The Black Forest: Churches, Beer, and Food. It Doesn't Get More German Than This.

Let’s not get too comfortable, now.

After only one full day at our cozy Hayingen cabin, we’re heading off to see some old family friends: Lynn and Franz. Mom and dad have known Lynn since dad’s Air Force days, and since she’s lived over here for most of her life, it’s not often that they get to reconnect.
typical german restaurant
A Honey-Do dining nook. Honey, do you dare?
We met at the Honey-Do Restaurant for some mid-afternoon beers and/or coffee. Described by mom and dad as the "nostalgic" rendezvous point to which they’ve faithfully returned to meet up with Lynn over the past few decades, I expected something…more? I suppose our dear Honey-Do has grown a bit elderly, lost a bit of her flair, and now is just another 80-year-old baroness with too much makeup on the eyes and caretakers who get overwhelmed when you ask what the juice flavors are today. It’s a shame, because I can see how it must’ve been a bit magical in its heyday.
german beer
What a view
fruit life water
Eau de vie..."life water." I'll take it!
Nevertheless, the view is fantastic, especially because we were overlooking the “Kaiser Hills,” and even though they were just hills in the plainest sense of the world, I assume that I'm entitled to them in some way that only makes sense to me (that's with regard to my surname, if you're wondering).
The Honey-Do view
Oh, and Honey-Do? Turn on a damn fan or something. It's summer outside.

Righteouly-placed nostalgia was soon after found after venturing to the nearby town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, pronounced "Schway-bush Gamoond"...I think. With a name like that, you should clearly just go there. How could you resist something so quaint, so German? But apart from the name, the cobblestoned town is filled with cute shops and historical Baroque and Romanesque points of interest.

We had some (more) beers and coffee in the town square, did some shopping (because why not try to make my backpack heavier?), and set off to catch some of the tourist attractions, which, being in Europe, were mostly churches.

Take a look...
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Gettin' fresh with Germany
Schwäbisch Gmünd
I told you the streets were cobblestoned
st. john's church
John and Franz are running for the embrace
quiant german town
Germans are just so cute
romanesque church
The Romanesque St. John's Catholic church. Compare
it's style to the next picture...
frescoed ceiling
Although built in the 15th century, this Baroque-style church was repainted in 1756 by the architect JM Keller
So pensive...
augustine church
The frescoed ceiling of the nave depicts five scenes from the life of St. Augustine. 
Somehow ravenous after the two very mild activities of sitting in shops getting drinks all day and visiting churches, we managed to avoid the easy-fix solution of eating in a tourist franchise on the square (phew!) and Lynn brought us instead to a tiny locals-only affair about 15 minutes outside of town.

That’s what I’m talkin about.
authentic german food
It doesn't look like much, but it is secretly going to make you
full just by looking at it. There is nearly always deceptively filling salad served with German meals, usually with potato salad, cabbage, carrots, tomato, and greens
individual juicer
How can you not honor and respect a culture that gives you tiny lemon squeezers?
So I’m beginning to realize that basically all German food is soul food.

Hey Paris, you know how your food is often said to eerily resemble nouveau art? Oh, and Barcelona, you’re turning your food into foam, I hear?Well, Germany doesn’t give a shi...zer. It has a formula and it’s sticking to it.

The formula is as follows: Large beer to precede a dense salad of lettuce, potatoes, marinated cabbage, shredded carrots, and tomato, followed by a huge (huge) plate of doughy seasoned dumpling-esque things or meat smothered in some sort of thick gravy, and served with a side of (probably) spaetzle, which consists of tiny corkscrew-like German dumplings from heaven—like how pasta would be if it were popcorn.  

I like this formula as long as there is no scale around.
gypsy food
Thinly sliced beef with "gypsy-style" sauce,
which is essentially with goulash seasonings
plum schnapps
Lynn helped us to finish out the night with this Zibärtle,
plum schnapps from the black forest. Tastes like clean.


Tomorrow, we’re going to a castle. You know the one that inspired Walt Disney? Yeah, that one...bam!

Stay tuned!

7 comments:

  1. MMM, Hefeweizen I see..?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks and sounds amazing! My brother in law is in Germany for Octoberfest right now. I think it is wonderful how you are traveling and seeing (and eating) everything you can. Kudos to you for living life to the fullest!

    -Be safe in your travels, Heather ( Aunt Carols stepdaughter)

    PS I started to blog after seeing yours and to speaking to a few other who do also. Mine is chemobrainandmore.wordpress.com if you have time to check it out.

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