Brezels: German off the Beaten Track

Brezels.......the snack food of Germany

In Heidelberg as a guest of Heidelberg Marketing,  I had the pleasure of spending a day with expat Charlotte Frey.  As we toured the old town to discover solo friendly activities and restaurants she shared many unique, historic facts about Heidelberg. 

Brezels are sold everywhere

Pretzels are a staple on air flights, pretzels are offered in bars and large, 'soft' pretzels are found in food courts and at festivals and fairs.   

Brezels in Germany have a long history and are ever present in daily life in Heidelberg.    As we walked around the Cathedral where vendors may have had the same stalls for hundreds of years, Ms Frey showed me carvings in the stone that resemble pretzels.

In Germany these are BREZELS and have an economic history as well as a gastronomic one.   

The carvings denoted the size standard of the brezel that was to be sold. 

Some of the carvings were much smaller than others.   When the harvest was poor the standardize brezel size was smaller!

Large quantities of brezels were in offered in every bake shop that we passed. Apparently brezels are never made at home but purchased daily.  They have no preservatives and become very hard overnight.  I sampled different styles on offer to determine if there was any difference in taste between the traditional pretzel style, long, 'fat' bezels or the thin variety.   I found no difference.

Photo from Wikipedia

Brezels are sold in every bakery in different sizes and shapes.  I wanted to taste several to see if they tasted different.  However, I think they are often sold in 3's because as I tried to explain I wanted one of eat, the busy bakery sales clerk was very annoyed, but complied with my request.  They tasted the same.  

I did a computer search and even asked the helpful young woman at the tourist office if there were any breazel bakeries I could visit.   When I finally found one, the location was across the river and I had a visit to the castle planned.  Next time I will try to learn to make brezels. 

Bezels are German snack food.  You always have bread with beer.   There is no fat in a Brezel or preservatives.  Charlotte told me "I can't imagine life without a bretzel"!

Thanks to the great resources online, you find a great history on pretzels!

Here are a few facts about German brezels:

There is a religious connection to the history of the bretze:

"Pretzels have long been integrated into the Christian faith. By the 16^th century, it had become tradition to eat pretzels on Good Friday in Germany, and Catholics once considered them the “official food of lent.” Earlier laws of the Church stated that only one meal a day was to be eaten during lent and the food couldn’t come from an animal."

Pretzels are put into a lye or baking powder solution!

"Before baking, the formed pretzel is dunked briefly in a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water. In German this mixture is called Natronlauge. This is what gives the pretzel its unique color and flavor. Because of this technique, this type of pretzel is also called a Laugenbrezel."http://germanfoodguide.com/pretzel.cfm

"Pretzels today continue to be formed by hand as has been done throughout history. Bakers spend years perfecting the pretzel-forming technique. First, the dough needs to be rolled out. Both ends of the strand are held up, and through a quick swing, the center of the strand is twisted. The ends are then pressed onto the body of the pretzel"  http://germanfoodguide.co

m/pretzel.cfm

250 year old Brezel found in in Regensburg

"Carbon dating showed the pastries were made between 1700 and 1800. Indeed, the archaeologists found written evidence that in 1753 a baker named Johann Georg Held was living at the site."

http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/worlds-oldest-pretzel-found-in-germany-150313.htm

The most popular pretzel is the so called Laugenbretzel. It consists out of flour, malt, salt, yeast and water.

Before baking, the formed pretzel is dunked briefly (just some seconds) in a mixture of sodium hydroxide and water (ph 13-14).  It helps to bring about the brown color that will occur during the baking process. In German this mixture is called Natronlauge

http://mybestgermanrecipes.com/german-pretzels/

What other snack foods are popular in other countries?

Next we visited the oldest chocolate store!

Historic Highlights of Germany:off the beaten path, made my tour of 8 German cities possible.  The opinions are my own.

