and those who can go right to sleep at 9 or 10 each night, just the idea of it gives me anxiety. It's because I should have been a Spaniard! The streets and plazas are actually busier later at night, it seems like the place is just getting going at 10:30-11:00 when most other places would be shutdown. And the language is so lovely. To think how different my life could have been if I'd been born in Spain...

Erdbeeren! at Pauls Bauernhof

My first time picking my own berries! I think the last time I had German strawberries I was pretty disappointed and figured that no one could beat California's heirloom varieties, but these proved me wrong! I ended up with about 5 lbs of berries for under 4 euro (so a little over $4)! I can't wait to get more to try out some new recipes. This time around I made strawberry crumb bars (with only one variation: I added 1/2 cup more berries and only used 1/2 cup sugar), and a strawberry balsamic salad.

For the salad, I combined two different recipes: strawberry balsamic salad and Martha Stewart's arugula salad with strawberries. I added a generous tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to the chopped strawberries and let them sit while I made the rest of the salad. For the salad dressing, I used the first recipe but cut the quantity by half because I knew we wouldn't use it all. Also, I didn't want to use up my last 1/2 cup of olive oil! It worked out well—the dressing would work on any kind of salad or even as a marinade.



So here's my recipe (for 2 servings):

Dressing:
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped*
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

*I used a green onion, which was what I had on hand. I think red onion would work also.
Combine all ingredients in a blender until oil is emulsified. 

Strawberries:
1 pint (2 cups) chopped berries
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary (optional)



In a medium sized bowl, mix 1 pint (2 cups) of chopped strawberries with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp rosemary, and let sit. (I actually had enough strawberries leftover for lunch the next day—don't skimp on it like I did, it's better with a generous helping.)

Salad:

2-3 cups of arugula
1 handful of chopped almonds
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Tear or roughly chop arugula and add to salad bowls. Add a teaspoon or two of salad dressing to each bowl. Spoon strawberry mixture on top and add crumbled goat cheese. Finally, sprinkle chopped almonds on top. (It's pretty easy to chop almonds with a very sharp knife. Cup your hand over the nuts while chopping to prevent almonds from flying all over your counter.)

Remembering...

I was just thinking about Memorial day stuff... I was going to post some photos on facebook but didn't want to get all sappy and in everyone's face about this stuff.

Usually it's a day to hang out with friends, have a cookout, have fun. Usually people don't spend a lot of time at cemeteries remembering those we've lost. For some reason this year I'm thinking about my grandfather. Well, actually it's because my great-uncle (my grandfather's brother) recently and unexpectedly passed away. I realized too late that we never talked about my grandfather, I never heard any of their stories growing up and all.

When people talk about freedom and sacrifice and war, I never realized how much this affected me personally until recently. My grandfather's choice to join the Army and serve in WWII had a huge impact on three generations. My grandmother became a widow at 28 years old, while pregnant with my mom. My mom grew up never having met her father. I'm living in Germany, probably not far from where he was killed, not knowing too much about him at all. 

So I guess when people talk about the cost of war, I know a little about what that means. This Memorial Day I'm remembering my grandfather and thinking about all those other children around the world growing up without a father, and all those young widows raising children on their own.

Fall Travels, Part 1- Brussels

ceiling in basement bar at Delirium

So I wanted to get up to date on the latest travels this Fall. In September we went to Brussels, saw a soccer game (US vs Belgium--Belgium won but the US was totally cheated out of a goal, so it should have been a tie). Highlights include going to a beer festival, visiting the Chocolate Museum, going to the Delirium Bar which serves over a thousand types of beer (or was it 2,000?) and has 3 different floors. It's a really cool place.

I just remembered a funny thing that happened when we were in the Delirium bar. The three of us, Frank, Ryan, and me, were sitting at the bar and Frank was showing Ryan pictures of himself when he had his mustache. Suddenly, these three French kids who were walking by stop and start talking to Frank, all excited because of his mustache photos. They we're like, "Hey!! That's awesome!!" "We used to have mustaches, too!" Who knew that dudes bonded over their facial hair. I guess girls do similar things. So anyway, we were all talking to them for a while but not in French. They were not impressed with my language skills at all.

Atomium

Yes, Brussels has good food and beer. Waffles, frites, etc. It was my first time having mussels-- they were good. I thought they tasted like the ocean. We stocked up on stuff at Carrefour on our way home-- beer, chocolate and Speculoos cookies.
Apparently it's a known fact that Brussels, or Belgium in general, has terrible weather. We got a lot of rain and crazy windiness. I think this is a cosmic lesson for me to learn, how to just get over it already when the weather sucks. (It happened in Greece also, which I'll write about in Fall Travels, Part 2.)

What happened to the summer?

