There is something so magical about tramping through the snow in Germany at twilight.
The world seems quieter and everything takes on an ethereal glow.
My family had just met at a local shopping mall in Boblingen for coffee, cookies and a visit, happy to be out of the house after being snowed in for several days. Not eager to drive home through slushy streets filled with Christmas shoppers, my brother Ryan, his girlfriend Melissa and me decided to walk.
We had such a jolly time laughing and talking as we trudged and slid our way through deep drifts and uncleared roads. We linked arms on the slippery parts and waved cheerily at Germans staring at us as we skidded our way through their neighborhood.
Somehow we managed to get good and lost and decided to sneakily follow a random German through a maze of alleys and neighborhoods to see if they could lead us to familiar surroundings. Much to our delight – they did!! The lights of my brother Evan’s house glowed warmly as we stamped up the steps and entered blessed warmth.
The house smelled perfectly heavenly for Mums had been hard at work making us a Danish feast. We sat down to plates laden with frikkadeller (meatballs made with pork and beef), egurkesalat (tangy cucumber salad), red cabbage stewed with brown sugar and currant jelly, and boiled potatoes slathered with rich gravy.
It was delicious!! The perfect hearty fare to warm a body up after a cold, snowy trek. I promise to share all the recipes with you in my cookbook. (Click here to read about this exciting new project!)
After dinner was eaten and dishes done, we sat down for rousing games of Spades, groaning with disgust and cheering wildly as the situation warranted. 🙂
What is your favorite warming dinner on a cold winter night?
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Now I must take this moment to give kudos to my family for actually following me when I excitedly beckoned them down a narrow alley with the words, “Hey guys, look! It’s a Bread Museum!”
With amused shakes of their heads and shrugs of “why not” we all trooped in out of the cold, thoroughly delighting the concierge who grinned happily at our arrival.
For a mere 3.50 Euro we were given headphones for an audio tour of the huge 5-story historic former storehouse.
In all honesty we did not expect much from a bread museum, but it turned out to be quite fascinating and well worth the modest admission fee.
The first floor featured miniature kitchens and bakeries as they would’ve looked down through the centuries. I loved the large, open ones with gleaming copper pots hanging from the walls and shelves lined with pewter plates. The audio guide brought the place to life, enriching each scene with great stories and informative history.
Other floors featured historic displays explaining the importance of bread in society and culture. I was intrigued and horrified to learn how politicians such as Adolf Hitler and Stalin used bread as an effective yet devastating tool of manipulation with the people they ruled. I was staggered by the pamphlets actually distributed by the Nazi government with recipes for how to make bread out of WOOD! I can scarcely imagine the desperation that would lead people to chop, soak, shred and pulverize wood into “flour” just to have something to feed their family for dinner.
I loved seeing the paintings depicting warm family scenes, children clustered around the kitchen table while their beaming mother slathered thick butter onto their slices of bread. I was charmed by the exquisite old art work, gorgeous silver platters and wonderful wooden bread bowls. They made me want to roll up my sleeves then and there to start kneading and shaping yeasty loaves of bread.
I also enjoyed the dioramas that showed bakeries as they looked in medieval Europe, ancient Egypt and bustling Rome.
I have often wondered what it would be like to grind grain by hand, and at the Museum of Bread Culture I got my chance. Gripping a heavy stone with both hands, I twisted and pounded it against the grains skidding across the surface. After only a short time my hands and arms were wearing out and I was filled with gratitude for folks like King Arthur who package flour for me without any of the stones and grit previous generations had to deal with.
There is one thing we did not find at the Museum Der Brotkultur: bread. It was the belief of the founders of the museum, father and son Willy and Hermann Eiselen, that bread is not a museum artifact, but a food that ought to be freshly baked and enjoyed each day.
If you have a hankering to peruse a German bread museum one day, here are a few tips to make it worth your while.
Eat before you go. Trust me, before you’re even half way through this place you’re going to be craving bread something fierce! Don’t worry, there are plenty of cafes just down the street.
Take your time. There is much to see and learn. Find new types of bread you’d like to try or learn stories you can share the next time you bring a fresh-baked loaf to a friend.
Get the audio guide in your language. This was an invaluable asset to my jaunt through the museum and you can skip ahead easily if the topic being discussed is of little interest to you.
Wear comfy shoes. It’s a long trek through five floors of displays and you don’t want to miss out because your feet are sore.
