Photoblog - Sylt

Sylt is the northernmost island in Germany, lying effectively at the same latitude as the mainland's border with Denmark (and about 10km off the west coast).  It is Germany's largest island in the North Sea at 38km north-to-south -- but generally only a few kilometers wide.  Here's Sylt on Google Maps.  Hamburg is a few hours south, London sits across the North Sea to the southwest, and the Baltic Sea lies across Denmark to the east (Germany call this the East Sea).

Again with Google maps you can see the distinctive shape of Sylt.  Westerland the is largest town (9,000 of the 21,000 total inhabitants), with Kampen being the very upper-class village a little to the north -- although nowhere can Sylt be called frugal in any sense.  In fact, they have prohibited any new construction to preserve nature... if you want to build, you have to tear down an existing structure and build on the same site.  I think that's a good move.  It would probably get overdeveloped otherwise, and it's a beautiful place.  More info on Sylt from Wikipedia here.

Indeed, the shape of the island is so distinctive that it helps define a culture around it.  You'll see a lot of cars with this bumper sticker (below) on it, indicating a fan of Sylt and probably a frequent visitor (or, if lucky, owner of a flat there).  Most cars with this sticker will be BMWs, Mercedes, or Audis... and the higher-end models at that.  You're announcing that you're a bit of a snob with this on your car, but at least a snob with good taste.

And the "culture" around Sylt?  There was a famous pop song from the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) in the 1980's that immortalizes Westerland, the main town.  The NDW includes artiscs like Nena (Luftballons) and Falco (Rock Me Amadeus), by the way.  Here is the song and video.  It's actually a really catch tune.

You can fly to Sylt (small airport there) but it's better and more fun to "drive".  I drove north from Hamburg a couple of hours to the boarding point for the auto-carriers on the Deutsche Bahn.  You actually drive up onto the auto-carrier on the train, and it takes the route across the water to the island!

Fortunately, my car was on the top level of the carrier, so I was able to get this photo as the train just reached the first part of Sylt.  This is typical for the southern portion -- fields of wheat or cows, totally flat of course.

 

What Sylt is most famous for is the dunes and beaches, that reminded me a lot of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  It's waaaay up north, and never truly gets hot.  Also, there is a constant strong breeze, so there are rather more sturdy grasses than many trees.

       What you see on the beach is also a trademark of Sylt:  the strandkorb.  Literally, the sand basket.  These things are quite heavy and stay put, but just light enough so that you can rotate them to face the sun and block the constant wind from your back.  It really works to keep you warm.  However, there are numbers on them... because each section of beach has a firm that is allowed to rent a certain number of strandkorbs.  You have to reserve one for each day that you want to use it -- but you better do this ahead of time.   They go fast.     

 

Here you can clearly see the numbers on each strandkorb.  The blue and white stripes on the inside are traditional, and there are two baskets underneath the seat to store bags, books, clothes, etc.  This is about the maximum density of strandkorbs that are allowed, and you see that they are ALL taken.  What I did not post, but is common, is that many people love to hang around and swim in the nude.  That's Germany - claim your square meters on the beach and get naked!

As you might expect, there are some nice walking/hiking trails on Sylt.  Germans are really outdoorsy and like to get fresh air and exercise.  You can walk paths around much of the island, which gets especially nice as you get farther from the crowded beaches.  Some parts are farmland, others a bit wooded, and some parts marshy.  This was one of my favorites.

  When you're done with the beach and trails, the best thing to do is get some seafood at Gosch.  Mr. Gosch started out selling seafood from a cart, got more and more carts, expanded into a restaurant, and now sells seafood across all Germany.  The two cool locations on Sylt (his home base, and is often at the restaurants) are in the towns Wenningstedt and List. (He even has stands in the Munich airport and main train station - both are always crowded and known for quality). 

Gosch restaurant in ListGosch restaurant in Wenningstedt

Raclette - Cheesy Swiss Goodness

Herr J has been finding all kinds of goodies on Amazon.de lately, including some great surprises for me.

So I was very excited to open a box and find a two-person raclette grill.

Raclette probably originated in Switzerland, but is very popular in France and Southern Germany as well. The methods and ingredients vary, but it basically is melted cheese served with meat and/or vegetables. A little like cheese fondue, but instead of dipping things in cheese, you are covering them in cheese.

In Germany, many families traditionally eat raclette on Christmas Eve, though you'll find it eaten throughout the winter, and as part of the après ski in Switzerland.  It's an easy meal, but it brings everyone together around the table. Raclette typically is a long-meal, during which friends and family eat slowly, drink white wine, and talk for hours.

