Cultural Learnings
Spent last week in Erding, Bavaria - where we used to live. Thanks Chris, Emily, Katina and Ellie for putting us up / putting up with us! Key cultural learnings are as follows:
1. When making a Chinese stir-fry, the tofu and vegetables should be cut into sharp shapes, i.e. triangles. The peppers should be cut on the slant to give a wedge-shape, rather than the squared-off lumps that I tend to do. This is presumably important for the overall feng shui of the meal... Tofu is also better fried in plenty of oil for plenty of time: I have been chronically undercooking it. Must get some of that Teriyaki sauce as well, which when mixed up with garlic, ginger, etc. makes a much better flavour than just dousing it with soy sauce.
2. If you find yourself tempted to have a drink at the pool bar at Therme Erding, don't order a half litre of Weissbier. Stick to something that combines better with swimming.
3. The restaurant in the Schöner Turm is very nice, and they do an interesting mixture of Bavarian and Thai food (if you can imagine that), but they do have a tendency to close the kitchen early if you take 4 excitable young ladies who rampage through about 6 plates of bread, steal further supplies from surrounding tables, and pretend to be aliens by balancing knives on their foreheads.
4. Gluehwein at the local Christmas market is now served in a cup shaped like a little boot. Not sure if this is progress or not. I tend to think not. But I definitely prefer the little Erding market to the enormously crowded one in Munich itself.
5. If you pack your suitcase full of Lebkuchen, Weihnachtsschokolade and other goodies for the trip home, and then entrust it to the tender mercies of British Airways baggage handlers, don't expect them to remain uncrushed.
6. Don't waste time vaguely pondering how nice it would be to get the hell out of South-East England for another few years in this pleasant corner of Europe...
1. When making a Chinese stir-fry, the tofu and vegetables should be cut into sharp shapes, i.e. triangles. The peppers should be cut on the slant to give a wedge-shape, rather than the squared-off lumps that I tend to do. This is presumably important for the overall feng shui of the meal... Tofu is also better fried in plenty of oil for plenty of time: I have been chronically undercooking it. Must get some of that Teriyaki sauce as well, which when mixed up with garlic, ginger, etc. makes a much better flavour than just dousing it with soy sauce.
2. If you find yourself tempted to have a drink at the pool bar at Therme Erding, don't order a half litre of Weissbier. Stick to something that combines better with swimming.
3. The restaurant in the Schöner Turm is very nice, and they do an interesting mixture of Bavarian and Thai food (if you can imagine that), but they do have a tendency to close the kitchen early if you take 4 excitable young ladies who rampage through about 6 plates of bread, steal further supplies from surrounding tables, and pretend to be aliens by balancing knives on their foreheads.
4. Gluehwein at the local Christmas market is now served in a cup shaped like a little boot. Not sure if this is progress or not. I tend to think not. But I definitely prefer the little Erding market to the enormously crowded one in Munich itself.
5. If you pack your suitcase full of Lebkuchen, Weihnachtsschokolade and other goodies for the trip home, and then entrust it to the tender mercies of British Airways baggage handlers, don't expect them to remain uncrushed.
6. Don't waste time vaguely pondering how nice it would be to get the hell out of South-East England for another few years in this pleasant corner of Europe...
Labels: germany
