Travel essays from Germany and beyond.
For five and a half years, I have been living and working in a Buddhist center in Germany. It’s 1.5 km to the nearest village, 600 m to the closest neighbor, and 300 m to the nearest nature reserve. I’m a bit like a dog living off altar scraps — almost literally. For instance, I eat what’s left over … Read more
TVP: texture vegetable protein. Until recently, only TSP, or “textured soy protein,” was available on the market. These are all those products like dry soy cutlets (affectionately called “sawdust cutlets”), pieces, granules, steaks — large, rectangular cutlets with a fibrous texture. TSP products had their time, at least in Poland, in the 1990s, when they were pretty … Read more
Have you ever cooked a classic dish you had no idea how it was supposed to taste? Recently, I was tasked with exactly that. We were expecting a visit, postponed since the pandemic, from a high-ranking teacher. You’re not required to know what kind of teacher, so let me explain. I cook at a Tibetan … Read more
Hazelnuts aren’t exactly a staple in daily diets, likely due to their cost. In Germany, hazelnuts are nearly twice as expensive as cashews. Yet, they were once a typical product in traditional folk kitchens. Labor used to be cheap and available, especially for light tasks like gathering berries, mushrooms, herbs, and nuts — tasks even children could … Read more
Stuffed vegetables are my comfort food and a traditional folk Polish dish.Poland and Germany are countries with allotment gardens. Small plots of land, originally on the outskirts of cities and usually belonging to working-class families, were an important supplement to the diets of many households in Poland until the 1990s. INGREDIENTS:– 500 g cooked white … Read more
Football players and fans from all over Europe complained about the poor organization of the football championship in Germany and Deutsche Bahn. With the end of Euro 2024, the problems have not ceased; in some areas, they might even worsen. But there is hope for improvement. Deutsche Bahn, the German railway, has long been a … Read more
The answer might surprise you. Recently, for several days, I’ve been eating bread with jam. This has been my main meal, which I have around ten o’clock. I wake up around five. By ten, I’ve burned several hundred calories from activity. Two slices with jam. Working in the kitchen contributes to eating disorders. When your … Read more
The cuisine of northern Germany is not among the most refined in the world. Bratwurst with potato salad and red millet allow for a different perspective on World War II. If you were fed like this every day, you’d also prefer to hop into a tank and invade Poland. And eat Polish dumplings and soups. … Read more
Some lottery bonus of fate is that I’ve never been a fan of either sweetened carbonated drinks or those awful sweet Mars bars, Twixes, Pigs, or whatever those brown things with corn syrup and additives are called.Similarly, fast food. All those pizzas, hot dogs, burgers. Not even pizza. And I never really understood those fans, … Read more
Wild garlic, which is the best thing about living in Lower Saxony (besides being close to Hamburg). Here, it’s a local seasonal delicacy. Not as ubiquitous as asparagus, but available in every grocery store. INGREDIENTS:1 onion (about 100 g net)3 tablespoons of oil (30 ml)2 bell peppers (about 250 g net)150 g peanuts (see notes)150 … Read more
