Quite the mouthful

Well, I had a culturally packed Saturday, believe you me. Ikea (pronounced ee-kay-ah, not ai-kee-ah in layman's phonetics) for lunch, of course. They are now supporting Celiacs of Germany, as I found with some delicious cake thing. This is apparently run-of-the-mill winter weekend entertainment.

The real adventure, however, started with dinner. I started off eying up a jar of Gurken. So, for any as uneducated as I was 48 hours ago, Gurken is what we Americans call pickles. However, I was informed that "Pickle" means pimple (yes, like a pustuous pore generally found in the facial region). I shall never again refer to a cucumber soaked in Essig (vinegar) as such. But this Gurken had Honig (yes, that is honey)... So, going for the true German experience, I had a little bitey-bite. What? Why would someone do that to a cucumber? If the intent behind the honey was to cancel out the vinegar taste, then they were unsuccessful.

Next up was Swiss cheese. Actually just a Swiss cheese. It was hole-less, and the holey stuff which we call Swiss cheese is hardly more Swiss than Swedish fish are Swedish or French Fries are French. But I don't know why we don't just eat real Swiss cheese because the Swiss know where it's at.

With the success of the Swiss cheese as far as my taste buds were concerned, I decided to dive into the Camembert (with Walnuts) which had been awaiting me in the fridge for a week. I unwrapped it and looked at this furry cheese. Then asked how I was to go about eating it. Apparently one uses a cake-slicing technique and then rests it upon one's cracker (mine was, of course, gluten free). Here's the thing--when I initially ventured into this world of exotic cheeses, it was not fully disclosed to me that the mold layer would remain on it during the time of consumption. Um... what? Let's just say that one will be going on the "force the tastebuds into submission" list, along with Schorle (which I actually have had two days in a row, thank you very much) and Honig Gurken. In fact, I think Camembert will go at the bottom of this list, I am sorry to say. In Wisconsin we eat our cheese BEFORE it gets moldy. Problem solved

Today's excursions were, again successful. Knödel. Just the name sounds like something you have to enjoy. KNÖDEL! Think of how lovely dumplings are. A giant ball of starchy goodness. Then make that ball, instead of white flour, potato starch. Do you see what I'm saying?! Approved. Signed. Sealed.

I was also asked if American women really eat the placenta after giving birth. Don't be silly. Sometimes the husband eats it.
I do not think I shall be of this camp. But that was one stereotype I was not prepared to encounter.

I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin'.