Being a Berliner

This past weekend I was invited to go to Berlin with my friend Hannah and her parents who were visiting. Because they are from Boston and have the accents to show for it, and because it was a cool city to explore, this trip "made a lot of fun". (Direct German translation.) Seeing the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Brandenburg Gate were enough to keep this history major nerding out all weekend long. It kept occurring to me that one year ago, I was giving lectures to 11th graders about these exact places, and that made me say "Woah, crazy."

Berlin is famous for "Currywurst" which is as it sounds-- a bratwurst with curry sauce-- and tastes surprisingly good even though curry anything isn't something I usually seek out in my diet. Also among the famous things to get in Berlin is flavored beer-- apple, coke, mango, etc-- but the best of which is banana beer. As a back story, I will admit to one weird thing about me, which is that I loved banana baby food until an inappropriate age. Being the oldest of 4 kids, I was around baby food well into my elementary school days, and was quick to volunteer to feed my siblings when it involved banana flavor (one bite for you, one bite for me). That being said-- banana beer was like an alcoholic version of my childhood treat. And I loved it just the same. (Just don't judge until you've tried it, mmk? And then try it with the beer!...)

Since I've already spent a paragraph explaining a beverage, I will quickly tell you about one more German cultural difference... You know asparagus? You know how it's just a vegetable? Not too big of a deal? Well, the Germans don't know that last bit. "Spargel" or "White Asparagus" is the special of the day as an appetizer, entree, and dessert at every restaurant, grocery store, bar, gas station, and random food stand you will find in every city, village, and township in Germany from the months of April to June. There's not a word that translates directly to "excited" in German, but I think if they were to create one it would strictly be to refer to Spargel season. I don't get it. The most excited I've ever been about asparagus was when a new Veggie Tales movie came out.

Hope your meals this week involve something aforementioned!