Roadside Candy Machines: Kaiserslautern

Here's one from the corner of Königstraße and Molkertstrasse. It has some alarming squeeze animal keychains. You know the kind, with the prolapsed innards that one can see after squeezing the unfortunate keychain? Yep. The sign says "Pfuiii, squeeze me!"

Spargelzeit! in GermanyJa!

An article that I wrote has been published in GermanyJa!, a website with articles about the experience of living in Germany as an expat. It's especially informative for military-affiliated Americans who move to Germany as it has articles about PCSing and other pertinent issues.

You can read my article here and learn all about Spargel, or white asparagus. It's that special time of the year where it's for sale everywhere and restaurants are featuring it too.

Restaurant Review: Burrito Mexican Grill, Kaiserslautern

UPDATE: As of summer 2016, this restaurant appears to be closed. I guess I can't be too surprised because it seemed as if every time I tried to stop by during their opening hours while they were still in business, no one was there and management gave no explanation why the restaurant wasn't open. Business owners, if you want to be successful, you need to run with regular hours!

Burrito Mexican Grill
Next to Steinstrasse 21
Kaiserslautern
Monday - Thursday 1100 - 2200
Friday - 1100 - 0200
Saturday: the store says it opens at 1100 but I've been there several Saturdays and they weren't open then. They may open at 1400; check first before stopping by.

Good golly, are the Mexican restaurants popping up all over the place around in Kaiserslautern! I love Mexican food so I'm always happy to see something new. This spring, three new Mexican restaurants have popped up. One includes Burrito Mexican Grill in the pedestrian zone in downtown Kaiserslautern.


The grill is more geared toward the take-away crowd, and especially the post-bar hopping crew with late night hours, it seems. There are two high top tables and chairs inside for those wishing to have a quick meal. The store is clean, neat, and sparse inside with the tables, a drink cooler, and the grill area to order.

The menu is also small; on offer are burritos, chili, and drinks (including soft drinks and Coronoa beer). I would have liked to see more on the menu, to include nacho chips at least, but then again, the shop is true to its name in that it's a burrito joint. I ordered the veggie burrito and enjoyed the huge burrito filled with rice, grilled bell peppers, corn, pico de gallo, guacamole, and jalapenos. It wasn't authentic Mexican food, which was no surprise, but good nonetheless and reminded me of something from Qdoba.

For a quick burrito fix or a post bar snack, Burrito Mexican Grill is worth a try!

The burrito, after eating a bit of it.

Wolfstein Kulinarische Wanderung

Today my friend and I took the train to Wolfstein, which is north of Kaiserslautern, for the Kulinarische Wanderung. It was a culinary hike through the town, up the hills with lined with farm pastures, and back down again with stops along the way to sample regional wine and cuisine. Shops in town were also open for Sunday shopping (not that the town had a lot of shops, but a few were open as part of the festivities).

It was a wonderful way to enjoy the countryside, get some exercise on the 6K walk, and work up an appetite for the delicious offerings along the way. At the beginning of the hike in downtown Wolfstein, I bought a small wine glass on a lanyard for 5 euros. With that, I could sample wines at the stations for 1 euro per serving and get a little booklet stamped at each place. I won't lie; I felt rather dorky wearing a lanyard, but I feel that way wearing any lanyard. I guess it was slightly cooler because it at least held a wine glass!

There were six stops along the way. As we were walking along, I realized that the town was familiar. We had biked to it during the Autofreies Lauteral Bike Ride last August (read more here). On the route, we stopped at the second stand at the bridge and each enjoyed a bratwurst filled with chestnuts from Metzgerei Frölich. Yes, I normally don't eat meat, but once in a while I'll eat wurst. Don't judge. Anyway, it was amazing and very rich!
 
Our next stop was for flammkuchen at Flammkuchen Serr, next to the horse pastures. It was tasty and I washed it down with a very sweet German white wine from Weingut Wolf. I love sweet whites and it hit the spot!

The line for Flammkuchen.

Seating adjacent to the horse pasture.

From there, we powered up the hill to the Panoramaweg, or the panorama path. It was a beautiful view of the town with several more stops. I had another small glass of white wine at one booth and then pickled mirabelles in Armagnac, a type of liqueur.

