After the Jet Lag: My Favorite Things, pt. 15

In remembering my Germany 2019 summer trip, I just wanted to share my VERY FAVORITE things.  My family, friends, and people I re-connected with while in Germany are among them, of course!  But I am talking about things that made my trip even more special - things I love for many reasons - for memory's sake and for just the plain happiness some things give me 

(many of them involve FOOD!!). 

One thing is BAKERIES - and the bread, pastries, and cake varieties they offer. 

And it isn't anything special - it just IS where you get your bread.  It's not a special trip - it is daily life.  You can go to the "bread aisle" in your local grocery store, but why do that when the bakery section is there too - or you can go to the bakery next door?! 

And find bread like this: 

And cake like this:  Streuselkuchen (on the right) - my FAVORITE!!

Which leads me to another favorite:  German breakfast.

Everything from savory to sweet - bread and boiled eggs.

Real butter and fruit preserves!

I love German food in general - for the most part - 

but a hearty breakfast, maybe after you've slept in just a little ... with family around the table =

THE BEST:

And speaking of sleeping ... German beds are also my favorite:

with their lighter summer duvets and heavy, Eiderdown feather beds in the winter...

It's the fluffiest kind of sleeping,

and in the summer, with the windows cracked just a little (or open a lot!), one can relax, breathe deeply and sleep soundly.

Window views lead me to think of gardens - and flowers.

I love the flower shops of Germany - and how inexpensively you can get fresh blooms.

I love German toys.  And while they have all the weird-looking dolls and tech-y toys American children have - and Legos (love them!) and such, my favorite is Playmobil:

I have Playmobil pieces from when I was a kid - and all 3 of my children have accumulated more.

What about traditional clothes - love them! 

 Trachten as they are called:

Dirndls for the girls

and Lederhosen for the boys.

SO CUTE!

And lastly - though not least nor comprehensive - 

I love dining al fresco in the summer time, and not just eating a meal but the 

Eiscafe' with its wonderful treats and coffee varieties:

with Spaghettieis being one of our top favorites!

Since this trip, I have learned to top off most every meal with an espresso.  (Believe it or not, the high and fast boil of its coffee beans and smaller serving size causes the espresso to have 25-50% less caffeine content than a longer cooked cup of coffee, so it may not keep you awake like a cup of Joe!)

Delizioso!

(I know that's Italian, but it sums it up well!)

And I will end this blog post with an espresso as well:

source

Get Ready for Easter, German-style:

I have memories of my mother blowing out eggs to make beautiful hollow shells to hang on some pussy-willow branches in a vase to make a Easter-tree.  I have a cake form from when we lived in Germany to make a little lamb-shaped cake.  And the flowers of Spring ... I would LOVE to visit a German flower shop right now!

Easter's on its way!

Here are some ways to celebrate Germany-style:

source:  https://www.thekitchn.com/german-easter-traditions-229655

source:  https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easter-kugelhopf

source:  https://sincerelysaturday.com/decoupage-easter-eggs/

Vintage German Easter eggs were made of paper-mache' ... the blogger cited above shares her version - inspired by her German mother.  

source

The Lindt gold bunny!

source:  https://www.quick-german-recipes.com/easter-in-germany.html

Easter meal & dessert - from "Just Like Oma" - Quick German Recipes

Traditional German decorations

can be found at Käthe Wohlfahrt shop online:

https://kaethe-wohlfahrt.com/en/World-of-Gifts/Easter-decoration/

Ready for Frühling (Spring)!

We moved to Würzburg, Germany in January of 1996 (and lived there for 3 years).  After the wet-cold and sometimes snowy days of winter, by March, we were ready for SPRING!

The pink cherry blossoms lined the walkways around the Residenz, coloring the recently barren trees, a first sign of the spring season.

The flower beds bloomed with carefully planted tulips and other spring flowers.

Landscaping around all the castle gardens in Germany is so fascinating.  You can just imagine how many hours and how much planning the beautiful patterns and groupings of flowers and greenery takes!

We also ventured up to the Festung (Fortress) Marienberg, which overlooks and protected Würzburg and the Main River.

Its flower garden showed potential, which would soon bloom.

Another favorite place we visited near Würzburg was Werneck, a small town a little north of Würzburg.

The town also has a baroque-style palace, designed by Balthasar Neuman, who also designed the Residenz, both commissioned by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.

The palace was turned into a psychiatric hospital between 1853-55.  It is one of the oldest psychiatric institutions in Germany.  Perhaps the lovely gardens were part of the therapy for many a troubled patient?!

Germans sure do love their flowers, florists, and gardens!

And I do too!

My husband and I lived in a little town just north of Würzburg called Estenfeld.  This little village had charm and history of its own, which I hope to post about another time.

We spent many happy hours walking through and around our little town.  It was a farming community, and springtime was heralded by the smell of Jauche.  Jauche is liquid manure that is spread on the fields as fertilizer, of course. 

Our town was surrounded by fields of yellow rapeseed, a member of the mustard family, used mainly for making canola oil.  But also, sunflowers:

I'm ready for springtime.  How about you?

As a favorite children's song of mine ("Kuckuck, Kuckuck") states:

Frühling!  Frühling!  wird es nun bald.

Spring!  Spring!  will soon be here.