European Food

Every single place that I have been in the past 3 months has given me a completely new experience with food. It has shown me how much we take advantage of the amount of food that we have in America, and how we are so consumed in eating the food that we don't actually think about what it means to enjoy it. Back in the states, we are known for our huge portions and, let's be honest, huge appetites. Why do you think that there was a movie created in America called "supersize me"? In these European countries, I have realized that although the food may not taste as good (aka is not as greasy, salty, and "bad for you") as the food in America, everything has its own unique taste.

Let's start with the first place that I went, Munich, Germany. From the second we walked into the huge train station in the center of town there were food places surrounding us. Everything from pizza, to sausages, to sandwiches made inside of pretzels, to snitzel. The chicken that we had at Oktoberfest was roasted on a stick right in front of us and served right off the cooker. It was savory and tasted very fresh, the meat was pretty much falling off of the bone. There was gingerbread cookies hanging from all of the stands that had german words written on them and were carved in the shape of hearts. And when it comes to drinking, there is a completely different perspective of it over here. People were drinking from the beginning of Oktoberfest (at 8 in the morning) until the tents closed at midnight. It absolutely blew my mind at how much Germans can drink and are willing to drink. You could never find a stein (a beer equivalent to 5 beers) in America never mind finding someone standing on a table chugging one at 8 in the morning.

Italy was the next place on the agenda. This was the most delicious place that I traveled to, not only because they are known for their food in Italy but because I had the time to sit and enjoy what I was eating and be able to understand why Italians are so famous for their cooking. I already described some of the food in one of my previous blogs when I talked about the pizza and how it is made differently there than anywhere else in the world. Mainly because of the fact that all of the ingredients they use are fresh. The pasta was the most amazing pasta I have ever eaten in my life. It sounds a little funny but I didn't want it to end! I would never leave a table hungry and I know for a fact if I studied abroad there I would definitely come back to the states looking much heavier than I did when I left! As far as drinking goes, my impression of Italians is that they are more about enjoying and tasting their drinks rather than sucking them down to get "wasted". When I tasted wine there I was told to swirl it around in a glass, sniff it, and then taste the it. The wine was especially good at the winery because it was so fresh and made right at that site. I think it also tasted so delicious because I learned all about where it came from and how it was made before I tasted it.

The food in scotland is very similar to what I had encountered already in England. There was nothing that stood out more than anything else, but that might have something to do with the choices I made about what I wanted to eat. Although the brucsetta that I had at the first pub we went to was unbelievable, as well as the pasta that I ate right before we left to go back on our 9 hour bus ride was definitely worth the scottish pounds. Something that I found very interesting both in Scotland and in England was how popular Indian food is. Everyone seemed to love it there and there was a different Indian restaurant on every block. My friend that we stayed with for the weekend was determined to buy it the night after her 21st birthday, and that absolutely astonished me because Indian food would be the last thing that my stomach would be craving after a night of drinking and partying. The scots love to have a good time as far as drinking goes. The night life there definitely reminded me a lot of what I had encountered in both England and Germany. Crazy people that like to scream a lot and drink a lot of beer!

Food in Barcelona came as a big surprise to me. I did not expect everything to be so all about fish and other seafood. I think I was expecting something more along the lines as what you would find in Mexico (aka burritos and chips and salsa). Paella is a dish that is advertised at every single restaurant that I walked past. It is a combination of rice, a little spicy sauce, and all types of seafood in one dish. It was a little too fishy for my liking but people seemed to really enjoy it. Sangria was one thing that Spain is widely known for so we had to try that, and it did was definitely not a disappointment, let me reassure you. The drinking was pretty insane in Barcelona, not to mention it is the party capital of the world, but there were at least 10 different clubs to go to just in the center of the city, and people were constantly trying to sell beer to us off the streets. People actually tend to sleep in until about 2 or three in the afternoon on the weekends, wake up, eat something, and then start drinking and partying again around 12 in the morning to come home 6 hours later and do it all over again! It was definitely a tremendous experience for the weekend, but I don't think I would have lasted there any longer, never mind studying abroad there for 4 months.

This past weekend we went to Prague for their legendary christmas markets. Aside from the food that we tried in the markets, I'm not sure that we got anything that was imparticularly authentic Prague food.  We pretty much had things that we could have found in America or in England simply because we were not sure what we were really supposed to try from there? The closest thing that we got to trying native food from there was the sausages and these round cinnamon bun-looking things from the markets. The sausage was gigantic and was given to me in a baguette straight off the grille. It sort of made me feel a little sick afterwards, but I still ate the whole thing! The cinnamon bun-looking thing was okay tasting, it was a little bland for my liking. The hot chocolate on the other hand was really, really good! It was fresh and homemade right in front of us so it tasted like a rich, melted chocolate bar in a cup. I couldn't get enough of it. The drinking in Prague was sort of similar to Italy for me. I did not feel as though it was a huge deal there because although they were selling mulled wine everywhere, it was the only type of alcohol sold at this market. Not that that's a bad thing, but it was different than what I had found at the previous market that I had been to in Birmingham the week before.

Last, but certainly not least, is English food. This is something that I have had a chance to experience the most while being abroad in Europe. One of the first things that I tried when I got here, because the brits are so well known for it, was fish and chips. To be completely honest, I was not exactly blown away by this dish. I am not the biggest fan of fried fish to begin with, but I guess I was expecting it to taste different over here than back in the states. The malt vinegar that is usually served with the fish and chips added a bit of flavor to it, but it was still pretty bland. At least I can say that I had fish and chips in England now! Another interesting food that I have discovered over here is pig's belly. I don't think I have ever expected to eat that before, but it was by far one of the best meals that I think I have ever had. It was perfectly cooked and tasted absolutely astounding, I will definitely be having that again before I leave. I think that I have pretty much expressed my feelings about how the brits drink over here in my previous blogs, but I have recently tried a classic British drink called Pims and I found it to be one of my favorites! I was pretty happy to discover this because the typical beers and ciders that I have tried so far have been quite a disappointment to me.

One food that I have found to be in every place that I have visited so far in Europe is kabobs. Now, when I used to think of kabobs I would think of a few pieces of chicken, peppers, and onions grilled on a stick. Over here in Europe that is far from what I have encountered. It every place the kabobs are prepared the same, with the meat being rotated on a huge pole for hours on end and being carved off and separated into containers for people to choose from. The workers take that and mix it into a pita bread with your choice of lettuce, tomatoes, special sauces, etc. and then rolled up and eaten all together. Kabobs tend to be a popular nighttime snack, especially for those that are going home from a club, so that is why they usually open their shops around 8 or 9 at night and don't close until 2 or three in the morning. They taste pretty good late at night, but I'm not sure I would feel the same about them if I tried one during the daytime...

One thing that I must admit to being very happy about while studying in England is the fact that they have a starbucks here. I am not sure what I would've done if I had to go 4 months without a starbucks latte.