Visit a local bakery after you’re done. The bread will taste even more delicious after learning the history that precedes it.
I left the museum that day with renewed thankfulness for the prosperity and security of my country that not only allows me to eat bread each day, but lavishes me with fruits, vegetables, quality meat and all sorts of delicacies previous generations and current nations could only dream of. We are truly blessed.
Museum Der Brotkultur Information: LOCATION: Salzstadelgasse 10 89073 Ulm (Germany) Phone: +49 731 69955, Fax: +49 731 6021161 E-Mail: info@museum-brotkultur.de The museum is centrally and conveniently located in the Salzstadel, a historic storehouse (dated from 1592) on the northern edge of the Old City. Parking in “Salzstadel” underground car park, entrance via Olgastrasse. Parking for coaches next to the museum. 10 minutes walk from the main railway station or 5 minutes from Ulm Minster. OPENING TIMES: Open daily 10 – 17 ADMISSION PRICES: Adults 3.50 € Children 2.50€ Senior Citizens / Students / Visitors with Disabilities 2.50 € Guided tours in English by prior arrangement 45,-€. info[at]museum-brotkultur.de
I love my three brothers, and I love hanging out with them in their homes now that they’re all grown up with fabulous women and places of their own.
For Christmas this year I got to visit my middle brother Evan and his wife, my dear sister-in-law Kendra at their home in Germany. We spent four marvelous days lounging about playing cards, Settlers of Catan, watching movies and going for hikes in the snow. And every morning we got to eat the amazing breakfasts they’d put together.
While we sipped big mugs of creamy coffee, Kendra would make a gorgeous fruit platter of some kind, a light dusting of sugar glittering in the candlelight.
Then she and Ev would labor over the stove making crispy hash browns, creamy eggs, whole grain toast and a whole lotta bacon. Mmm, mmm!
Around noon one of us would decide that maybe, just maybe we should get out of our pjs and go for a walk. It was the snowiest Christmas imaginable in Germany, and we had such fun bundling up and trekking through knee-high drifts or warily stepping our way over hard-packed stretches that squeaked under our boots and were as slick as ice.
Some days it was too wicked cold even for us Canadians, so we’d happily stay warm and toasty inside and just enjoy the view.
What is your favorite breakfast on a snowy morning?
We arrived in Heidelberg on a dark, cold afternoon with fog rolling down the mountains. I’ve never been to Heidelberg in the winter and was absolutely delighted by the fairytale quality the snow gave to the gabled windows and towering spires of the beautiful city.
We teetered our way up steep, icy, cobbled streets past rather splendid doorways and opulent homes until we reached the snow-covered ruins of Heidelberg Castle.
These are some of my favorite ruins, towering magisterially above the river valley, though I dearly wish some wealthy soul would take the castle as their pet project and restore it. I would love to see how it looked when the halls were filled with royalty, servants and guests from abroad.
I think the best part of the castle is the view. I took a video of it for you, and am delighted by how it looks like a miniature city tucked into a snow globe.
We arrived back at my brother’s house in Amsterdam late last night and I’m spending a deliciously lazy morning on the couch, tucked up under mounds of blankets. This afternoon we’re heading out to explore the Netherlands coast and tonight we’ll be braving the streets of Amsterdam to celebrate New Year’s Eve among the fireworks happy residents.
I wish you a beautiful celebration tonight and an absolutely wonderful year. I’m so glad you’re in my life and look forward to getting to know you even better in this new year. 🙂
Ever since I heard the name Baden-Baden I have wanted to visit this beautiful little spa town set on the edge of the Black Forest in Germany. We didn’t have time to try out any of the luxurious spa treatments or health clinics, but we had just enough time to wander the streets still resplendent in their holiday finery and a recent dusting of snow.
This has to be one of my favorite buildings – a delightful blast of color and festivity in a line of stately but somber edifices.
As usual in German towns, the church is stunning, towering over the populace, providing a handy point of reference and meeting place for directionally challenged explorers.
We wandered happily along slushy cobbled lanes, popping into shops to peruse their wares, dashing up random stone staircases to see what lay beyond.
All too soon we had to depart. We strode past the town skating rink and I recalled with a smile my own childhood in Canada where I spent every winter afternoon on the ice playing hockey with my three brothers.
Then we piled into our cars and drove through the snow-blanketed town up, up into the gorgeous Black Forest towards our next destination.
