On our first day of touring, we took a cruise down the Rhine river to the town of Boppard. It was an adorable little place (the first of many that we visited), with a picturesque town square, old houses, and cobblestone-lined streets.
Our tour guide, Miki, turned us loose for a few hours to enjoy lunch. And thus, we were left to our own devices.
Picking a restaurant in a foreign country can be... daunting at times. You have to know what you're in the mood for, and you have to be able to understand the menu. Fortunately, as Boppard is largely a tourist spot, many of the menus were written in both German and English. We settled upon a restaurant with views of the square, walked in, and seated ourselves. (That's one thing to note: In Germany, you don't need to wait around to be led to a table. You are expected to come in and sit wherever you desire.) Many people enjoy dining outside. But it was a little overcast, so we went indoors.
After glancing at the menu for a few minutes, I found exactly what I wanted: Potato Gratin. Potatoes are hugely popular in Germany, and it's very possible to stumble across potatoes in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These potatoes, however, were smothered in cheeses, sprinkled with herbs, and served in a sizzling cast iron (?) dish.
This was, perhaps, the best potato gratin I have ever tasted. The potatoes were not only blanketed with cheeses, but also simmering in a cream sauce (yum!). I am drooling just remembering the rich, creamy taste of the potatoes and cheese, all mingling together. It was potato heaven.
The gratin also came with a salad.
Most people know that I am not much of a salad person. But if I lived in Germany, I might become one. Unlike restaurants in the US, restaurants in Germany do not ask you what kind of dressing you want. While some of you may be thinking that this lack of choice would be an issue, never fear. Literally, every single dressing in Germany is delicious!
I have no idea what this one was. It was creamy, with a hint of a dill taste. The cool crispness of the salad was a nice contrast to the warm heaviness of my gratin, and I was quite glad that they served them together.
Ultimately, I was unable to finish either the gratin or the salad (Germany is not stingy with portion size!), but I left with a very full tummy.
The next lunch of note was eaten a few days later, on our way from Lubeck to Berlin. I was particularly disappointed, however, because we we drove for about an hour after leaving Lubeck, only to stop at a rest-stop-esque location for lunch. Since we had just been in the very charming city of Lubeck, it would have been nice to have been able to eat there. But it turned out fine. (Mostly because I was hungry, and would have eaten almost anything!)
There were quite a lot of choices, but I went for a classic tomato and mozzarella sandwich, vanilla pudding with strawberries, and water. Granted, this was a safe choice. I mean, how can you mess up a tomato and mozzarella sandwich? But, it was just what I needed to get me through the day.
In fact, it was too much. But again, I left happy and ready to tackle the rest of the bus ride to Berlin!
Two days later, I found myself in the picturesque town of Dresden. Although the city center was completely destroyed during WWII, today's Dresden is both beautiful and charming.
Again, we were given time to explore the city, which used to be a World Heritage Site before being dropped due to the construction of a certain bridge, and find lunch.
I was particularly hungry this day, and thus, sought out a filling meal. On recommendation from our tour guide, we arrived at a lovely yellow restaurant and seated ourselves outside. The sun was shining, and we were eager to take advantage of the nice weather.
The menu was rather large, but I soon singled in on my choice: a savory crepe.
Some of you may be sweet crepe people. Some of you may be savory crepe people. I can be both, though I tend to lean towards the sweet side. But this was lunch, and I was hungry. So savory it was.
This crepe was filled with chicken, mushrooms, and carrots in a red whine sauce. I suppose the greenery on the right side of the plate was supposed to be a salad, but I completely ignored it. There was no way I was going to waste a single inch of my stomach capacity when I had that crepe to attend to. :)
I think I was a little over-full at the end of this meal, but it was worth it.
The very next day we were in Leipzig for lunch. On this occasion, I split my meal into two parts. Part one was an order of fries from a street vendor.
I don't think you can leave Germany without eating Pommes, as they're called. These were fried freshly upon order, served with mayonnaise and topped with an adorable flag!
Since I was trying to be a true German, I skipped out on the ketchup and tried them with mayo. It was definitely a different taste. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I think I prefer ketchup (or nothing) over mayonnaise. Regardless, the fries were seasoned perfectly, and really didn't need a sauce anyway.
Part two was when we stopped at an Italian restaurant. It's true. Italian food actually has taken over the entire world. They seem to love it in Germany just as much as we love it here! But I think theirs is quite a bit better.
I ordered something called Pizza Brot (AKA Pizza Bread). I didn't exactly know what it was, but hey, traveling is all about new experiences, right?!
This was a very simple concept- dough and sauce. But the flavors were so much more complex. The sauce was light, with a nice blend of herbs and garlic. It coated the thin, crispy bread perfectly, making for an almost airy feeling. Everyone actually really liked this, and I would want to try to make it at home. My only reservation is that sadly, I do not have a brick pizza oven in my kitchen, which I think made all of the difference when baking this pie.
A few days later, on our way from Nuremberg to Munich, we spent some time in the storybook town of Rothenburg. After climbing to the top of the town's cathedral and shopping in the best Christmas shop ever, we had lunch at the only place that advertised sandwiches. It was such a painful experience.
The inside was kind of dumpy, but we didn't have a lot of time to look for another place, so we settled for it. It wasn't until after our orders had been placed that I realized what a bad choice this was.
I had ordered a barbecue chicken sandwich. Simple, right? Wrong. Every step of this process was an effort. Each piece of lettuce was placed on the bun one at a time. I wanted to pull my hair out.
In the end, all of that effort (or perceived effort, because I can't imagine it's that challenging to make a sandwich) wasn't really even worth it. The sandwich was nothing special.
I was glad to move on.
The last lunch of the trip, however, ended on a high note. We were in the Black Forest Area, visiting Neuschwanstein castle. (The BEST castle, ever!) After a tour of the castle, we walked down to the village (which was laden with tourists) and ate lunch at the restaurant Miki had reserved for us.
I chose the Cheese Spaetzel, a dish I hadn't yet had during my time in Germany.
Do you like Mac and Cheese? Then you would like this. Although that's the best comparison I can make, this was definitely it's own unique dish. The spaetzel were a little doughy, and the cheese was thick (as opposed to a more liquidy sauce in some mac and cheeses). The little crunchies on top were fried onions. Awesome, right?
It was warm and filling- perfect for the off-and-on rain and cool temperatures we were experiencing. I'm glad to have tried it, and I wish I could have lingered over it for a little longer. But I guess I'll just have to plan another trip to Germany to do that!
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