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German ice cream…

It’s funny when I type “German ice cream”, I’m reminded of the job I spent four summers doing at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.  I worked in the German Ice Cream shop.  I cashiered, capped strawberries, served soft serve ice cream, and made waffle cones.  The first two years, I wore ugly fake lederhosen, complete with culottes, knee socks (which I never pulled up) and shirts with lederhosen straps sewn to them.  The first year I worked there, the straps were not sewn on and that turned out to be an occupational hazard, since we had an unused frozen yogurt machine that had parts that stuck out on it.  More than once, one of my straps got hooked on that thing.  The second two years, females were outfitted in dirndls.  I liked the dirndls better, since it was easier to use the restroom and I could wear my own shorts under the skirt.  The only thing bad about them was that I am a bit well endowed, so that dress made me look like I was selling something milky besides soft serve ice cream.  My boobs were busting out, if you know what I mean.

All day, I listened to polka music… the same damn six or eight songs over and over again all day and every summer.  The polka music got on my nerves, because one of the songs had a flat note in it.  I seemed to be the only one who noticed it.  It’s been about 16 years since I last visited Busch Gardens, but I think they still play the same music, or so some of my local friends have told me.

This is the music I listened to for four summers…  It was a little like being trapped in a Lawrence Welk style nightmare.

Now that I live in the actual country of Germany again, I get to enjoy real German ice cream.  That was one thing I loved about living here last time because Germans put Americans to shame when it comes to this frozen treat.  Go to any German Eis Cafe and order a sundae and you will get an incredible creation that will blow your mind.

An example of “German Eis” at a cafe…  They get a lot fancier than this.

Hell, go to the store and buy some ice cream.  They come in plastic containers here and you will find all manner of different flavors designed specifically for self-indulgent adults.  Sometimes, you can even find ice cream with booze in it.

Two flavors in our freezer: Black Forest and Triple Chocolate…  Black Forest is my favorite!

 

Look at that!  When was the last time you saw American ice cream in a container that looks all decorative?

 

Yes, this is vanilla ice cream with “Eierlikor”– Egg liqueur.  And yes, egg liqueur is an adult beverage.

A close up of the Triple Chocolate…

 

Now, I don’t eat a lot of ice cream.  Every once in awhile, I get in the mood for a little dessert, but it happens less than once a week.  But when I do want ice cream, it’s nice to have some that isn’t for kids.  When I am in the USA, I can make ice cream.  Here in Germany, I am content to purchase it and give a big present to my ass.

Tomorrow starts my big trip to Virginia, so stay tuned for new hotel reviews… and probably a fair amount of bitching.

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Baden-Württemberg

Super cheap eats in Kemnat…

Last night, Bill and I decided to eat dinner in town because he was super tired from his trip to Chad and we didn’t really have much in the apartment by the way of dinner fixings.  It appears that the two main restaurants, Hermes and Krone, were closed last night.  They probably went on vacation, as is very common for restaurant folks to do in Germany during August.  They just close up for two or three weeks and recharge.  Personally, I think that’s a great thing.  I’ve worked in restaurants and they can be pretty horrible if you want to have a life outside of work.  I think it’s very healthy that restaurant owners in Germany take a break.  Ultimately, it’s probably healthier for their patrons, too.

But given that we were in need of food last night, we had to find somewhere to dine.  We ended up at a little hole in the wall bar/bistro obviously owned by Greeks.  There were two rowdy tables of older folks there, holding court, drinking beer, and smoking.  And when we walked in, the proprietor very kindly greeted us as we chose a table toward the back (away from the smoke).

At first, it seemed a little awkward in there… almost like we were crashing a party.  But the regulars were actually very nice and eventually seemed kind of welcoming.  One said “Guten appetit!” on his way to the restroom.  And talk about cheap eats!  Everything on the menu was priced at 5.50.

No frills eats!

This is what we got when we ordered the gyros! 

 

I wasn’t able to eat all of this… and it was a little saltier than I like it.  On the other hand, for 5.50 euros, it was quite a bargain and it was pretty good considering how cheap it was!  We each enjoyed a couple of beers, which were also very reasonably priced.  I can see why the locals like this place so much.  I left there reeking of cigarette smoke, but I’d go back for the atmosphere.  There was a large TV on the wall behind us tuned to action movies with Greek subtitles.

On the way back, we stopped at Netto!, the local mini mart, to pick up some Viennetta.  I took a photo of the mural on the building opposite the store.

 

The mini mart was interesting.  They had a lot of beer, wine, frozen foods, and a small produce section.  One could also purchase hard liquor there.  And there was a lady ahead of us who was apparently determined to pay entirely in small change!

And this very pretty traditional building, that appears to be part of a church…

 

We came back to the apartment with our ice cream treat.  I always get a thrill in Germany when we find Viennetta.  It used to be available in the United States and was marketed by Breyer’s.  Now it’s marketed by Unilever.  One thing Europeans do right is ice cream.

Yum!

Bill is without a rental car right now, so I guess we’ll be holed up in the apartment again today.  Bummer.  But at least we now know where a good local dive is for super cheat eats!

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