Isn't this a lovely view?

Cooking Lachs (salmon) on the wood-fired stove.

 On the way back down to town, we saw these double trampolines (the red one is tiny and hard to see, but it's under the blue one). I had to stifle the urge to yell, "double trampolines! What does it mean? Sooo intense!!" Don't worry; I didn't actually do it.

We finished our culinary hike with a Kalkbergwerk tour of the mines and then rode the train back to Kaiserslautern. It was a lovely day spent drinking wine, eating delicious food, and taking a hike to enjoy the scenery. I heartily recommend it!

--

I read that there will be another culinary hike in Rodenbach coming up on 20-21 September. It would be worth a visit, if only to reuse the dorky wine cup on a lanyard thing ;) (at least I think it's possible to do so, as it looks to be put on by the same organization)  More information is here.

Oh, and don't make the mistake that I did and lose the card that gets stamped at each stop. Apparently one can turn it in at the end with all the stations marked and get a small gift. I missed out on a free bottle of water.

Thrift Store Review: DRK, Kaiserslautern

DRK Store
Rummelstr. 1

67655 Kaiserslautern

Tel.: 0631 – 800 93 193                                

                

Monday - Friday      10:00 - 18:00

Saturday                10:00 - 14:00

 
One of my favorite thrift stores in addition to the Schatzkiste is the DRK in Kaiserslautern. The DRK is Deutsche Rote Kreuz, or the German Red Cross, and their charity shop benefits their mission.

The DRK thrift store is on a side street near the Stiftsplatz, where the weekly farmers' market is held. It is an attractively merchandised and clean thrift store. There is even a hot beverage machine where one can buy coffee and hot chocolate to go.

There are two floors. The first floor is men and women's clothing, coats, accessories, and jewelry. There is even new merchandise from Fruit of the Loom, usually in the form of t-shirts and sweatshirts. The dressing room is located in the back of the store.

Upstairs, there are children's clothes and shoes, adult shoes, books, knick knacks, a small selection of housewares, bathrobes, and sometimes linens.

DRK is a medium-sized thrift store. I've been pleased with the quality, selection, and cleanliness at the store. Items turn over quickly there so a good selection is on offer. Pleasant staff contribute to the positive experience, too. I recommend a visit for some moderately priced, nice items that benefit a good cause.

Die Hundetankstelle at Quack

At the Quack restaurant in Kaiserslautern, even the dogs aren't forgotten*. Outside of the front door to the restaurant, there is a "Hundetankstelle," which basically means a "dog service/filling station." Tankstelle is the word for gas stations. It looks as if this particular set-up was given to the restaurant by a pet store in town.

*Well, maybe the dogs were a little forgotten because the water was rather dirty and unused looking. However, I visited in winter so I would attribute its rough look to that.

I think that the restaurant, Gasthaus Quack, would actually be rather nice for owners to bring their dogs, especially in the summer. It's located in the east side of Kaiserslautern near some trails and has what looks to be a nice patio in the summer.

Borrowing cake pans, pie tins & cookie cutters at the Vogelweh Library (in KL)!

The Vogelweh Library, located on the Vogelweh Air Base on the west side of Kaiserslautern, now offers a collection of cake pans, pie tins and cookie cutters for patrons to check out. It's free to check them out to eligible patrons and I believe it's for a three week period. They have more than 60 seasonal and traditional styles.

I stopped by and picked up heart-shaped pans. I don't like that mushy love stuff, but I wanted to make a double layer cake and that was a kit with two separate pans the same size. The collection is located on the right side of the library on the wall immediately when one walks in.

I thought it was really cool, especially for expats who might not have packed their entire kitchens and would like to borrow some baking tools.

Some of the cake pans and cookie cutters.

Seen in Frankfurt: Skatepark Osthafen

Skatepark Osthafen
Eyssenstraße
60314 Frankfurt am Main

During our trip to the bike market in Frankfurt, we walked along the river and saw this wonderful skate park. It was jam-packed on a Sunday with kids and adults riding their bikes and skateboards on the ramps. There are basketball courts and a playground too.

Storing luggage at Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof

For those who are visiting a city for just a day on a trip, the question might right arise: what is one to do with one's luggage? Well, if one is arriving by Deutsche Bahn, many of the train stations in Germany offer lockers in various sizes where one can store luggage for a short time.

