We had a good time in the Netherlands. One night, we ended up a bar that was having some mass trivia contest. It seemed like everyone in the bar was playing, mostly in teams. We bellied up to the bar, unaware of the contest, and to our left were a couple of guys that started asking us questions. We were talking back and forth when Eric noticed that one of the other teams was listening in to our answers and were using it to their benefit. So we kept it a little quieter for the remaining rounds. The main reason that anyone actually listened to us was because almost all of the questions were about American things (cartoons, movies, songs, &c.). The team next door didn’t win, but I think that they definitely placed a little better than they would have without our help.
We didn’t get to see many sites in the Netherlands as we were on a work trip, and were really just barely into the country anyway. On our way back we stopped in Köln (Cologne) for lunch. And got to see a little bit of the Cathedral there…
They are in the process of cleaning the figures; see if you can guess which ones they’ve finished…
The Cathedral, of course, has some beautiful stained glass …
It also has what is believed to be the skeletal relics of the Maggi. That’s right, the remains of all three wise men are allegedly housed here (in one box no less). Here is a picture (though admittedly a not very good one) of the relic. It is behind bars and I couldn’t get a side hot because of the Christmas trees that were nearby. I definitely will need to get back there, and will try to get a better photo then.
I don’t have much to say about Kaiserslautern. We stayed outside of town at a nice little hotel with it’s own restaurant. Across the street was an Irish Pub (the Gallaghers have infiltrated the Fatherland!). Aside from that, there was really nothing else in our area, so we really didn’t do much.
This past weekend I picked up a new toy …
The wisps of smoke you see are from the inaugural burn. I used about 10 pounds of charcoal just to burn all of the shipping oils and miscellaneous stuff out of it. I think I was partially successful. Please take notice of the fire box on the left hand side. This is for small grilling or for smoking various critters and beasts. I’ve been reading up a bit and have found that grape vines are a suitable choice for smoking almost all meats. As luck would have it the vineyards are being trimmed back right about now, so there are plenty of vines available. I will check and make sure it’s OK if I take some before I come out of the vineyards with a couple of bushels of vines. If it’s not OK, I’ll just need to do my gathering at night.
And since I realize that everyone is on the edge of their seats wondering what I’ve been eating lately, here are a couple of photos of some recent meals…
Here’s one that I made the first weekend I got back. It’s Brussels sprouts and a sausage.
“Wait a second; let’s have a closer look at that sausage. Is that … ?”
OK, you caught me. It’s Blutwurst. But Brussels sprouts ARE vegetables, so it evens out.
Next one is a mixed greens salad (don’t ask me what the mix is) which was eaten with a good dense rye bread that had walnuts in it. And don’t forget the schmaltz to spread on the bread.
On Saturday, I bought this organic chicken and was not sure whether to roast it or make soup. Roasting won. Here’s a picture of the bird. Have you ever seen a bird this lovely before?
While the bird was roasting, I cooked the liver in some butter and ate it with some Sriracha. I really don’t think life can get any better than this…
I ate the chicken with a salad of mixed greens (the same unknown ones as before).
It was about this time that I discovered that the chicken must have been a stewing hen. This bird was tough. I ate one breast and attempted to eat a wing. Tonight I pulled the meat off of the bones and made some stock with the carcass. In the next few days I’ll de-fat the stock, put the meat back in, some leeks, some cabbage, and maybe a couple of potatoes, and see what comes of it.
We are planning to go back to “The Perfect Event”, i.e. Oktoberfest, sometime between September 22nd and the 26th this year. If there are any Havenites and/or Havenettes out there who wish to get in on this deal, let me know within the next month. We plan on securing tent reservations and rooms a bit earlier this year.
