Eating Like A Queen

Germany was already impressing me with its beautiful scenery and the plastic bottle deposits that result in absolutely no trash alongside the autobahn or randomly in fields of grass...but there is yet another thing to add to the list of reasons why I am falling more in love with this country each day.  Food is so cheap!  Let me clarify...by food I do not mean french fries, hamburgers containing mystery meat, or pre-packaged food with little to no nutritional value.  I mean fresh vegetables and fruit, meat containing no growth hormones, bread without artificial ingredients or preservatives, and milk without antibiotics.  Oh and the coolest part is that on milk and eggs...and probably some other food items as well...there is a stamp that tells you which farm the product came from so you can literally get in your car and drive to the farm.  Yesterday Patrick and I went to the grocery store to buy things for dinner and for the rest of the week and it only cost TEN EUROS!  We bought chicken breasts, salad greens, tomatoes, fresh mozarella, shredded cheese, peaches, multigrain wraps, sour cream, and some dessert.  It's crazy how in the US it costs almost $6 for a gallon of organic milk when you can buy it in Germany for less than 2 euros.  It blows my mind how the things that are necessary in life like food and toiletries cost so much in the US...we need to hop aboard the smart train and start following in Germany's footsteps because life is a lot less stressful when you can actually afford to buy food! 

Aside from buying fresh ingredients to make all of my favorite meals that I was eating in the US, I've also had the opportunity to try some German\Bavarian things!  A few days ago Patrick's mom made an Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce and it was INCREDIBLE.  

It's a pastry filled with apples and it is definitely worth trying if you are ever in Germany!!!  His mom (Sabine) also made a Schweinebraten for the whole family which is roasted pork in a gravy and she served it with potato dumplings.  She was so sweet and made chicken for me to eat with the gravy and dumplings since I'm not a fan of pork. 

It's a Bavarian dish and one of Patrick's favorites...he always misses it when he is away from home for a long time.  It tasted so good and like most food I've tried so far...fresh!!  Some other things I  really love here are Apfelschorle or any schorle...it's 100% juice mixed with sparkling water.  For the most part I'm finding that Germans always drink sparkling or bubbly water.  The yogurt here is delicious and I'm always overwhelmed in the grocery store because there are SO many different kinds...an entire wall devoted to yogurts.  It's like a dreamland.  This brand is one of my favorites...so many flavors of yogurt and so many toppings to go in it! 

Oh and the cereal!  SOOOO many varieties of müsli!!  Again, I'm overwhelmed when trying to pick one out...full grain, less sugar, fruit, chocolate...everything you can imagine!

mmm love me some Dr. Oetker!  So to summarize on the food...I love having so many fresh and healthy things at my fingertips!  Even the not-so-healthy indulgences like apfelstrudel are made from such fresh ingredients that you don't feel guilty splurging every once and a while!  I can't wait to continue trying new things!!

So my first week in Germany has been a complete success and I'm really looking forward to the new adventures I will be having.  Staying with Patrick has been amazing since I didn't see him for the entire summer but I will be moving in with my au pair family on September 14th.  I get to meet them on Thursday morning though which should be great...can't wait to see who I'll be spending a lot of my time with!  The only things I am struggling with so far in Germany are the language (which is to be expected) and the computer keyboard. 

So if you are ever talking to me on facebook chat and I am taking ten years to respond it's probably not because I am busy...I probably can't figure out how to make an exclamation point or something. 

Until next time...tschüss!

WAS LOS?! WAS LOS?!

Yeaaahhhhh....finally in Germany!!!  After having my first flight changed at the last minute and missing a flight in Paris I finally made it to my boyfriend in Frankfurt.  He had apples, granola bars, and a giant bottle of water waiting for me in the backseat along with a blanket and pillows in case I wanted to sleep...such a sweet one!


My first full day in Germany was AWESOME!  It was so nice waking up in the Heining house...felt like home!  I had breakfast with Patrick and his brother, Thorsten, and then we headed to Starnberg (3 hours away) where Patrick's apartment is.  After dropping off our stuff we were on our way...to...BLINK 182!!!!!!!!  I had been waiting for this moment for so stinking long.  I was so bummed when Blink broke up because I hadn't seen them in concert...so when they got back together I was stoked to finally get a chance!  However, I had just moved to Australia when they got back together so I completely missed their US comeback tour.  Thank goodness they decided to head to Europe :)


Me, Thorsti, Patz, and Fabi (Patrick's best friend) made our way to the Chiemsee Rocks Festival where Madsen, Billy Talent, and BLINKKKK played.  It sort of felt like home aside from the beautiful mountains surrounding us and the giant pretzels, schnitzel, and bratwurst being sold by every vendor.  As soon as we got to the festival there were drunk people EVERYWHERE.  There was a small grocery store near the entrance of the festival and so many drunk kids were inside buying last minute supplies of beer and food.  Once we got inside...at around 4 pm...the 5 hour countdown began until Blink hit the stage.  We watched some other bands while we waited and hung out in the biergarten (beer garden).  The coolest thing at the festival was that when you buy a drink it comes in a large plastic cup and if you return this cup you get a 1 euro deposit.  So Patz found 7 cups that people had dropped by accident and we were all able to buy water...free drinks!  This idea is so genius...I don't know why we don't do it in the US...it's so much better for the environment! 

Finally 9pm rolled around and Blink hit the stage.  I don't know any other word to describe it besides...AMAZING.  After they played their first three songs Mark Hoppus paused the show for a bit to point out that one of the guys in the front row had been to every concert on their European tour.  So what does Mark Hoppus do?  HE GAVE THE KID HIS BASS GUITAR!!!  How freaking awesome.  I would have passed out from excitement.  Patz is 6 foot 3 so he kept picking me up during my favorite songs so I could get a perfect view of the stage.  SO.MUCH.FUN!!!  The crowd was pretty tame for the most part until this drunk German girl decided she wanted to jump all over the place like an idiot...and not just normal jumping up and down.  More like jumping 5 feet side to side.  Well after she almost knocked me down a few times I told her she needs to jump away from me and not to do it again.  Patz also told her and Thorsti too.  Welllll maybe this wasn't the best idea because she got super pissed and came up to me shouting WAS LOS?! WAS LOS?!  That's like what's up or what's the problem.  I just kept speaking English to her which I'm sure pissed her off even more but in order to avoid getting punched in the face on my first full day in Germany I moved away from her.  Then the coolest part of the concert was the encore!  Travis Barker came out and did his drum solo to a hip hop song and the whole time he was on a moving platform that flipped upside down.   

Then at the very end of the show a kid somehow managed to get on stage and he gave Tom DeLonge a hug, danced across the stage towards Mark, and then got snatched up by the security.  It was so funny.  End of day 2 :)

One of the next posts will definitely have to be about the amazing food they have here.  I've only been here for a total of 3 days and I am in love.  You know you are in Germany when they have bratwurst and Apfelschorle (100% apple juice mixed with sparkling water) at McDonald's.  Oh and yesterday we came back to Patrick's hometown of Waldershof where his parents live and I went on a run through the Bavarian woods.  There is a small paved road that goes for miles and miles and is surrounded by a national park.  It was so beautiful and so relaxing.  

Until next time... :)  Tschuss!