Those who read my blogs know I eat local food wherever I go. This quite
naturally is lobster in Boston and
Speckscholle
or Labskaus in Hamburg. Considering regional food and drink a cultural heritage, I stuck to the habit during my recent trip to Thuringia, where I attended the Thüringer Bachwochen. The evening before our group set out for Bach's birthplace, Eisenach, we had dinner at Zum Schwarzen Bären (the Black Bear), Weimar's oldest inn adjacent to the Elephant Hotel.
Our tour guide had chosen the traditional Thüringer Sauerbraten mit Rotkohl und Thüringer Kartoffelklößen (served with red cabbage and potato dumplings).
The quality of a Sauerbraten solely depends on the quality of the meat and the duration of marinating. Sauerbraten is known throughout Germany, but important regional differences exist in the preparation. In the Rhineland, e.g., they add raisins to the gravy.
The next day in Eisenach, we had nearly no carnal but an over-input of
spiritual food. This meant that the following day back in Weimar, I could
tolerate a
Thüringer Bratwurst
on the market for lunch and a complete meal in the evening.
Traveler whenever you come to Weimar. Do not forget to taste a Thüringer Bratwurst on Weimar's marketplace at Bianka's wurst stand. You will no longer eat a Thüringer in other parts of Germany.
The Thüringer in Weimar is prepared on a charcoal grill and
Bianka serves it on her hand in a bun: simply delicious!
In the evening, I went to the Scharfe Ecke (Sharp Corner) restaurant, where the Kloß-Marie (Dumpling-Mary) greets you at the entrance.
Two of the items on the menu caught my attention. So I opened with a local onion soup (quite different from the one they serve in France) garnished with Thuringian micro dumplings and plum mustard ...
... and continued with a Thüringer Rostbrätel (a marinated cutlet of pig neck, grilled over charcoal) served with roasted onions and (what else?) a dumpling.
I drowned the food with two glasses of Köstritzer Schwarzbier vom Fass. Köstritzer is a local lager running from the tap in most places in Weimar. You may have noticed that I stuck to it during my stay.
Above is the photo of what you get when you order a large beer in the north of Germany, i.e., above the Main river line. You can barely read on the pictured glass containing only 0.4 l of Schwarzbier: Nach dem deutschen Reinheitsgebot, Köstritzer Schwarzbier (According to the German Beer Purity Law - it was initially Bavarian – Dark [black] lager from Köstritz).
The beer of only 0.4 l served in northern Germany is what Southerners call a Preußenhalbe, for when you order a small beer in southern Germany, you already get eine Halbe, i.e., half a liter or 0.5 l.
A similar situation arises for wine. When you order a Viertele in the south, you logically get 0.25 l. However, when you order ein Viertel Wein in the north of Germany, you get only 0.2 l, a Preußen-Viertele as we call it in Baden.
Traveler whenever you come to Weimar. Do not forget to taste a Thüringer Bratwurst on Weimar's marketplace at Bianka's wurst stand. You will no longer eat a Thüringer in other parts of Germany.
The Thüringer in Weimar is prepared on a charcoal grill and
Bianka serves it on her hand in a bun: simply delicious!
In the evening, I went to the Scharfe Ecke (Sharp Corner) restaurant, where the Kloß-Marie (Dumpling-Mary) greets you at the entrance.
Two of the items on the menu caught my attention. So I opened with a local onion soup (quite different from the one they serve in France) garnished with Thuringian micro dumplings and plum mustard ...
... and continued with a Thüringer Rostbrätel (a marinated cutlet of pig neck, grilled over charcoal) served with roasted onions and (what else?) a dumpling.
I drowned the food with two glasses of Köstritzer Schwarzbier vom Fass. Köstritzer is a local lager running from the tap in most places in Weimar. You may have noticed that I stuck to it during my stay.
Above is the photo of what you get when you order a large beer in the north of Germany, i.e., above the Main river line. You can barely read on the pictured glass containing only 0.4 l of Schwarzbier: Nach dem deutschen Reinheitsgebot, Köstritzer Schwarzbier (According to the German Beer Purity Law - it was initially Bavarian – Dark [black] lager from Köstritz).
The beer of only 0.4 l served in northern Germany is what Southerners call a Preußenhalbe, for when you order a small beer in southern Germany, you already get eine Halbe, i.e., half a liter or 0.5 l.
A similar situation arises for wine. When you order a Viertele in the south, you logically get 0.25 l. However, when you order ein Viertel Wein in the north of Germany, you get only 0.2 l, a Preußen-Viertele as we call it in Baden.
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