A Few of my
Interesting Drinks
Traveling all over I have had many
interesting drinks, some I liked and some not so much. When biking in Germany
and Austria, I drank many a spezi,
and I often drink one at home. A spezi is easy to make
as it is a mix of half cola and half lemonade. A lot of people put a dash of
lemon in their cola, but a spezi is special to me as it brings back lots of
pleasant memories,
A tundraccino
is a take-off on the popular cappuccino. This was a welcome warming drink when
riding in the tundra buggy in the cold
Canadian sub-arctic. Simply mix 3 parts instant cocoa to 1 part instant coffee
and add boiling water to mix. It was a pleasant change from either hot cocoa or
coffee.
In the English Cotswolds I learned a Lemon Shanty is a drink of equal parts beer and lemonade. I understand it is a popular drink for women, but not
being a beer drinker I cannot vouch for it.
In Regensburg, Germany, at the oldest
coffeehouse in the country, I ordered iced
coffee. It was good but rather different. Cold coffee was poured into a
tall glass and topped with two scoops
of chocolate chip ice cream.
At the same time a
couple elderly German ladies arrived
and ordered blond angels. This was a
combination of orange juice and vanilla ice cream---perhaps their answer to our
root beer floats. They must have been good as they drank a second one before
leaving.
In Vienna kaffehouses, there is no such thing as a plain cup of coffee. It comes in many forms,
each with a different name. In one
such establishment we were served by a tux clad waiter.
In England don’t even think about ordering
a cup of coffee, it leaves a lot to be desired for a coffee lover. The one exception to this might be large
American chain hotels where their coffee makers use pre-measured coffee filters
to cater to the American palate. The English drink tea and there are specific rules for doing so and drinking it with
a meal is a definite no no!
In Europe coffee and tea are served in
china or porcelain cups, and of course there is no bottomless coffee cup. I
concede to one advantage to an overseas fast food establishment and that is one
can get a drinkable cup of coffee in a take away cup. Otherwise it’s consume on
the premises. A young girl in the Copenhagen airport brought that to my
attention.
This is just the beginning as there are
many more drinks but we’ll save them for another day.
