Turkish Kebab Makes You Pretty

That’s what the Germans say anyway, “Döner macht schöner!”

Schön* is also a good way to describe our first day in Germany. After a nice rainy drive from Frankfurt we arrived in Trier to be greeted by my very excited sister-, brother-, and father-in-law. And since the Germans toast everything, a proper Anstoß* with a small glass of Sekt* was in order, followed by the obligatory discussion of our flights and layovers while handing out gifts and requested deliveries. It’s funny what is and isn’t available depending on where you live. The 49ers jersey for my brother-in-law wasn’t at all surprising, but having to bring make-up for my sister-in-law was. My personal favorite though is the English crossword puzzles. They were actually a gift for my father-in-law who has been sending me German Kreuzworträtsel* through the mail and in the suitcases of our visitors for a while now, so I thought it only appropriate that I start returning the favor. To let you in on the back story of the crossword puzzles (and help explain the end of this post from 2012), my father-in-law and I have been doing German crossword puzzles together for years to help expand and improve my German.

Next on the agenda was lunch. Not just any lunch mind you, no way. We got a special lunch to celebrate our arrival and that we will be spending the holidays here. Have you ever had Rindfleischsuppe with Markklöschen and Tafelspitz with Remouladensoße? Well if not you are missing my friends! Rindfleischsuppe is a “beef noodle soup” with carrots and chunks of actual beef, and the Markklöschen are mini dumplings that in this case go in the soup. Tafelspitz is boiled beef roast and Remoulade Soße is a sauce to go over the slices of beef made from a basis of the French Remoulade. Absolutely heavenly!

Our jet lag and lack of sleep got to us pretty good once our stomachs were full though, so we took a family nap in bed in preparation for the evenings events. Well rested and showered, we were then ready for the Omas* and Opas* to arrive. Add to that the arrival of my wife’s best friend and her husband and we really had a full house! After a long visit with everybody, the Grandma’s and Grandpa’s packed it in and headed home. Then came yet another thing I have been impatiently waiting for, Döner!

If you don’t know what a Döner is, click here. A simple description doesn’t do it justice though, you have to have one to truly understand the awesomeness. Unfortunately due to my brother-in-law’s recovery from knee surgery we had to skip the tradition of us walking to get them and having a Bitburger while we wait, but hey, life happens. They were still delicious. So, after a long trip and a long day of visiting we finally ran out of gas around 1:00 in the morning. Off to bed we went to crash, and man did we crash hard (which is why I couldn’t finish this post until the next day). It was was a heck of a first day, but it was definitely worth it. Bis zum nächsten mal!

Glossary:
Schön = Nice or pretty
Anstoß = Toast
Sekt = German Sparkling Wine (like Champagne)
Oma = Grandma
Opa = Grandpa