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even these supermen couldn't rescue the battle of the night against the fierce fighters in fire red uniform from iberia.
despite support from the local police...
...little cowboys in full gear with hat, flag, and vuvuzela (formerly known as a plastic horn)...
...kings with crowns and capes...
...and a strategically positioned free hanging screen for everyone's eyeballs, the soccer gladiators of the holy roman empire of the german nation didn't succeed in the african arena.
props such as wigs...
...sorcerer's hats...
...and magic pouches with whistles couldn't do the trick.
and the crowd on the bleachers in the coliseum, aka the old market in the small town of zeitz, in the east german federal state of saxony-anhalt, seemed to have an inkling that the roman empire of the german nation was already crumbling.
while wee ones still waved the flags hopefully...
...head-to-toe immersion in the right colors glowed toward victory...
...and ancient liquid food flowed freely in anticipation of a glorious celebration, defeat was already brewing in the grassy arena.
alas, realizing the loss was hard. luckily some very large black, red, and yellow colored handkerchiefs were conveniently nearby...
...to wipe away the tears that accompanied...
collective mourning.
thus ended the holy roman empire of the german soccer nation.
just as much as i can't stop looking for germany in the united states, i've been finding myself smiling when discovering the united states in germany.
the perfect blend of u.s. and german stereotypes for tongue and tummy: "bagel bavaria", a sesame bagel with pork roast with crackling/crust [Krustenbraten] and cole slaw [Krautsalat] for immediate consumption as the label promises. seen in a local edeka brand supermarket of zeitz, saxony-anhalt.
another curious combination of typical german and u.s. foodie elements: dark chocolate from an east german chocolate manufactury in weißenfels, saxony-anhalt, meets cranberry, the fruit which is probably most identified with the united states.
apropos, you can also purchase the merry berry in its almost pure form as sugared dessert in jars.
more subtle but also a reminder of a hottie of u.s. food influenced by latin american immigrants, chili in swiss lindt chocolate.
talking about hot, a lonely stack of salsa jars, medium, is the only red latin american dip offered in the kaufland supermarket branch of zeitz east. u.s. shelves would parade rows of salsa in increasing hotness.
technically an italian product by ferrero brand, nutella mysteriously always arises as the specter of german breakfast worldwide. here it's sold in a "to go" variety. coffee is not the only thing to take along anymore. maybe a certain mermaid-run shoppe needs to update its inventory.
when simple u.s. marshmallows are not enough there are still peach mallows to be had in germany.
a staple of the average u.s. diet, peanut butter [Erdnussmus above], has found a hidden home in the organic section of a cvs/pharmacy style store, here dm brand drugstore. it's accompanied by its close relative, almond butter [Mandelmus above].
brownies, but also blondies, and especially muffins in contrast seem to have become also a staple in german supermarket baking aisles.
the variety includes chocolate cherry muffins, ...
vanilla pirate muffins with "awesome stickers" as the box promises,
... apple muffins (above) and "juice" [saftige] muffins with pink icing topped by white and pink sugar hearts (below), of course only a serving suggestion.
apart from the powdery baking mixes, muffins in germany also come in...
...liquid form. as goes for pancakes. the batter is offered in so called shaking bottles [Schüttelflaschen]...
...and in ready-to-be-fried pieces (below).
ten of them per bag cost arout $1.20. of course, it's not enough to call them by their english name in a german supermarket, they have to be called "american" in addition.
after your cart is crowded with cranberries, salsa, muffins, peach mellows, and bavariarized bagels, the impulse shopping zone at the cash register gives the customer one last chance to catch u.s. style sweets. pick your smoothie candy: tropical taste or lime-lemon-cherry juice filling? either way, it's the perfect cherry (juice) on top of your u.s. shopping trip in a small town german supermarket.
cars with symmetrically positioned baby flags similar to horns are seen everywhere on german streets these days
germans show flag again. of course, it's part of the soccer madness surrounding the ongoing world cup. after leaving the unites states shortly before the yearly july 4 independence day celebration, it feels like still being there where blue, white and red colors dominated supermarkets and homes. just substitute the blue and white with black and yellow and keep the red: national pride german style.
just across where i am staying a big flag in the window signals support for our team.
some like it subtler with a festival-like chain of baby flags, also just around the corner of my temporary home.
business can't afford to lag behind. flying a flag is obligatory for good sales it seems.
and the one or other decorative soccer element at the meat counter in a supermarket pleases the (soccer) eye balls.
for germans for whom the national colors outside are not enough, m&m brand coulnd't pass up the opportunity to sell a yellow, brown, and red variety for consumption.
gummi bear fans won't have to suffer either, an appropriate snack to accompany the games is readily available. why it is called football, however, with two soccer balls even in the word is beyond me. maybe the one "o" in soccer was not enough to express suppoort [mispelling intended].
getting ready to drain the sorrow of a maybe-loss with kick&fun liqueur. the question just remains who gets kicked out of the match.
but there are plenty of soccer balls around to practice for the big finale.
whole corners in each supermarket are dedicated to turn soccer madness into cash and prepare customers for all aspects of the soccer experience.
for instance with "germany water" or...
