Deutschland 101: What to Eat When You're in Berlin

Strut, Momma. Strut.

Dear Readers,

when you travel, make sure you feast upon everything edible in sight. It's a motto I live by every time I globe-trotting. As a curious gastronomer, I find my motto very helpful to overcome my fear of trying something new - or, in this case, eating something I have never ate before - plus it also helps me in gaining knowledge about the background and the culture of the gourmet itself. 

On December 2013, Mom and I went for a quick getaway to Berlin, Germany. Dad couldn't join us because he got aircrafts to pilot, so it was just the two of us. Home of the Berlin Wall has got lots of delights and cuisine and, I can assure, Mom and I gained a few kilos after we roamed the city for three days. 

For those who are planning to travel to Berlin, I might have some list of the food that you must introduce to your taste buds. Most of them are budget-friendly, as they are available for you to get from the food vendors by the road, at any Christmas Markets on sight, and at small cafes at the corner of the streets. Although, there is this fancy restaurant named Maximilians that I always visit whenever I go to Germany. The food is a bit pricey, but the food is overwhelming. A definite must-try!

So, are you ready for the list? 

Hopping on the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe

1. Bratwurst mit Brötchen

Bratwurst refers to the sausage, where brat means grilled or pan-fried and wurst means sausage, and brötchen stands for the bun. It's a german version of hotdogs. The sausages are made of either veal, pork, or beef - thicker, longer, and juicier than any other sausages I have ever eaten in my life. They are usually grilled to perfection - crispy and rubbery on the outside, but as you penetrate your canine tooth into it, you will find a sponge-like savory chunk of juicy meat and savory goodness. 

You can find Bratwurst pretty much everywhere because it is one of the most common food in Berlin. Most of them are sold on food trucks, or food carts - but I have seen a hotdog man carrying gas tank on his back and stove on the other side, grilling those juicy meat under his nose, and selling it to people. 

Don't you just want to have them for breakfast everyday? 

See, I didn't lie about the hotdog man!

2. Fisch mit Brötchen

It shares the same concept as the previous dish I mentioned before. The only thing different is the filling that they use to stuff the buns with. 

Fisch is, well, fish. This seafood hotdog can be found at any seafood stand, or Fischhaus, that you encounter. They either sell smoked seafood or deep-fried seafood, and not only you can enjoy it with rye bread, you can also indulge with potatoes and french fries. 

The type of fish that I had was an Alaska Seelach-filet, or an Alaskan Pollock. It was perfectly deep-fried, all golden brown and crispy on the outside, while you have a soft and oily white meat on the inside. Alaskan Pollock is related to Alaskan Cod, but since I am not familiar with fish, I find the meat simply delicious. 

Just look at that perfectly fried filet

3. Leberkäse

Still share the same concept as the above, Leberkäse is a traditional bavarian food that is similar to a meatloaf. Leberkäse is made from grinned corner beef, pork, bacon and onion. All of the ingredients are then placed in a bread pan, hence the shape of a loaf, and baked in an oven. I personally love this particular dish so much because the meat is very delicious and rich in flavor, especially when it has cheese fillings inside. 

Yum, my favorite!

4. Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen hearts, or heart-shaped ginger bread cookie, is an everyday sight when you visit Germany. All of the lebkuchen are decorated with colorful icing sugar, so that they will look appealing and attractive to people, when actually they don't taste as pretty as it looks. The cookies are wrapped in plastic and are attached to a string on the upper part, which is then necklaced by the buyer later on. 

Isn't it adorable?

Which one is lucky enough to be taken home by yours truly?

5. Gebrannte Mandeln

This one is one of my favorites! Gebrannte mandeln is a burnt sugar almonds, or caramelized sugar-coated almonds, that tasted super sweet. For those who are not fond of sweets and have sensitive teeth, this snack might be a pain in the butt. But, on the other hand, gebrannte mandeln is a treat for the sweet-toothed. You should definitely give the almonds a try when you bumped into one, you won't regret it!

My share of sugar-coated almonds

6. Heisse Marroni

We can enjoy this particular munchies during the winter season as they bloom and harvested within a chilly and cold climate. Roasted chestnut is one of the winter treats Mom and I love to indulge in when we have our winter gloves on. They are usually served fresh from the oven and it is a pleasure to peel the stiff and burnt skin off to enjoy the delicious insides, as the chestnuts overflows with warmth. 

