Coffee, Chimney Sweeps and Schnitzel
What I Learned in College
When I was a kid, I did not drink coffee. Once I was in college, I drank coffee with cognac. Sometimes I would drink coffee, but the cognac part came late in the evening after a dinner out. Drinking regular, morning-style coffee did not start until after I was married at 21 years old.
I was in Germany for my one and only year of college. It was a heavenly bliss to be away from my family. I met all sorts of degenerates. Among all of those folks was my husband, who was not then nor often since a degenerate. He did have his moments but has since long ago cleaned up his act.
It was 10:00 o’clock in the morning, and I have recently risen from my bed. I eat a spot of breakfast and then, before classes start (I had probably missed the first class anyway), I go to the German worker’s canteen at the edge of the military base we were on, which was called McGraw Kaserne and was where the 66th Military Intelligence Group was headquartered in addition to hosting the University of Maryland Munich campus which had a two-year program of freshman and sophomore college classes for military and diplomatic personnel’s children. The Kaserne is long since gone, but I have fond memories of the concrete buildings and the razor wire that ran along the top of the fencing that surrounded the place.
I certainly did not require coffee to wake up. What settled me then was the hair of the dog that had bitten me the night before. I had a beer. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this, as most German workers went to work with a briefcase. In the briefcase were their lunch and a beer for a mid-morning pick-me-up. That was at 10:00 am. Midway between breakfast and lunch was that small beer break. And I was there.
Kids in Germany who are 14 years old can legally drink beer if there is an adult with them. They can purchase wine or beer at 16 years old, and at 18 years old can buy hard liquor. Any kid can drink kinder beer which is a mix of lemonade and beer.
The canteen was the most inexpensive place in town where you could get a really hearty breakfast, lunch and an early supper. They really served it up nicely with Schnitzel, Schweinshaxe, Bratwurst, sauerkraut, and potatoes. And, of course, a bottle of beer in those days was 70 pfennig which was about 25¢ a bottle for us if I remember correctly. I think a meal cost us about $2.
The canteen was the first and only place I ever saw a chimney sweep. I remember Dennis was with me at the time. He told me to touch the guy. I was confused. This was my boyfriend who told me to touch another man in public. The guy was covered head to toe in soot. He had a long bristly brush, also black with soot, curled up and carried on his shoulder. Dennis said to me, “Go ahead. Touch him.” I was really embarrassed because this young man was standing right next to me in line. I tentatively reached out and touched him on his arm. The chimney sweep turned and smiled so nicely at me. I said, “Danke” and he smiled. Dennis explained to me when we were next private, “It is good luck to touch a chimney sweep”.
There was a sign over the toilet in the canteen that said in German, “Do Not Stand On the Toilet Seats.” I was confused. I learned many of the Gastarbeiters in Germany came from other countries to be a less expensive labor force. Originally, their stay was temporary, but over the years, many of these folk became citizens and stayed on in Germany. A Gastarbeiter is a guest worker. Gast means guest and arbeit means work. Evidently, a lot of the workers in Munich at the time came from Turkey, where they were accustomed to squatting over holes in the ground to do their business. In the canteen, this resulted in broken toilet seats.
Now? I need coffee. I crave my first sip of coffee in the morning. Even my stomach does better with a cup of coffee first thing. I no longer drink beer. Been there and done that. Maybe in my next lifetime.
Oh, and I cook a good schnitzel: buy boneless pork chops and put them one at a time in a heavy plastic bag. I use the gallon freezer bags. Get your rubber mallet out and pound each chop until they are thin. I usually put the head of the mallet in a plastic bag too. A regular chop expands until it is almost the size of a dinner plate after you pound it out. Dip into beaten egg and then roll around in seasoned breadcrumbs. Fry over medium to low heat in an oil and butter mixture. It doesn’t take very long because the meat is so thin. Serve with a lemon wedge and french fries or potato salad.
Thanks for hanging on while I dredged up some good memories of living in Germany.