By Anne Rieger
It is almost the end of the semester, we made it! I had the most amazing experience so far due to this great university, beautiful place and the awesome people I met here.
Even though I can’t wait to get back in the new year to begin my second Erasmus semester I also can’t wait to drive home for Christmas (I am actually flying home, but I’m already in full on Christmas mood, listening to Christmas music as I’m writing this).
But since most people will complain about me writing about Christmas so early, this entry won’t be about my obsession with the holiday season. More so about the things that I missed most for the last three months. And no, I am not talking about my friends, my family or even about my car (that I, by the way, can’t wait to drive again), I am talking about one of the most important and fun things in life. You guessed it: food.
There are a few food items that I am craving so much now, but I wasn’t able to find here (besides my mum’s gorgeous dishes). So here you go, my top three food items I missed the most while studying here. If you ever come to Germany, feel free to check them out, because they are fantastic.
- Bread (or “Brötchen”): I bet most German people that are reading this column might have already guessed it. I would probably be able to stay in Ireland much longer if I didn’t have to deal with my (probably) genetically based addiction to good bread. Just going to the bakery on Sunday mornings, getting some “Brötchen” (rolls, but not those soft ones you get here, more like the ones you get in Lidl) and just having a family breakfast is something that I tried so hard to recreate here with my boyfriend, but it never really worked because of the lack of decent bread.
- Schupfnudeln: I am pretty sure that these are a regional dish, I am not even sure where it comes from. Schupfnudeln are a kind of potato – based pasta that you can put in the pan. Together with leek it just makes one of my favourite dishes in the whole world (my mum promised to make these on the first day of my Christmas visit).
- Semmelknödel: Ok, so here another bread related food item. Semmelknödel are dumplings made from bread, milk and seasoning. They are served with meat dishes and Rotkohl (red cabbage), and since I am a vegetarian for quite a while now, they would be my go – to food at family celebrations. My mum always makes a special chanterelle mushroom (couldn’t find those here either) sauce for me to eat with the Semmelknödel so they always taste like home to me.