Perfect during winter season

7. Christmas Market Munchies 

Christmas Markets are like the constellations in the night sky. The constellations are numerous, but the stars within in outnumber the constellation itself. The same thing goes for the booths and stands at a Christmas Market. 

During winter, numerous Christmas Markets will pop out at every corners of the street, and each Christmas Market will hold a serious number of booths to visit. Some of them sell knick knack and everyday needs, like candles and lamp shades, but most of them sell something that can fulfill a gastronomer's needs: food. So, while you are at the market, why not spend some Euros on budget-friendly, yet stomach-filling, snacks? And don't forget to eat everything in sight!

An entrance to a Christmas Market in Berlin

Chocolate-covered Banana, yum!

Flat bread topped with cheese and bacon bits

Waffles smothered in chocolate syrup

A ball of chocolate-coated cookies

8. Maximilians

Bored of eating off the street? Why not dine at Maximilians!

I recommend you to get the Knuckle Pork when you go to the restaurant because it is to die for! My Mom, who is not a big fan of eating, could finish the dish all by herself simple because it was just that good. The knuckle of the pork was as big as my calf, so you might want to be careful not to eat in when you're half full. 

The knuckle was cooked to perfection. It had crispy golden brown skin that goes crunch! crunch! when you bite into it and a tender juicy meat on the inside. The dish is served with german-style potato, or bratkartoffeln, sprinkled with greens and poured with flavorful gravy. 

When you see this statue, then you've come to the right place

The sight of the Knuckle Pork

9. Pretzel

Mandatory business, a pretzel is. Pretzel is one of the signature munchies in German. By having washing soda poured into the dough before it gets shaped and baked in the oven gives a pretzel its' signature stiff skin and flavor. I simply love pretzel for its' unique texture and funky flavor, especially when one is topped with sea salt and cheese.

It ain't German if you haven't eat Pretzel

You can buy a pretzel pretty much anywhere

10. Glühwein  
Calling all wine lovers, you ought to try this hot beverage! Glühwein is a hot beverage that you can easily find in Berlin during winter season. The ingredients to make this particular beverage is, obviously, red wine, spices, and raisins - mix them all together and serve it while it's tongue-burning hot. I'm not a big fan of wine, so I didn't quite enjoy this drink. But, Mom loves it because it warmed up her body and it tasted exquisitely fine.

A glass of mulled-wine with take-home souvenir glass

11. Paulaner Weissbier 

Mom and Dad said that if you want to enjoy a glass of beer in Germany, make sure you get yourself a Paulaner Weissbier - they believe that it is the best beer in Germany. Unfortunately, I don't like beer as much as they do. I simply dislike the bitter after taste and the annoyingly fizzy liquid, so I can't enjoy Paulaner Weissbier like my parents did. Bummer. 

PROAST!

12. Hot Chocolate

What's better than a cup of hot cocoa when it's cold outside? 

I always get myself a glass of hot chocolate every time we make a quick rest at a cafe. What I like the most about having a cup of cocoa abroad is that they use genuine chocolate instead of instant cocoa drink like they mostly do in Indonesia and every cafe has its' own way to make and serve their hot chocolate. I like my cocoa topped with whipped cream. No apparent reason, I just do. And it's a 50-point-plus if the cafe serves my hot beverage with cookies on the side. Don't you just love it as well when you get freebies? 

Look at all those creamy goodness on top of my cocoa

Congratulations, you are at the end of the list! So, enjoy your holiday in Berlin, I hope my list helps you get familiar with German cuisine in a way or two. Remember, feast upon everything edible in sight.

With love, Kinan L. Wirastani

Deutschland Über Alles: Au Revoir, Munich!

Ony a few hours left before I left the motherland of beer. After I washed myself and packed my things, I went downstairs, to the hostel's cafeteria, and had my last bagel-wich. This time, I ate a round bagel with sesame seeds decoratin the outer skin. Filling it with, of course, different kinds of cheese and sliced meat, then I started munching. As I savor the crusty bagel and the juicy meat, I was wretched by the fact that it would by my last bagel for the time being.

