Author: ana

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in germany

walking on history, V: buchenwald


buchenwald was the largest nazi concentration camp in germany: over 50,000 people died here, from all over europe. it’s a place of unspeakable horrors perched on an idyllic hilltop, in the middle of the forest. today, the area is filled with commemorative sites and this in particular is part of the jewish memorial. the sentence, translated in english, german and hebrew rises in carved stone above the gravel and reads:

“so that the generation to come might know, the children, yet to be born, that they too may rise and declare to their children.”

stark and sobering.

more from this series.

Categories
in germany

sardines!

once a year, the portuguese community in berlin gets together around the 10th june (our national day) for a big picnic. everyone’s invited and there’s grilling, tons of sardines and plenty of catching up to do! the weather was excellent this year, and we even got a little bit of colour on our pale skins :)

here are some photos of the day:





by the way, if you know any portuguese in berlin, tell them to register on the community’s mailing list to stay on top of these (and other) relevant topics! :)

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eggeusia foooood in germany

and speaking of eggs…

…meet our awesome egg cooker! yes, i know what you’re thinking: a machine that only cooks eggs?! when i first started seeing these at big appliance stores, i looked at them with a sceptical raised eyebrow. why would anyone need a machine to boil eggs?

and yet, and yet… the perfect egg was always elusive for me, always tricky to get. too cooked, not cooked enough… the results tantalisingly close but always just slightly off the mark.

i might have mentioned this before – we go through a lot of eggs in a week. if i think about it, they’re probably my favourite everyday food. breakfast? eggs. middle-afternoon snack? eggs. too-hungry-to-go-to-bed-but-don’t-feel-like-cooking-a-meal? eggs. omelets, scrambled, fried, boiled, poached… with kimchi, mushrooms, salmon, caviar, bacon… they’re just so versatile and delicious! *sigh*

and so after a while, the idea of this magical machine and its promise of perfect boiled eggs starting chasing me in my dreams… until we finally caved in and bought it. it’s ridiculously easy: put eggs, put water according to desired consistency, cover and wait. when the water is all boiled, it beeps and voilá.

the results? perfect boiled (or poached) eggs – every single time. that, and a very happy ana! :)

ps – the plastic egg holders in the shape of chickens are another classic from the ddr. those guys sure loved their eggs!

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eggeusia foooood in germany

mystery box

can you guess what this is before scrolling down?

no, it’s not for your sunglasses… it’s an awesome egg-carrier from the DDR! :D silly, but useful!

since paleo came into our lives, eggs have been a staple, and so this cute little box has come in quite handy for trips and picnics! we got it at ostpaket, a shop filled with ostalgie, and all kinds of stuff from east germany, from mocca fix gold to sandmann…

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foooood in china in germany traveling

starbucks abroad


i have a starbucks travel mug, which i got in china. it says shanghai in big letters, and i take it to class every day, filled with tea.
one day, a colleague asked me if i’d gone to starbucks in china, to which i replied that i did. they looked at my mug with disdain, and told me that they’d never do that, their voice dripping with moral superiority… it struck me as an odd thing to say, “i’d never do something”… how do they know?

i didn’t feel the need to justify myself to an almost stranger, but thought about it for a while… and then i realized we didn’t go to starbucks because we particularly liked their coffee (though i respect any brand that has the talent to pull a ‘red bean’ frappuccino…). we went there because it was familiar, and consistent. you know what you’re going to get, and how you’re going to get it – which at times was more than you could say for the rest of the places in the neighbourhood. we went there because when you’re out of your element, feeling misunderstood and lost, you want what is familiar and comfortable. big brands do consistency perfectly, and it can be very soothing.

this is what i should have told him. damned esprit d’escalier!