Day of the Dohlenaze

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This morning after Frühstück (breakfast), I joined our host family for a trip to the Lebensmittel (grocery store), in search of ingredients for an American recipe dinner we planned to cook for the family. I did a Happy Dance in the aisles when I found real "amerikanisch" chili powder, and had general fun shopping in a similar-but-different environment.

One of the most interesting developments was earlier, when I announced I was heading to the store, and LG shrugged and said she'd rather stay back in the apartment with just herself and Anne. First morning! Until now, she hasn't been willing to leave my side for an instant. Wow! Ettlingenweier is working magic already!

Later, we all toured around the super-charming town of Ettlingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg (I think we're in the "Baden" half of that). It has cathedrals, canals, shops, and most importantly, Eiscafés.

Our host family (a friend of mine and her kids and LG and I are staying at said friend's parents' home) has dining habits better suited to summer in the hottest region of Germany (nay, central Europe): big breakfast, light afternoon snack, late dinner just before bed. Today, this translated into an afternoon stop at their favorite Ettlingen Conditorei (pastry shop) for Küchen (cake), Kaffee (coffee) and Eis (you know). I had told LG not to expect Eis every day... that was before Großeltern (grandparents) entered the picture. But it gets better! After we finished our lovely Kaffeetrinken (kinda like afternoon tea), paid, and stood up to leave, Oma (grandmother) announced it was time to go inside and get a scoop of Eis! Ha ha, we just had Eis, funny funny Oma. Except she was completely serious. She and the kids went inside and got single scoops of Eis as their dessert after a meal of... Eis. LG is in hog and/or Monkey heaven at this point.

Did I mention it was frickin' hot in Baden? Hot. Really hot.

We went home for an afternoon siesta, another strategy devised by wise Badeners who know the best way to spend such a hot day is indoors with the windows and shades mostly closed.

After all this, our heavy American-style dinner, which had seemed like such a good idea at the time, didn't go over as well as we hoped... even (especially) with ourselves. Similarly, for some reason, plain sparkling mineral water with no flavoring at all is my favorite drink here in Germany. I got all the equipment to make plain sparkling mineral water at home, thinking this would be a wonderfully healthy and economical habit, and I found that it doesn't taste good to me in the USA. Seriously. I don't know why. German food and drink taste right here, and even well-made American food, well, it doesn't really. Better to save it for home!

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Photos

Dohlenaze
Ettlingeners, especially kids, are referred to by this nickname, the literal meaning of which thus far eludes me but has something to do with splashing in these little waterways.

American food for dinnar
Honestly, probably not the best idea.