Part 1: Culinary Research - European Style!
My first day in Freiburg Germany! Completely jag-legged, but happy as can be with a huge bottle of water and free roses from the local florist. I have to say, I’m missing walking everywhere AND most importantly, my daily German schoko-croissants.
Yes, chocolate croissants… I’m having serious withdrawals from not devouring them every morning. They were amazingly delicious and surprisingly, I didn’t gain a pound in Europe.
Walking people. What a thought! Exercise really does work even in its most minimal form.
I’ve really wanted to blog about Europe since we flew home on Wednesday, but haven’t had two seconds to sit down and breathe. I went right back to work on Thursday and baked into the weekend.
Our vacation to Europe was much needed. I was disconnected from phone calls, text messages, work, drama, household repairs, and only had the random connection to Facebook and email. I was able to sleep, walk, enjoy life… and just be. For Tyler and I, we really needed this time to ourselves. We enjoy spending all hours of the day together especially traveling and discovering new countries… great time to refresh, renew, and snuggle.
We flew into Zurich Switzerland at 7:45 am last Wednesday; meaning that we basically didn’t sleep and quickly we were already faced with another day. We refused to waste anytime in Germany and fought off all thoughts of returning to our flat to sleep.
My hunt for Red Bull began!
I knew Germany was one of the top Red Bull consuming countries, so I was sure to find Sugar Free somewhere. While searching for my sparkly little light blue can, I discovered the NEW Red Bull flavors at a little grocery market in between our flat and Marion’s house.
Super jet-lagged? Perfect timing to try all 3.
Introducing Lime, Blueberry, and Cranberry! Apparently several countries and Florida are tester markets distributing these flavors to see how they sell before launching them to the rest of the States and World.
My food and baked goods market research started!
Lime - tasty, but I really like the taste of normal Red Bull, so my results may be a little jaded.
Blueberry - too sweet, but I don’t drink soda or juice, so who knows.
Cranberry - amazing. Try it as soon as you can!
Did they work?
Yes, I felt out of it, but had full-energy until 8pm that evening with only an hour of sleep on the plane.
Go Red Bull!
Trying new foods, drinks, and desserts was a huge priority while in Europe. What’s the point of going if you don’t stretch your stomach limits and open yourselves to new cultural experiences?
Germany is known for their pastries, bread, pretzels, meats, fish, beer, and wine… and of course, one of our first stops was the…
Biergarten! Luckily enough, Hayden, Nancy, Lea, Dani, and Davis stayed at the hotel above, so we met here quite often. Not always to grab a beer, but this location was in between the apartments where Nicole, Vinay, Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Hank, Tyler and I stayed and Marion’s house… nice pick Marion. :)
Guess who was legal in Germany and loving it?
Come on, you really only have one choice.
On Thursday, we had a group tour of downtown Freiburg, which was a great introduction to the city that we would be living in for almost a week.
Walking along the crowded streets there were amazing smells, sites, and sounds… children playing in the water ways, couples enjoying espresso, tourists snapping pictures, and bakeries on every corner.
Marion made sure we saw the bakery exhibit at one of the town buildings. I think it was the bank that had displayed these cakes and displays, but it was neat to see some of the work of the pastry chefs in the area.
Of course the best part was when we stopped at a little chocolate shop, Confiserie Rafael Mutter and shared some little treats. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was busy stuffing the desserts in my mouth, so that no one else could try anything.
Oops.
Biergartens are very common restaurant spots in Germany. During our city tour on Thursday, we ate at another one in downtown Freiburg, Hausbrauerei Feierling which was established in 1989 and replaced an older brewery that had been open since 1871.
Although, Nancy, Vinay, and Nicole weren’t a fan of their meals, which were basically piles of cheese to dip bread into… the rest of us enjoyed our lunches and beers. The pretzels were probably my favorite part! I felt like I was at Flying Saucer in Raleigh only missing some certain good friends.
Just a little introduction into my culinary experience in Germany. Those chocolate croissants make me want to open a bakery like tomorrow.
Süße Träume (sweet dreams… hopefully if my translation is correct) and Guten Abend! More to come this week.
XOXO
