doener and bratwurst: a city without fast food chains

"A hearty welcome. We are open."

another joy during my stay in zeitz has been the absence of fast food chains. zeitz is about as big as athens and the 28,000 citizens also frequently need of a quick bite. the 21,000 athens residents can fall back on the obligatory array of mcdonald's, burger king, wendy's, subway, and taco bell with their predetermined brand menus of burgers, fries, sandwiches, and wraps. so how do the inhabitants of zeitz survive on the move without this selection?

what looks like a scary shack is a very popular "Imbissbude" along the highway. it is spelled in the old way with the special german character "ß" which is pronounced like a sharp s.

"Imbiss" is the solution. it means to bite into something, to eat a quick, little meal for which you wait a few minutes in order to devour it on the spot. the "Imbiss" is usually offered by a "Bude", a booth, shack-like trailer or buggy. while roaming through zeitz i could detect four categories of "Imbiss":

1. bratwurst,
2. asian food,
3. rotisserie chicken, and my favorite:
4. "Doener" (usually spelled with the german "o" with funny dots).

1. bratwurst, "Klopse", "Rostbraetel" & co

fried potatoes left, "Bulletten" in the middle, "Rostbraetel" in the upper right hand corner and the classic bratwurst to the right are standard offers at a regular "Imbissbude".

besides the bratwurst other pieces of meat are put in to a crisp white bun: flattened meat balls so called "Bulette", thick slices of a meat loaf called "Leberkaese" or a small steak namely "Rostbraetel". the older generations usually insist on mustard as the sole companion to the meat but lots of people use ketchup or a mixture of both.

take two: allar's imbiss comes with a special offer of ready to eat eggs sunny side up.

the "Imbiss" along the highway with the hearty welcome sign had some special offers like fried eggs sunny side up on a steak.

bratwurst, meatballs, sandwiches, buns and everything else that the hungry traveler needs: part of price list of "allar's imbiss".

most of those meat pieces in a bun cost about 1.50 € ($2.35), ketchup, mustard ("Senf") or curry starting at 0.10 € ($0.15).

2. "Asia-Imbiss"

asia imbiss in the heart of zeitz located along "rossmarkt" boulevard.

asian food is similar to the asian dishes served in u.s.: fried noodles or rice with tiny pieces of chicken, beef or pork and some scraps of carrots, cabbage, and scrambled eggs, egg rolls, and egg drop soups, etc.

asia imbiss close to a zeitz "kaufland" supermarket.

this "Imbiss" woos the customer with the slogan "prepared fresh daily". prices here start at 3 € ($4.75) which is advertised as the budget dish of the day.

3. rotisserie chicken ("Grillhähnchen")

rotisserie chicken booth close to a zeitz "kaufland" supermarket.

for only 1.75 € ($2.75) you can buy half a rotisserie chicken which is sufficient to feed about two people when eaten with fresh buns. this booth advertises "fresh german poultry" from the grill.

4. "Doener"

some doener booths also offer spaghettis or other noodle dishes as this one indicates on its label "Nudeln".

"Doener Kebab" is probably the most common quick snack. it is similar to the "gyro" that is sold in athens. it is a meat mixtures containing lamb grilled on a vertical rotisserie and then placed into a thick white triangularly cut bread that splits in the middle.

the rotating sign in the right corner promises a "Doener" at this zeitz corner store.

people often have "Stammdoener", similar to the "Stammtisch", this is a place to which an individual returns because (s)he swears that only this "Doener" is the yummiest in town. the word "Doener" for the food is often also used to describe the location where it is sold.

step 1: get a plate. tie up your hair. put a napkin in your lap. it will be messy.

you can eat the "Doener" in the shop or have it wrapped in aluminum foil as a take away meal. apart from the classical "Doener" many stores offer chicken or veggie version along with falafel.

step 2: cautiously remove the aluminum foil to breath in the warm grilled meat fragrance.

most "Doener" cost between 1 € to 2.50 € ($1.58 to $3.95).

step 3: take a hearty bite -- without dripping sauce (it won't work.)

and are served with white and red raw cabbage, onions, a couple of tomato and cucumber slices topped with a yoghurt and a zesty reddish sauce. mmmhhh!

enjoy your next individual meal when you have chance to escape the grip of the fast food chains!

ps: all euro to dollar conversion were made with the google conversion rate as of the publication of this post.

facades of a small town

a city can't be photographed; it can't be put into words; it can only be experienced. every native has an autopilot in the head shifting gears into native mode despite a long absence from the home turf. after a few days of wondering about products, the way people talk, and window frames, the multiple miracles fade away and everything looks the way it did before: never changing well known facades which might give some clue to the complex entity called german small town.

abandoned library building of zeitz

gable of building in the historic center giving home to an optometrist

literally translated the store is called "blackamoor pharmacy"

liberal color choice

looking behind the curtain

the gap left by behind by removed building

old liquor factory hosting now the entrance to "underground zeitz", a system of aisles dug ten meters deep into the soft mottled sandstone to store beer barrels and to hide from world war bombings

"fielmann" is another optometrist, a chain that has taken over the eyes in all of europe

hard to identify the four stone statues represent the arts of music and acting. the local theatre hosts plays, concerts, and cabaret.

one of the neatest buildings of the boulevard hosts another optometrist, also a chain, and features a turret and a build-in balcony.

this triangular section popping out of the facade belongs to a house that has one of the four ice cream parlors in the inner city.

timbered houses are sprinkled all over the town but not always in as good shape as this one.

ode to the cobblestone

ode to the cobblestone

... and its modern companions.












they have been pleasing













my eyes













walking in german cities.

