Thank god the beer is good, and yes there is pork and more pork on the menu

If you know me at all, you know I am a beer drinker. And that is a good thing when living in Germany, because this is truly the land of the beer. So much so that there is an etiquette in ordering the local beer.

When Olof thought he had a handle on this the other night, he ordered the local Bonn beer, Bünsch. The waiter scoffed and said nein, we have Kölnsch, which is the local beer for Koln (Cologne – a bigger city just a few kilometers away). Same difference to me really, just as long as they bring it cold.

Generally these local beers are delivered in tall, narrow glasses that are 200ml (about 8 ounces), and are marked on your coaster for each one you drink. An excellent system, really. I have watched the locals down 4 or 5 of these in a short time and the waiter has no trouble keeping track.

Another thing about me is that I really don’t like pork. No reasons really, but just a carryover perhaps from the days when I did not eat any meat at all.

In Germany however, avoiding pork may prove to be more of a challenge than I thought. Here pork is everywhere. Every menu includes pork in some form, most meat in the supermarkets is pork, and all the small food vendors on the street sell pork sausage – every kind of sausage mind you, all consisting of pork. The kids love this sausage by the way, especially Louise who could probably live off of sausage alone.

There is, however, no shortage of sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes are served everywhere, which satisfies me just perfectly.