Getting Ready for Karneval in Koeln

One of the biggest events in Cologne (and most of northwestern Germany) in the winter is Karneval. It officially begins on 11th November and slowly builds to an entire week of partying that ends on Ash Wednesday.
Since we have arrived in the city, we have seen more and more signs of impending Karneval.

On the local TV channel, we regularly see coverage of Karneval costume parties with dinner and live entertainment. The parties are often sponsored by local groups and societies, such as the Akademie för uns Kölsche Sproch. The music is usually traditional German (i.e., lots of polka), with appearances by local celebrities. Tickets can range from 20 to 100 Euros, and they usually sell out quickly so we haven't gotten to go to one.

One thing I really love about Karneval is the city-wide sense of community. It's not uncommon to see people of all ages walking around in costume, coming or going from parties, and more than once entire restaurants have spontaneously burst into song to sing along to Karneval song on the radio! The music is not my favorite, but I really enjoy the sense of community, tradition, and fun that go along with it.

We attended the first day of Karneval on Thursday, which is called Weiberfastnacht or Women's Carnival. Today and Monday we're checking out a couple famous parades, and today there is not a cloud in the sky (for what feels like the first time since we arrived) so it should be fun!

German Cooking: Reibekuchen

Reibekuchen, or potato pancakes, are especially popular in Bavaria, which is where Jeremy and I first ate them. They are close a cousin of Jewish latkes, consisting of grated potatoes, minced onion, simple spices, and egg and flour to hold it together. You pan fry them and serve with various sauces (we love applesauce, but sour cream is good, too). Sometimes they're also called Kartoffelpuffer, but I feel less silly saying "reibekuchen".

Since they're a bit harder to find in Cologne (as in, they're only served in particular restaurants one day of the week and only during the winter), I decided to try making them using this German rezepte (recipe). Here it is in English:

Reibekuchenmakes 7-10 pancakes 

• 500 grams waxy potatoes (about 8 smallish potatoes or 4 large)
• 1 small onion
• 1 egg
• 1 or 2 tablespoons flour 
• pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar

1. Wash the potatoes and coarsely grate them over a clean kitchen towel or a colander to help drain the moisture. Mix the flour and egg in a medium bowl. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the potatoes, then add the potatoes to the flour-egg mixture and toss to coat. Finely dice the onion and add it to the mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar (I added some garlic, too). 

2. Heat oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan, then form palm-sized cakes (a bit less than 1/2" thick) and fry them until golden brown on each side. Set the finished pancakes on a cookie sheet covered in paper towels and put it in the oven on low to keep them warm and crispy until you're ready to eat.

My Reibekuchen were not as pretty as the ones you get in restaurants, but they were tasty! I think next time I might add a bit more flour or work on squeezing out a bit more moisture. We ate them with salad, chicken breast, and some purple artichokes from the farmer's market around the corner from our apartment.

Doing the Wash

Even mundane things like doing laundry are more exciting when you're living outside of your own country! It turns out that in Germany, as in many other European countries, it's pretty common to have a washing machine in your house but no dryer. Laundromats and apartment complexes tend to have dryers, but smaller apartment complexes and older houses often don't.

As a result, I have been learning the art of hanging wet clothing so that it dries quickly and doesn't end up with any strange wrinkle patterns from the clothes pins. I have also been trying out fabric softener so that we end up with soft t-shirts rather than stiff boards.

I also had some fun decoding the Waschmachine when we first moved in. Everywhere I turn, there is new vocabulary! So far, I have been focusing on household things, such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping - more on all that later!

All these buttons and settings were quite intimidating when I went to run my first load!

Fat Cat Goes to Germany

Now that we're living in Germany with Sam for the next year, this seemed like a good place to tell about some of our adventures. Sammy is still right around 12 lbs and she made the weight limit for our flight over, so I'll probably be sharing less about her weight loss journey and more about what us humans are up to.

The new apartment has lots of windows and great views!

"helpful" cat helps me work

New Digs

Sam (and everyone else) is setting into our new place is Massachusetts. She's about the same weight as when we left NJ (12.37 lbs) since we've been rather busy with other things. My goal is more like 11.5 or 11 pounds since her ribs are still hiding under a layer of blubber, but she's looking good. She just received a new favorite toy, one of the cutest mice I've ever seen: