I feel about 5 pounds heavier after just 3 days of driving around and visiting with some customers.
I was in southern Germany, in Bavaria and Swabia, two regions that are known for their peculiar way of speaking German, for the stereotypical eccentricities of the people, and for the distinctive regional cooking.
There was lots of meat, noodles, spätzel, sauces, salads with odd pickled vegetables of unknown variety. It was all quite good but not something I could do on a daily basis. I swear I could feel the butter sauce turning solid in my arteries.
The most interesting meal was the lunch we had at the office of a customer. We arrived around noon, talked for a short time then went to eat in a room where they had some lunch brought in.
They had a bowl with a bunch of cooked Frankfurters (the real kind) in water, then another bowl with big Bavarian pretzels, and alongside, some Bavarian-style mustard. Next to that was a plate of open faced sandwiches, with various meats. Next to that was a selection of beer in half liter bottles.
I took a couple Frankfurters and a pretzel, and a set of silverware. As we started to eat, I noticed I was the only one (there were 5 of us) with silverware. The other guys picked up the Frankfurters with their hands, dipped the end in mustard, and took a bite. Same with the pretzel. Now this was a “business lunch”, and I’m standing there wearing a tie, eating a Frankfurter with my fingers, and drinking beer.
I was told it is a Bavarian custom that employees are allowed a beer at lunch. Personally I couldn’t drink beer for lunch every day, but I like the attitude.
This trip was something of a first for me. I tried in the meetings to speak German first and English only if I had to. I thought my German was coming along well. Actually I was doing pretty well, and then all of a sudden a flurry of words would come, and I would be nodding my head like I understood when I would suddenly realize that I had no idea what was just said. I knew what the topic was, but not the detail. It is humbling when I realize just how much there is to learn with a new language.
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2 comments:
How funny. I remember the days when drinking beer or even a martini at lunch was accepted here. Not any more though.
Mom
About 20 years ago when I first started working at University Hospital, we used to sit in the small conference room and eat our lunches. While others would come in and out to eat, the smokers (I was one of them) would light up and smoke away while the others were eating. This was in a room about 10 x 15, right next to the patient rooms. That was just the way it was then...no one ever complained about it. Now that I am a non-smoker, I get annoyed when I have to walk by someone smoking outside of the building!
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