My last bagel-wich

The sound of my luggage being dragged echoed around the hostel's lobby. As soon as we checked out, we said goodbye to the hostel that has a very funky popcorn machine and prepared ourselves to ride a train to the airport. I made a quick stop at a pastry shop located at the train station and bought myself a big chocolate chips cookie. But of course, we can't forget about the high-tech vending machine, so I paid my last visit and bought two packs of Haribo gummy candy.

The petite pastry corner

My disc-sized chocolate chips cookies

Smurfs Haribo, woohoo!

Who could resist these sour worms?

Remember Louis, my Dad's friend who looked like Iron Man? Before we grab a trolly and check in at Qatar Airways flight counter, my parents and I visited his office that was located near the airport, only a train-ride away. Iron Man, apparently, worked at Lufthansa as a flight planner. He gave us a tour around the headquarters, and even stopped by at the cafeteria to drink some juice and eat ice cream, his treats. He even gave me a bar of chocolate! It was a very cool place, I felt like I'm in WHOOP Headquarters.

A bottle of mineral water and a glass of apple juice, Louis' treats

Three flavored ice cream sandwich

That ice cream was so good

A bar of Duplo Chocolate

Unfortunately, Louis was very busy that day, so we had to say goodbye and let the man of steel do his duty. We still had four hours to spend before our flight to Doha, Qatar, so we backpacked around the airport. The airport, you see, is really big. Even the terminals are separated into two buildings. I visited a lot of souvenir shops because I haven't bought any for my friends and myself. There, I found lots of unusual stuff worth to spend money on, for example the Chocolate Spoon. This chocolate, ladies and gentleman, is attached at the end of a wooden spoon and it is designed that way so that we can make an instant hot chocolate out of it. Cool, huh? We just have to pour some fresh hot milk into a cup and stir it with the chocolate spoon. Later on, the chocolate will melt and voila! your hot cocoa is ready to be indulged. I couldn't help but to buy me one of those genius spoons.

It came in two different flavors, almond and cinnamon

Then, I found another product made by a genius, which is Magnum ice cream. Now, this ice cream over here does not exist in Indonesia, and it was my first time to see such flavor. "Magnum Infinity" was written on the packaging. As a person who love to try new things, I bought myself a pack and undress it. I was welcomed by a solid chocolate-covered ice cream. I took a bite and I understood why its' name is "infinity". Infinite chocolate, baby!

To infinity and beyond!

And by "infinity", they meant "chocolate infinity"

I'm sad by the fact that there is no Magnum Infinity here in Indonesia,

"See if you can find any pork for lunch," said Dad. I went full-bloodhound and immediately spotted a restaurant that has lots of pork, including wurst and pork knuckle. Mom and Dad ordered a plate of Pork Knuckle, served with a ball of potato dumpling, and a bowl of salad topped with bacon pieces. Of course they ordered beer as well. We shared the pork knuckle, and it didn't take an hour for us to finish the whole thing. It was beyond delicious! The gravy was deliciously savory, the meat was nicely cooked, crispy pork skin everywhere, what more could you expect?

The refreshing and juicy sour salad

That pork knuckle is way bigger than my fist

Big-boned pork, with its' thick meat, we devour it all

Only a couple of hours left before the staff lady told us to board the aircraft, I spent the remaining time I and the remaining euros I had left buying more food and eating them. It's a bout time you go, "Damn, this kid is an eating machine!". I had a pretzel, some more sausages, and a loaf of sour-dough bread. I even bought myself another stick of ice cream that tasted like fruit syrup and fireworks. No, seriously! The top of the ice cream was filled with pop rocks candy, and it literary popped and exploded like fireworks in your mouth, minus the fire that is. That was a really funky ice cream!

Bought myself a pretzel because of reasons

A bag of sausages and sour-dough loaf

"X-POP with Fizzy Effect" sounds awesome, huh?

It tasted like fireworks

"Passengers are welcome to board the aircraft," said a lady on a speaker. The next thing I know, I was on my seat sitting like a good and polite passenger, munching on crackers that was given to me by one of the stewardess.