The main two methods are a Raclette Oven or a Raclette Grill:
The Raclette Oven consists of a stand to hold a half wheel of cheese under a heating element (the top bar). The heat melts the top layer of the cheese and guests scrape the melted cheese onto their plates.

These are pretty cool looking, but the disadvantages are that:
- they're pricey (usually starting at over €200) 
- you need to use half wheels of cheese, so it's best for larger groups
- no grill or griddle for grilling the meats or veggies

However, they make a very impressive presentation and perfectly melted cheese. 

The Raclette Grill comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes (and price ranges). The basic form consists of a two level appliance, with the heating element sitting under the grill/griddle and above the individual trays.

The one shown has both a stone and a grill, on which the meats are cooked. Each guest has a tray into which he or she puts a slice of cheese for melting. This makes wonderful bubbly cheese, but you have to be careful not to burn it, since the slices are thinner than the wheel. There's some debate about the correct way to make your raclette - some believe that only the cheese should be melted in the tray and then used to top the meat and veggies; others prefer to add vegetables into the cheese while it's melting (as shown here).

Cheese:
Cheese is the main ingredient in raclette, and you'll want to use one that melts evenly and smoothly. The raclette cheese from Wallis area (Valais canton) in Switzerland is the original raclette cheese, but there are a wide variety of Swiss, French, German, and Dutch raclette cheeses available - even some pepper flavored, smoked, or other varieties. The French cheese that the cheese lady recommended was excellent - in Europe you can usually just ask for a raclette cheese and they'll recommend one based on preference, and even slice it into perfect raclette slices!  Though you could use a good melting cheese such as Gouda, Emmental, Tilsit, Edam, or even Camembert if you live somewhere that raclette cheese isn't available, but it really is best to get raclette cheese. A good rule of thumb is to have 200-300g cheese per person, and it should be cut into half centimeter thick slices. Leave the rind on - it softens up and provides nice texture.

Potatoes:
After the cheese come the veggies and meat. Originally, the meal consisted of cheese, potatoes, and pickles. Today, tradition has expanded to include other items, especially meat.  In Switzerland, they often serve jacket potatoes, and in Germany sliced boiled potatoes. Obviously they need to be cooked beforehand, but you could also brown them up on the grill to get a little more texture.

Meat and Veggies:
Now that we have the cheese and potatoes comes the fun part. You can put anything on the grill - common ingredients are chicken, pork, kebabs, shrimp, sausages, steak, dried meats, peppers, onions, and so on.

Condiments:
Usually there are paprika and fresh ground pepper on the table for seasoning, as well as small or sliced pickles.

Our Raclette Dinner:
The one Herr J got me is a really good Swiss brand, with trays for 2 people. I don't actually have a formal dining table, so it's great to have a small one.

Here's our setup - cheese, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, and small pieces of marinated filet (we skipped the potatoes):
  

Here you'll see the cheese melting below and the shrimp grilling on top.

The process is simple...grill your meats and veggies and put them (or potatoes) on your plate. Then remove the cheese tray from the heat. Using your raclette spatula (plastic or wooden angled scrapers, as in the photo above), slide the molten cheese atop your meat and veggies. You'll end up with a tasty, gooey treat like this:    

In addition to the shrimp, we grilled onions and steak. As much as I'd love to post a picture of the finished product, it was just too delicious - we were too lost in eating it to stop and take a photo!

I'm really not sure why raclette isn't popular in the US.  With the potatoes, it's a lot like European cheese fries or potato skins! What's not to love?

We'll be experimenting in the future with ideas for modern raclette - onions, steak, and bell peppers would make a great cheesesteak; with some spicier peppers we could go the Mexican route; and with some meatballs, we could have Italian raclette. Though cheese is not normally part of Asian cuisines, my favorite Yakitori restaurant (Nanbantei in Far East Plaza in Singapore) has an out-of-this-world beef wrapped cheese skewer. Perhaps we can make some Yakitori-inspired dished with the beef, prosciutto-wrapped baby asparagus, and others. Yum, my mouth is watering just thinking about Nanbantei!

Gummi Smurfs

Strangely, these little guys come in a set of Smurfs and Cherry Cola. Cute and tasty!

(Your German word for the day is "Schlumpf," which is the German name for Smurfs)

Moving on to the Pilsners

So far we've tasted a ton of Helles, Weißbier, Oktoberfest Märzen, Dunkles, and Starkbier. And these do represent what is most often drunk in Southern Bavaria. But it isn't necessarily representative of all of Germany's tastes or of German beers known worldwide. For many Germans, a Pils is the standard beer. If you walk into a bar in Hamburg and ask for a Helles, they'd probably laugh at you.