Even my own local main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in Kaiserslautern offers lockers. When entering the train station from the main entrance that faces downtown, go down the stairs and turn left. The lockers are located there and offer various sizes and rates; the largest lockers could accommodate most suitcases. The locker pictured below is 3 euros to rent. The time limit on use is 72 hours.

The German word for luggage is "Gepäck," pronounced something like "geh-peck." The word for suitcase is "Koffer."

Frohe Ostern!

Happy Eater, or Frohe Ostern to those who celebrate or even to those who just enjoy some good Eater candy.

I saw these guys in downtown Kaiserslautern on Saturday. They were handing out boiled eggs and pens in support of a political party. Something makes me think that they're not official Easter Bunny representatives because I don't think that mythical creatures can vote.

Menu for Flammkuchen Restaurant in Kaiserslautern added

Some friends and I returned to Flammkuche, the cozy restaurant in Kaiserslautern, for a nice dinner to celebrate a birthday. I updated the review I wrote last year with pictures of the menu, for anyone interested.

Restaurant Review: China Restaurant Jasmin, Sembach

China Restaurant Jasmin
Address: Kaiserstrasse 20, Sembach
Phone: 06303-2794
PDF of menu available here
Small parking lot next to the restaurant
Dine-in, take-out, and party rooms available

Last year, a friend and I biked to Sembach for the town's kerwe celebration. We noticed a Chinese restaurant that was closed up but was still set up inside as if waiting for the next meal. I believe it had been closed for quite some time at that point.

I recently heard that the restaurant re-opened so a group of us tried it for lunch. The menu is rather extensive with Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. Soups, including the familiar egg drop soup, are in the 3 euro range, as are salads and appetizers. The extensive menu continues with duck, beef, chicken, seafood, pork, and even vegetarian offerings on the portion of the menu with Chinese dishes. The Vietnamese portion of the menu is smaller but also offers vegetarian, meat, and seafood options. Main dishes run from 6-13 euros. There is a daily lunch special that includes a main dish and either peking soup or mini egg rolls in the 7 euro range. There were some desserts, as well, and some day I'd like to try the fried ice cream.

The menu was so big that we had a difficult time deciding what to eat. I was immediately drawn to the Vietnamese portion of the menu and chose "Bun Cha Gio," which is rice noodles with lettuce, carrots, soy bean sprouts, mint, peanuts, and lime dressing. When it arrived, I did a double take at the huge bowl of noodles. It came with a side of sweet and sour sauce that was surprisingly salty, which would later become the theme of the meal for some of our diners. The bowl was presented in layers: the bottom layer was lettuce and carrots; the middle layer was the rice noodles; and the top layer included peanuts, cilantro, and these delicious fried spring rolls cut into bites. On the menu it was noted that there would be mint, but I didn't notice any. I don't know if they were out of mint and used cilantro instead or if they meant to write cilantro instead on the menu. To be honest, I liked the cilantro in this dish and probably would prefer it over mint. I thought that the spring rolls on top were especially delicious. They were quite crispy. I enjoyed my dish and would order it again.

Bun Cha Gio

My friend C. ordered "Mi Xao Don," a Vietnamese dish which is crispy baked noodles with chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetables. It was a huge plate of food, for sure! She enjoyed it as well and would order it again. I tried one of the noodles and enjoyed its very crisp texture. It's not as crisp as a chow mein noodle, but it is a stiff noodle that does soften a bit as it absorbs the sauce.

The guys ordered from the Chinese side of the menu. Those dishes were exceptionally salty! They let me try the sauce on their dish and I felt as if my mouth had been coated in salt.

E ordered what I believe was the "Eight Treasures" dish, with cashews, chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetables served in a spicy sauce with rice on the side. It wasn't super spicy by our reckoning, but did have a bit of spice to it. I was shocked at how salty the sauce was. E asked me to share his take on the proportions of meat: mostly vegetables, 80% beef, 1 chicken piece, and 3 shrimp. I'm a bit amused by him sharing that as he starts with percentages then moves onto pieces.

Eight Treasures

The other two guys ordered dishes with meat and vegetables in a soy sauce. They also remarked how salty the dishes were. As J said, his tofu and vegetable dish was "crazy salty."

