thoughtcrumbs

Feuerzangenbowle, or keeping warm

It was 5° Fahrenheit last night when I walked home. Luckily, Dejana and Nikol ensured that I was nice and toasty (or perhaps, admittedly, -ed) with a traditional German technique: Feuerzangenbowle. Batteries expertly removed from their smoke detector, they doused a cone of sugar with rum and set it on fire, with flaming sugary drops falling into a pot of hot red wine and orange pulp. Nikol reminisced about nightly feuerzangenbowle with her scout troop in the Black Forest, and Dejana mused about more recent feuerzangenbowlescapades involving their neighbor, who was not especially enthusiastic about flaming beverages. I particularly enjoyed being one of two token Americans; dinner guests represented Brazil, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, Italy, and, of course, Germany. Pics are online.