Do I speak food? Yes!

Food is one of the most important things for me when I travel somewhere new. I like to try new things and specialties/traditional food of the country I go to. Knowing English makes things a lot easier when you go somewhere where you don't know the language since most of the restaurants have English menus. This way you know what you're getting and also learn a few new words in another language. If they have German menus, I always look if I 'agree' with the translations. Sometimes they are really funny.

But I'm digressing. Food is not only important while travelling but also when you're at home. Wherever I lived so far I had one favourite restaurant/snack bar I would go to all the time. I will present them to you now and translate the menus.



1. Veggie Voodoo King (Stuttgart)

Probably the best falafel I've ever had. It is a small restaurant that serves hand-made falafel in flatbread, fries, soup, and cakes. I used to go there a lot, especially after going shopping as it is in the center of Stuttgart close to malls and a huge shopping street.

http://www.veggieplaces.co.uk/images/1483.gif

They only have vegetarian food and use mainly organic products. Doesn't taste like it, don't worry.
This is their falafel in flatbread and fries menu. Every falafel contains three chickpea-balls, lettuce, and a sauce of your choice. My favourite is the one with sesame or mango chutney.

http://blog.kangaroo.cmo.de/wp-content/gallery/vegi-voodoo-king/cimg3090.jpg

Translation:
Falafel Sesam (mit delikater Sesamsoße, Salat): falafel with delicious sesame sauce and lettuce
Falafel Joghurt (mit Joghurtsoßce und Kräuter, Salat): falafel with yogurt-herb sauce and lettuce
Falafel Chumus (mit orientalischer Kirchererbsencreme, Salat): falafel with Middle-Eastern chickpea cream and lettuce
Falafel Obama (mit Ketchup, Tahina und Zwiebel, Salat): falafel 'Obama' with ketchup, tahini (a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds), onions, and lettuce
Falafel Schlossplatz (mit exotischem Mango Chutney, Salat): falafel 'Schlossplatz' with exotic mango chutney and lettuce
Falafel Franz Josef (mit süßem Senf auf bayrische Art, Salat): Falafel 'Franz Josef' with sweet Bavarian-style mustard and lettuce
Falafel Aubergine (mit saftigem Auberginengemüse, Salat): falafel with juicy eggplants and lettuce
Falafel Tibet (mit scharfer Asiasoßce und Sojasprossen, Salat): falafel Thibetian style with hot sauce, bean sprouts, and lettuce
Falafel Rot-Weiß (mit 4 Kichererbsenbällchen, Sesamsauce und Chilisauce): falafel 'red-and-white' with 4 chickpea-balls, sesame sauce and chili sauce
Pommes mit Ketchup, lecker auch mit Soße nach Wahl (50cent extra): fries with ketchup, also delicious with any sauce of your choice for an extra 50ct

http://www.stephiekochtvegan.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Falafel-Voodoo.jpg

2. Zapiekanka (Plac Nowy, Kraków)

Very delicious and cheap fast food. It is located in the Jewish district of Kraków, close to the old town. I went there at least three times a week. Many of the zapiekanka stalls are open 24 hours, also on holidays. Zapiekanka translates to casserole, but the kind I'm talking about is half a baguette baked with cheese and mushrooms and many other toppings you can choose.
My favourite one is the zapiekanka z prażoną cebulką (with roasted onions).

 http://tropemsmoka.pl/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/plac_nowy.jpg

There are many stalls that all sell pretty much the same. Some of them also had vegan options, but this is the one I went to most of the time.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalBiqZlJuX92ELczxtrwylfywwwrr0Al5Kj6EKrj4gbhKmbYszWLPA6p8GK5Q5352_E65FHftQ-wICsKffQt-mQduzKUalT5lQNfcQLQ1uRY222ENiVLbMWgZcfjTWuZRx1AZ-56WECQ/s1600/cennik.jpg

