Oh my we're in Strasbourg!

So we are bright and early in Strasbourg and oh my how the grass is greener past the German border...well, warmer at least!

Sunday brunch

We are with the husband's family this weekend for a celebratory brunch and the opening of a new cafe.

It was a great turnout and the food was delicious as always (the husband's aunt makes amazing German food)

My job was to take pictures of the kids together but this was not possible. Finally I caught the attention of one long enough for me to take a picture (he was just staring at me in shock hah!)

So now back to Frankfurt...

Getting a German driver's license

I finally bit the bullet and organised myself to exchange my Australian driver's license to a German one. The thing about living in Germany is that it is quite difficult for non-Germans to find any sort of official information about German rules and regulations. So I was researching quite a bit on the internet about this subject before I went to the Ordnungsamt and found that every region in Germany has different agreements with; not only different countries but also different states. After many hours of research online I found a passage that stated that a Victorian driver's license and be directly exchanged into a Hessen driver's license - no tests, no driving lessons, nothing. Fantastic! Because I heard that to get a German driver's license from scratch would not only require doing driving lessons (again) but also doing a certain amount of hours on first-aid as well as having to study the hundreds of street signs that Germany has (and in some cases, doing an eye test from a certified eye doctor). So I printed this passage out (it was all in German) and highlighted the parts that were important (like not having to do all the tests again).

The only funny thing is, I got the husband to call the Fuhrerscheinstelle (license people) to ask them once again whether it was possible, and the first thing the guy on the phone said was "Nein!" and even though the husband explained what we found online, he was still pretty quick to say "Nein!" so I thought I should just take my chances and go there in person.

I went to the ADAC beforehand and got my Australian license translated (for like 55 euros but as our car is insured with ADAC, we were able to get a discount with it) and off I went. I came very prepared and again, asked to have my license "tauschen" and of course the first thing the lady in charge of international licenses said to me was "Nein!" and that I would have to do the driving lessons and first aid training to get one, so I showed her the internet printout I had, to which she read very carefully, again and again - then said that I need to get my eyes tested and come back to her with the results, to which I said "Nein!" and got her to read further to the paragraph where it said eye tests were not necessary.

So she was not impressed with the fact that I was telling her how to do her job but reluctantly processed my license, only I will have to wait 5 weeks for it and I have to get a date of issue from my Australian driver's license, which we don't have, but ok so I guess that's the other challenge.

Rosengut

So while the husband is busy working, his parents took me to a garden nursery specialising in roses, ok it's not exactly Gardenworld but they had some pretty interesting flowers on show

They are beautiful to look at but unfortunately growing flowers in Germany is a difficult art to master. Most of these flowers are only good for a couple of months before they die. I'm not sure whether it has something to do with the weather or the soil...or a combination of both, but I have noticed that the soil here becomes grey in colour after a few days.

One of the most interesting things here were the produce. In terms of jams, Germany has some pretty interesting flavouring combinations and here at Rosengut is no exceptions (above is a selection of jams made from various types of oranges), there were also some variations of pickled vegetables and fruits that I've never seen before.

Rosengut
Rosengut Langerwisch
Am Gut 5
14552 Michendorf OT Langerwisch
Tel: 033205 46644

Trading Times
Mon-Fri   09:00 - 18:00
Sat           09:00 - 17:00
Sun          09:00 - 15:00

Busy bee

While it hasn't been too bad a week this week, the husband has been working around the clock, including today. We decided to drive down to see the parents in-law this weekend but it hasn't stopped the husband from working all weekend. So this is what we are being at the moment, a couple of busy bees.

Ikan pepes

I've always been a big fan of fish, but unfortunately fish (or seafood in general) is just not such a popular produce here in Germany. I bought this tiny little thing at the fresh market that we have near our home every Friday, and this set me back a pretty penny (16euros). And to be honest with you, it's almost not worth it to pay for that much for a fish that could only feed a portion of two. But I was desperate for a taste of Indonesian fish so I just gave in. I received this recipe from a friend of mine.

Ikan Pepes
6 shallots or 1 big red onion
4 small cloves garlic
2 tspn tumeric powder
3 candlenuts
2 teaspoon ginger grated
2 teaspoons white pepercorn
2 teaspoons salt
10 small thai chillies or 1 tablespoon chilli paste (depends on how spicy you want it)
1 lemon
1 fish for 2 portions
Half a tomato

Prep the fish. In Germany, when you buy a fish at the markets, the scales are still attached, and sometimes the insides also so you kind of have to do that yourself.
Wash the fish and blot excess water with a kitchen tissue.
Grind all the ingredients together in a blender or using a mortar and pestle
Make three slits across the body of the fish on both sides
Place fish on a foil or banana leaves
 Rub the paste over the fish as well as inside the fish
Put 2 - 3 slices of tomates in the belly of the fish (you can use a whole tomato if you like)
Cut a lemon in slices and place them on either side of the fish and the remainin slices go into the belly of the fish also (basically I do this because they don't sell any fresh lemon leaves here in Germany so I've substituted with a whole lemon.
Wrap the whole fish up in a foil or banana leaves
Place in the oven for 25 mins at 170'C and open the foil up (if using) in the last 10 minutes of baking so it will not be so watery.
Disregard this step (*opening the banana leaves in the last 10 mins) if you have wrapped it in banana leaves as the leaves naturally reduces the juice coming out of the fish.

Das Berger Straßenfest

I cannot believe the Berger Street Festival is back! We have seen through 2 Berger Street Festivals, crazy! Anyways apart from having some great snacks along the street, we found a little boy selling these amazing books from the 1950's, look how vibrant they are! And for a euro per book, what a bargain! I snapped up 3 of them then came back for another 3.

I love the patterns on them, they don't even look like they have been from the 50's, they look like modern chocolate packaging...

I literally just grabbed what I thought were the most colourful ones, but look what I came across.."Allah has a hundred names"