A Birthday Trip without a Birthday - 2/16: Conclusion and Bonus Birthday Tea

[marvali]

Glenn is a nice guy. He even coordinated his shirt with me for our meet!

Sorry, but I really doubt I will have that same shirt on when we meet.......

I am truly sad you didn't make it to La Cava, as that was one of my and LeeAnn's most memorable and wonderful times together on our last trip. Someday, it'd be great to get there and do that with you...

Hey, what about me? I would love to be in on that Meet too!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

Hey, I've met and spent time with Glenn at Disney. I thought he was a really nice guy, so that should tell you something about the kind of person I am!!! Oops, I hope that doesn't mean the DISMeet is off now.....

I thought Glenn had a really great family! Does that help any???

Well, I think the Captain thinks at least that Glenn has great fashion sense!!

I can't believe the disk hasn't arrived yet. Friday was the earliest they said it might arrive, but I thought sure you would get it by at least yesterday! Can't believe it still isn't there. I guess it is taking as long as your card from DLP took to reach me.......

It still hasn't arrived... I have noticed that the mail between Germany and the US tends to take an awful long time!! I sometimes wonder whether they don't put it on a boat instead of a plane. And I know that it used to be quicker. I had a few pen-friends in the US as teenager and the letters usually took about 5 days then. But with all my DIS-pals a week seems to have been the shortest amount of time.

I had been wondering whether it might have been hold up in customs... Did you fill out a customs declaration for it (it's a small green sticker)?

Huh? That should be......

Happy Five Thousand and Ninth post!!!

Well, now it is 5012 and soon it will be even more... But thanks!!

 

[Flossbolna]

You give new meaning to "character witness".

Hmm, wouldn't that be Mickey as a witness???

That is true, the rest of my family is really great!

I really would love to meet the whole Glennbo family one day!

I think that post was # 5,000.

Thanks for finding the post to celebrate!! I am feeling like a real DIS veteran now... Next milestone: 10.000 posts!

Indiana Jones is one I hadn't seen in a while either but wanted to make sure the weather was cool.

EEA is great for a nap during F&W.

Yes, I can see that those outdoor theaters are much more enjoyable in cooler weather...

And since we went on EEA in the morning, we were not really in the mood of a nap yet...

 

[Flossbolna]

Thank you! Please do comment whenever you can, but I really am glad you're reading and enjoying it!

I have the best intentions to start commenting again soon!! But I truly find it fascinating because it shows an area of the US which a normal European tourist most likely would never see.

Maybe I should wait to see the pictures of you and Marv before I agree to this...

Those pictures appear to be lost in the international mailing system... I am getting a whole new perspective about the term "snail mail"....

Glenn is a nice guy. He even coordinated his shirt with me for our meet!

Yes, I thought you would approve of his choice of clothing!!

Well, I didn't get to mee them...

We knew that you didn't meet Glenn's family, but I had no idea that you didn't mee them either - but I am glad you didn't, it sounds kind of unpleasant...

 

[Flossbolna]

Very thorough and nice update on EPCOT! I love how you separated it all out and listed what you liked and didn't about each thing you listed! Great job, Ladies!

I am truly sad you didn't make it to La Cava, as that was one of my and LeeAnn's most memorable and wonderful times together on our last trip. Someday, it'd be great to get there and do that with you...

Liesa, I am glad that you are enjoying our TR format! It is great fun to write it that way. And it is also good that it is quicker to write because I did not take any notes and soon will forget what we did in which order. But I will still remember the highlights.

And I love to hang out at La Cava with you one day!! That's a wonderful idea. I really think it is the fault of the Food & Wine Festival which distracted us... I am quite sure that I don't want my next trip to be during that festival... More thoughts on that in the next update.

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry, but I really doubt I will have that same shirt on when we meet.......

So you don't wear that type of light blue shirt? Perhaps the Captain can be convinced to coordinate with your style of clothing???

Hey, what about me? I would love to be in on that Meet too!!!

We will let you know once we have a date and would love to have you there!

 

[marvali]

Hey Magdalene. This mail situation is crazy slow. By the time it arrives I guess I should have sent the disk in a Christmas card instead of a birthday card.

