Lilies of the Field

The temperatures have dropped, the skies have turned to gray, and my morning ritual has grown longer by 10 minutes…partly because of the increasing number of layers of clothing I need to put on in order to face the cold and partly because something about waking up in the dark can really kill your motivation to get ready and face the day.

Darker days of a German winter sometimes seem to emphasize the stresses of life – balancing a new job, paying bills, and clumsily attempting to navigate the world of “adulthood”.  The first frost has come and gone as each day grows colder.  Ice creeps across the windows of our apartment each night and the frozen blades of grass crunch beneath our boots each morning.

But before the cold choked out the life of all things green, wild grasses inhabited empty lots and lined the weaving miles of bike trails around Dessau.  Among the grasses were flecks of color that bounced in the breeze.  Soft pastels and vibrant neons in all sorts of geometric shapes and patterns.  I wish I had taken the time to photograph their variety before many began to fall to the chills of Autumn.  But one September afternoon I stopped and took the time to appreciate the splendor of all Creation in the tiniest of blooms.

On cold days like this one I think of those tiny bursts of colors and hope on the promise of longer days and warmer nights.

 

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

Just like lace

 

Thumbelina’s House

One last bloom

Saint Paul’s Church of Dessau

Open up a tourist’s guidebook to Germany and you’ll find romantic towering castles, stunning natural landscapes, awe-inspiring cathedrals, blonde beauties with rosy cheeks in dirndls, and charming medieval streets lined by strings of houses with their criss-crossed timber facades.

Was that enough adjectives for you?

But honestly, each day that I step out my door I find something just as fascinating, inspiring, and down-right gorgeous as the “stars” in the tourist brochures.  What has become seemingly mundane to the local German is an entirely new experience for me.  On many of our walks around the corner to the grocery store, my husband has found himself walking alone because I’ve stopped to take a closer look at something that has caught my eye. Flower boxes in windowsills, a decorative brick chimney atop a Renaissance building, a swirling plaster moulding above a door way, red-leafed vines creeping up the entire side of a three-story building, or a mid-century Soviet monument on the corner of the street whose engravings are quickly succumbing to the effects of weathering. He’s learning quickly to check over his shoulder every few steps or so to make sure I’m still following close behind.

On nearly every walk or drive through Dessau, the skyline serves as one of those many distractions.  For from it projects a dozen steeples and towers that peek out from behind office buildings and shopping centers, and beckon me to come take a closer look.  After days of wondering, I finally picked up our camera and trekked towards the nearest black-shingled steeple.  Not really knowing how to get there, I simply wandered through the streets with my eyes up, keeping the tower in my line of sight until I reached the Saint Paul’s Church of Dessau.

It is simply beautiful and personally my favorite church in all of Dessau…but I haven’t explored them all yet. I’m also biased because this is the church whose tingling bells float through my window every morning – an enchanting way to be woken up.

The church was originally built in the neo-Gothic style at the very end of the 19th century but was severely damaged during bombings by the allies on March 7th 1945.  The building sat in partial rubble, unusable to the community until the 1980s when it was reconstructed to its present state.  The church is now the archive and library for the Protestant Church (Evangelical Lutheran Church) in the entire state of Sachsen-Anhalt, containing over a half-kilometer of books and records, the oldest of which dates to 1445.  That’s older than America y’all.

Anyways…I fell in love and I hope you do too!

“American” Food in Germany

Settling into life in Germany naturally includes exploring and shopping in the local grocery store.  But as I’m already becoming a little homesick for American junk food, nothing catches my eye as quickly as the red, white, and blue of an American flag across the label of products on the shelf.   Finding “American” products in Germany has really reminded me that while Americans may not be the kings of cuisine, Americans have created several (in)famous products that reach across oceans and appeal to people around the world.  Such products include…

Pancake Mix

Muffins

Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns

Jalepeno Poppers (I was quite impressed with this find)

Hamburgers

Sliced “Sandwich” Bread – which the Germans like to call toast even though it’s not yet toasted and they’ve already cut off the hideous end pieces that no one likes.  Why haven’t we thought of this yet?

       

(Unbearably overpriced) Peanut Butter – but at least they have both types!

and of course…

“The Delicious American Marshmallow Spread” – AKA Marshmallow Fluff

If you search hard enough you can also find American brands you know and love…but don’t expect to pay the same prices!

