When I respond to each of your wonderful comments individually, it starts to push all of them off the front page, where they get harder to find. So, as before, I’ve gathered a bunch of my replies into today’s post. In general, as always, thanks so much for the comments and all the compliments on the photos!
Re Friday Followups from a couple of weeks ago: Thanks for the positive feedback on that photo! It’s definitely become one of my favorites – I love the illusion of which half is the true reflection, and which part is “reality”.
Re Not quite as easy as pie: @Stuart and @Kathy: yes, the “pie chart” graphs here really do seem to be called “cake graphs”.
@Kathy: I’m not sure about the canned pumpkin, but depending on what time of year you come, they have tons of fresh pumpkins in various shapes and sizes. I tried to explain the concept of a pumpkin pie to a couple of people here last month, but they don’t have anything like it here. They make a pumpkin soup here that’s quite popular, though. But it’s not sweet.
@Dovie: yes, the cake servings here are huge. Even the slices of stollen, a Christmas cake, are huge in terms of what I’d think of as a regular serving! I mention that because someone brought some in today to have during our coffee break in the German class. Well, we do need to learn language and culture, particularly cuisine. 😉 Back in October we also had a lunch there with that pumpkin soup. Not bad … but I’d go with the huge slice of stollen if I had to choose just one. 😉
@Mom: Interesting idea about drawing a sausage, but they don’t cut the sausage up to eat it here – it’s just eaten long, like a hot dog.
@Stan: Thanks!
@Kathy: Thanks! I’d love to see the artwork when it’s ready where you use the colors that you mixed that are like what’s in this photo!
Re A Bevy of Swans: Cute comments, all. Stan, I haven’t seen any of these fly here – I think they are paid just to swim around and look impressive for the photos. 😉
Re Reflections: Thanks for all the wonderful comments! I must say, I’ve been amazed at the seemingly infinite possibilities for photos of reflections in the Neckar River. I’m really having fun with all the experiments I’ve been doing with it – the river is so clear, and so reflective, unlike any other river I’ve lived near before. Glad to hear that people are enjoying what I’ve been posting in this vein.
BTW, my forthcoming “Reflections” exhibit is shaping up. I now have an official date for the opening reception: January 11 at 7pm. Mark your calendars and make your travel plans accordingly… 😉
@All: thanks for the cute and informative comments.
@Kathy: the Santa chocolate was just a Lindt-brand hollow milk-chocolate Santa. Lindt makes some good chocolate, but that particular Santa was cuter than he was tasty. If you can ever find a “double-milk” Lindt chocolate bar, snap it up. I actually prefer dark chocolate, but that “double-milk” chocolate is also quite good, much more intensely flavorful than an American milk chocolate. IMHO.
@Kathy and @Stan: ’tis true, the bread didn’t do much for me, either, when offered in combination with the marshmallow candy. But, in the interest of research, I try these things so you don’t have to … unless you really want to.
@Carol: So, if your daughter would try the Nutella/Fluffernutter combination for us, please report back on what someone who likes a Nutella/Marshmallow fluff sandwich things about the extreme combination. I do love Nutella on bread, I will confess, but without either peanut butter or marshmallow fluff.
BTW, in our very limited survey of hotel breakfast buffets in Germany, you usually find both jams and Nutella offered as extra spreads for your morning bread. Alongside the various cheese spreads. Presumably not to be eaten combined together though. At least I hope not.
Now, so you can more completely savor vicariously every appetizing morsel of that chocolate-covered marshmallow sandwich, here’s a photo that I forgot to include in my original post. It’s a photo I took of the actual sandwich we ate:
- Chocolate-covered marshmallow on a bun
Note that it was freshly made to order: the woman at the stand cut the bread roll and plopped the marshmallow on while I waited. I would imagine that’s important if it’s going to taste halfway decent at all. In my experience here, that particular kind of bread roll can dry out pretty fast.
The 3-day long Tübingen Christmas market opened today. If the weather isn’t quite as rainy as is being predicted, I will roam the market in search of other odd and/or interesting things today. Look for a report on Monday, weather permitting.
When you had an English guest in the 80’s we tried very hard to find Nutella in a store. I had never heard of it until then. Today it is advertised on TV. So you can have some when you visit.
Gee the marshmallow in your picture looks “used.”