My plan had been to get a bit crooked on some bubbly last night and then ruthlessly blog about the second leg of our trip, but I overreached at the former goal.
I wish all of you the warmest of fondnesses and good fortune as you plow ahead in this, our great climb. Excelsior!
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
This is a pretty good holiday, all around. Getting together with family, eating huge portions, football on TV...I can't think of many bad Thanksgivings. Thanksgiving is also the busiest bar night of the year, as college kids from out of town return home and go drinking with their high school buddies after dinner. I know that I used to do that.
We went, as usual, to the Bavarian House Inn in lovely Frankenmuth, Michigan. For those unfamiliar with Frankenmuth, it was settled by Germans way back in a previous century, and they never lost the old German swagger. Most restaurants in Frankenmuth are attended by lederhosen-clad wait staffery. The facade of the main streets is supposed to recollect a Disney version of a quaint Bavarian village.
When we sat down for dinner (I will digress here to explain that it is a buffet-style Thanksgiving feast, and my dad's side of my family has been coming here for years since it's centrally-located in Michigan) the waiter took our drink orders. I asked for a hefeweizen, and he looked at me strangely. So I slowly repeated, "He-fe-vite-zen". Again, the blank stare. The booze list only included wine, but I had ordered beer here in years past. Finally I tried, "Wheat beer? Hofbrauhaus?" That did it. With a look of relief, he asked, "Light or dark?". My eyes narrowed, and I dryly replied, "Light." He apologetically admitted that he didn't really know much German. I threw up on his shoes in tacit protest of his ignorance. A few minutes later, a bottle appeared in front of me with a label that read, "Hefeweizen". However, there was no yeast settled on the bottom of the beer ("mit hefe" = with yeast), and the glass was better suited to a Pilsener of inferior quality. Somehow, I made do. It's hard out there for a snob, y'all.
The major attractions at Frankenmuth are as follows:
1)the faux-Bavarian atmosphere,
2)Chicken dinners! (see the 500 billboards before you arrive at Frankenmuth. When I was a kid, if we ever drove within 25 miles of Frankenmuth, we would be pulled in by the chicken dinner tractor beam. Honestly? I've had better.)
3)Bronner's. Theres a gigantic store called Bronner's just outside of town that is "Christmastime 365 days a year!". I'm talking 10 acres of Christmas. Hey, now!
Thanks, Germany!
So, I'm having a bit of blogger guilt over the shameful neglect of the past week. I'll keep up the posting a little better for the next week or so, but then expect it to die altogether for a month as the Great Cross-Country Move takes place. I'll email all 4-5 of you when I'm back up and running.
We went, as usual, to the Bavarian House Inn in lovely Frankenmuth, Michigan. For those unfamiliar with Frankenmuth, it was settled by Germans way back in a previous century, and they never lost the old German swagger. Most restaurants in Frankenmuth are attended by lederhosen-clad wait staffery. The facade of the main streets is supposed to recollect a Disney version of a quaint Bavarian village.
When we sat down for dinner (I will digress here to explain that it is a buffet-style Thanksgiving feast, and my dad's side of my family has been coming here for years since it's centrally-located in Michigan) the waiter took our drink orders. I asked for a hefeweizen, and he looked at me strangely. So I slowly repeated, "He-fe-vite-zen". Again, the blank stare. The booze list only included wine, but I had ordered beer here in years past. Finally I tried, "Wheat beer? Hofbrauhaus?" That did it. With a look of relief, he asked, "Light or dark?". My eyes narrowed, and I dryly replied, "Light." He apologetically admitted that he didn't really know much German. I threw up on his shoes in tacit protest of his ignorance. A few minutes later, a bottle appeared in front of me with a label that read, "Hefeweizen". However, there was no yeast settled on the bottom of the beer ("mit hefe" = with yeast), and the glass was better suited to a Pilsener of inferior quality. Somehow, I made do. It's hard out there for a snob, y'all.
The major attractions at Frankenmuth are as follows:
1)the faux-Bavarian atmosphere,
2)Chicken dinners! (see the 500 billboards before you arrive at Frankenmuth. When I was a kid, if we ever drove within 25 miles of Frankenmuth, we would be pulled in by the chicken dinner tractor beam. Honestly? I've had better.)
3)Bronner's. Theres a gigantic store called Bronner's just outside of town that is "Christmastime 365 days a year!". I'm talking 10 acres of Christmas. Hey, now!
Thanks, Germany!
So, I'm having a bit of blogger guilt over the shameful neglect of the past week. I'll keep up the posting a little better for the next week or so, but then expect it to die altogether for a month as the Great Cross-Country Move takes place. I'll email all 4-5 of you when I'm back up and running.
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