Lunch in the Great Outdoors: A Culinary Walk

Like to eat delectables, walk a few miles (or kilometers) breathing fresh, country air, and sloshing down some smooth-as-silk local wines?  Not talking about your backyard BBQ, or the shady park down the street.  I’m talking out in the fields where the buffalo roam…or at least a herd or two of cows, under a blue sky, with temps in the 80s Fahrenheit or the high 20s Celsius.

On such a beautiful day, it’s time to stroll and concentrate on: Good wine. Good food. Good company.

Germans are some of the most social people you’ll ever find.  And to prove it, they organize weekend walks that take you up and down hills, through fields and small towns, over bridges, even in the rain and not so rain, always with an over abundance of Food, Wine, and Beer!  On this particular afternoon, there were stops every half-mile or so, to take a breather from hiking, slack the thirst and gnaw some solid fixin’s.  Like what?  Grandmother’s pancakes slathered with vanilla-cream sauce. 

Grandmother's Pancakes

Barbecue pork that would made this southerner weep with joy.  Blackened chicken sandwiches with ancho mayo, better than anything I’ve tasted in New Orleans.

Blackened Chicken

 Succulent, planked salmon, with dilled sauce. Big chunks of grilled steak on a stick. And, oh my goodness the libations!  White, Rosé, Red, Sparkling, mixed.  Prost!

All of this cast against the splendor of endless, emerald green, rolling fields, bright blue skies, puffy white clouds, and the blessing of golden sunshine.  On this day, there were eight stops, each offering wine from different vintners and mouthwatering foods from culinary artists.  Like your wine dry?  No problem.  Sweet?  Ditto.  Maybe you prefer a wine watered down with fruit and soda, or a fresh mint concoction called a Hugo.

Make your own Hugo:  Muddle a few fresh mint leaves in a glass, add sparkling wine and elderberry syrup to taste.  Fill 'er up with ice and garnish with a slice of lime. 

Hugo!

Add to that, the serendipity of meeting friends, and spontaneous conversations with strangers who rapidly become new friends.  Met so many people!  Interesting conversation with the owner of Big Boys of Germany barbecue company.

“You must try some of my pulled pork.”

“Sure, but I warn you, I’ve had barbecue from all over the south.”

“Come with me and look at this.”  He leads me to the rear of the stand, where his grill (the size of a small tanker truck) must have had five or six hundred pounds of steaming pork.  He lifted the side and I marveled at the rotating shelves of foil wrapped roasts.  

Only one of the two huge chambers

Then he explained, “I wood-smoke my meat for six hours, then I wrap it and steam it for another fourteen hours.”

“What kind of wood?”

“Cherry.”

Naturally, I can’t back away from the challenge.  Oh my goodness!  As tender and succulent as your first girl friend!  Well, maybe I over stated it a bit, but nevertheless…  I told him it was the best pork barbecue I’d ever tasted.  Full flavor of pork and seasoning, the meat falling apart, without a touch of dryness.  This was pulled pork exactly as it should be.

The glory of these wanderings is something that makes Germany a wonderful place to live. These Volksmarches, or Wanderungs, are a German institution. From early spring to late fall, there are a few every weekend, and no matter where you live in Germany, you’ll find one nearby.  This one was a Kulinarische Wanderung, or Culinary Walk, but even if Culinary is not in the name, there will be plenty of wonderful delights to eat and drink.

It’s no secret, as a group, Germans like to get out and wander the forests and fields. The weather doesn’t matter much.  No matter where you live, if there are forests, there are walking and biking trails. I’ve seen elderly Germans, pushing walkers as they trek through snowy drifts.  As the saying goes, wherever you find two or more Germans with similar interests, you’ll find a club.  On the organized walks, when you add food and drink, the club goes public and gets ebulliently large.

Ah, these are the splendid days that make you wish the day would never end, but when it does, the sparkling memory makes you look forward to tomorrow!