A Royale With Cheese

"It's the little differences. I mean they got the same shit  over there that they got here, but it's just...just there it's a little different." - Vincent 'Our Man in Amsterdam' Vega

So the first couple of times I came to Europe, Dr. Pepper was nowhere to be found. Which was kind of a bummer because that is my happy juice. Seriously, that stuff is the nectar of the gods. I remember my Dad taking my sister and me to a movie in Kansas City when I was younger and he gave us each a wad of cash and said we could get whatever we wanted. I had three boxes of junior mints and four Dr. Peppers. It was bad.

Any way, since then Dr. Pepper has made it's way across the pond, but every time I try it it's just terrible. But I'm a gullible sucker so when I saw it yesterday in the grocery store, I thought, "hey, it's been a couple of years since I tried it in Germany. Maybe they got the formula right." It still tastes like cough syrup. Serves me right I suppose.

Everything is a little different here, but that's not always a bad thing. The bread here is amazing! It's unfortunate because it's something that would never take off in America. Here the bread is hard and full of stuff. My personal favorite is a wheat bread that has sunflower seeds baked into it. I mean, you could build a pretty solid wall out of it, but it is so good.

And speaking of wheat and yeast; the beer is also a highlight here. Even their standard, run-of-the-mill beers (often a pilsner) have a ton of taste. I had a bock beer about a week ago that blew my mind. It's from the Bruch brewery close to here. Not a lot of carbonation and fairly malty (which is not really my style at all), but rich and dark and a nice roasted taste to mellow out the sweet. Damn good I say.