a pretzel a day: February 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Bloggus Interruptus

We interrupt this blog with a very important message........

UGH! My computer is acting up and not allowing me to log on. Hang on original 10+2 (yay!)....the Hub and I are working on it and I hope that I will be up and blogging again soon. Thanks for your understanding.

Did I mention...UGH!

**EDIT: well, happily the computer is now bug free, but I am not. Am sick in the bed...will try to push out an entry or two between cups of tea.....blech....**

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Faschingsdienstag

Yesterday was Faschingsdienstag: Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras-the day of revelry before Ash Wednesday and Lent kicks in, with all of that denying and being chaste...and the Germans are no different.

I went down to the city center to meet friends to view the Viktualienmarkt Ladies Parade. What I saw was so much more...you see, here in Germany, Fasching is the time to dress up in silly costumes and party like it's....., well, Fasching! In the crowd there were wonderful wigs and headgear (a smart way to go, since it was sunny and chilly-that way one can keep the rest of the body warm!), and terrific costumes.

See below:

These ladies were an absolute blast in their Amadeus costumes!

Bubble wrap hats-the one on the left is a planter with live plants, and the one on the right had a ship topper!

The parade represents the women who work all year in the outside Viktualienmarkt...the Flower Seller, the Wurst and Meat Seller, the Cheese Lady, the Pretzel and Bread Seller, the Schnapps Lady....and more. The parade winds its way from the Rathaus in Marienplatz to the waiting crowd in the Market...where they perform several dances...including a most enjoyable celebration of 'Thriller'.

There was singing. There was dancing. Confetti was tossed. Silly string was shot. Libations were consumed. A great time was had by all. Needless to say, we are pondering our costumes for next year.....

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Krapfen-they taste better than they sound!

Krapfen-basically a filled donut with jelly, custard, chocolate or the like...these started popping up in bakeries all over town a few weeks ago. They are a pre-Lent treat that sadly, will go away after today-Fat Tuesday. They are similar to the Packzi (pronounced Punch-kee) that are popular in Detroit, but didn't seem as heavy or as it is with most things in Germany, as sweet as their U.S. (Polish) cousins.

The traditional Krapfen are dusted with powdered sugar as above left and have jelly (often apricot) inside. The one with the heart stenciled powdered sugar had raspberry jelly, I think...the two with the candy hearts had cherry inside-one with cream the other straight up and the last one was a black forest variety.

On this plate, the crown jewel is the coco dusted tiramisu. Supporting Krapfen included the glazed egg liquor cream and the white chocolate shaving with chocolate drizzle topped chocolate cream filled and the black forest.

We met some friends and had coffee and the sampling while we had the chance since the Krapfen dissappear at the onset of Lent, which is probably good for all of our wastelines!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

A pretzel a day's Top Ten List

Ok, so I am copying Letterman's Top Ten list, but I wanted to celebrate the fact that I have 10 readers who are actually following my blog and have stepped up and and signed in! I am so excited and completely humbled by this-you guys are great!

So, here is the Pretzel Top Ten list for February, 2010:

Top Ten Reasons that I like writing my blog

10) You give me a reason to get out every day and explore.
9)   I get to tell someone the funny things that happen to me.
8)   Sharing my photos from places far and near.
7)   Hearing your thoughts and experiences in the comments
                   you leave.
6)    The hub would go batty with the minutiae of my days.
5)   You get me, you really get me!
4)    Seeing is believing.
3)   Pretzels, people...I get to eat a lot of them and not feel
                   a bit guilty!
2)   It gives me an excuse for time on the computer...
                    uh, doing research..yeah, that's it!
1)    Maybe I will entice one or more of you to come to visit.

So, to the wonderful, beautiful, intelligent 10, thank you! If you haven't signed in, I invite you to follow...being a follower is not a bad thing here...no matter if you do or not, I am glad that you are here and hope that you decide to stay a while and visit often. Prost!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Unifest

We live very close to the campus of LMU and the Technical Universities...that is where I came by this poster for Unifest. It just struck me as funny.

Oh, for the days of cheap Beck's and shots all night! You gotta like the use of the Munich skyline and also the Monk symbol...a little local pride while enticing us to get boozed up!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Flat Stanley gets around

We get to live in a pretty cool place. We also get to travel to other cool places. So, when a friend of mine from home asked if we would help with a Flat Stanley (FS for short) project for her son, I gladly said yes!

We are a couple without children-for those of you who know me, you believe me when I say that I really do like other peoples' kids. I try to be a good auntie, and I really won't hand them back to their parents unless there is a sticky nose....but I digress....

So when this friend asked if I would help wtih FS, I took my job seriously. I printed out a new FS before each trip, making sure that he looked his best...as good as a hockey mask wearing, chainsaw toting guy can look. I posted some examples of the finished product that I sent back to the US. I thought that I would share, since I had a great time pulling FS out of my bag and taking pics of him in interesting and important places we visited. It was fun and always brought a few snickers from other people with their serious cameras (I used my blackberry so I could send the pics via email right away) and their serious pictures.

So here for your viewing pleasure is the debut of Flat Stanley's world tour:

First stop: Amsterdam...