... world cup toilet paper when soccer sweets have gotten too much.
in any case tchibo brand will keep you seated comfortably -- if you can keep from jumping up for cheering. (at least you'll land softly).
apropos cheering, of course, temporary sticky tattoos, found in a local book store, are always good for the right make-up.
for a less candy-oriented soccer diet, a local bakery offers african inspired "bafana south african corn bread", "world champion rolls", and "africans" -- a doughy cookie the size of a saucer with a chocolate or sugar coding on the bottom.
and if despite all this soccer fare is not getting you into the appropriate mood, this bakery will even bake the emotions for you!
bratwurst, beer, and bread is the gustatory triumvirate of german food in the united states. without hunting for the known flesh products my favorite u.s. american and i stumbled upon the german beacons of taste abroad twice in two weeks: omi's german deli [granny's german deli] in vancouver, washington and uli's Bierstube [uli's cozy beer house] inside pike place market in seattle, washington. the bread came in form of Vollkornbrot [whole grain bread] produced and sold by the pearl bakery in the pearl district in northeast portland, oregon.
omi, that is granny, offered sausages, schnitzel and potato salad at a booth during the saturday market in vancouver, wa, a city just north of portland, or. we had no time to try this one. the other one we did try.
my favorite u.s. american was once again my meat tester. (as a vegetarian it's hard to test the pretty one-sided meat-oriented german dishes on u.s. tables.) we chose a rather mild Thüringer Rostbratwurst [grilled sausage in Thuringian style, one of the 16 federal german states] and an andouli sausage for a spicy counterpart.
i was contend with a big pile of fries because it was accompanied by curry ketchup that reminded me of the ketchup with ate during childhood birthday parties and interesting garlic mayonnaise. without fighting to cut through the flesh i had time to admire the typical most often bavarian influenced decoration of uli's bierstube that i had seen in german eateries in the united states repeatedly.
one of the more interesting objects was what seemed to be an original german certificate proofing that uli indeed was a german master butcher. 
according to my meat tester uli knows his german trade: "they taste like the bratwurst i ate in Thüringen", was the judgment. "but they are stubbier here, in Thüringen they hung outside the Brötchen [buns] on both ends." but there were no buns at uli's that day. which brings us back to the baked items.
if you look for tasty german-style bread, the pearl bakery in portland, oregon seems a good address. the quarter loaf of Vollkornbrot [whole grain bread] i bought for $5 [€4] was worth is pricy price. it was subtly sour as the fermentation would make it, dense, and sweetly crisp when toasted. pearl bakery also offers german Roggenbrot [rye bread]. but that's for another occasion.
so they are true. at least the two of the three hypotheses i heard about the west coast and its northwestern emerald city, portland, oregon. maybe you remember, they included earthy colored garments, a laid-back attitude, and a europeanness to the place.
- as goes for the garments, people don't strut along in business suits, ties, costumes and high heels as much. but earthy tones, i don't know. i was surprised to see some dark-clad punks with the appropriately spiky hairdos. as for the dress i was happy to take...the weather just doesn't care for showing my own west coast adjusted piece of clothing.
- coming to point two, the cooler approach to life, that's a definite yes. i am still getting used to cars which don't try to chase me down like a rabbit when i cross at the white striped part of the road meant for pedestrians. they even slow down if i don't have a green signal or if there is a lack of signal at all. i am still suspicious that they just want to lull me in safety before one nastily rushes by narrowly to scare me back into dc street thinking. there, drivers are colorblind squeezing by whenever they can. twice i had to show facial disdain to machos on wheels to reign in their trespassing into my green lighted zone. at grocery stores cashiers recognize regular customers and chat about upcoming trips. one even came out of her booth to hug an old lady she knew. another information booth person called a bookstore for me to find out the address that lonely planet had screwed up. yes, west coasters are coasting rather than rushing.
one of the different entrances to powell's city of books in the pearl district in northeast portland, oregon.
after entering the giant labyrinthine store maps and information boards helped to guide me to the desired book heaven.
color-coded rooms divide the city into neighborhoods. my destination was in the red section which includes travel and foreign language literature. up the stairs...
besides a whole german aisle, there were extensive collections of spanish and french literature in the respective languages, you could also find mayan, hindi, arabic, norwegian, africaans, you name it.
the german aisle offered the greatest selection of german dictionaries i have seen in a u.s. books store, rows of grammar books and a selection of german and other classics and 20th century german literature. thomas mann, günter grass, bernhard schlink, but also the 2010 nobel prize winner for literature herta müller with her current book called Atemschaukel. müller's book was the most recent i could spot.
fortunately the man restocking the german aisle struck up a conversation with me when he saw me searching up and down the aisle with a list of books in my hand. alas, most of the books i was looking for were too current. he explained, partially in german which he learnt via studying in germany and in german studies in the region, most books find their way to the aisle via donors. that makes the used books, which were in very good shape, cheap. the five copies of a couple of classics and two interesting finds cost an average price of $3 to $4 [€2.40 to €3.20 as of today]. in contrast, he said, new imported hardcover books used to cost $29 [€23.25] a couple of years ago. now they go for $45 or more [€36]. indeed, herta müller's Atmenschaukel sold for $47 [€36.60].
apart from the extensive selection of german literature in the region (in seattle i found a well-stocked newsstand called bulldog news & espresso selling current Spiegel, Focus, and Neon magazines), a couple of other features reminded me of my homeland. without searching i came across german food twice in the past couple of weeks without even looking for it -- guess what i found?
even more obvious where bike lanes and recycling bins. but the first item that made me smile when i landed in emerald city were the green colored handles on the airport toilets to save water by flushing only a little [Sparspülung]!
for a split second i thought i was in germany.
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