Saturday, December 26, 2015

Ham Hock for Dinner {Years Ago}

I mentioned a few days ago that I struggled to decide which Years Ago story I would share this week.  After thinking about it some more, I decided I just couldn't leave the other story untold.

We were living in Germany when Addison was born. It is a bit more difficult to travel with a baby, but we didn't want to miss seeing Europe.

Our first big trip after she was born was a marathon trip to see five countries in seven days -- Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, and France. Tim's parents had come to visit and joined us on our crazy sightseeing adventure.



Addison was barely three months old and proved herself to be a fabulous traveler. During the days, she happily napped in the car so that I could help with the navigation. While we were seeing sights, she snuggled into her stroller or even better, into the baby carrier I wore. At night, she played nicely with me in the hotel rooms while everyone else slept.

Of course, that happy traveler plan meant that I didn't get much sleep. Long days of traveling, lots of walking, and nursing a baby also left me hungry a lot of the time.

After the trip we decided to take Tim's parents out to our favorite German restaurant -- the Alte Feuerwache (the Old Firehouse). It was a quaint little restaurant located in what used to be the town's fire station, and it served generous portions of schnitzel and spaetzle. On that particular evening, the owner and chef came out to tell us about the day's special. He could speak a little English and started telling us about the ham hocks that he had put out on the grill early that morning so that they could smoke all day.

At that moment, nothing sounded better to me than the ham hock he was describing. It was placed on a platter to be brought out to the table.

That night I finished every last little bit of the ham hock. In fact, Tim claims that I barely shared enough for the rest of the family to get a taste. He says that I was often seen holding my fork above the meat as if I would stab anyone who tried to snitch any of my ham hock. (I'm not 100% certain I believe that part of the story, but I will embarrassingly admit that it's possible I was that protective of my food.)

On a few future visits to the Firehouse I chose the ham hock special over my favorite variety of schnitzel and shared (or took home leftovers). A nursing mom coming home from a whirlwind vacation, however, brings new meaning to the term famished.


This week is the eighth week in our Blogging Through the Alphabet challenge -- letter H. I guess it would be a perfect week to see people blogging about their Holiday traditions and plans. (Hint, hint.)

Click the button below for this week's linky.



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