All This Eating is Making Me Hungry

The last four days have been marked by some furious consumption of everything that is German and edible. Four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dessert, and dinner, plus all the beer, champagne, and wine you can drink. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've been staying in this small town tucked away in the forests of central Germany. The state, Thüringen, is notorious for two things (at least): bratwurst and the distinction of being the state traded to the Soviets in exchange for west Berlin. Any chip left on the proverbial shoulder of the population seems long to have disappeared, or it has been re-channeled into making the finest bratwurst in the land.

Perhaps the most mindboggling thing about this town is that its something like 1300 years old; the oldest house something like 700 years old...and still standing. My hometown boasts houses that are 100 years old...and falling apart. I'm starting to see where the "German Engineering" stereotype came from.

All that's left are a few solid nights of beer consumption. Oh, I forgot to mention that my present was 15 different bottles of German beer, with the prospect of more. Should be a good couple of nights. I also need to have a healthy-sized portion of schnitzel.

Merry Christmas.