Bad Soden, Part 2: How I Learned to Eat Potatoes

Yesterday, Hans and Rachel took us to the Rhinegau. It's probably half an hour from their lovely little town of Bad Soden and is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. We walked from one castle to another through rolling hills of vineyards and rosebushes--I'll post pictures soon, if the netbook allows it.

Anyway, we had dinner at one of the vineyards, where Martin and I received a crash course in German table manners, which I know you're just dying to hear about. Well, for one, you leave your hands on the table, poised to create your next bite, in place of letting them rest in your lap. German efficiency, anyone? Also, you don't use a knife to cut your potatoes; instead, you use your fork at a "36 degree" angle and hope that said potatoes don't roll into your lap. Sadly, these are the only two that stuck with me, but still I thoroughly enjoyed our discussion on manners. Rachel and Hans have been so wonderful in our adjustment to German culture in small ways like that.

And, of course, last night was the Germany-Australia soccer game. Hans drove over 100 mph to make sure we got back to watch most of the game. Needless to say, Germany won. (I say needless to say because Germany is just so amazing. And because I really don't know jack shit about soccer, so it just seems like they should have a good team.) I rode with Rachel to pick up Matthias from a friend's house, and it was insane. There were people standing in the streets with German flags, people riding on top of cars, people leaning out of balconies--people everywhere doing incredibly dangerous things in the name of soccer, and it was only Germany's first game! Never again will I complain about traffic on the Square after a football game.

Today we went into Frankfurt, which is about twenty minutes from Bad Soden. It's such a nice city, although I didn't have the luck of running into Herr Kaya. I bought a German soccer jersey and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in German. For lunch, I had the traditional eggs and "green sauce." It was tasty but not what I expected. For some reason, I pictured eggs benedict with a sauce hybrid of green mole and hollandaise--wrong. It was hard boiled eggs and potatoes on top of a cold-ish green sauce. I really don't know how to describe the taste except spice-y. Not like hot "spicy," but in a sense that there were lots of spipces, I guess. It was pretty good, though, and I was able to cut my potatoes like a proper German lady. And I pet a dog! Dogs are everywhere over here, but I've been too afraid to actually pet one, in fear of looking dumb. But today, I just went up and petted this dog, and I think the woman thought I was German because she kept talking to me in German after I asked her his name.

This evening Rachel took me to a friend's house for a dinner party. It was so much fun and so interesting. And Hans hadn't made up those table manners to throw us off--all the ladies kept their hands on the table as they chewed. Some even talked while they had food in their mouths. This is not to say that I am looking down on their manners or anything like that. It's just that my inner debutante was (and is) fascinated by the differences in culture that seep down into the manners of eating.

I suppose that's all for today. We leave for Kronach tomorrow morning, and I need to sleep.

Bis morgen,
Elizabeth