Schnitzel et al

For a late lunch today, I wandered around Cologne until I found a small, clean place with a sign outside indicating that beer was cheap.  This may sound rather frat-boy, but beer prices seem to be a good overall indicator of real food prices.  There were also a bunch of old people sitting around eating/drinking, and there is nothing better than a bunch of happy old people to let you know you've found a good inexpensive restaurant.

The beer was cheap.  Cheaper than the water.  I thought, "Today you are in Germany.  Be the German.  Get the beer."  The ordinary beer in Koln is Kolsch (insert umlauts).  Even though it is the run-of-the-mill here, it is way better than the ordinary beer you'd get at home.

I wanted to get something Really German to eat.  I thought about a wurst, but I'm not a big fan of wursts.  I had a terrible wurst, the stuff of nightmares really, in Rome (I was forced to eat the wurst, and there was no other food, it had to be... ugh), and have generally tried to avoid most of it since.  So I thought, "Schnitzel.  I don't know what that is.  Maybe a starch?  I'll get that."

Behold, the schnitzel.

Turns out schnitzel is a fancy word for chicken-fried.  Chicken-fried veal actually, though apparently anything can be schnitzelfied.  This was really good.  I could see the cook in the back making it while I waited.

I was feeling totally German and living up to my surname while eating this schnitzel and drinking beer.