Pringles – but instead of Pizza and Salt and Vinegar flavors you’ll find Onions and Cheese and Paprika

Miracle Whip!  But spelled “Miracel” to sound phonetically correct in German

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky – New on the shelves and in tiny little portions

Pepperidge Farm Cookies

Philadelphia Cream Cheese – and the Germans have done the ingenious by adding Milka chocolate

And Oreos – at the going rate of $3 for a 16 count…start crying now 😦

And most surprisingly…I found a whole array of “American” food I didn’t even know was American!  Including…

Hamburger Sauce – Not sure what it tastes like but I imagine they are attempting to imitate Big Mac special sauce or something.  You can find several differing brands of “hamburger sauce” all claiming to be the original.

        

An “American” and “American Caesar” Salad Dressing – something I’ll have to try out

     

“Amerikaner” (or American) Cookies – Basically a little tea cookie with chocolate and lemon frosting

American Style Popcorn which only comes sweet – basically kettle corn, which isn’t typical in America.  In fact, Germans only like their popcorn sweet and are usually appalled when you tell them that the only popcorn you’ll get in an American movie theater is buttered and salted.

Cookies with “Famous American Cranberries” – didn’t know they were so famous!  But it’s also a bit relieving that cranberries haven’t crept their way into every kind of juice on the shelf over here.

And every sort of sauce or variation of BBQ sauce you could want…Germans loooove condiments!

But when German “American” food can’t satisfy the cravings…it’s time for a care package from home!  My first package cost my mom nearly $100 in shipping because it was so filled to the brim with lots of goodies!  Starbursts, tortillas, MilkDuds, canned Ranch Style beans, and Velveeta Mac and Cheese were only some of what was included.

Worst case scenario, you can order some of your favorites through several websites a friend pointed out to me that will ship right to Germany…but be prepared for the heart attack that comes when you see the prices!

Check one out here >>>http://www.americanfood4u.de/

That’s right! For only $7 you get a bag of Fritos, a bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup is only $6, and the going rate for Aunt Jemima’s Pancake Syrup is $9.50.  But the most shocking is a 24-can case of Coors Light for a wopping $57!  Who knew it was such a coveted commodity?

For now, I’ll just enjoy exploring German cuisine, taste-test the “American” food they have to offer, and wait for the next care package!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mönster

After only a month in Germany, I’m already finding myself craving all the delicacies that can only be found on American grocery store shelves.   On a lazy afternoon in the apartment, I decided I needed some chocolate chip cookies.  Unfortunately, German grocery stores can only offer a far inferior impostor – even worse than Chips Ahoy and more like a dry tea biscuit.  With some of Christian’s family members paying us a visit, I had an excuse to make an American treat for our guests.  Equipped with a fantastic recipe from one of my best girlfriends from college (thanks Kim!) I went on gathering my supplies.  However, I came to the quick realization that options are sometimes limited in even the best German grocery stores and I proceeded to experiment with substitutions.  The following recipe turned out really well and is useful if you ever find yourself in Germany, in need of chocolate chip cookies, and only having on hand the ingredients found in a German store.  I decided this post would be my first entry under the Survival Guide category because…well isn’t it self explanatory?

Ingredients:  AKA what you’ll have to go find in the German Markt

— 225 Grams of Softened Butter 

The best thing I’ve found is Deutsche Markenbutter (good for baking and cooking) and it conveniently comes in 250 gram blocks so I just shaved off a tiny bit

 — 1 Cup of White Sugar

— 1 Cup of Brown Sugar (Brauner Zucker) + 1 Tbsp warm water

This is where I hit my first road block.  German brown sugar doesn’t seem to have the same soft, damp, and fine texture that you find in the States.  So I took the finest brown sugar I could find and added a Tbsp of warm water to give it some moisture.  Not sure how important that would be to the overall recipe but I felt better knowing it was closer to the consistency of real brown sugar.