Set of Andre Chenier at Bregenz

Well, I've really been terrible with keeping this blog updated. Honestly it's because Tumblr is so distracting and then I joined Pinterest and that's pretty distracting too. That's where I've been spending my online time. Anyway, what I'm wondering is where was the summer? I guess I was expecting more summery weather but mostly it seemed to rain a lot. Now I have to brace myself for another winter, short days, gray skies. Ugh. Oh, I was going to do a quick recap of what I've been doing since this summer but too much happened so it won't be quick at all. (Maybe I should break it down by cities?)

In May we went back to the States for a wedding, then I got kind of stranded there waiting for a space-available flight back here. It's tricky doing that alone in the summer, or any busy traveling season. I got to visit with a lot of friends which was great. So I ended up staying with my mom for about 4 weeks, and arrived back to Germany just in time for my in-laws' visit. I got homesick for my temporary home which sounds pretty weird. Mostly because I missed Frank. But driving in DC/MD is beyond what I want to deal with. Plus you have to drive so slow there!

So in June, with Frank's parents, we traveled a lot. We went to Pula, Croatia, which is a little beach town on the Adriatic. Reminded me of Monterey and 17 mile drive in some places-- they have the same cypress trees. Went to a couple different cities on the coast, Rovinji was one-- so pretty. It's like Italy except cheaper and less crowded. Some interesting adventures there. Driving through the wooded hills and mountains of Croatia in a Russian 4x4, we got to see a cave and actually a really great view of the sea from the top of a hill. It was anticlimactic because we spent about 3-4 hours in that thing. Actually it was a good bonding experience with the family.  We also took them to Strasbourg, Heidelberg and spent a bit of time downtown in Wiesbaden (on the hottest day of the year!).

I had about two days to recover from all that traveling to prepare for more traveling! This time with my family. I hadn't seen my brother for about 2 years so I was excited to see him. My mom, well, I just spent 4 weeks with her! (Just kidding, Mom, if you're reading this.) So my mom planned one of the most ambitious tours probably in the history of family vacations. Of course I kept thinking about National Lampoon's European Vacation. It wasn't like that at all. I think I drove about 2000 miles total. Three weeks of travel with about 2 days in between the West leg and East leg of the trip to rest. We went to Amsterdam, Brugges, some little town in Luxembourg and then to Nurnburg, Munich, and a little town near Bregenz, Austria. My GPS stopped working as soon as we left Germany because I didn't have the right maps loaded. It was kind of a nightmare, especially driving in Amsterdam, where they apparently invented the GPS and if you driven there you know what I'm talking about. My bro subbed in as a human GPS for a little while. This was my burden to deal with on the trip, driving and the GPS. My mom and brother both had their own dramas going on too. So that was fun. You have no idea how much appreciation and admiration I have now for tour guides, or anyone who has to plan these kinds of trips-- it's not for amateurs.

In Bregenz we saw the annual opera, Festspiel, I think they call it. I saw a web cam photo of the set being built months before and was determined to find my way there. They build the set into the lake so it looks like it's floating. We saw Andre Chenier, which I've never heard of before, but it was great, even without english subtitles and no intermission and outside in the rain. It was the most amazing set ever. It was a giant bust inspired by the painting, Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat (in his bath) by Jacques-Louis David, which I've always thought was a beautiful painting in a very morbid way. So it all tied in with the opera which was about the French Revolution-- Marat being an important figure during that time. Anyway, this was our last event of the trip and a major highlight for me. I can't wait to see what they do next summer.

I have to go now, to recover from a cold so I can get ready for more traveling next week!

German-Mexican Cuisine or, Why on Earth would you go to a Mexican restaurant in Germany?

Che says: Viva la Umdrehung???

I haven't been keeping up with this blog as much as I'd planned. Partly because I find this interface frustrating to use and partly because I keep starting to write posts and then lose interest due to my short attention span. (Wah wah wah) Anyway, I do have some slightly interesting things to discuss, mainly relating to food and restaurants. (again.) Coincidentally, Mexican for Cinco de Mayo. (Not planned.)

So far our restaurant and food experience here has ranged from excellent to bizarre to terrible. I have found, after our second attempt dining at a Latin-American restaurant, that the Germans don't understand this genre of food. For all the food they do well the mixture of tomato, corn, cheese, in its variations forms, must be a bewildering and mysterious combination for them.

One of the first restaurants we went to when we got to Wiesbaden was a place called El Paso. I wondered about the naming choice. Maybe not coincidental that one of the few brands of salsa they have here is Old El Paso. I remember thinking, how interesting that there are Mexicans in Germany. Well, no, it was run by Germans. So when you get a burrito filled with mozzarella cheese instead of authentic queso, I guess it's more understandable. At a party I'd overheard someone say, "Don't order nachos here, they'll give you Doritos with tomato sauce on them." That was good advice and an accurate description of the "Mexican" cuisine here.