I love the pillow-shaped cracker the most

It was a six hour flight from Munich to Doha. I spent the entire hours watching Tv series from the in-flight movies. Two Broke Girls, New Girl, Glee, The Universe, Raising Hope, I watched them all. When I got bored, I turned on my iPhone and played Epic Meal Time's game, in which we are commanded to feed the sauce bauss with only meat and liquor, and the game will be over if we feed him with veggies. My kind of game. 

A couple hours before the plane landed, the stewardess came with a food tray and handed us our dinner. The choice was between chicken and fish. I was in the mood for some nicely fried fish, so I didn't chose the poultry. It's a good thing Mom ordered the chicken, that way I could taste how nice the other meal was.

Mom's chicken that tasted delicious

"Here's your fish," said the lovely Caucasian steward. My meal tray was filled with numerous kinds of food I got flustered a little bit. There were my plate of fish with some mashed potatoes and spinach, a bowl of lentil, a small bagel, crackers with some butter and cheese, Toblerone chocolate, a piece of chocolate cake, a glass of mineral water, and a glass of apple juice. They all looked tasty, so I made sure I tasted each and every one of them. 

My tray of dinner

The lentil was very fresh and nutty. It was bathe in some kind of sour broth, along with some slices of bell peppers and purple cabbage. It was my first time eating lentil, and it wasn't that bad. I like it, actually. I think it would be great if we can eat it with some rice and nicely grilled fish.

A bowl of lentil

The fish was also delicious. Perfectly cooked, the meat was white, and it was soft. The spinach was creamy, and it's a good thing it didn't dominated the whole plate because I was not in the mood to be a vegetarian.

My plate of fish bathe in gravy

The three-layers chocolate cake was a bit hard for me to enjoy as it has strawberry jam on each layers. But the whipped cream, on the other hand, was delightful. If only I can ask for more whipped cream and less strawberry jam on the chocolate cake, I would give that dessert a two thumbs up.

Chocolate cake with whipped cream

Last but not least, the crackers. I ate the crackers with some cheese, making it look fancy and tea-time-snack-like. In my opinion, crackers and cheese spread as math made in heaven. They blend with each other well, not to mention each foodstuff complete the other, which make the whole thing very delicious and enjoyable.

Biscuits and fancy cheese for dessert

"Flight crew please be seated for landing," said a steward over the speaker. Soon, I was walking down the airplane and putting my backpack through the scanner. 

My experience in Munich was awesome and epic! I ate lots and lots of delicious food, especially pork. I met a lot of people, most of them were drunk and wasted. I spent a lot of money on food and I didn't regret a thing, I repeat, I didn't regret a thing. I gained three kilos after my four-days-stay at Munich and I'm okay with it. Let's just hope that, next year, I can get another chance to visit Munich and stuff myself with some wurst and pomme frites. 

Deutschland Über Alles: Visiting the Royal Family

Day three of our stay in Munich. My parents and I woke up a bit late that day because we were very very tired from party-rock-anthem at the Oktoberfest. Our schedule for the day was to go out of town and visit a castle located at a a mountain. Of course, before we head to the train station, we had breakfast. Consuming food in the morning is essential, people!

I had another make-yourself-a-bagel-wich for breakfast, but with different kind of bagel bread, with different kinds of cheese and sliced meat. A bowl of cherry yogurt that tasted like cough syrup and a bowl of cereal with fresh and cold milk. A glass of hot tea, fruit-flavored if I'm not mistaken, and a glass of cold apple juice. I have to say, my second bagel-wich tasted better than my first one. Maybe because the square bagel is decorated with freshly roasted sesame seeds, which blended well with the cheese and the meat. I couldn't help but to want another round of that bagel-wich, but I had to spare some room in my stomach for some crunchy wurst. 

My breakfast that day

That's some holy cheeses. Get it? 

Simple, yet luxurious!

The thing about train stations is that you can always find things that will entertain you. In my case, the vending machine. There are some vending machine here in Jakarta, but it usually contains bottled drinks and it costs you around Rp10.000,00 per bottle or so. If it were a Magnum Ice Cream vending machine then I'll be cool with it. But, come on, Rp10.000,00 for a bottle of mineral water that you can get for Rp2.500,00 at a convenient store? I don't think so.

In Munich, the vending machine are filled with snacks that I'm not familiar with. For example, this vending machine over here that I stumbled upon at the Munchen Hauptbahnhof. The machine was filled with numerous chocolate bars, gummy candies, crackers, biscuits, gums, wafers. How can an easily-entertained person like me resists such glorious machine?