  

German brauner zucker before and after 1 Tbsp warm water is added

— 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (2 packets of Dr. Oetker’s “Bourbon-Vanille Aroma”)

This was by far the trickiest part!  I searched several stores for vanilla extract but couldn’t find the real thing!  Only several varieties of a vanilla “aroma” (whatever that is) and an actual vanilla bean which they will sell you in a little plastic tube. (All on the baking aisle)  However, I have no idea how to turn a bean into extract so I settled with two different “aromas” and decided to test and see which was better.

     

What I found was Dr. Oetker’s “Natural Bourbon-Vanille Aroma”  in little packets and a small bottle of general brand Vanilla arome.  I thought maybe the bottle had potential since that’s how extract is sold in the States.  However, the bottle (on the right) was more just an oil with a slight vanilla taste…but mostly just oily.  Dr. Oetker’s was a bit better but still basically an oil with a ground up vanilla bean in it.  It was much stronger but still not like a real extract.  The little packets were sold in pairs and made a little over a Tbsp so I used both.

— 2 Eggs

— 3 Cups of Flour (Weizen Mehl)

— 1 tsp Baking Soda (Natron)

— 1 tsp Baking Powder (Backpulver)

Both are sold in groups of tiny individual packets.  I guess to keep them fresh longer?  Afterall, who uses more than a couple teaspoons at a time? Germans are so practical…  Anyways, both can be found on the baking aisle but for whatever reason you’ll only find Natron in larger grocery stores with larger selections.

— 1/2 tsp Salt

— And all the Chocolate Chips you want!!

I found little boxes of chips on the baking aisle but they seem to be a novelty and therefore more expensive.  So at 3 euros for 100 grams…you might have more fun smashing up some German chocolate bars.  However, this was easier and one box was plenty for me!  (Though if you’re a chocolate lover you’ll definitely want more than 100 grams)

Instructions:

— Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees Celcius  (375 Farenheit)

–– Let butter soften in bowl

— Mix your sugars together (white sugar and brown sugar moistened by water)

— Mix sugars, softened butter, and 2 eggs all together until well blended

— Blend flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda all together in separate bowl

— And finally blend everything in both bowls together, adding chocolate chips

Yummmmm….tasty already!  (Disclaimer: I do not recommend eating dough with raw cookies…do so at your own risk! But it is delicious…)

— Line your “baking sheet” with baking paper (backpapier)

Germans don’t really seem to have cookie sheets but rather have a shelf in their ovens that is more like a baking sheet than an oven rack.  They use these for cases like this and sell rolls of baking paper for the purpose.  You can find a box of pre-cut sheets that fit them perfectly in the grocery store (with the aluminum foil and celophane wrap).

— Place balls of cookie dough on baking sheet with a few inches in between

I made mine pretty large because I was excited for fat cookies! This batch of dough will make about 45 small cookies or 30 large cookies

— Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the tops begin to crack and the edges brown and harden a bit

I noticed the cookies didn’t turn as brown as the typical American cookie but I think it is due to the difference in brown sugar.  The cookies still looked very light colored but the edges were hardening.  I took them out after 14 minutes and they hardened nicely as they cooled…they were still soft in the middles for a couple days instead of hardening to a crisp.  So perfect!

                           

These were some of the best cookies I’ve ever made and from scratch at that!  We were buried in big fat American cookies for days and they out-shone their impostor counterparts by far!

Big fat American cookies vs. impostor “tea biscuits” in the back

I hope you all enjoy as much as I did!  I’m hoping this recipe will help some other homesick American soul while abroad in Germany or better educate some Germans on how to make a proper Chocolate Chip Cookie… yum yum yum yum!!!

Prince and Princess of Anhalt – The Garden Kingdom of Wörlitz

As we settle into our apartment here in Dessau, Germany I’m ready to start exploring our new surroundings.  The city is home to not one but two UNESCO World Heritage sites, both display vastly differing aspects of German history and culture.  The first being the Bauhaus and its associated sites, designed and built in the 1930s by an innovator of Modern art and architecture Walter Gropius (more about the Bauhaus coming soon in later blogs).  And the second designated site being the impressive Wörlitzer Gartenreich (Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz).  The “Kingdom” includes multiple palaces and their surrounding gardens and agricultural properties designed and implemented during Germany’s Age of Enlightenment.  Inspiration for the buildings, their art, architecture and landscapes were fueled by Enlightenment ideologies and philosophies, blending together international styles, developing interests in botany, and of course all the glitz and glamour of early modern Europe.

