Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Little Germany

Last night Torsten and I went to a German restaurant with a friend. It was one of those hole-in-the-wall type places, one that looks like a deli/grocery store from the front--in fact, we didn't even know that it was a restaurant until our friend suggested that we go there for dinner.

Dinner was good--unassuming atmosphere to say the least, lots of traditional German fare, including schnitzel, bratwurst, spaetzle, and Oktoberfest beer, plus black forest cake for dessert. We had a nice meal with good conversation, and after dinner, Torsten spent forever admiring the German items for sale in the grocery section. There were jams and chocolates and prepared mixes for traditional German food. We were tempted by the mohrenkupf, but Torsten was afraid they wouldn't be fresh, so we passed. We did come away with some Kinder chocolate and a bar of marzipan, though. Along with many promises from Torsten to come back soon. He was thrilled.

The funny thing was that it was weird to me to see all that German stuff right there on a shelf for anyone to buy (at a high price, of course... I guess the exchange rate plus the shipping costs plus the import tax plus the need for profit explains that, but still). All those products were things that I had never heard of until the first time I went to Germany with Torsten, and that I associate very much with being in Germany.

It reminded me of the first time I went back to France to visit my host family after I spent a year there without any breaks. That year felt like a separate entity, like a whole different world--as though I had broken some sort of time-space continuum to get there. While I was there, when people asked me if I was going back to the U.S. for the holidays, I always felt shocked--like I couldn't leave in the middle and go home, even for a short trip, because I would never be able to get back there.

And then the year ended, and I went home, and I compartmentalized everything that had happened during my year abroad into a place in my mind where nobody else could be, a history that only I knew about. I kept in touch with my French friends and host family but it felt like getting letters from outer space.

But then I went back for a visit. And then another visit. And then I visited with my parents. And then my French host brother came to visit me, and met my sister. And my French host family will be here for my wedding. By now those two aspects of my life are wholly mixed, almost like they're... ONE LIFE or something ludicrous like that.

So I suppose I should have seen it coming. After all, I've been to Germany with Torsten twice, and his parents have been here, and met my family, and sat on our couch. So it's not so much them that I associate with a different world... it's Germany itself, and all the smells and sounds and the general atmosphere it has. And apparently, typically German groceries are a big part of that. And seeing them in a random deli in DC was like running into E.T. on the Metro.

Of course, both Germany and the U.S. are home to Torsten in different ways. I wonder if he felt the same way about seeing some of his favorite German things casually for sale in the middle of DC. I didn't ask. Maybe I should have.

16 comments:

  1. I love walking into ethnic grocery stores. It's like sharing a little piece of that country without having to go further than a few city blocks.

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  2. If you have any friends with military ID, have them buy the mohrenkoepfe @ the Commissary.

    They're fresh AND damn good!

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  3. That's such an interesting memory - like walking into a time capsule, but it's great that your French life and current life are fusing, why not?

    The nice thing about that experience is that you'll have a lifetime to go back and ask Torsten if he feels the same way.

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  4. I spent a semester abroad in college, and I totally know what you mean.

    One guy in our group went HOME for his 2 1/2-week spring break, and I thought it was absolutely insane. Who'd even think to do that??

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  5. I feel the same way about foreign countries. Maybe I need to start planning yearly trips so they can start melding into actual life. It's weird to me to even think about my relatives that all still live in England...

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  6. Yes! 2 separate lives. That is how I feel about my out of country university experience. Like it was a movie or something.

    How nice that you found some German fare for Torsten though. I know my husband really appreciates when a restaurant has bud light, or football that is relevant to him is on tv here.

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  7. I remember having gone to Louisiana for a vacation and then a few years later going in to a specialty shop and finding spices that I'd only seen down there. It was weird for me too, though probably more like earth to he moon than earth to Mars.

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  8. I went to a Greek food festival a few weeks ago and just seeing the interesting food there made me feel almost like I was in another world. Even yesterday I went to a local hispanic grocery store and I felt so out of my element, even though I was only 25 minutes from home.

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  9. I love little specialty stores. We have a whole bunch of Asian ones here in Anchorage, and I've found one Russian one. They're great, and they supply me with a lot of new things to see and try.

    Also, I love Kinder chocolate. I had a buddy from Germany when I was in high school, he used to bring some back for me after vacations.

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  10. If Torsten longs for German fare, go to the German Gourmet Deli in Virginia. They have two locations: one in Falls Church on Rte. 29 just west of Rte. 7. The other is in Bailey's Crossroads on Columbia Pike not far from Trader Joe's. Both stock the most amazing brats, salads, breads, cakes, candies, and beers and wines from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

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  11. curious, which place did you go? there are a few around here that aren't terrible, though I may be lessed biased then torsten :)

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  12. I wonder about going back to the little German town where I lived--when I'm not living a life there anymore, how much connection will I feel? Will it still be so special, or will I feel like an awkward visitor? I both like and dislike having such a separate part of my life. I can't really decide how to explain it, but you seem to know what I mean already.

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  13. I had spaetzle tonight! It's really easy to make- you should surprise Torsten one night and make it for him!

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  14. To me, Italy (I lived there for 7 mos.) and the US are two completely different things. I am always shocked when I see Italian goods in specialty stores. It's like it takes away some of the magic from my time there.

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  15. Was this restaurant, by any chance, Cafe Mozart? We love that place!!

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  16. Mmmm....Kinder chocolate. The only thing I like better is Ritter Sport, Knusperflake....or coconut.....or peppermint...oh heck, I like them all.

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