Last Friday we decided to check out a restaurant down the street from us called "Havana." I'm wondering, again, what the connection is between Cuba and Germany. Maybe they have a communist/ socialist connection, if that's possible. (Well, as far as some are concerned they are the same.) Are they on good terms with Fidel? They must be at least ok because you can buy Cuban cigars here. With a name like Havana you'd expect some kind of Cuban or Caribbean style food, but when you walk by the place and see a statue of a man in a sombrero, you should know that this is going to be another misguided attempt at Latin-American food. We should have known.  The confused mish-mash of Che Guevara, cacti, Cohiba cigars and men in sombreros in their decorating scheme should really clue us all in to what we are about to experience— the most inauthentic Cuban food in the Western Hemisphere. Of course the menu is in German so while we can figure out some things, we are limited by our remedial knowledge of the language. However, it would be a mystery regardless of authenticity. Although I think I would know Kubaner schwarze Bohnen if I saw it, and there were no Cuban black beans to be found.

Despite all my criticisms about authenticity and the food's lack thereof, it was not a bad meal at all-- much better than El Paso. My dish included marinated grilled chicken on skewers with "tomato mash," seasoned mixed vegetables and green salad. Tomato mash was included with many of the dishes and we all were curious about it. I was sure it would most definitely not be salsa in a form I would recognize, and it wasn't, but it wasn't bad at all. (I was expecting tomato paste straight out of the can.)The vegetables were similar to what you may get in a Indian restaurant and, again, not bad. The Huhn (chicken) was fantastic. I think the mojitos were the most authentic thing there and they did those well.

So, you can't assume that the name of a restaurant is going to be any indication of the type of food they serve. It's useful to look up restaurant reviews as well. Each place I've gone to based on positive reviews has been very good.

It still remains a mystery to me that these restaurants can't figure out some basic Latin-American recipes, because they have the basic ingredients available to them—including tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic, hot peppers, even avocados (that's guacamole right there!). Maybe certain types of foods are just too different for the German palate to handle. Although there are plenty of exotic flavors here— Indian, Thai, Moroccan, Persian, Ethiopian—maybe Tex-Mex is just beyond their grasp.

I've told some friends already how much I miss Chipotle. I attempted to duplicate some of their food a few weeks ago, actually. It was pretty good, but nothing beats the convenience of going down the street and getting a burrito bol any time you want.

Mayfest! and travel plans

official Mayfest dancer

Well, so far I am really impressed with the weather here in Germany! Around this time last year I was hangin' in my Monterey home wearing at least two sweaters at the same time. (The coldest winter I ever had was the summer I spent in Monterey. Mark Twain might have said that, or something like it.) This is some consistent weather—like, weeks straight of 60-70º temps! (Not like MD-DC schizo-weather: 50º one day, 95º the next.) 

Anyway, this past weekend we went to Maifest. I don't know much about the traditions behind it, just that it's a great excuse to be outside, to drink and have fun. The festival we went to was held near Ginsheim-Gustavsburg on a little island. We had to take a ferry to get there which I thought was sort of funny since it took less than 10 minutes to get across the river. I kept wondering, why not just build a bridge? My friend replied: they don't want to put the ferry people out of business.

I tried apfelwein/ Ebbelwei (not sure of the spelling), which is popular in this area of the country. It's ok, almost like apple juice that went bad, but with lemon soda mixed in it was pretty good. Some people call it 'cider' but it's not quite fizzy enough, and doesn't have the same bite to it.

We observed Germans in a relaxed environment which was much more interesting than the Fasching people-watching, where they just say "hallo" over and over again. We also listened to a German rock band play American songs, mostly from the 80s in English. I guess I expected something more German, like some traditional drinking songs. If I closed my eyes I could have been at any crappy state fair. Ok, it wasn't so bad really, they were good singers and musicians. The food was pretty good, standard bratwurst and whatever they call french fries.

Travel plans: 
This weekend we're taking our bicycle tour of Amsterdam—so excited! I am pretty sure I remember how to ride a bike. Frank actually got a super cool one last weekend. We've been talking about getting them to ride around town, since there are some nice bike trails here and we're in a pretty bike-friendly city. Luckily for me our trip on Saturday includes a bike rental, because I haven't really been shopping for one… at all. I wanted to see how I did with this tour first. (Like, if I don't fall off and break my head, I will be up for buying a bike.)

I was also informed today that we're going to Greece in November. I cannot wait!! I had mixed feelings about this trip because of the reason we were going: Frank signed up for the Athens marathon. I recall hearing that the first guy to run a "marathon" (from the city Marathon to Athens?) dropped dead right after. Of course he didn't have Power Gel, and Gatorade, and probably didn't know about 'carb loading' either. Also, after the Marine Corps Marathon Frank ran in a few years ago, he swore he would never do it again. Now he says after this one he won't ever do it again. This one is a pretty big deal, and will be cool to talk about, but when people swear to things I tend to take it seriously. Mostly I like to remind them about it later. (And I will!)