Hopefully during our time here we’ll hit all the hotspots of the Gartenreich but for now we began with the palace at Mosigkau.  In 1742, the estate was given by Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau to his favorite daughter Princess Anna Wilhelmine who built a Rococo-style summer house on the property in 1752.  The family was part of the royal House of Anhalt which fell somehow into the grand scheme of elites of the Prussian Empire (don’t ask me how as my knowledge of Prussian history is slim to none).  The palace and its gardens are quite charming and are preserved and cared for by the Cultural Foundation of DessauWörlitz.

The view up the front lawn…how’s that for a summer house?

Beautiful Palladian-style arched windows across the front of the summer palace

Taking a peek…

…into the Gallery filled with art displayed in Baroque-fashion (collaged together with no gaps between)

Beyond the summer-palace, the estate is beautifully landscaped and dotted with surprises including a fish pond, orangeries, a garden house, water tower, and a labyrinth hedge maze.

Fish pond complete with family of ducks

Green door on the water tower

Garden house….would loooove to live there!!

Orangerie – basically the greenhouse of the 18th century for “tropical” plants needing to survive through the winter

Getting lost in the hedge maze…

Hidden treasures tucked into corners of the estate…

Tiny residents of the gardens

And plenty of statuary

At this point, we sat on a bench and thought about life in the 18th century. Imagining the princes and princesses who spent their summers in the German countryside, and the company they kept, the art they collected, and the strolls they took through the gardens, and the games they played across the lawns. Basically…the 18th century was only fun if you had money!

And then came the Dr. Suess plants!

And finally the back lawns where I imagine the grasses once grew tall until they were nibbled away by grazing sheep, horses, or other livestock.  On the day we visited, the back lawn was host to a small flea market and a local German horn band that set up on the lawn and played for visitors.

Wouldn’t you love to have such a backyard?

And here’s a map of the grounds courtesy of the Cultural Foundation of DessauWörlitz…notice the labyrinth hedge maze down in the left corner – couldn’t capture the view from on the ground

We really enjoyed our afternoon at the gardens…a perfect early autumn day in Germany and I can’t wait to explore the rest of Dessau’s Garden Kingdom.

I found a lot of my information on the gardens from the Cultural Foundation’s website where you can find more info too! Just follow the link!

http://www.gartenreich.com/en/foundation/index.html

10 German Toilet Seat Covers that Will Make You Ask “Why?”

Appropriately named a Baumarkt (literally “building market”) a German home-improvement store looks more like a warehouse, with shelves stacked high with anything you could want for your home or garden project.  Though not much different from a Lowe’s or a Home Depot, I have noticed one surprisingly distinct difference…an obvious, bizarre, hilarious difference.  Like any freedom-loving democratic people, Germans love choices and their toilet seat covers are no exception.

Have a look at some of my top favorites though my collection continues to grow!

1.  Tree Frog in a Tuxedo

Nothing says “classy bathroom” like a tree frog in a tuxedo…he also walks on two legs

 

2.  The Dance of the Strawberries

 

3.  The iPoo

4. The Natural Laxative

5. The Lone Wolf      (Holographic edition)

Occasionally you happen upon the classic holographic toilet seat cover and boy is it a treat!

Angle 1

 

Angle 2

6. Mike Tyson’s Tiger

In case you wanted to reenact the Hangover’s “tiger in the bathroom” scene

 

7. Lonely Elephant Contemplating Life on a Bench

Because, why not?

 

8. Gang of Meerkats in Sunglasses

Actually part of a German infatuation with meerkats – something which will probably be addressed in a future blog post

 

9. The Hungry Caterpillar

This poor thing…happily chewing his way through an apple until he discovers what he’s really been eating

 

10.  Motivational Goldfish

I feel like there should be some motivation quote included…

But of course there are plenty more options that aren’t as totally weird but still apart of this strange trend that I don’t understand.

Penguins, ladybugs, and bamboo forests…oh my!

Beach scenes and London streets…lots and lots of London streets

In conclusion…Germans may be teetering on the edge of brilliant interior design innovation or mind-blowing insanity.

I can’t wrap my mind around it.

Running anywhere between $40 and $75…you too can own an over-dramatic centerpiece for your bathroom!