War Brides: The Queen Mary Transports WW II Brides

War Brides and Soldiers Transported via 

Cunard Queen Mary during WWII

Cunard is Celebrating 175 years of service

Crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary is a wonderful alternative to 10 hours in a plane and on some crossings, can be well priced even for a solo passenger.

On a crossing last fall I steeled myself to sit at a table with 9 strangers only to find this crossing offered several very interesting dinner companions.  

H. T. was quiet at first but later had amazing stories to tell about the QE

And you NEVER know how interesting a stranger may be unless you speak with them.  H. T. appeared quiet and one evening mentioned to the group that his mother had crossed the Atlantic with Cunard on a war brides ship!   I had not heard of this before and was fascinated.   

I found out later in a conversation with H. T. that he only sails on Cunard and I found he is a Cunard armature historian.  

There is a exhibit on deck 2 Forward, that describes how Cunard's ships assisted during WWII and the story of transporting war brides and their children to the USA and Canada.

   After some additional  research I discovered a great deal has been written about the transportation of war Brides in 1946 to the USA and Canada and the role Cunard Ships played in the WWII.

I interviewed H. T. on the ship and later he shared more stories via email.  Stories he remembers about his mothers' first crossing on the QM and also others he took with her.   I realized that story about Joan was far more interesting.

This is a lovey story that was shared with me:

"My mom's name was Kathleen Joan Horton, nee Hatherley.  She was always called Joan by the family.  I 

remember as a kid,  friends from (her) work called her Kathy,   I thought it so strange.   Dad was Carl R 

Horton.    He was a waist gunner on a B17 and  flew 50 missions."   Stationed in the UK, "he saw her at a 

canteen for the GI's, arranged an introduction and they were engaged 3 weeks later.   They were married in 

Halesworth (UK) on January 29th, 1944."   It must have been love at first site since their union lasted 50 years

"When dating, my mother teased my father to take her to an eating place she liked very much, called Bobbie's.  From then on, dad always called her "Bob."  Cards, gifts were always addressed:  "To Bob,  From Carl."  Years later, my cousin Lesley would always call her "Aunt Bob."

Joan on her wedding day

First Night in a bomb shelter:  "Friends and neighbors pitched in to see that my parents had a real wedding cake.  There was strict rationing, for example, each person was allowed only one egg a month.  It was a small cake but it was very tasty.  
I did not recall where they were going for a honeymoon, but they spent their wedding night in a bomb shelter as German bombers were passing over on their way to bomb London.


The Best Man:   "Dad wanted his cousin, Harold Ballard, to be best man at the wedding but Harold, who was stationed in Northern Ireland, could not get leave.  Harold did visit later.  It took him almost 24 hours to get to Ispwich (near Halesworth)  because of all the train connections and also because the trains were so full,  
He had to stand all the way.  Right after he got to bed, another raid heading for  London appeared and he spent that night also in a bomb shelter. 

Harold did get to do  the toast at my parents 50th wedding anniversary party.  I remember the big laugh he got when he delivered  the line:  "You know, 50 years is a long, long time to be married to the same woman!"

H.T. told me her friends pooled their ration card to make a cake for her special day

Exact records of passengers on each ship may be traceable if family members have documentation on the date of departure and or arrival.   H. T. shared information from his file:  'Trip to America 1946'.

The exact departure date for Joan's trip to her new home may not be documented but H. T. has a copy of 'her orders to go to the 'reception center' on January 28th, 1946.   She was to depart her hometown, Halesworth at 9:54 am and arrive in London at 1:35pm- sailing date (was) was not included at that time".    "Joan remembered the day the ship was to sail, the band on shore was playing "There Will Always Be An England", so lots of tears and sad feelings and mixed emotions"  For some unknown reason the ship did not sail until the next day.

There is also a telegram sent to Mr. Horton in Rochester, NY informing him of the orders and a copy of the telegram Joan sent her sister is dated Feb 7th, 1946 from the Queen Mary.

