Weiβwurst Frühstück!

So, last Sunday we hosted a traditional Bavarian breakfast at our apartment for about 10 of our friends. This tradition is known as a "Weiβwurst Frühstück," as weiβwurst is the name of the traditional type of sausage eaten ("white sausage") and "frühstück" is the German word for breakfast. The meal is supposed to be eaten before noon, according to an old Bavarian saying that says that the weiβwurst should not hear the church bells chiming at midday.

The "weiβwurst" sausage is made from very finely minced veal and pork. It's very mild, not like spicy Italian sausage. To cook the sausage, you must first boil water. Then, you remove it from the heat and put the sausages into the hot water for about 15 minutes. You don't want the water to be actually boiling when the sausages are in it, as they will split and then, according to the Bavarians, the sausages are ruined. When you eat the sausage, you must remove the casing. The traditional method is to actually suck the meat out of the casing, but this traditional method is rarely used anymore (thank goodness). Instead, you just make a small cut and peel the casing off. The sausage is really tasty.

The other essential components of the traditional Weiβwurst Frühstück are pretzels ("Brezen"), sweet mustard to go with the pretzels, Obatzda for the pretzels, and of course, Weiβbier. Obatzda is a Bavarian cheese delicacy that is a combination of two types of soft cheeses, butter, and various herbs. It's very tasty. Weiβbier is a Bavarian wheat beer. Since it is brewed with a large proportion of wheat, it is a very heavy beer. It is always served in a special, 500 mL, vase-shaped glass. It's not my favorite type of beer here in Munich, but it isn't too bad. It really goes great with the rest of the breakfast, as well.

Here are a few photos from the breakfast. We didn't take too many, but you get the idea from these. We had a really great time and we're looking forward to sharing this traditional meal with anyone who comes to visit us next year!

So it turns out a couple of Americans can successfully pull off this Bavarian tradition! Experiences like these are our favorites -- it's so cool to do things that are long-standing traditions of people from other countries. I think it will be the memories of these experiences that stay with us for years to come.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We missed seeing everyone, but we will be back in the States soon for Christmas! Speaking of Christmas, the infamous Munich Christmas markets will be opening next week, so look forward to a post with some photos within the next week or so. Until then...

Cheers!
Matt and Kristin




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