Flashbacks
I was browsing the food section from today's Washington Post and came across two articles that brought back fond memories:
(1) Way back in 2000 (or maybe it was 1999, I'm not sure), I sent in a postcard to enter a contest on a now-defunct local classical music radio station and promptly forgot about it. A few months later we were visiting San Diego when I checked my work voicemail and had a message from someone at the radio station telling me I'd won a trip for two to Vienna (luckily, it wasn't one of those contests where you have 15 minutes to call in because I never would have heard it). This would have been exciting no matter what, but was especially a treat because Gretchen had studied there for a semester in college and had never been back, while I had never been to Europe at all. They flew us both over, put us up for five nights at the opulent Hotel Imperial, and gave us second-row tickets for a concert at the Musikverein. The night of the concert, the folks from the radio station treated us to dinner at the hotel, where I had the most unbelievable, almost paper-thin Wiener schnitzel imaginable. That trip, which also included travel on our own dime (with much more spartan hotels) to Prague, Dresden (which someday merits a story of its own), and Berlin, really ignited the international travel fire under us that ultimately led to our time in Switzerland. I was reminded of all this because the paper had an article about Wiener schnitzel featuring none other than the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. Mmmmm...I can almost taste it.
(2) One of the last trips we took when Gretchen was pregnant was a long weekend drive around southern Germany. One of the quirky things we tried on that trip was Rauchbier, or "smoke beer," in the charming Bavarian city of Bamberg. While I'm glad I tried the Rauchbier, it's definitely an acquired taste that I don't feel the need to try again, and wouldn't expect to find it here anyway since it seemed to be such a local niche. So I was surprised to see in this article (the "liquid bacon" description they give it is not inaccurate) that the brewery where I had my Rauchbier actually exports to the U.S. I don't think I'll be rushing to our nearby German food store to see if they carry it.
(1) Way back in 2000 (or maybe it was 1999, I'm not sure), I sent in a postcard to enter a contest on a now-defunct local classical music radio station and promptly forgot about it. A few months later we were visiting San Diego when I checked my work voicemail and had a message from someone at the radio station telling me I'd won a trip for two to Vienna (luckily, it wasn't one of those contests where you have 15 minutes to call in because I never would have heard it). This would have been exciting no matter what, but was especially a treat because Gretchen had studied there for a semester in college and had never been back, while I had never been to Europe at all. They flew us both over, put us up for five nights at the opulent Hotel Imperial, and gave us second-row tickets for a concert at the Musikverein. The night of the concert, the folks from the radio station treated us to dinner at the hotel, where I had the most unbelievable, almost paper-thin Wiener schnitzel imaginable. That trip, which also included travel on our own dime (with much more spartan hotels) to Prague, Dresden (which someday merits a story of its own), and Berlin, really ignited the international travel fire under us that ultimately led to our time in Switzerland. I was reminded of all this because the paper had an article about Wiener schnitzel featuring none other than the Hotel Imperial in Vienna. Mmmmm...I can almost taste it.
(2) One of the last trips we took when Gretchen was pregnant was a long weekend drive around southern Germany. One of the quirky things we tried on that trip was Rauchbier, or "smoke beer," in the charming Bavarian city of Bamberg. While I'm glad I tried the Rauchbier, it's definitely an acquired taste that I don't feel the need to try again, and wouldn't expect to find it here anyway since it seemed to be such a local niche. So I was surprised to see in this article (the "liquid bacon" description they give it is not inaccurate) that the brewery where I had my Rauchbier actually exports to the U.S. I don't think I'll be rushing to our nearby German food store to see if they carry it.
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