Signs that I'm getting German-ized

I've now lived in Germany for almost a year and a half and I continue to assimilate and adjust to German life. I am totally enjoying living here, but that's not to say that weren't some adjustments to make and things to learn.

Here are some ways that I've gone "native," or that living in Germany has rubbed off on me.

1. I now love sparkling water/water with gas. I used to think it was nasty. Now, it's all that I seem to want to drink. I also have no problems drinking it at room temperature, which is often how it's served. No ice for me, baby!

2. I've made peace with the fact that many businesses don't take credit cards and that I will be paying with cash. Since I can use international ATMs with no fees, it is slightly cheaper to pay with cash anyway.

3. I have a hard time spelling -le words in English now because I've been writing -el German words.

4. I am a recycling-sorting pro and have chastised a friend for not recycling. When people don't sort recycling correctly, I tut tut.

5. I'm okay with stores being closed on Sundays. In fact, I find it peaceful (for the most part) and know that there are plenty of alternatives of things to do.

6. I know to plan for a big chunk of time when eating a meal at a restaurant. The one thing I'm still not cool with is if it takes forever to pay and the restaurant is not busy.

7. I firmly believe that there is no bad weather with the right clothing. I love, love, love that Germans still have festivals and outdoor activities even in the cold of winter.

8. I know that to get some of the tastiest things to eat, it might require visits to more than one store. For example, if I wanted the best bread, I'd need to go to the bakery. If I wanted the best vegetables, I'd need to go to the vegetable store. There are even stores devoted just to beverages (Getränkemärkt)! Sure, it's totally possible to buy all of these things at a regular grocery store, but believe me, it can be totally worth it to visit a specialty store instead.

9. I was reading an article about a woman living in Canada who received a ticket for drinking alcohol in a park and was super confused why she'd get a ticket for that. I've become accustomed to the permission to drink in public here. After all, why not enjoy some wine with friends in the park during a picnic?

10. I love bringing my own (reusable) bags to the grocery store. It's good for the environment and I don't have to pay for plastic bags that way.

11. I've made peace with canned corn showing up randomly in dishes. If it comes on pizza, I'm like, "oh, hello, you." I also understand the paradox that corn on the cob is somewhat hard to find.

Restaurant Review: IceRobot: Homemade Ice-Cream, Kaiserslautern

 

IceRobot: Homemade Ice-Cream
Am Altenhof 8
Kaiserslautern
Hours: Monday-Sunday 11:00-20:00

A new player from an established restaurant has entered the ice cream scene in Kaiserslautern. IceRobot, an offshoot of Urban Vital restaurant (I reviewed it here and here), recently opened a few doors down from the original restaurant. It is a robotic ice cream store.

What exactly does that entail? The customer walks in on the right hand side of the store and approaches several touchscreen displays. The first choice is how the ice cream will arrive: Becher (in a cup) or waffelbecher (in a waffle cup).

Then one must choose the flavors. I remember seeing vanilla, chocolate, mango, strawberry, raspberry, peach, as well as other options, but the flavors change often. Touch the desired flavors on the screen, hit the green check mark, and a plastic card and a receipt pop out.

 

Proceed to the back of the store. There are three queues where one may approach and drop the card into a slot at the counter. The order is then processed and the ice cream proceeds down a conveyor belt to a small roll-up door at the queue. This takes a while as the belt is rather slow. Maybe the robot to the left will do a little dance for you while you wait.

Continue to the other side of the store and add any wanted toppings. After adding toppings, visit the cashier stand to pay. The ice cream is weighed and the price is calculated.

The ice cream is made by Urban Vital restaurant. It's delicious hard serve cream that has very fresh ingredients with brilliant flavors. For example, the mango and peach scoops I had tasted like eating the fresh fruit. I've never been disappointed with Urban's ice cream, having eaten it before at the original restaurant. I added a warm raspberry topping and that was delicious too. My concoction with two small scoops of ice cream and the topping was 2,80 euros, which is very much in line for ice cream prices.

There is also coffee to go. The machine is located at the front of the store on the left side.

The store is small and does not offer any seating at all. Outside are some tall tables where one may stand and eat the ice cream.

How did I find the experience? Well, I'll be honest: for an odd reason, I was feeling grumpy and impatient when I stopped by. It had nothing to do with the ice cream store itself; I was just flustered after running around, madly finishing errands after work. So, when it took forever to first pick the ice cream then wait for it to make its ridiculously slow arrival on the conveyor belt, I was just not feeling it. I think it would be far faster just to visit a regular ice cream shop, even if there is a line. I think that an employee scooping out ice cream is far faster and more efficient. However, if one enjoys novelties or has some patient kids who'd like to try something new, it could be a fun visit. The ice cream, after all, is just lovely.

Moo, with less hair

This spring has been really hard on those suffering from allergies; the trees and flowers are dumping pollen as fast as they can make it, or so it seems. Moo was also shedding his winter coat. The combination was making me miserable with allergic reactions so I had to do something about the part I could control: having Moo shaved.

Unfortunately, my clippers don't work well any more, as I wrote about last year. Enter the magic of the internet: I found someone who had clippers to shave Moo. She and her husband came over and shaved him as I held him down. They were amazed at how nice he was and that he put up with it. I'm relieved not to have cat hair tumbleweeds rolling around my apartment any more.

Mannheim Maimarkt: a must-see happening this weekend!

Do you know where you can shop 'til you drop; try food and wines from all over the world; and see so much more? All of this is possible at the Maimarkt Mannheim, which goes through the end of this weekend. Located near the SAP arena on the outskirts of Mannheim, it opens at 9 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to see as much as is possible; the Markt is huge!

The Maimarkt is almost 400 years old. Today, it's quite a sight to behold, with about 1,400 exhibitors. It is basically a trade show but is also so much more. Of course one can go shopping, visiting vendors who sell everything from kitchen gadgets to car insurance. If one is hungry, there is a huge international food court with wonderful things to eat and drink. Love horses? There is a show jumping and Dressage competition! There is even a neighborhood of houses at the edge of the fairgrounds. Does anyone live here? Nope; they're builders' model homes that are open for tours.

Adult tickets are 8,50 euros when bought at the Markt. Even better yet is to buy the ticket from a VRN ticket machine available at most train stations in the area; for only 50 cents more, one can also receive a roundtrip travel card in the VRN's service area (including Kaiserslautern) to use the train to get to the Maimarkt.

More information is available at: www.maimarkt.de

American cookies at Cora in France

I saw these "American" cookies in Cora, a French supermarket. Having a backward American flag makes them authentic, right?

Maniacal French bunny

I saw this guy in Cora. I wonder if he's looking a bit crazy because he's jealous of the French Easter bells?*

*I highly recommend reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris. You'll laugh really hard and will gain a confused knowledge of what bells have to do with Easter in France.

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!"