germany - beer

C'mon.  It's Germany.  I had to do it.  The beer there is plentiful...and pretty.

And while in the next photos, it may appear that I am a bad mother...yes, I did let Young Boy taste it.  We were in Germany, for gracious sakes...and, he's never tried it before.  Know what?  Even though he's smiling, he hated it :)  (And those were borrowed mugs, not his own!)

I asked our hostess about drinking beer during the workday (say, on your lunch break) and she said that is quite acceptable.  Go figure.

I didn't partake in any of the golden beverage while we were there...just not my thing.  But I do appreciate the craft...it seemed as if every town had its own special brew.  Tradition...that's cool.

germany - food

Second only to the flowers...the food!  For some reason, I felt the need to photo-document most of our meals.  This proved 2 things.  #1--We ate a lot.  #2--We ate a LOT of sausage.  By my calculation...5 of us were in Germany for 10 days.  If we each ate at least one sausage per day (which I'm positive we all did!) that's more than 50 sausages, people!

Oh, and here's a fun fact that we learned.  "Traditional" German Potato Salad (which we have always served hot in the U.S.) is actually served cold / lukewarm!

Even though the lady is blurry in this photo, it's one of my favorites. The oldest sausage kitchen in Germany...in Regensberg.

Okay, it wasn't all about the sausage, sometimes we had pretzels...

 and ice cream...

 and poppyseed pastries.

Let's not forget the apple strudel!

And while we're on apples...my sweet sister really wanted a fried McDonald's Apple Pie (evidently, they bake them in the States...)

The one thing that I missed while on vacation (well, aside from my entire make-up bag that I forgot at home...) was ice.  I'm not sure why Americans put ice in their drinks, but I sure do appreciate it.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a small Starbucks "problem."  In Munich, I found a Starbucks...and ice.

Young Boy found a new cola, Schwip Schwap.

Pork cutlet cordon bleu.

Homemade NOODLES.

Beef with the tastiest horseradish sauce, boiled potatoes, carrots & onions...mmm.

The BEST meals were homemade by our lovely hostess Gini.  Cooking is a passion for her and her food tasted amazing!  Traditional German Potato Balls and Cabbage Salad with Bacon.

This Strawberry Cake with Meringue-like top melted in your mouth!

And, Homemade Spaetzle.  This dinner was so scrumptious!

For the meals in Gini's home, she set the table with white linen napkins and beautiful silver napkin rings.  I'm pretty sure that she's the German-version of Martha Stewart!  Such a gracious and talented soul.

Oh wait, found another sausage picture!

germany - flowers

My absolute favorite part of the trip?  The FLOWERS.  Everywhere.  From the tiny villages to the bigger cities, the flower boxes were brimming.  And the gardens...oh, the gardens!

 

   

  
   I got the prize for the most geranium photos.

germany - family

 We just returned from a ten-day holiday in Germany.  For a gal that's never been outside of the U.S., it was a pretty big deal!  Will share bits & pieces in the next few (photo-heavy) posts.

 When we arrived, we were greeted by our cousins (for real, my mom has been corresponding with them on the internet for quite some time.)

 Little did we know what wonderful, sweets hosts and lovely friends they would become.  They welcomed us into their home from the moment we arrived, cooked amazing meals for us and toured us around to so many gorgeous places...they treated us like family from the get-go.  Warmest thanks, Mani & Gini...thanks to you, it was a trip of a lifetime!