I took a step closer to that machine and examine each packs of treat. The word "nutella" caught my attention, then I immediately took some coins from my coin purse and put it inside the big metal box. "24" I pressed the button located at the bottom of the coin entrance hole. "Zzzziiinnnggg~" said the big metal thing that was taller and wider than me. A "clank" was heard at the bottom of the machine. I stuck my hand in and grabbed the so-called sweet treat, and there it was.. a pack of Nutella & Go, ready to be devoured!

What is this, Narnia?!

I've been wanting to try this snack ever since I saw it on Tumblr

"It's gonna be a long trip to the castle," said Dad, "two hours long!" It's a cue for me to buy some snacks incase I get bored during our trip. As we approached our platform, I spotted a few food stands that caught my attention. One of them was this lovely dessert stand named Brioche Doree. What amazed me was the dessert stand's giant macaroon. Is it considered giant if it was as big and as thick as my palm?

There were only three flavors, which were chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio. Those macaroons costed 2 € each. I decided to buy the Pistachio Macaroon because it's my favorite flavor when it comes to those petite meringue-like cookies.

The macaroon was very big and I knew that if I finished the whole thing in one go I would feel nauseated, so I ate it slowly. It was crunchy and soft like how macaroon would tasted like, and it tasted delicious. It was worth my 2 €. 

Brioche Doree is the name of the petite patisserie

My, why what a beauty

My lovely Pistachio Macaroon

See, I didn't lie when I told you that it was as big as my palm!

We finally arrived at a beautiful place named Schwangau, Germany. A two-hour train-ride from Munich will get you this this majestic place, where the mountain with snow at the peak and abundant pine trees where Slender Man lives surround you. The weather was a bit chilly as well, judging from the fact that the area is usually visited by tourist for skying.

I spotted some of Loki's little ones

Can you spot a lake?

Ain't that gorgeous? 

Autumn is right around the corner

It was a very beautiful place

The lake was crystal clear

Have I mentioned that the lake was crystal clear?

It was in the afternoon when we arrived at Schwangau, so we decided to grab some lunch first before we do some hiking. There was a restaurant, a lot actually, near a castle. My parents and I had lunch at the restaurant, a plate of sausages with french fries and a glass of beer to be exact. As for me, I bought myself Nestle's Smarties Pop Up, despite the chilly weather and my freezing fingers, that tasted milky and amusing! Then I ordered myself some sausages and pomme frites and digged in. 

Smarties Pop Up!

Vanilla ice cream with smarties in it

I was very entertained by this ice cream

Mom's lunch

My lunch, same as Dad's

We visited a castle named Hohenschwangau Castle, which was a summer house and the childhood residence for the royal family of Bavaria, King Maximilian II and Queen Marie of Prussia. The castle was decorated with lots and lots of swan-related drawings, murals, and miscellaneous. 

The childhood residence of Prince Otto

"It's five o'clock," said the watch. Our train came and we left the royal residence and headed back to Munich. The three of us basically slept like a baby during our two-hour trip, passing the white and black cows and the beautiful meadow that looked like Windows' desktop background. When we arrived at the Munchen Hauptbahnhof, we made a quick pit stop at a food stand and grab some dinner. I was in the mood for pizza, so I bought myself some thin-crusted meat pizza. It was delicious and fulfilling! Other than pizza, I also bought some vending-machine goodies. I just couldn't resist.

Had dinner at Rubenbauer's Pizza corner

Those were the veggie pizza, with cheese on top

Aren't they just delicious?

My salty and floury pizza

Kinder chocolate with a toy inside

Chocolate wafer that was bigger than my palm

It was still early when the three musketeers arrived at the hostel, so I took the liberty of my time to use the free wifi available at the hostel and grabbed myself a bag of popcorn. The popcorn machine was very high-tech! We don't have anything like it here in Indonesia, or so I think. Put some coins inside, place the bag at the proper place, then your popcorn will come out. It was a fun machine to operate. Unfortunately, the popcorn tasted a bit sweet for a supposed-to-be-salty popcorn.

See how fun it is to operate such funky machine?

I was mesmerized

I finished my popcorns and called it a day