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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI saw a different flavor in Cologne this year. Literally. The square around the cathedral had a lot of take-out shops. The German beer shops with traditional food are there. From my view, the other styles of food outnumbered the local food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I came to Germany to have an experience. I can have all these international flavors at home in California. As we saw the sights, I got hungry. My family was exhausted, so I let them go back to the hotel. I set off alone and hungry. I had a credit card. And some currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had a mission. The taste of Germany that only the land itself could give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found the first German-seeming pub and looked at the menu. It was helpfully marked CASH ONLY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ooh. The first barrier. I had SOME currency, but what if it wasn\u2019t enough? They wouldn\u2019t take my credit card, and I figured I\u2019d better keep looking.
\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surely closer to the cathedral would be have options. I up there, and saw waiters bringing bowls of soup out to the tables. This had to be it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the waiter dropped his food off, I asked him where to go to be served. He pointed into the door vaguely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ok, I went inside and looked around. I saw tables, and a menu by the door. But I didn\u2019t know what I was supposed to do to catch the server\u2019s attention. How did I do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sky was darkening. My hunger was more demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I gave up and walked back to the shop name Istanbul kebap. I felt it as a personal failure. The Turkish guys making the plates were eager to take my money and give me food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took the bag with my food back to the hotel. It was delicious, and Veronica ate half the rice and chicken. When I put the fork of cabbage salad to my tongue, I got a zing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mediterranean food can be spicy. Hot sauce is everywhere in southern California too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
German food has a reputation as bland. When the cathedral was only a couple centuries old, the drive for spices gave Christopher Columbus a reason to set off for America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could imagine the medieval Europeans with nothing but cabbages and turnips in the dark ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I shook my head. This Turkish shop had found the native taste for their recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chef used horseradish for the kick it needed. People are always on the move to adapt to the landscape they are in. That hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This German ingredient\u2014flavor\u2014appeared in the middle eastern dish served in Cologne. It\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was last in Cologne 18 years ago. My impressions of the cathedral and the surrounding businesses are updated with what is happening now. It\u2019s been a pilgrimage destination for centuries. And the Romans were there even before the cathedral. … Continue reading