Im Urlaub
When writing these blog entries -- I should be coding on Krita, but I forgot to put an up-to-date copy of CVS and the Qt docs on the Pismo Powerbook I take on holidays to offload the holiday snaps on, so I can't continue much -- I am in the little town of Steinbach-Hallenberg, in Thuringia, former DDR, about and around the place where 1632 is situated. No venomous spiders spotted yet, but a couple of cool snakes. Of course, not having Internet access in the little holiday home we are renting, you're reading this only because I've returned home safely (take note, gentlemen burglars), and because I turn out to still have Internet access, which wasn't the case last year, when we went to Greece.
Right, first the piccy of the snake. I had never before seen a snake in the wild.
Quite often during these holidays some perfectly formed remark or a poignant observation made its way into my consciousness (apparently blogging is a habit-forming habit): of course, I wasn't quick enough off the mark to jot them down, even though I did intend to do some Fading Memories notes on going here as soon as I recognized that this was not going to be a relaxing holiday but very much a culture-shock, learning and mind-opening kind of holiday.
A pity then, that you'll have to make to do with what regurgitations I can wizard up in the train from Neudietendorf to Deventer... I think I have enough material, though, to work into several entries over the next few days. For now, some quick impressions about drink, food and the rest.
Not just the variety in sausages and pilsener beer (other styles are conspicuous by their absence, except for the nice Bock (Tucher Bajuvator) I am sipping right now), but also the enormous variety of soft drinks. The nearby mineral water factory in Schmalkalden also produces all kinds of flavored mineral waters, with herbs, and other soft drinks, like the DDR favorite Vita Cola (Nicht so süss, mit dem Citrus-kick) and Limette. Both are really delicious thirst-quenchers, and there are others. And others, and others. Lots of pork in jelly, too, but almost no beef.
Supermarkets are a disaster area. Even the best look like the Aldi we've got in the Netherlands, too. Box-shovelers. Price-fighters with a horribly limited range of merchandise.
There's still a marked difference between the old West and the old East. East Germany, especially towns like Gotha and Zella-Mehlis are drab and dreary, even when the sun is shining. We went to Göttingen one Saturday, and G&oml;ttingen is West, while Steinbach-Hallenberg and all of Thuringia is East.
The difference is unbelievable. Göttingen is awash with life. The people are healthier, the town is cleaner, the shops are better, even now, years after the Wende.
There's a good museum in G&oml;ttingen; a thorough history of the town, including the Second World War, which was very emotional even for me, who is Too Young To Have Experienced it. Blame my emotions on a thorough anti-German upbringing and education. (My father has always refused, with one or two exceptions) to go to Germany on holidays.)
On the bus back (we went by train, but a new bridge was being built near Arnstadt, so we had a Schienenersatzverkehr from Arnstadt to Plaue), a friendly old lady from Aachen with black lacquered hair and a speech impairment from a stroke told me she was visiting East Germany because it was possible nowadays. When we passed Arnstadt's Schloss, which has a completely restored wing, and a completely dilapidated wing, she told me how much East Germany reminded her of her own youth in ruined West Germany after the war.
In general, people were extremely friendly here in Steinbach-Hallenberg: from the kindly rentner, who took pity on us tramping through the rain from the Bahnhof to our holiday home, and first ferried Irina and the kids to the Käpfstrasse, and then my father and me, to the waitress in restaurant Das Wirtshaus (or Töpferhof -- the name is not clear) and my father's landlady in Hotel Zum Adler, our own family König, and many others. One feels really welcome here.
On the other hand, there are many, many drunk louts about. A lady in the train to Gotha who had obviously drunk a few beers too much (beer shouldn't come in half-litre bottles, that's too much for decency) was shouting at her companions that they shouldn't put on airs since she hadn't been 'ficked' by them, before collapsing in front of the train's toilet, which was out of order on account of overflowing with urine. I have a feeling that uninhibited indulgence in alcoholic stimulants is a problem in these parts.
In this part of Germany, and perhaps in other parts, too, but I don't know about them, when you order a weinbrand or a liquor, you get a double measure without asking for it. Which also means you pay double the price, and if you don't know about the custom this can give rise to unfortunate unpleasantnesses over the bill. It would provoke drunkenness, were it not that the single measures are very small, as opposed to the ordinary measure for beer: i.e., half a litre.
By the way: The restaurant I mentioned before, Das Wirtshaus (or Töpferhof), is actually truly excellent. We once made the mistake of having dinner at Hotel Wagner, and the food there was execrable (of course, it's the destiny of any food to be execrated, but that's not material). Because all shops are closed in Germany from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning (with some exceptions, but not exceptional enough for someone arriving at four-thirty Saturday afternoon) we went to Das Wirtshaus twice, once Saturday night, and once again next Sunday.
We had veal with pfifferlingen first, and the next day roast duck with steinpilzen. Both days an excellent German red wine. The children also sampled a mixed-meat stew and pancakes with bacon. And Thuringer klösse -- large dumplings made of meal with bacon (bauchfleisch) -- nowhere do they do a better Thüringer klösse than here. The food was not too salty, which is exceptional in its own right, and really quite perfect in every other respect.