Day 1 in Deutschland, Vegan Eats in Bayreuth, Germany

You can be tossed an awful lot of bad variables on a long flight. Luckily, my fight with Brussels Airlines was perfect–I had plenty of space with an empty seta next to me, a hot vegan meal, and plenty of mindless movies to lull my brain into a stupor. Sure, I really should have slept for real on my overnight flight. But I can do that any ol’ night. As I crossed the Atlantic and began my trip, I got my first taste of what is sure to be quite the culinary adventure.  Though the vegan meal wasn’t the tastiest, it was vegan and it was delivered special for me. Steamed spinach and squash in marinara with cold potatoes on top of a salad helped pass the time.

With a layover in Belgium and another quick flight to Berlin, I was delivered another vegan special delivery. A  marinated artichoke sandwich with smeared yellow pepper. It was pretty tasty! This filled me up for a 4 hour drive from Berlin to Kemnath, my home for the next two weeks. After a nerve-wracking ride on the speed limit-less Autobahn, I needed the tranquil pace of this small city in Bavaria.

My dear friend and hostess (and her adorable family) made me feel welcome in my warm and homey room with the a view of a green field with wild poppies. The smell, the feel and sounds of this place are slowly sinking in. We sat for 5 minutes before springing up and getting back in the car. We wanted dinner in Bayreuth, a small college town west of Kemnath.

Dinner would be at Ce Midi, a vegetarian bistro with mostly vegan options. We shared our first of many vegan meals together in this counter spot after lightly grilling the kind counter man about the all-German menu.

The bistro also had some vegan products for sale, most notable two local brands of vegan cheese. I may wind up bringing a variety of packaged cheeses to sample.

Army meat and potatoes man ordered the Veganer Döner Kebap mit Seitan, a thin pita-like bread packed with fried sheets of seitan and fresh, crisp veggies.

Sassy 11-year old and baby Prince both had the vegan cheeseburger, a housemade patty topped with vegan cheese and every kids’ favorite: a side of French fries. Sassy gave the burger two thumbs up!

My dish was the Pfannengemüse, a Hungarian-inspired dish of veggies and stewed seitan… with a side of fries and a carrot and green salad. Yum. It was nice to have a hot, hearty meal. Considering all that I had done to be at this bistro’s table this evening, it’s a good thing my head did not drop into my colorful plate for a nap.

After our meal we stumbled to the natural food market Bio Bio.

They had a tremendous selection of vegan cheeses and vegan würst. We’ll definitely be returning to Bayreuth for some groceries later into my two week stay… and to hit Ce Midi again for their delicious sounding lunch specials. Did I say that I may bring home some vegan cheeses to sample? Make that a “I most certainly will.” Who knew so many vegan cheesemakers were here in Germany? And these vegan German cookbooks? How amazing.

Well, it has been a long couple of days of travel. I must rest up for Day 2.So much more to do… and to eat! Goodnight!