Food, Food, and More Food

Stop Me Before I Eat Again

I guess everyone who has ever gone on a cruise, comes to learn a basic truth: Off-ship excursions and tours exist only to fill the time before the next feeding. The European river cruise we took over this past Christmas just reinforced this notion for us. We ate and ate and ate. Then we ate again.

On our Viking Cruise, all meals were included, so a thrifty person such as myself wants to make sure to take advantage of all meal opportunities. At home, I usually eat twice a day, but on this trip, my food consumption skyrocketed. I was there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. And, the food was almost always excellent. I just kept shoveling it in, rarely missing a meal or a dessert afterward.

Every evening, the ship’s menu included several “American” dishes, but I chose most often from the list of regional specialties, and it was different every day, depending on where we were. I figured I can get a steak at home, but when am I ever going to get an authentic German or French meal, similar to what the locals were having? And usually, it was pretty darn good.

Plus, I was able to have lox and cream cheese at every breakfast! What a treat! Kudos to Chef Milan!

The dining room on the Viking Hild. I spent a lot of time there.

The meals onboard the ship were great, but I have to say, the best meal I had was in one of the Christmas markets in Germany. These markets are like little Christmasy craft fairs set up in towns all over Europe during the Christmas season. There are booths selling a variety of stuff and, naturally there were many choices for food, as well.

While we were docked in Mannheim, they bussed us into the city for an evening visit to a Christmas market. It seemed like a good opportunity to sample some of the local cuisine away from the ship for a change.

Unfortunately, the market was way too crowded to get much enjoyment from being there, but I did find several places selling bratwursts that seemed promising, food-wise. I like brats and the thought of having a genuine German bratwurst in Germany appealed to me.

The crowded Mannheim Christmas market.

After a few laps around the market, I saw one that had a “curry bratwurst” on its menu. I’m no culinary expert, but I’ve never known curry to be an especially popular ingredient in German food. For some reason, I found this intriguing. In the moment, I suppose I wanted something I’d never had before. A curry bratwurst sounded weird, but you know what? It was good. Different, but good.

However, I regretted it a few minutes later. No, not because it disagreed with me. I found something I would have liked even better.

As we continued to make our way around the crowded Christmas market, I found a place called Flammlachs that was roasting planked salmon over an open wood fire. (I learned later that Flammlachs means flamed salmon in English.) I stood off to the side for a few minutes, allowing the process and intoxicating aromas to wash over me. I like fish a lot, and this salmon seemed especially enticing.

But, I had just eaten my curry brat a little while before, and not wanting to make a total pig of myself, I reluctantly passed on Flammlachs. I did not forget about it, though.

A few days later, in Koblenz, I was walking around another Christmas market and what did I find? Another Flammlachs! Oh boy! There was one small problem, however. I had just had a wonderful lunch on the ship less than two hours before. But that salmon looked so good, and the aroma - well, it seemed overpoweringly delicious. I knew I was going to eat again.

I warned my insides to get ready, there was more food on the way. I ordered the flammlachs im brötchen - flamed salmon on a bun. I expected it to be fantastic, and oh, wow, it sure was. I certainly did not need a second lunch, but in this instance my gluttony won out over common sense. And, I was so happy it did. Out of all the fantastic meals I had in Europe, the flammlachs im brötchen stood above them all.

Salmon on planks, roasting over an open fire. It’s a beautiful sight.

Continuing on the food theme, I crossed several items off of my list of life goals. I had Swiss cheese and fine Swiss chocolate in Switzerland. I had German potato salad and an authentic wienerschnitzel in Germany. I had French onion soup and French pastry in France. Okay, so a case could be made that I should have something more important and meaningful in mind for my “life goals”. To that I would say, “You do your goals, I’ll do mine.”

The French onion soup at Le Courcelles in Paris was magnifiqué.

In France, we couldn’t help but notice that in the towns we visited, there were many little boulangeries, which usually had a wide selection of croissants and breads, and pâtisseries, which had many wonderful French pastries from which to choose. Some shops seemed to have all manner of baked goods. While walking along the city streets, it seemed as if every few doors down, there was a bakery or pastry shop.

We, of course, had to sample a few of these gastronomical delights. One tiny shop in Reims, France was particularly charming. We were walking the streets of Reims, trying to find a place for lunch that wasn’t crazy busy. We wandered down a narrow side street and found Chez Jam’s. In my mind, it had the look of a small tea house. It was mostly unoccupied, so we thought we’d give it a try.

We wound up having the nicest time. The woman behind the counter did not speak English and we did not speak French, but somehow we were able to communicate an order to her. I had a delicious apple tart and a milkshake. The milkshake was very good, however, at least in this small French pastry shop, the milkshake was like sweetened milk and not thick at all, as an American shake is. I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

We finally remembered we had a translator app on our phones, allowing us to effectively communicate how much we enjoyed being there. The French seem to have a reputation as being snooty and rude, but we have nothing but positive things to say about the French people. They were very nice to us. We did not have one unpleasant interaction with a French person.

Chez Jam’s, Reims, France.

A person’s eating habits can change drastically while on a cruise. The highly processed crap that we Americans put into our bodies on a regular basis does not compare to real food that has been freshly prepared, with fresh ingredients. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to eating food that’s not good for me. I sure enjoy a big, sloppy chili cheese dog. Or three. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the meals we enjoyed in Europe were vastly superior to what we normally eat at home.

When the subject of another trip comes up, and I express my reluctance to go, maybe I should remember the great food we consumed in Europe. Especially the flammlachs im brötchen I had in Germany. Just thinking about it, puts me in kind of a dream state.

I can almost smell it . . .

Flammlachs im brötchen - the best of the best.

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