A. had ordered an egg drop soup. When he received it, he was surprised. It looked as if the cook had fried up a clump of eggs and dumped it into the soup instead of trails of eggs cooked swirled into the soup. It also had fresh mushrooms. He didn't care for the soup, but I think it was more of a texture issue for him.

J. ordered some jasmine tea and we were impressed to see that was made from fresh herbs. We did have a giggle because he kept complaining about having to try not to swallow the herbs, only to find out that he needed to remove the filter with the herbs before drinking!

Remove the filter/infuser (on left) before drinking!

The waitstaff were very pleasant and attentive, too. During our visit, we spoke German and English with them. The restaurant itself looks fresh and well-maintained with Chinese decor. It definitely doesn't look like a place that's been shuttered for quite some time!

So, in reviewing our experience, I'd say that it no one was unhappy with his food. Those with the Chinese meals felt that the food was quite salty but beyond that enjoyed their dishes well enough. The ones who had ordered the Vietnamese dishes liked them quite a bit and would order them again. As one of the few restaurants even near Sembach that is open for lunch, it's worth a try.

Plus, who can resist this smiling face?

Greenland: another store for flour alternatives in Kaiserslautern

G R E E N L A N D

Afro-Asian Food & Cosmetics Shop

MO - SA 10.00 - 20.00
Tel. 0631 / 534 81 11
Richard Wagner Str. 58a, Kaiserslautern

Earlier, I wrote about the offerings at Vitamingarten, a grocery store in Kaiserslautern with imported foods and many alternative to traditional wheat flour. There is another Kaiserslautern grocery store with imported goods that might be of interest to those searching for other grains: Greenland.

Greenland is a small African and Asian grocery market not too far from the Hauptbahnhof downtown. Even though the store is small, there are quite a few different grains and flours there that I haven't seen around in many other places. Most of the goods are in cans or boxes but there is a small selection of fresh produce too (again, specialty items). I even saw some curries.

In addition to groceries, it also carries hair products, including those formulated for African hair types. There were some cosmetics as well, as is suggested in the name of the store.

For those looking for alternatives to wheat flour or some less common ingredients for cooking, especially vegetarian cooking, it would be worth a visit here.

Du hast Ostern?

I had a fun experience at the doctor's office. I saw a different guy from their other office who was filling in. Upon learning that I was American, he leaned in and asked earnestly, "do you have Easter in America?" 

I was like, yes. He then got an excited look and asked, "do you have the Easter bunny?" He was thrilled to learn that we do. I'm glad that made his day.

Chillin' with my gnomies at the Frankfurter Garten

We saw these gnomies at the Frankfurter Garten. Ganz toll, eh?

Restaurant Review: Mei Thai, Saarbrücken

Mei Thai Original Thai Food
Kappenstraße 14, 66111 Saarbrücken

0681 3908202

A friend and I visited Saarbrücken this winter and stopped by Mei Thai for lunch. This small restaurant is tucked away on a side street in the pedestrian/shopping area. It has a bit of a diner-y type feel; the inside is nothing fancy but it is functional.

We both ordered pad thai and I ordered some spring rolls. I wasn't super impressed with the spring rolls. I have had almost the exact same ones at different Thai restaurants in Germany and I would not be surprised if they were frozen, premade ones. They don't taste bad but they're not great, either.

I was more impressed by the pad thai. It was decent and tasted similar to the pad thai that I've eaten in the US, made by chefs who are actually Thai.

Prices were moderate, our server was pleasant, and we received our food in a timely manner. I'd say it was a decent enough experience; nothing was mindblowing but it was tasty enough.

Some tax preparation assistance in the Kaiserslautern area

It's almost that time: April 15, the dreaded tax day. However, it's not so bad with free options for tax assistance to civilians and military members. For example, the Army offers free tax preparation at Kleber and Pulaski in the KMC: 

Pulaski

Bldg. 2886

M-F 9-4 

DSN: 493-4033

Kleber

Bldg 3210 Rm 102

DSN: 483-7688

M-F 9-4

How awesome is that?

A Visit to the Frankfurter Fahrradmarkt

For some crazy reason, I decided that I (eventually) want to start commuting by bicycle. My friend C suggested that we attend the Frankfurter Fahrradmarkt this past weekend to to see if we could find something for me at the bike market.

The market was hosted in the Frankfurter Garten, which is more than just a garden. It's also a community space for people to gather, eat at the food stand, play something something similar to bocce ball, and engage with others in the community. It was a festive atmosphere, with families hanging out and enjoying the sunshine.

The bike market was definitely hipster heaven! There were fixie bikes galore. Unfortunately, I'm looking for something more practical for a beginning commuter, so I didn't find anything for my tastes, but it was fun to look over the bikes.

This bike, with its bright colors, was the belle of the ball. We saw a lot of people checking it out.

Clever idea: using an old radiator as a bike rack.

This tandem bicycle wasn't for sale but was sure interesting!

 Part of the garden and the bocce ball pit.

 

Roadside Candy Machines: daring me in Frankfurt

I spent Sunday in Frankfurt with a new friend and we came across this candy machine on Hanauer Landstrasse, just east of Grusonstrasse.

Whoa! It is really banged up. I was dared to eat a gumball from it. I am the queen of bad ideas sometimes but was able to bow out of this challenge, noting that there was no way to extract said gumball from the machine.  [phew]

April Fools' Day, German style

Monday was April Fools' Day and of course jokes and pranks were rampant, even though Germany is often seen as a place not full of humor (which is not exactly true though people are rather serious here often).

My colleague told me that this year's prank on the local radio station was that the US's security administration was recruiting Hessisch dialect speakers to translate their dialect (from the state of Hesse, which includes Frankfurt) into German. People were actually calling in to inquire about the job!

I got the joke on this one and had a giggle. There is such a huge variation to the German language that even native speakers of German sometimes can't understand the regional dialects of other areas.

My colleague said that the previous year, the radio station really got her. They were saying that individuals wouldn't be allowed to smoke in their own cars. That made a lot of people angry until they realized that it was a joke.

Restaurant Review: Eiscafé Roma in Kaiserslautern

Eiscafe Roma
Pariser Str. 38
67655 Kaiserslautern



Since the weather has been so nice, many seasonal businesses that were shuttered for winter have re-opened for the season in Kaiserslautern. I was going to have ice cream at the recently reopened Eiscafe Rialto, my favorite, but the line was out the door (it's that good!) so I decided to try another ice cream parlor: Eiscafé Roma, near the Pfaffplatz and the hospital.

There was a decent selection of ice cream flavors with fruity, chocolatey, and somewhat unusual flavors. I would guess there were about 15 different flavors with standards like strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. I did note some flavors that aren't always available at ice cream places: blauengel (blue angel, which somewhat reminds me of Superman ice cream in the US) as well as Waldmeister, which is...well, it's really hard to describe the taste! I would have to say it's somewhat like Superman flavor, but with a slight bit of...hmm, mint? It's very, very slight so it's not overwhelming. I haven't had a similar flavor in the US. There was also creme caramel and tiramisu, for those looking for richer flavors.

Prices are 70 cents for a small scoop or 1 euro for a big scoop for a takeaway cone. Different ice cream concoctions, including the popular spaghetti eis (ice cream made to look like a bowl of spaghetti), are available.

I decided on one scoop of sahne kirsch (cream cherry) and one of Waldmeister. I hate to say this, but I wasn't super impressed. The Waldmeister wasn't super flavorful and the cherries in the sahne kirsch almost had a bubble gum flavor. I definitely prefer the creamy, very flavorful ice cream at Eiscafe Rialto (review available here), where the cherries taste like actual cherries and at half the cost of Roma's, too.

The Tauschbox in Kaiserslautern: take something or leave something

Edited: the Tauschbox no longer exists. Someone burned it down in August. It is the second time this happened. What a shame.

On the corner of Parkstrasse and Trippstadter Strasse near the Stadtpark in Kaiserslautern, there is a bright yellow box the size of a telephone booth (remember those?). It's not possible to make a phone call in this box, but it is possible to take part in a community sharing here.

This is the Tauschbox. The German word "tausch" means exchange or swap and this small building allows just that. Bring an item to give away or take something you need from the box.

When I visited, I saw clothing, shoes, books, and knick-knacks inside.

Yarnbombing outside the Taschbox!