Translation: 
zapiekanka zwykła (ser, pieczarki): the ordinary zapiekanka with cheese and mushrooms
zapiekanka z prażoną cebulką: zapiekanka with roasted onions
zapiekanka z bekonem: zapiekanka with bacon
zapiekanka z salami: zapiekanka with salami
zapiekanka z szynką: zapiekanka with ham
zapiekanka chłopska (bekon, śliwki wędzone): the peasant's zapiekanka with bacon and smoked plums
zapiekanka ze szpinakiem (+kukurudza): zapiekanka with spinach and corn
zapiekanka z tuńczykiem: zapiekanka with tuna
zapiekanka węgierska (kurczak, papryka): Hungarian zapiekanka with chicken and peppers
zapiekanka diablo (bekon, ogórek, sos pikantny): zapiekanka diablo with bacon, cucumber (pickles) and spicy sauce
zapiekanka góralska (kiełbasa wiejska, oscypek): the highlander's zapiekanka with country sausage and sheep cheese
zapiekanka grecka (warzywa, ser feta, oliwki): Greek zapiekanka with vegetables, feta cheese and olives

The prices range from PLN4.50 (~€1.2) to PLN8 (~€2).

http://zrobmycosfajnego.brandlord.pl/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/zapiekanka_new.jpg

This is what a zapiekanka looks like. It doesn't seem very special, but you can choose so many different things as topings that it meets nearly every taste. 


3. Bier Baron (Graz)

Most of you probably know this one. I only ever eat burgers there.
For those of you who don't know it, Bier Baron is one of many 'Bausatzlokale' in Graz where they have pizza, burgers, salads, donuts, sandwiches and many more things that are quite affordable. You can choose almost everything as a topping, from normal things like onions or tomatoes to odd things like gummy bears or Nutella.

http://www.herold.at/FS/picture/9/6/0/2571069.jpg

Vivien and me love going there together at least once a week. We always eat burgers with the exact same toppings.

This is what the typical Marion-Burger looks like.
vegetarischer Burger (Gemüselaibchen): veggie burger with a veggie patty
Zutaten: Emmentaler, Tomatenscheiben, Champignons, Spinat, Essiggurkerl, Curry Soße, Rucola
toppings: Emmental cheese, tomato slices, champignons, spinach, pickles, curry sauce, arugula

I hope I could arouse your appetite with this. Mine definitely definitely stimulated, so I think I'll just get some chocolate cake and at least try not to think too much about burgers, falafel, and zapiekanka. (It's not going to work anyways.)

Me-Rion

"If I be waspish, best beware my sting."

― William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

My parents named me Marion because my dad really liked “The Taming of the Shrew”. It means willful, stubborn, unruly (or so they told me. The connection is a lot clearer in German, it means widerspenstig and the play is called “Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung”). Whenever they are mad at me, however, they regret giving me that name. I apparently impersonate it too well sometimes, and taming a shrew is probably harder than they'd imagined.

Anyway, I used to deeply dislike my name for a long time, but now I’m happy that I have a kind of unusual name. It’s just annoying to try to tell people how to pronounce it.

I was born in Stuttgart, Germany and grew up there. I lived there for 18 years until I decided, now almost two years ago, to go abroad after finishing high school. I googled about how to spend time abroad and stumbled across the EVS (check out this post to find out more about it, and this one to have a glimpse at my personal experience). Long story short, I randomly applied to many different projects and countries and got accepted in Kraków, Poland where I spent nine months. Up to this day I can’t really say what made me do this, but I’m really glad I did.

I’ve been asked so many times to describe myself that I’m surprised how bad I still am at doing this. I simply can’t give you an answer that would satisfy you, and it would not satisfy myself to boot. But I’ll give it a try. I am either an overthinker or a no-thinker, I simply can’t find a healthy balance. Whenever I come to a crossroad, an emotional or a personal alike, I either think too much and drive me crazy in the process or I don’t think at all and just act impulsively. Both have got me to amazing places, and both have left me with facepalms directed at myself.

What do I like doing?. Well, there’s sleeping, eating, going on walks, and reading. I can literally get swept away into another world for hours on end, and I love it. On the other hand, I sometimes have the feeling to lose touch with reality, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Some other random thing I like doing is pretending that I'm Canadian. At first I thought it was just because nobody actually knows what a Canadian accent is supposed to sound like, but then I found out what my soul tree is. It's a Maple! Now it makes sense. According to the Celtic Tree Horoscope, at least.

Instead of things in my room, I decided to show you these three pictures that I think describe me best. No, my room is not just messy.

I like trolling.

I like being on roofs, looking down (whatever there is) and just contemplate.

Well, yes. I hate having pictures taken, so I usually pose like this. It's an empowering trolling-pose.

So, I think that's enough for now. I'd much rather talk in person, and if there's beer, I might even do it gladly. Just kidding. :D I am pretty fond of beer though. Thank you, Poland.