We really should start putting out posts about food because one of the many pleasures I get when we go hiking anywhere is the anticipation of trying a local delicacy. And I’ve tried some unforgettable ones.

Oh, Food Glorious Food

In Spain, we stumbled upon a local Madrilenian churreria away from the tourist scrum for a taste of authentic

Churros y chocolate

Jabuguitos and fried eggs for breakfast in Madrid

(This one was a regular on the breakfast menu of the hotel we stayed in.)

Seafood tapas in Barcelona

And from our Paris hikes, I still dream of the day I’ll have another one of these:

Brioche Compiegnoise

Mouth-watering selection of meats

we had at a local butcher’s shop on a Beaujolais Nouveau week-end in Les Chevreuse, delectable on the picture as on the plate.

Now, Germany is a paradise, not only for easy hiking, but also for the variety of regional dishes that abound and that I want to try. Give me time and I’ll be able to try

ALL OF THEM!

Let’s start with my favourite, one I never fail to eat everytime I’m in the North Rhine Westphalian region. The best ones are freshly prepared in a food stand in the weekly town market of Muenster.

Reibekuchen or Kartoffelpuffer or Latkes

(Call it whatever you like, but I like mine with Apfelmus or apple compote.)

Here are some that we recently had during our stay in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in Schwerin, after our hike along one of its seven lakes.

Calf cheeks braised in red wine

Stuffed pork rib with pickled red cabbage

The dessert pictured below is the most German of desserts that I’ve encountered, made from day-old Schwarzbrot (dark bread) steeped in brandy, mixed with red cherries and topped with whipped cream. (That square concoction served with it is homemade German nougat).

Mecklenburgische Götterspeise

There were many more dishes and desserts that we totally enjoyed during our trips (like that eel dish, served with a simple omelette and fried potatoes we had in Hamburg a few years ago). But we’ve not made photos of most of them, mainly because we felt silly and embarrassed to stick out as tourist chumps.

Next time, we will and make sure to leave crumbs for your mouths to follow towards the hiking trails we’ve done.

Now you know why I so look forward to our next hiking trip!