Speaking of food

I've noticed that I'm often thinking about food here. In part that's because I'm completely on my own. No one is going to do any shopping for me, and anything I find in the refrigerator is because I put it there.

It also seems that food is one way of exploring the differentness of being here. Every trip to the grocery store is opportunity to find something new -- like yet another type of Wurst I haven't tried. Or have one of those confusing new experiences -- like figuring out how to work the automatic bottle refund machine while the line of people behind grows longer until someone steps up and shows me how it works.

There is one place where I don't have to think too much about the food. At work we have a small cafeteria. They put out the weekly menu at the end of the previous week, like a school lunch menu. Each day there are two meal choices. This usually involves some kind of meat, usually a sauce, usually a vegetable or salad.

You can also order something like a salad, which I do on occasion, but I always feel weird doing that.

You see, there are a couple women who work in the kitchen making the food, and I always feel bad if I don't order something substantial. I'm sure they don't make everything from scratch but it sometimes seems that way. I've seen them mashing potatoes, frying spätzle, stirring gravy. Not eating a substantial meal is like letting your grandmother down.

You have to place your order by 9:30 that morning. At first this seemed so bizarre to me. I could not imagine having to remember to walk down to the cafeteria and place an order, and then have to worry about getting it right in German. But then it became a ritual, and another opportunity to learn a little more German. They even cut me some slack when I come at 9:33. And they do notice that it is 9:33.

We have our assigned time when we are supposed to come, I think so they don't have everyone show up at once. And we always start the meal with "Guten Appetit".

Something that initially seemed so odd gradually became charming.

Except today. The main meal was "Leberkäse mit Spiegelei". Leberkäse literally means "liver cheese". Basically this was an odd colored meat loaf. I was told it doesn't typically contain any liver or cheese. Spiegelei is a sunny-side-up egg. So what you have is something that looks like a slice of Spam with an egg on top.

Thankfully today I had brought an apple and a couple bananas. Fruit never looked so good.