A short post this week, mainly because it's late and I don't have all that much to say. Dutch classes have started again, and I've been busy with that, although my Dutch is coming on a treat. Two new members of the group for the second part of the course: an old man, must be in his early sixties, and a young Italian girl who speaks no German whatsoever, which is interesting and at least makes me feel good about myself (especially as she's been living in Germany for a while now). We also all get the chance to laugh at the fact that she pronounces every word ending in a consonant with a final -e (ik-e woon-e in-e Aken-e). Yeah, it's harsh, but it's also funny and she doesn't mind ;)
Today I watched V for Vendetta on DVD. A good film, I must say, all the more surprising because me and Muso Dave had watched the trailer on the internet and agreed that it looked rather lame. I now suspect that we came to this conclusion because, like most trailers for such films, it only focused on the action scenes - which were actually quite few and far between. While the political content was nothing I hadn't seen before, really, and certainly nothing very profound (there was a surprising lack of any kind of real moral ambiguity; the bad guys were very definitely bad guys), it was still quite refreshing. Hugo Weaving does a damn good job as V despite never getting to use his face, and Natalie Portman keeps the side up despite being (I think) a bit miscast in this role. The real star is Stephen Rea, who does a lovely turn as the hard-bitten inspector who slowly comes around to the side of the terrorist he's trying to track down.
Last weekend I went on a little walk to a nice town called Kornelimünster. As well as exploring some wooded hills, a ruined Roman temple, an art exhibition in the old monastery and a disused chalk kiln, I went to the restaurant "Bahnhofsvision" in the old station house. For a train buff like me it was heaven, and the food - a Leberkäse (meat loaf) and Sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) lasagne - was very rich and enormous. There was even a dialect poem in the menu, written in Öcher Platt (Aachen Low German). Here it is:
"Os Mönsterland"
Schön lit et - kot bei Oche,
freuer de au Lü - die sproche
jär do va - et wod jenant,
os Heimat - et Mönsterland.
Mönster, Brenich, dr Bäresch on Vönwäje
ös, wie jesaat - hill schön jeläge,
enge met dr angere - warr bekannt,
än os Heimat - äm Mönsterland.
Me hel zesame - me kom beijee,
dat kannt me nät angesch - dat mott esu see,
de Meiesch, de Schmäzze - se warre verwandt,
esu warret freujer - äm Mönsterland.
Sich ze besökke - dat warr e Verkiihr,
kom da noch Pastur - mein Jott, wat en Ihr,
ver Känger jeve - däm noch de Hand,
esu warr dat freujer - äm Mönsterland.
Me stäng noch frösch op - me warr net ze mö,
se hodde fast all - Schof, Mägge en Köh,
de jo Botter - die war ä Oche bekannt,
se wod jestosse - äm Mönsterland.
Ä Mönster, do wäd - de Oktav jefihrt,
op dr Luckas jehaue - dr Konälles jeihrt,
ä Brenich, do jäddet - on dat ös bekannt,
de beizde "Brettwosch" - vam Mönsterland.
Die wäd hü noch jässe - bis op de leizde Fissele,
doför nennt me os hü noch - de "Brenijer Pissele"!
Vam Knöppche nom Bäresch - do hat me nät witt,
onge äm Lauch - dr Balkan litt,
do wohnde dr Därres - mät singe Trödel,
de enzije Wetschaff - die hott dr Vödel.
Va Vönwäje - do weeß me ze berichte,
do jängener or - va Brenich bischte.
Esu ös os Heimat - de Lü send va Kär,
he sett me ooch atenz - "Läck mich de Brär",
et ös om Oche - de schönste Kant,
et jeeht nüüs övver - os Mönsterland!
Ritter Sport Ratings
Alpine Milk Chocolate: 9/10
Surprising what a difference alpine milk can make. This one is a lot thicker and stickier than the plain milk chocolate, but what the two have in common is that they are both amazing. Denser, drier and stickier, this one. I very much enjoyed sucking it rather than biting into it.
Kakaocreme (Cocoa cream?): 5/10
This one was the boring one I've been waiting for. Another one where I didn't know whether to keep it in the fridge and have the cream solidify or to put it in the cupboard and have it excessively melty. This doesn't add anything to the basic quadrant formula, just replaces some of the chocolate with a relatively bland and boring creamy stuff. Yawn.
Raisin & Nut: 7/10
A classic combo the world over, and successful here, although lacking in the novelty common (!) to most Ritter varieties. The combination of crunch, squish and mmmm is a basically admirable one. Look out for the Rum version of this one next week!
Half Dark Chocolate: 6/10
Good chocolate, but too dry. Eating it dried my mouth out completely. It still went down a treat, though - even the worst Ritter Sport, remember, is worth most of the world's other chocolate bars put together. Qualitatively, not quantatively. Well, when you quantify the quality and then add them all together quantatively, anyway. Look out for the Diet version of this one next week!
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