and Mr. Carastian is back in Bavaria - just in time for the Volksfest's final weekend. a great Charcuterie plate of salami, ham, prosciutto, Emmentaler,radish and Obatzda (for the uninitiated: this is mixing two thirds aged soft cheese, usually Camembert (Romadur or similar cheeses may be used as well) and one third butter. Sweet or hot paprika powder, salt, pepper are the traditional seasonings as well as a small amount of beer. Add onions, garlic, horseradish, cloves, ground cumin or caraway seeds and you have a great Biergarten cheese.)

This should actually be called 'Brotzeitbrettl Take 1" as just after this shot was taken, Mr. C swept it abruptly to the ground in a masterful move of klutziness. ;*) But he quickly recovered, holding his finger high in the air and yelling, "one more, please!" at the waitress who watched the whole thing go down. Classic! But the second one looked just as delicious, with a nice assortment of meaty goodies from ham to blood sausage "head cheese" to o'batzda and pickles. Perfect cycling food and a great opener to the beer garden season here in Bavaria!

KIrta - aka the parish fair is a big thing in Bavaria. filled with dance, joy, dressing up food and - of course good beer. This one is in a museum found by former pro skier Markus Wasmeier. The museum sports old farms, craftsmen shops and a nice Bavarian Restaurant and Biergarten. The Brozeitbrettl was with cheese, Landjäger (a kind of salami, slightly spicy), cheese, horseradish, Speck, Emmentaler... lovely.

what a wonderful Sunday! 22 C, riding the Carastian bikes to the Biergarten and enjoying some sunlight - and food. this one is a classic Bavarian dish, which aims at using everything. This one uses left over Semmelknödel, some Bologna, wafer thin onion, pickle everything in vinegar, add some spices and garnish, and you have a classic Biergarten dish. it would have been good, yet the Knödel tasted a bit old. bummer.

I know I know... you guys think this Mr. Carastian is just having beer for lunches all the time.. that is NOT true! I had as well a SChweizer Wurstsalat. Wurstsalat is a classic Bavarian dish, made with a "Bologna" type of sausage, thinly sliced, with onions, vinegar and pickles. And to make it swiss you don't slice some @Mr. Zupft on top - nope you add Emmentaler. Tasty - in general. this version though was a wee bit too oily. what a shame.

Sharing this yummy snack board of Bavarian goodies was 5 hungry foodspotters.... you know who you are... a perfect sampler of all the local goodies from smoked meats, Emmentaler and Cammenbert, mini Wiener Schnitzel, Obatzda (a Bavarian classic), Fleischpflanzerl, Leberkas, Radishes, White radish and more! Oh boy oh boy... what a great foundation for the beer (lets build on that!) - and a fun way for our out of town friends to taste our traditional Biergarten foods.