In that letter Joan talks glowingly about "the wonderful food to include roast duckling, plum pudding, ice cream, coffee, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, chocolate, an egg every morning and (Joan) think the Queen Mary must be a magical name to have all the good stuff on board".  "The ship is traveling slower because there are lots of children on board.  Joan is somewhat seasick but not real bad".

After years of rationing during the war, the variety and quantity of food on the ship must have been overwhelming.    From other documents 'archived' by Joan, H. T. knows what the on board daily program for the dates of  February 7, 8 and 9th (1946).

H.T. believes this sailing of the Queen Mary was the first to transport war brides.  The ship would have arrived on February 10,1946.  (passengers stayed overnight on the ship)  Cunard arranged for passengers to be met and assisted on their onward journey.  Sadly I read in other stories that some 'brides' were never met at the dock and were required to return to England.  Transportation was supplied by Cunard.

Joan departed NYC on February 11, 1946 for Rochester, NY where about 30 members of her new extended family awaited her arrival.    How strange it must have been to arrive in a 'foreign' country and begin a new life.   Even the language was different although still a version of English.

Even at the late arrival time in Rochester, Joan and Carl drove the 90 minutes to Penn Yan to see the new farm that would be their new home.    From city/village life in Halesworth to farming.   Another challenge for Joan.   H. T. tells me that "as a child Joan was afraid of everything:  trains, cars, strangers.  So for her to marry an American and leave home was really so out of character for her."
Now she was living on a farm," learning to tend berries, grapes, cows, chickens and grains."

I am trying to recall what I have read about rural life in the USA during the 40's.   The family farm was a way of life and livelihood outside the cities.

Joan did not know how to cook when she arrived to start her new life!    So the pie story that H. T. shared with me is poignant.   On the farm, she was cooking  for my father, and many times my grandfather
and uncle who owned the adjoining farm. My father was a tease,  One time she baked a pie and he (Dad) complained the crust was "too flaky" which sent her off to the bedroom in tears.  This story was often repeated through the years, my mother use to laugh at how innocent and naive she really was in the early days in this country"

Another story is about Aunt Norma::

.I would also like to mention my dad's sister, my Aunt Norma.  The whole family did welcome my mother into the family (not all war brides were so lucky)  but Aunt Norma took a special interest and really looked out for my mother. 

Mom was soon pregnant with me after she arrived here and very sick,  Aunt Norma would take her to the doctor, whose office was up a flight of stairs.  One visit, at the sight of a blood pressure cuff coming her way, mom passed out.  Doctor says to Aunt Norma "Well, as long as she is going to be like that, I might as well do everything I have to do while she is out." 

"Going back down the stairs to street, Aunt Norma asks mom if she is all right, the reply was yes, but 

out she went again at the bottom of the stairs.  Despite the constant morning sickness  and problems keeping 
food down, I was born a happy,healthy baby, pink and rosy at birth."  


When farming no longer prosperous, Joan worked in a factory for 10 years,   She learned to drive.  She ran and completely manged a summer restaurant, Terry's Drive In, on Keuka Lake for 17 years!

In August 1952 and again in the summer of 1962.   Joan and H.T. traveled again on the Queen Mary for a return visit to Joan's family.  The 1952 sailing was only one way.  Joan went back to work at the Halesworth post office to earn the fare home, dad sent money too.  

"Mom (Joan) was feted and made a big fuss of by her friends and was really given the royal treatment, so much so, that she told her family she would stay in England.    Nana said 'absolutly not'.  Mom was told by her mother that if she stayed, she would soon be one of the group again and the special treatment would go away, but more importantly:  HT was an American and deserved to be brought up in the Sates"

On their 50th anniversary.............and it all started at a GI canteen

"So we returned (to the USA).  Dad had a Christmas tree and gifts when we arrived back in February"  "My mom became a naturalized citizen in 1953."

"Although my mother's English accent faded thru the years, a stranger would always notice it and ask where she was from.   However, on the telephone, the accent came back in full force- in  a very formal, brisk,  proper ton.e.  That phone accent always took me by surprise."   

