Postings from Germany

Kohl and Pinkel

I just took a quick look in the posts on this blog (really, have you read them all?? three years worth now??) and can't seem to quickly locate one that is dedicated to our annual Kohl und Pinkel dinner and walk. That said, I KNOW you have all heard about this north German ritual of the Kohl und Pinkel Fahrt - but just in case you don't remember, it is a time to get together and eat mounds of winter greens - note the picture of fresh greens above on the left - along with smoked meats and sausages. And since digesting all these gas - sy cabbage - gy greens takes a little help, a glass or two or more of schnapps helps the process. Walking is what we do regardless. Grünkohl is the excuse for imbibing.

Some of the folks in Friesland - the most northern parts of Germany in and at the North Sea - combine the feast with a bowling game along the streets in the villages. Werner and I have done that too, but not with our regular Kohl-und-Pinkel compatriots.

Yesterday the weather was sooooo cooperative! It was cold and crisp and sunny and not wet and not gray and not nasty. Wow. Here's the Lesum getting toward sunset. Don't you love the ducks?

And here we are standing around the bust of Admiral Brummy, a famous captain from this region. The street along the Lesum is named for him.

This year Werner and I had had but one other tradional Kohl Essen and that was in November for heaven's sake and besides that in Hamburg where they don't even serve Pinkel! So we were more than primed for this meal.

Johanna never disappoints. The potaotes were just right, the greens were perfectly seasoned, the Pinkel (both the Bremen variety and that from Oldenburg) were the crowning glory. Or maybe the crowning glory was the local beer. Or maybe it was the company. Or maybe it was the dessert (Rote Grütze with ice cream and/or whipped cream and/or vanilla sauce - we opted for all three!)

Or maybe it is the combination of all those things. It was a wonderful evening and though Ilsemarie had to warm her feet on the radiator after the walk, we will do it again all over next year. With pleasure.

With music perhaps. We had such a lively conversation about opera and Freddy Mercury and Elvis and Bach and tenors that we decided a karioke contest would suit us well next year! I will win of course because nobody loves singing more than I do - just ask Hunter and Hannah.