We went the cathedral in Cologne today. I'd not been to such an ancient (1200), enormous structure and was rather awed by it. (The stained glass pics are for you, Daniel, but of course they do little to convey the enormity and beauty we saw. ) We ate a very German meal on the banks of the Rhine while being serenaded by an accordian player. The heaviness of the meal slowed down our walking a bit. My meal--one of just a handful without sausage--advertised that it had spinach and mushrooms and cheese. I wasn't sure what to anticipate, but took comfort knowing that at least I liked the prominent ingredients. It was, simply, a big bowl of creamed spinach and sliced mushrooms absolutely swimming in cheese. Once again, I was struck by how the midwest really seems to take a lot from Germany. In MN and neighboring states, we'd maybe try to jazz up that casserole with a little Campbell's cream of _______ and maybe a few of those Durkees friend onions on top, but we'd still slather on the cheese. There was also a sign for a restaurant that simply said "meat and potatoes" (in German) with an arrow pointing down to the door. Enough said. But there's something oddly relaxing about the familiarity we feel Germany, a place we've never been. Even odder are the "sightings" I keep having of friends/family. These are instances when I see people on the street who look so alarmingly like someone at home, that I kind of gawk. Normally these occur in the Netherlands and are connected to Ryan's family (who are all Dutch, so it figures). So far in Maastricht I've seen Marla (the closest match yet), Stacey and Grandma Betty. Today in Cologne I saw Paul from Memphis. Are you perhaps German, Paul?
We went the cathedral in Cologne today. I'd not been to such an ancient (1200), enormous structure and was rather awed by it. (The stained glass pics are for you, Daniel, but of course they do little to convey the enormity and beauty we saw. ) We ate a very German meal on the banks of the Rhine while being serenaded by an accordian player. The heaviness of the meal slowed down our walking a bit. My meal--one of just a handful without sausage--advertised that it had spinach and mushrooms and cheese. I wasn't sure what to anticipate, but took comfort knowing that at least I liked the prominent ingredients. It was, simply, a big bowl of creamed spinach and sliced mushrooms absolutely swimming in cheese. Once again, I was struck by how the midwest really seems to take a lot from Germany. In MN and neighboring states, we'd maybe try to jazz up that casserole with a little Campbell's cream of _______ and maybe a few of those Durkees friend onions on top, but we'd still slather on the cheese. There was also a sign for a restaurant that simply said "meat and potatoes" (in German) with an arrow pointing down to the door. Enough said. But there's something oddly relaxing about the familiarity we feel Germany, a place we've never been. Even odder are the "sightings" I keep having of friends/family. These are instances when I see people on the street who look so alarmingly like someone at home, that I kind of gawk. Normally these occur in the Netherlands and are connected to Ryan's family (who are all Dutch, so it figures). So far in Maastricht I've seen Marla (the closest match yet), Stacey and Grandma Betty. Today in Cologne I saw Paul from Memphis. Are you perhaps German, Paul?
1 comment:
Hey, peanutaroos. Yep. A good portion of me is from the region. Ancestrally, the Haughts are from the Netherlands, and they since got together with various Germans, Swiss, and, in at least one case, someone from Lichtenstein--all of it in West Virginia which adds some ambiguity to the family tree, wouldn't you say? So that was definitely me you saw, or at least the half of me that is not Italian.
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