192 steps

the city's coat of arms: archangel michael in his silver accounterments of knighthood defeats with his sword the rebelling lindworm.

i seldomly looked at my hometown with such interest and curiosity but distance makes the heart grow fonder. fortunately i had the opportunity for a personalized tour by my mom who happens to work as a guide for the tourist information.

the goal of the day was climbing the 192 steps of the tower of our town hall. in order to enter the tower everyone has to pass trough the town hall. the left lighter colored part of the building was erected between 1505 and 1509; the darker one to the right was added between 1906 and 1909. the stand-alone gable is made out of terracotta and was modeled after the town hall in breslau in southeast poland.

as a matter of fact the town hall is indeed building number one.

the head on top of the door is a biblical figure but no one knows who it is actually supposed to be. the motto written in stone above it drew my attention: "only law can give liberty". i found that quite odd with the thought simmering in the back of my head that most u.s.-americans would like to cut government out of their lives to enjoy more freedom.

this figure portrays a deity of fertility with the incredible number of eight breasts who carryies a basket of fruits on her head. lo and behold my tour guide told me that according to a legend this woman is responsible for the naming of our town. the word "zeitz" stems from the old version "cici" which allegedly stems from the german word "zitze" which in english means "teat". zeitz is 1041 years old and when the town hall was build later on the citizens wanted to give credit to the fertility and goddess that helped establishing the town in the beginning.

starting our little adventure upstairs i noticed this window that climbs up along the steps and is partitioned into four smaller rectangulars reminding me of u.s. windows.

this so-called "peace hall" is the parliament of town where the city council resides, concerts and plays are held.

finally the challenge presents itself in purity: 192 steps into the sky.

the first glance surfs over the new market, one of the three markets in town. the big pale yellowish building hosts the tourist information now, was the police headquarters before, served the nazis as a place to torture people but started as a location where fabric dealers would present their commodities.

the yellow building in the center and the buildings attached to it are our castle, called "moritzburg" because lord moritz used to reside in its pretty houses and pray its saint peter and paul cathedral. the "moritzburg" now hosts the town archives, gives a home to books written by reformer Dr. Martin Luther, and dislays over 630 perambulators and items connected to the huge perambulator factory that was one of the main industries of zeitz in communist germany.

to stick with the holy places in town we can also offer a monastery. franciscan monks used it and my dad actually got baptized in their chapel to the right with the long black roof. in communist germany the cloister was more and more falling apart but recently it has been restored. the garden is really neat and the chapel is used occasionally for parties and techno music rocks the old stone walls.

the third sacred place that is central to zeitz is the "michaeliskirche", a church in the center of the picture. that's where my grandparents married and where you can see a copy of one of the original six thesis papers by dr. martin luther. the real thesis was found in the "michaeliskirche" but is now locked away in a safe spot.

this is the future of zeitz: alledgedly one of the most modern or the most modern sugar factory in europe. the sugar is produced from sugar beets and when the harvest season comes an unpleasant sweetish smell billows through town. to the far right of the tall chimney the "suedzucker gmbh" , the official name of the sugar company, has added an ethanol plant.

www.zeitz.de

the german shopping experience

welcome to shopping at the "discounter" -- a reasonable priced supermarket like "lidl", similar to "aldi" which can be found in the united states. one of my pleasure since arriving in germany is browsing through any kind of supermarket to see familiar brands, beloved products, and regain my sense of german pricing (which often is rather shocking).

little german cars line up for a visit to the grocery store strikingly with their trunks pointed into the parking lot ready to take in the shopping load of their drivers.

with a euro coin in your hand you are ready to acquire a shopping cart which is waiting in line for your convenience.

little gates show you the way to the low budget shopping paradise.

another gate makes sure that you are well trapped inside with all the yummy food of which you hopefully buy plenty, notice the separation between the gate section for the shopping cart and the turning banister for the customer.

then the fun time starts: heaps of "kinder chocolate",

and varieties of haribo gummi bears,

and little chocolate covered marshmellow-foam-like balls. in communist germany they were called "nigger-kiss" but now they are called "fat man's".

of course the "surprise-eggs" cannot be missed: inside the chocolate egg is a tiny toy that the child can assemble and play with while munching the sweet brown shell.

after the sweet tooth is satisfied how about a hearty soup? in germany the base for almost every soup or broth is "soup greens" - a medley of one carrot, one stick of leek, a nosegay of fresh parsley, and a chunk of root celery that can be bought in a box in any supermarket.

in the dairy section i finally celebrated a reunion with my beloved "quark" -- a sour yoghurt-like white cream that can be eaten raw (only for hard core fans) or sweet with sugar, fruits or jelly or hearty with chopped onions, herbs, and spices. (p.s.: "speisequark" simply means "foodquark").

i was equally happy to see "mozzarella" that comes as small white balls swimming in liquid in little bags and which is fun to eat on baguette with olive oil, tomato slices, fresh basil leaves, salt, and pepper.

in case you need to make a german cheese that is "quark" cake you should not forget to buy a few small packages of vanilla sugar.

but food is not all there is, german beer is a must as well as water with strong sparkly bubbles

that comes in bottles and according to size costs 1,30 or 1,60 euros each. remember, there are no water fountains with free flowing water in germany and most other european countries.

after basic needs are met and closer to the cash register some eye candy comes along. i have missed buying flowers in ohio since they are more expensive and not so readily available. this primrose in a pot costs $0.75.

or maybe you want a bunch of tulips in yellow, red, orange, purple or pinkish...oh the possibilities!

ready to go? the cash registers barely leave space for the cart and the customer to pass through. getting out of the store without buying anything means to squeeze by the queue in the narrow check-out lane.

often items are loaded into self-brought bags or directly into the trunk since plastic bags cost money. afterwards the shopping cart is returned to its companions in order to recuperate the euro inside the little box attached on top of it.

now the shopping game can start anew.