A Pils is what many people know as beer and it's the closest relative to most mainstream American beers. Calm down, no need to panic, we're not claiming a Miller Light is anything like a Warsteiner...but these are the beers that have the hoppy "beer taste" that most Americans know and love as beer. They come from the Bohemian (mostly Czech) style of beer, which is the same one that influenced Budweiser, Miller, and the other popular beers in the US.

A Pils has a similar alcohol content and wort to Helles and both are pale lagers. The most noticeable difference is in taste - put simply, a pils will have a much stronger taste to its hops than a helles. It sometimes is slightly clearer, too. But the main difference will be the degree of hoppiness.

So, we decided to ease into the Pils round with a pair of Pils from Munich brewers and a pair that will be well-known to beer drinkers around the globe.

Match 1: Paulaner Premium Pils vs Löwenbräu Premium Pils

First off, these are not always easy beers to find in Munich. The just aren't in major demand, but the breweries acknowledge that some customers want more hops in their beer. They seem to be somewhat the red-headed stepchildren of the family, though...Paulaner lists its beers by categories: Weißbier, Helles beers, Seasonal beers, and "other". the "Other" includes only two - the Premium Pils, and the cola-orange drink mix Spezi. But both take brewing very seriously and brew a beer in the Bohemian style, according to Bavarian tradition.

The two beers appeared similarly in the glass, though had quite different tastes. The Löwenbräu was much hoppier, and tasted slightly bitter to us.

Obviously this one is a matter of taste...we've found through this that we prefer balanced beers, or ones leaning into the malty side of taste. So, a Pils would usually not be our first beer choice. However, if you are someone who wants a manly, hoppy beer, then you would vote differently. (And we can recommend some crazily hoppy beers if you need!)

The Paulaner surprised us - it was great. Very light and though it was definitely a Pils, it had a slightly sweet finish. This one clearly is a Pils for the Bavarian market! It's a beer that will go well with spicy foods - it's strong than a helles and will stand up to the spiciness, but it doesn't have such a strong or sweet taste (as would a dunkel or weißbier) that would compete against the taste of your food.

Match 2: Beck's vs Beck's Gold 

Beck's is one of Germany's top breweries, established in Bremen in the 1870's, and now is part of InBev. Beck's Pilsner is widely available, though Beck's Gold is not sold in the US.

We're not exactly sure how the two are positioned, or if Beck's Gold is supposed to be a better or more upscale beer. Neither had a very strong taste - not surprising, since they are similar and appeal to such a large number people. But we found the Beck's Gold to be less bitter and a better balance of hops and very slight sweetness. Both were very drinkable, but we preferred the Gold.

Paulaner Pils vs Beck's Gold:

On to the matchup between Paulaner and Beck's Gold... These were very similar in taste and level of hoppiness. It makes me think that maybe Beck's Gold is meant to be a slightly smoother or lighter version of their regular Pils. We ended up voting for the Paulaner. It was a really enjoyable Pils - hoppy, without being bitter, and it had a more complex mix of flavors.   

I'm not a big Pils drinker, but have surprised Herr J a few times when I chose this beer to drink with dinner. Thanks to this beer tournament and the winter weather, my balcony basically is a large beer fridge...  

Great Design Gifts

A few whimsical touches for the home, with clever design

The 8-armed Octopus Shower Caddy keeps all your shower needs out of the way, in a cute package.

 

via Gizmodiva, available here

The cast iron Wicked Witch of the West doorstop...too clever for words!

available from Neatoshop

For the modern furniture lover, these Oi seating cells - the pieces can be combined on a base to create endless combinations of unique seating. Also, environmentally friendly...they utilize recycled materials and a soy-based CFC-free recyclable foam, as well as ship with the pieces tightly packed into a cube to reduce packing materials.

     via ApartmentTherapy, available from Oi

And the amazing Bird Nest Bed, into which I want to dive with a book!

via w ooh ome, designed by Merav Eitan and Gaston Zahr as part of the Green Garden Exhibition, shown in April 2008 at the opening of O*GE Gallery

For your kitchen are these fun geometric trivets...use them as potholders, alone, or link them together. They come in great colors and kinda remind me of Settler of Catan. Yes, I know, sometimes I'm little weird...I can't help it

via Design*Sponge and available from Velocity