Yes I filled out the customs declaration. I still wondered if our wonderful homeland security would have to open it and look at the pictures on the disk and verify I wasn't sending sensitive information or bootleg computer code or something.

 

[Flossbolna]

Hey Magdalene. This mail situation is crazy slow. By the time it arrives I guess I should have sent the disk in a Christmas card instead of a birthday card.

Yes I filled out the customs declaration. I still wondered if our wonderful homeland security would have to open it and look at the pictures on the disk and verify I wasn't sending sensitive information or bootleg computer code or something.

I agree, it is strange. But I know that Liesa's price took quite a long time to get to me as well. I think Katharina had it a few days earlier than me. So it seems like it really varies how long it takes. I just hope it did not get lost!

Maybe it will be in the mail tonight.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

We knew that you didn't meet Glenn's family, but I had no idea that you didn't mee them either - but I am glad you didn't, it sounds kind of unpleasant...

 

[glennbo123]

A reenactment of how your 't' key got broken?

 

[Flossbolna]

A reenactment of how your 't' key got broken?

He should be careful, otherwise the "m" key brakes as well and then he is called "ark"...

 

[Flossbolna]

Thoughts on the Food & Wine Festival:

This could belong into the Epcot section or in the food section of this TR... But I will keep it with the Epcot updates.

We did eat (and drink) at some of the booths on two days and had fun trying different stuff. Katharina and I shared nearly everything, so we both got to taste it.

Overall however, we both came to the conclusion that we enjoy the World Showcase more without the Festival. The food booths are all very well designed and look cute, but they take up a lot of space. Add to this all the people who want to experience the festival's offerings, even on the evenings when it wasn't crowded at Epcot, there was just not a lot space to move around. We felt that this did distract from the beauty of the real pavilions.

They had a little paper passport for which you could get stamps at every country you bought something from. That was a neat idea and the stamps were nicely designed. But after a while it became a bit bothersome to remember the passport... Maybe I am just not a collector at heart? What I liked however was the fact that they had paper plates designed specifically for this years festival. I don't like the generic “Disney Parks” design they have on the normal plates/napkins/etc. So it was really nice to see something specific for the event here!

So what about the food?? We liked everything we tried with the exception of the Coconut Mojito which just tasted of artificial coconut...

We did try something in Germany in order to find out how authentic the dishes are and picked something which we (especially I) are very familiar with. It was advertised as “Nüernberger Sausage in pretzel roll”.

Well, already the sign lacked some authenticity already... While I very much approved the use of the German letter “Ü” here, they unfortunately added one “E” to many. It should read “Nürnberger” - or if you have a keyboard which does not have the “Ü” you could substitute the “Ü” with “UE”, so “Nuernberger” would also be correct. I told Marv all about this when we got our sausages there together and quite a few people around us seemed to be rather amused by my “lecture”.

The next lack of authenticity is already noticeable from the description, because a sausage would never be sold in a pretzel roll. Pretzel rolls do exist (in our old hometown they were sold under the name of “chestnuts”). But grilled sausages in a roll is a very common street side snack being sold here, and they are always in white crusty rolls (the one in the picture below just stayed in the oven a little bit too long, that's why it appears rather dark). However, if you eat sausages in a restaurant, you might eat a real pretzel with them... So it isn't totally wrong, but neither totally correct. Somehow pretzels in my mind are rather paired with cheese, or a special type of German meatloaf.

So, so far we have certain tiny faults, but nothing major. So let's see how things look like when we finally get our sausage. This is what we got:

And this is what the real thing looks like:

A better view with the bread roll open:

Yes, I specifically went into the city to obtain these pictures for the purpose of this TR! This is the place where I got it from:

So, what do we see in differences with regard to these two? Well, first obviously the fact that the Epcot version is only one sausage and much longer. Here in Nuremberg only one sausage would be considered crazy, three is the smallest portion you get. In a restaurant you have the choice of 6, 8, 10 or 12 - served on a pewter plate. And they are short: only about three inches long. The next difference which is visible is that the original sausages are much darker: they are grilled over a fire made from beechwood. The smell coming from the chimneys of those sausage restaurants is one of the typical smells of Nuremberg... Of course having an open fire in Epcot might not be really feasible, but they should have let those sausages get a little bit more colour...

