Thanksgiving in Deutschland + A Recipe

For Thanksgiving, we got gigantic Schntizel at Bei Oma Kleinmann's and ended our feast with a sour cherry galette. Galettes are basically the lazy person's pie, which was perfect since (a) I have no pie pan and (2) one pie is way too much for two people! Sour cherries (Sauerkirschen) are found in a lot of German desserts, including Schwartz Wald Kirsch Torte (aka, Black Forest Cake) and on top of waffles with a side of whipped cream.

Sauerkirsch Galette
1 pie crust
4 cups sour cherries (in juice if canned)
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or sugar
pinch salt
squirt of lemon juice
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Make the crust according to the directions, making it at least 2 hours before you want to bake the pie. 
2. After rolling out the pie crust to fit your pan, lay the crust in the pan, but don't crimp or cut the edges as you'll be folding them over later. Put the pan in the fridge while you make the filling.
3. If the cherries are canned, drain and reserve the juice. In a medium bowl, mix the cherries, 1/4 cup of the reserved juice, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Scoop the cherry filling into the prepared pan, spreading them evenly. Dump some of the remaining juice over the top, about enough to come halfway up the cherries (there may be some leftover juice).
5. Fold the crust edges over the filling. Brush the crust with the egg white, and sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top.
6. Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let it cool a bit, then served with whipped cream!

Germany is already in the full-on Christmas spirit, so we ate our Thanksgiving feast with red-and-green all around and this fine fellow to keep us company. I'll be posting about the Christmas markets and a few other things soon, but in the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving aus Deutschland!

Word of the Week: Martinszug

This evening as I was getting ready for a class, I heard children singing outside. It's a bit early for caroling, so I looked out the balcony, thinking that it was probably coming from the music school behind our apartment. Instead, I saw hundreds of bobbing lights in the next street over, and heard trumpets, tubas, and drums accompanying kids singing. So I naturally had to check it out!

source

Turns out that it was a neighborhood parade (Zug) to celebrate the catholic holiday of the feast of St. Martin (Martinstag), which I mentioned last month when the Weckmann appeared in bakeries. Groups of kids had special, and often very creative, homemade lanterns, each lit with clever wands with hanging LED lights. It was so fun! I could tell the kids were having a blast, too, despite the cold evening and mist. There have been parades all over the city, including a big one from the Dom to Groß St. Martin--skip to the end of the video to hear some of the songs :)

there were about 500 kids in the parade, with 4 bands spaced throughout to lead the songs -- so fun!

Happy May!

The trees are finally leafed out, everything is in bloom, and we just had 5 (!) days of glorious sunshine. Today the cloudy skies and rain returned, but it's still mild and everything is beautifully green.

I learned about a May tradition in Germany, the Maibaum (May tree or Maypole), which celebrates the first day of May. I didn't know about it until after May 1st, when we saw colorfully decorated branches and trees all over our neighborhood.

In Bavaria, they celebrate May Day with maypole dances (including the famous maypole at the Viktualenmarkt in Munich), but (as far as I know) in this region the celebration is a bit more personal. According to my sources, young men decorate branches outside the homes or shops of young women they admire, sometimes tying love notes onto the trees. But, like Valentine's Day, I believe that this tradition now includes trees from more than just potential beaus. Either way, it is fun to walk around town and see all these colorful tokens of love on the street.

Frohe Ostern aus Deutschland und der Schweiz!

a traditionally decorated fountain in St. Gallen, Switzerland

Since getting back from Switzerland, we have been easing into our regular work habits and also enjoying Easter activities in Germany (more on this in a later post). While we were in St. Gallen on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, I dropped by the Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum to see their Easter egg exhibit. The museum was undergoing renovations, so it was a small but lovely exhibit. Here are a few shots from my visit:

I also love that they sell pre-decorated eggs at all the grocery stores:

In addition to egg exhibits and markets, we have also seen a lot of small Easter trees in people's yards and on their balconies. Some of the decorations are real eggs!

Happy Easter!!