Appreciating Germany, One Beer at a Time
I got an email on Saturday from a German girl who has become my pen pal. She found me on the Internet when she googled her own name because we have the same first and last names. The connections don’t end there: it turns out that her mother grew up— and her father now lives— in Cologne, where my grandfather’s family lived before being driven out by the Nazis. This girl who shares my name isn’t Jewish, but she and I seem to have a lot in common. It’s hard for some of my relatives to contemplate the idea of exploring a shared German past, but I know that my friend is more knowledgeable about and respectful of Jewish culture than many of my fellow Americans. Like most German students, she has studied the war and the concentration camps in great depth and has even done some research on the places where my relatives lived in Cologne.
It seemed fitting to me, then, to follow my latest pen pal correspondence with a trip with German American Festival. It’s held every fall in Chicago’s Lincoln Square, the historic center of the city’s very old German community. Although many of my relatives— both living and dead— might hesitate or even shudder at the thought of attending such an event, I think it’s time to start building trust between our cultures again. One easy way to begin is with a nice cool glass of Hofbrau beer. Empanada Boy and I brought our plastic steins from last year’s fest, so we only had to pay the refill price at one of the beer stands. Even then, it cost us $5 for my smaller mug and $10 for EB’s gigantic one.
When it came to food, though, the fest was quite affordable. We went up to one of the two booths, which are run by older men and women volunteers from the German-American community. Both men and ladies take their jobs very seriously. The ladies strode around their tent purposefully, assembling sandwiches, plating giant pretzels and scooping up pieces of cake. EB and I also spent some time watching one of the men as he boiled the sausages before putting them on the grill. We asked if he used beer, and he told us the health department wouldn’t let them, but he recommended we try it that way at home.
The deliciously plump brat that Empanada Boy ordered (shown above) was, nonetheless, juicy and flavorful. It came with a nice side of warm, fresh, kraut and tangy German potato salad. I had a whole herring sandwich, made with red onions and tasty pickled herring. For dessert, we shared a piece of spongy cake fill with rich, eggy custard and topped with baked almonds. We sat and ate our lunch while listening to one of the many German bands that entertains the crowds through the weekends.
The coolest thing about this festival is how important it is to so many people. Countless attendees, both young and old, were attired in traditional German clothes or were wearing a small flag stuck in their hats. People were singing along to all of the songs. They really love this stuff, and they make everyone else want to be part of the merriment. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to go to Germany to visit my pen pal and feel as welcomed as I did here.
German American Festival
Lincoln Square
(Near the corner of Lincoln and Leland Aves.)
Chicago, IL 60625
Held every September; contact the Chamber of Commerce (773.728.3890) for details.
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Mushroom Maven said,
September 9, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
Dear Mango Lassie,
I will be following in your footsteps to explore my Austrian heritage by going to
Hungary in October. I believe the best way to resolve cultural differences is sharing
those cultural experiences.
So, a toast to Paprikash, Goulash and Streudel!
Broccoli said,
September 10, 2007 @ 2:57 am
Went to German Fest, not in the mood to drink, and as a vegetarian, with a friend from work who proclaimed in advance “I don’t like beer and I don’t like sausage.” Also: she is Jewish and skeptical of German culture in general. But she was the one who wanted to go.
We went, and because of the whole no beer/no sausage thing, weren’t having such a good time, before some Germans who’d taken my tour at the U-505 (I’m running into people more and more who recognize me as their tour guide, which is inevitable, I suppose) struck up a conversation with me, told some great stories about German re-education after the war (not that they were old enough to have lived through it) and generally put my co-worker at ease by being regular people with informed political views. Then it was all struedel and me teaching everyone the polka I learned in middle school, and the funny German songs that went with it.
Sorry that I missed you. Good scene, though.
Tofutti Cutie said,
September 10, 2007 @ 8:59 am
Mango Lassie — Your German culture story touched a nerve with me. I spend my junior year in college in Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany. The year was 1966-67. I didn’t realize at the time how recent World War II had been. I often saw war-wounded, retired German soldiers on the buses. My interest (and early education) in the German language came from a grade school teacher who fled Berlin during the war. I read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” in high school, which laid out the whole sordid history. I felt compelled to visit the country from which such atrocities sprang. What I found was a rich culture and people trying to recover from (the Berlin wall was still standing) and put the war behind them. Over the years, I have visited Freiburg again and had the chance to talk to Germans who were prisoners of war in the U.S. With the passage of time and the rise of new generations, it seems that Germans are finally facing the past and learning from it, rather than trying to bury it. Let’s talk German some time!
Eating Adventuress said,
September 10, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
Hi M.L.
Having personally experienced the Nazi era with relatively few personal scars, I can understand the objections by some of your family. On the other hand, I agree that we need to reach out and understand that things have changed in Germany during the 60 years since.
Unfortunately I abhor the sound of Umpah music, the replication of the Munich beer halls, where it more or less all started. On the other hand I love the food, but prefer it in a Widmer Bros. setting.