Germany 2017 Post 1

And now to embark on the tale of the epic trip to Germany in April! Why did it take so long for me to get to this? Because I wanted to savor it, I think.

As we left it in mrsguy around March, mrguy and I were looking forward to grünsoße, visiting with a friend in Frankfurt, going to see an ancestor's paintings in Halberstadt and experiencing Sorbian Easter in Bautzen. All of that happened and more.

We got to town (Frankfurt) in the early afternoon and checked in with mrpiston. He took us to Cafe Karin, and then around town. We had to step into this gorgeous mall just to see the interior, which is fabulous. More about this architectural landmark here.

Then we went to see where mrpiston works. His weekdays are spent in this building, which now houses the Goethe Institute:

When it was first constructed, however, it was a chemical company. They formulated Zyklon B there, which is deeply disturbing to know.

After WWII, it became an Allied headquarters (Western Command). We were able to see some rooms that were once command headquarters. The last photo, above, is of the library. When it was being updated they discovered a Medieval ice house on the property. Then they just incorporated it in the plans and kept building.

One of the features of this building is a type of elevator called a paternoster. Here is a video of the actual paternoster at this building. I was terrified to try it, but eventually I did. After roaming around the school, we walked around the city.

Mrpiston is the kind of person who is interested in everything and has a quick mind for facts. We kept him busy with many questions. Like, why is there a statue of two naked guys talking on the phone?

Turns out that this is a monument to the German inventor of the telephone, Philipp-Reis-Denkmal. That's his bust in the center of the monument, and the two men can't see each other and are talking on the phone buck naked, as they would have in Ancient Rome. Right? Anyhoo...

We walked around the city and eventually got to a place where we were to eat
grünsoße. This was my special request to mrpiston: I've heard about grünsoße. I hear it's a big deal in Frankfurt. Would you be able to tell us where to procure? We were just going to miss the grünsoße festival.

Here, at Proletariat, we finally had our soße:

Many lands have their own green sauce. If you look it up on Wikipedia there's a breakdown of the green sauces of many lands. And what arrived on my plate, in classic presentation, was a big puddle of thick, kinda bitter stuff with some eggs plopped in it and a side of potatoes. I love a few green sauces: green goddess, pesto. And I guess I was expecting a different flavor profile. If you don't like watercress, this is not the sauce for you. Maybe this was a one-off, as I hear that there are so many different recipes for Frankfurt's beloved green puddle.

We finished our dinner with a brandied mispelchen. What? Right. Even our host had a hard time telling us what it is. We ordered it precisely for that reason and finally figured out that they are loquats. Back home in suburbia, loquats are a common sight. Nobody really knows what to do with the harvest, which can be abrupt and prolific. In China they use the leaves to make a cough syrup. That is almost everything I know about loquats.

Turns out that they're delicious in brandy, but what isn't?

After dinner we said our goodbyes to mrpiston and went back to our nest at Hotel Adina, overlooking the Euro sign.