Eurocravings

Tea: Christmas.

Music: The Steve Miller Band, "Serenade"

Time: Night.

It didn't feel like the leading edge of winter today. It felt like my first few days in Germany for the 2006 World Cup ... and that was in June.

Made me wish I were back there ... and I'm craving some of the things I haven't tasted since I got back (although I have found a local source for sulze and leberkase.)

Funny thing is, several of the things I'm craving weren't native.

The Bismarckbrotchen (cold herring sandwiches) and maetjes (cold fried herring; do you sense a theme here?) are German, as are the meat dishes cited above. But I also miss Croatian food and drink from Balkan Sonne, and the doner sandwiches (somewhat like a gyro, but with different bread and toppings) from the late-night places run by Turkish immigrants.

And the strawberries, whose sweetness remains unmatched ...

It's a mixed blessing, having a vivid sense memory. I can taste all of those things in my mind ... which just makes it harder not to be able to have them in real life.