All the photos of war brides were taken from the exhibit on QM II
and are the property of Cunard

Just as the ship I was on arrived in NYC harbor, in 1946 a newspaper article in the Times Union Albany NY announced "Queen Mary brings war brides into New York Harbor" with 1,719 war brides and 615 children on board.   click here for article

There are web sites, membership groups for wives and dependents as well as a number of books describing the voyages and the hardships many of the wives faced arriving in a new country, meeting a family she did not know and not having the means to return to her own family for a visit.

According to Lynda Bradford, a participant in the Cunard Forum dated August 15, 2014 there is a WWII War Brides Association.  "This group estimate that as many as 1 million women from 50 countries married Americans between 1942 and 1952.

"Transportation of the may war brides was not the only war service the Cunard ships participated in.
On the web site for World War II Troop Ships, details the first time the Queen Mary transported 8,398  American troops from Boston to Sydney, Australia.  On May 5-11, 1043 Winston Churchill traveled to NYC to meet with President Roosevelt.  Also aboard were 5,00 German prisoners of war.

Between February 3 and May 19, 1946 12,886 European brides and children were transported in six voyages.  May 23 to Sept 18, 1946 another seven voyages brought brides and children to Canada, along with 10 stowaways."

Munster the bike capital has a special addition

Münster, Germany
A bike capital where bikes may outnumber residents!

Martje Salje, also known as the tower keeper in Munster, click the link to learn about that story, was given a special bike this year from her mother.
    

This bike was designed by local Munster artist Stephan Quitmann, who according to Martje  is famous for his unique, fantastic bicycles.

"Each and every one of them is specially designed for their buyer/owner. You can choose every little detail yourself (e.g. the color - I like turquoise/cyan best!) and Stephan lets you sit on a machine that measures your body, like length of the legs and angles of the arms and upper body and so on." 

"The handlebars have leather and the ends and the lights are like parking lights that won’t go out when you’re like waiting at the red light in the darkness."

With this great endorsement, I decided to do a quick search for Mr. Quitmann.   Had I know about him while I was in Münster I would surely have dropped in to take a look at his shop.   His web site confirms he is a 'artist' with metal, leather and most important a fit for the rider of each individual bike.  


Martje goes a step further:

She decided to ask people she meets to sign her bike and give it a one of a kind feature. 

"It was the idea of Stephan Quitmann to let famous and special people sign their name on my bike, so it really is a project work-in-progress." 

But why me?
"I was so impressed that you came all the way to Münster to visit my beautiful city and write about it and even took the time to climb 300 steps with me, so your signature is something that reminds me of an amiable, wonderful and interesting person :-)"

"Then there are some fantastic highly remarkable musicians whom i asked to please sign on my project-bike and I told them how I loved and admired their music. 
One of them is Daniel Masuch, a Jazz pianist and composer, his works are on the Internet, e.g. on spotify as well."

While I was in Münster I learned a lot about bikes:   

• there are more bikes than residents in Münster
• there is a free air 'station' in the middle of town if you need to inflate a tire
• there is a massive bike garage on the way to the train station, offering storage, rentals, washes and repairs
• there are bike RULE, right of ways, penalties for riding in violation of the rules, no drinking and biking
• Münster is the 'bike capital' of Germany....
• Bikes are also called 'Leeze"
• Münster has been awarded the Most bicycle friendly city in Germany, several times

I need to get back on a bike!

And here is my signature on this amazing bike, may it travel far and wide.

This reminds me of the mid 1950's practice of having an autograph book and having friends sign your book.    I suppose we lost the art of poems, drawings or sentiments when the year book replaced autograph books and then videos, FB and Twitter replaced all writing.  .    

At the same time did we also lose our imaginations?  Can you ask someone to put a twitter comment in a 'book'?  Would we receive a response?

Be sure to read more about Marje