This is my blog.
Gaillard is where I live.
Sauerkraut and other Important Issues of Franco-German History and Co-existence
When Tammi took me out for dinner the other day, we ordered this enormous plate of "Sauerkraut for 2" or "Choucroute Royale" as they say at the "Taverne Maître Kanter" in the town centre of Annemasse (just opposite the town hall, phone: 04 50 84 46 80). As I never read the small print, I had missed the hint in the menu which should have warned me. When the steaming plate arrived at our table, the garcon added a small bottle of champagne to it! I was wondering whether I should call my mother immediately or give it a try first? How would I explain to the policeman later at the alcohol check that I am drunk because of sauerkraut? But more than anything else I was wondering how one could have the idea to add champagne to sauerkraut? I have to admit that I have not found any answers to my questions until today. But I can say that I liked the food and if you want to invite all your friends to a sauerkraut party, here is the recipe for feeding a dozen:
Recette: Choucroute alsacienne
We would not live in France, if we couldn't find a political aspect to the consumption of sauerkraut. How do you find for example liberté, égalité , fraternité , choucroute? Read more on this here: http://conjoncture.blogs.challenges.fr/archive/2006/04/18/et-une-choucroute-royale-une.html
I did evetually call my mother who shared my amazement. She knows that strange things happen and that there are people who add sugar to sauerkraut. But champagne? No, my mother had no answers either. Needless to say that my mother's sauerkraut is also just wonderful. Try it if you can: http://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/466571140083231/Bergisches-Sauerkraut.html
For those of you who are afar: Unlike my mother's way of preparing sauerkraut - for which I would have to take you home - choucroute royale can be found around the world, even in New York City: db Bistro Moderne, City Club Hotel, 55 W. 44th St. (bet. 5th & 6th Aves.) Manhattan, NY 10036, phone 212 -391 -2400. Or in Berlin (Sauerkraut mit Champagner und Knackwurst, for the little amount of 17,90 €) at Ganymed Brasserie, Schiffbauerdamm 5, 10117 Berlin, phone 030 - 285 99046.
The fusion of franco- german eating habits remains a mystery as far as choucroute royale is concerned. I got some clues when a week later the up-dated local phone directory arrived in my letter box. In the absence of any curioity for my neighbours and friends, I immediately checked whether my own name is there. Something I expected after three years of uninterrupted residence at Place Porte de France! And there it was, my name and - to my amazement - another half a page of German family names: Stein, Steinbach, Steinmann, etc. Even if the first names Jean-Luc and Mireille deny the germanic heritage, one wonders, nevertheless, whose ancestor might have been the first to season the sauerkraut he/she brought from "autre Rhin" with champagne?
Karl Steinacker
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4 Questions you may have on mountain fireworks
1. When and where does it happen?
The fireworks I would like to recommend take place on the night of the Swiss national day, i.e. August 1st. The place and event which inspired me to this blog entry is Zermatt (www.zermatt.ch) in Valais/Wallis.
2. What is special about it?
Beside the fact that fireworks are always nice to look at, here it is in particular the setting in front of the mountains which I like. The fireworks "rain down" from the mountains into the valley.
3. What logistics does it require?
Well, you have to get there - by either car or train. Either way, it will take you 3 hours from Geneva to reach the village of Zermatt. The fireworks are at ten at night. Hence, you might want my to note my recommendation for a splendid hotel: www.stylehotel.ch.
4. If you couldn't care less about mountain fireworks?
Sorry, in this case I have no
advice to offer.
Links to other alpine traditions (adults only):
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=mryYnupU58w http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=JFhCp_2hTLk
The blog goes live.
At last an IT project that has been rapidly implemented and that cost the equivalent to a ticket for a movie show: My 2nd Life Blog. It took me two weeks to prepare, find the platform, define its scope, and post the first pages. I would like to thank those who had a look at the test site and provide their comments, ideas, and warnings. What still needs to be done is the spell check here and there but otherwise I feel confident that my blog can go live.
Looking out of the window, this time from my flat in Gaillard, I cannot fail but notice that it is rainy weather again. Is this a doomed project, a bad weather blog? For you to decide!
Karl Steinacker
Gaillard - Rainbow Nation
The long awaited phone call of the company announcing that the technician to repair the hot water supply in my appartment requires my presence cut the working day short. I rush back home, leaving the office at a time when my schedule is normally still full of meetings. And indeed, the technician is in time. And he is quick: at 5.10 pm. the job is done and I have to decide what to do with the rest of the day which is so unexpectedly left to me. The mirror convinces me that it is high time for a hair cut. At Place Porte de France in Gaillard, just next to the border crossing of Moillesulaz, there is a high density of hair dressing saloons. The one I have chosen to be my favourite is mainly
catering to a male clientel in their 20ies and 30ies of North African origin. My personal hairdresser, however, is hailing from Kosovo. Many years back, he used to live in Duesseldorf and, thus, takes advantage of my irregular visits to practice his rosty German. This afternoon Salim gets his new haircut. I arrive when the final touches are due. But Salim turns out to be a demanding client proposing improvements left, right, and center of his "grosse tete arabe" - although there is hardly any hair on it left. Thus, it takes much longer than I had anticipated before I am invited into the big chair. In the meantime - and in the absence of any yellow press which distracts waiting customers - I keep discussing with my hairdresser and an ever increasing crowd of bystanders the disappearance of the Berlin Love Parade (www.stern.de/lifestyle/reise/deutschland/510381.html?eid=510210) and the advantages of going to the gym in either France or Switzerland. Every now and so often, someone walks in and greets us. That could happen in any single or combination of the following languages: French, Albanian, English, Arabic, and others I fail to recognize. Electric shavers and hair dryers add to the noise but, as the majority of those present belong neither to the personnel nor the clients of the saloon, can't really hamper the multiple ongoing conversations. Meanwhile, letters and messages are being dropped by some and picked-up by others. As the terrasse of the saloon is conveniently shared with that of a teashop, it seems the ideal meeting point for anyone who has either just or intends to cross nearby border, especially on a warm summer afternoon like today.
When I leave the saloon an hour later I realize that it already is past 6. I venture towards Fatoumata's African grocery shop to re-stock my essential supplies of Maggie cubes, okra, sweet potatoes and foufou. At this hour service levels at Fatoumata's are low: The TV set inside the shop shows the 266th episode of "Le Destin de Lisa" (http://www.ledestindelisa.com/episode266.htm) and absorbs most of the attention of the patrons and clients present. It is worth mentioning, and today's shopping turned out to be no exception, that this daily soap has greatly enhanced my standing in the neighbourhood. "Le Destin de Lisa" has been able to convince its audience that the Germans as the true latin lovers of the modern age! Content of myself I return home to my appartment overlooking the Place Porte de France adding up the successes of the day: a new haircut, groceries and the first hot shower in several days.
Karl Steinacker
Ma France a Moi
(http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=C9MB__yu-SQ)
Enjoy! 