German Happy Hour

Happy Wednesday!

A while back, my husband and I started a tradition to help get through the week: creating a date night on "hump day", (a.k.a. Wednesday). Instead of the traditional happy hour fare, I am replacing cocktails and nuts with snacks and drinks from around the globe! From now on, every Wednesday's happy hour is going to take on the theme of a new country that I've visited. Tonight, I am reliving my visit to Germany.

Germany is truly an amazing country to see. It's history is so complex and the sights are breathtaking-- from the forests and castles in Bavaria to the centuries-old buildings in the cities. Germany was one of my first insights into different cultures' ways of dining; Germans are true "diners" and a meal at a German restaurant lasts for hours (I guess that explains why they can drink from those huge steins full of beer without getting drunk...). I remember the first time I visited a Hofbrau in Munich with my parents as a teenager (pictured above). I was too young to have a stein full of beer, but we started with a German pretzel and were so amused by it's size! We tore away at that pretzel while the German polka band played in the background. It was authentic and awesome!

That is my inspiration for tonight's simple happy hour fare. I am making German soft pretzels (individual servings, though- not like the giant one I had!), with some good German beer. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of German beers in chain stores. If you want an even wider selection, check out an import store's beer section. An interesting tidbit regarding Germans and beer-- sometimes they will mix it with other drinks. The most popular mixers are cola or lemonade. So if you will be with a daring bunch, make sure you have those on hand to suggest trying it out! Also, if you will have some guests who are not as keen on beer, Riesling is one of the best known varietals of wine in Germany that can easily be found here in the states.

So go and get your delicious pretzels baked and salted, and stock up on that beer (and lemonade and cola, maybe)! As they say in Deutschland, Guten Appetit!

*note: recipes uploading soon!

Photo: My father and I in Munich, Germany