So, in the 48-hours that I spent visiting my friend Paula in Bratislava, Slovakia this past week, I am positive that I ate just as much as I would have in a normal week. It was all delicious

When I arrived in the evening, I was greeted with vegetable croquettes and a potato-vegetable salad that my friend’s grandmother made. Then, I was given a large glass of Kofola, a less sweet Slovakian soda that was very delicious.

On the next day, we went sightseeing (or better put, sight eating) in downtown Bratislava. First, we ate a hearty traditional breakfast of bread, egg, cheese, tomatoes, peppers,  tea and coffee.  Then we went to downtown Bratislava and ate a delightful pastry filled with walnuts.

Street food in Slovakia

After that there was a brief pause in the eating whilst we saw the castle in Bratislava and the Parlament building. After that we headed to a Soviet era WWII memorial located on a hill and on our way back to the city center, we ate some cookies that we purchased at a  convenience store.  After seeing a bit more of the city center, we headed to lunch. We ate at a restaurant called Slovak Pub and it was honestly one of the best restaurants that I have been to all semester. There we each drank a large mug of Kofola and split a samping platter of halušky, a potato dumpling served with sheep’s cheese and onions. This dish was fabulous, I absolutely loved it and was thrilled to have found a traditional dish that could be prepared without meat.  We also had the dish in pierogi form and with cabbage, which were both equally delicious. The pub was covered in traditional Slovakian folk art and clothing and had information about Slovakian historical figure Jánošík, a real life Robin Hood figure from the 1700s. Later after realizing how  tired we were, we headed to a tea room and enjoyed some delicious freshly made chai tea.

The castle in Bratislava, where Sissi was crowned.

After the tea room, we headed home and were greeted by Paula’s grandmother with pasta in a mushroom sauce. Equally delicious we enjoyed it, but were able manage only a bit after our day full of eating.  On the final day, I ate another hearty breakfast and was sent off with a bag full of bread, cheese, Kofola, and many other Slovakian sweets.

They say that the best way to first get to know a new culture is though the food, and based on that I was lucky enough to get to know a lot about Slovakia.  Ďakujeme to Paula for showing me her city and a bit of her culture!

Bis bald!

So, a few days ago I went to Vienna to visit my friend Melissa and to see a new city.

On the first day we went to the Naschmarkt, an outdoor food market, for breakfast. I had ful a bean based dish with flatbread and hummus (which, it should be noted is definitely not an  Austrian dish).  I was especially excited because hummus is sometimes difficult to find in Europe. Then we went to the Ringstraße, which used to be the city wall of Vienna, but was torn down to make way for a new promenade in 1865.  It was a great place to see a surprisingly large number of monuments and famous historical buildings.

A photo of the Wiener Rathaus (city hall) on the Ringstraße

On the way, we stopped by the Albertina museum and saw exhibitions from teh archives of the Mussee d’Orsay. Nearly every major artist from a variety of time periods was represented. From Degas to Picasso to Warhol to Roy Lichtenstein to Monet, it was a great collection and overview of art history.

The Kunsthaus Wien

On the next day, I went to the Friedensreich  Hundertwasser musem at the Kunsthaus Wien. Friedensreich Hundertwasser is one of my favorite artists because his work combines art with everyday objects and promotes an understanding of the connection between person, living space and nature.  The museum dedicated  to him was full of colors, irregular shapes, plants and water elements. It was really as much of an experience as it was a work of architecture and a museum.

The Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment complex.

The trash processing center designed by Hundertwasser

I also went to see some of Hundertwassers practical installations in the form of an apartment complex and a trash processing center.  I even found out that he designed a building right in Baden-Württemberg that i will definitely take the opportunity to visit.

Overall,  it  was lovely to get to see a new city and visit an old friend as well!

Bis bald!

So, one of the events that I most looked forward to this year was Fasching. Fasching is a celebration that takes place before the beginning of Lent, much like Mardi Gras.  In the different regions in Germany, it has different names and a slightly different character. Where I previously lived in the Rheinland, it was called Karneval. In Rottenburg am Neckar, a small village near Tübingen, it is called Fasnet and has a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, and because of this I choose to visit Rottenburg to learn a bit about Fasching in the area.

There was also Fasching right at home in Tübingen, but it is a somewhat new tradition, since Tübingen is historically Protestant and Fasching is historically Catholic. The history of Fasching is also a lot better documented in Rottenburg than in Tübingen. I was able to learn a lot from  the website of the group that organizes Fasching in Rottenburg and the link is below, although the information is only in German.

Fasnet consists of a large group of activities mostly directly before the beginning of Lent. The parade (Umzug) is lead by Queen Mechthild in Rottenburg, who is temporarily in charge of the city during Fasching. Both historical figures as well as a whole cast of characters specific to Rottenburg are portrayed by people dressed in costumes and carved wooden masks.

The characters include:

Ahland: a medieval depiction of the devil it is the main character of the Rottenburger Fasnet.

An example of an Ahland, with an inflated bladder.

Pompele: a spirit that makes noise and carries a large noisemaker

A Poppele figure in the Rottenburger Narrenzunft.

Die Hexe (The Witch): the witches are the leaders of Rottenburgerfastnet and help to usher it in after Three King’s day

A witch at Fastnet

The final character is a jester/clown figure called Bogges, of which I unfortunately did not catch a photo.

During the parade the characters walk trough the city and play jokes on the bystanders. My friend Ingrid was standing at the front of our group and fell victim to the face-painting, hair-pulling, shoe-untying and inflated animal bladder-swinging antics of the various characters.

Ingrid after the parade

There is always something magical for me about Fasching because it is a time in which so many peope choose to come together to just have a good time regardless of social standing or (historically) station in life. It is a time of happiness and joy to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of Lent as well. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about my favorite time of year in Germany.

Bis bald!

Link to more information to Rottenburger Fasnet (in German):

http://www.narrenzunft-rottenburg.de/NZ/Zunft/Gruppen.html