What you don't see is the taste. First of all, the original is a very coarse sausage, meaning that meat inside is still in little chunks. The sausage at Epcot was much finer, the consistency more similar to a hot dog. It also did taste differently. The original tastes very distinctly of the herb marjoram, that wasn't so notable in the Epcot sausage.

So, what did we think about the sausage: While it wasn't the true Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, it was a pretty good sausage and it tasted very much like a sausage you might buy as a snack in any other town in Southern Germany. It did remind us of another famous German Bratwurst: the Thüringer Bratwurst (no, it isn't necessary to have a Ü in your name, to have a Bratwurst named after you...), even though Thuringia maybe should not be called “Southern Germany”...

Oh, and finally: the mustard tasted just like typical German mustard. They did get this perfectly right! And while in Nuremberg you might get horseradish with your sausages in a restaurant (I would recommend that, it is very tasty!), if served in a roll, it is always mustard and never ketchup on those sausages!!

However, the real thing is considerably cheaper – my three small sausages in a roll were 2 €, that's about 2.70 $, while the Epcot version was 4.50 $. And I did not get it at the cheapest place in town, but rather at the place which is directly at the main square and which is hopping everyday with locals and tourists!

 

[marvali]

Anything good come in the mail today? Or do you only check it as often as you seem to check email???
u

 

[Flossbolna]

Anything good come in the mail today? Or do you only check it as often as you seem to check email???
u

Nothing from abroad in the mail today, only a bill...

 

[marvali]

That means tomorrow will be two weeks since I mailed it.... I was hopeful when I saw your update since the sausage picture looked a lot like mine.

Guess I need to come try the authentic version and give my own critique from an American perspective.

 

[Flossbolna]

That means tomorrow will be two weeks since I mailed it.... I was hopeful when I saw your update since the sausage picture looked a lot like mine.

Guess I need to come try the authentic version and give my own critique from an American perspective.

You know, I would have loved to bring you and Rosie some sausages, but you aren't allowed to bring meat products into the US from abroad...

So, yes, you really have to come and try them here!! Wendy and her husband did just that last year! That's the place where we went to have lunch together.

 

[nodnol]

And I'll be having some sausages in about 40 hours!!!

Marv, I just checked the mail I sent you, I got really nervous, but I sent you the right address... I hope it arrives tomorrow so I can see the pictures when visiting Magdalene.

 

[lovealldisney]

Ok I'm drooling over this picture!!!! How I wish I could be there now! Those were the best sausages (IMHO) we tasted when in Germany! After Dave and I left we both said we could have eaten about 12 of those! And the pretzel's were good too! We so wished we could have spent more time talking with you great conversation! Thanks for sharing your pictures!

Oh and I won't exclude Katharina either because where we went to eat with her and her DH was super delishous as well! I still remember that pizza I had!! Dave and I still talk about that night and what a nice time we had with the two of you!

Ok I have to say ALL the food consumed in Germany was soooooo good!

And here I am with my lovely dear friend right after eating those yummy sausages!!

And here is my lovely friend Katharina right after eating with her DH and then proceding to get confused on the U-bahn because of construction! We did eventually get back to our hotel with the help of a very nice women who stayed with us until our stop!

 

[Flossbolna]

Wendy, I thought that you would love this update!

How funny to see those pictures again! And I must say Nuremberg is much prettier than Berlin... Well, to be fair you picked one of Berlin's ugliest corners for that picture! The U-Bahn station where Katharina lives now is much nicer!!

Do they ever sell Nuremberg sausages at Aldi? You seem to get quite a lot of German food there, so I wondered whether they would have the sausages, too? Not that I expect them to be as good...

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Yes, I specifically went into the city to obtain these pictures for the purpose of this TR! This is the place where I got it from:

I am both impressed and grateful for your intrepid and thorough TR research!

Sorry it wasn't quite as authentic as Disney would want us to believe. Still, I'm glad it at least didn't taste terrible.

I'm drooling over the pictures of the sandwiches. If I ever get to Germany, I think I need to sample this!