I knew before I started this Read the World journey that it was going to be awesome. I mean, how could exploring a country be anything but fun? I just wish I had gotten underway a little sooner, and then I could’ve added a few more books to my list. Maybe a travelogue or a children’s book (or both). But then again, my World War II journey is largely about Germany as well, so it’s not as if I’ll have a lack of that country this year.

Besides reading three books—Germany: A New History, Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, and Floating in My Mother’s Palm—I went to not one, but two (!) German restaurants, and prepared a German dish (Rouladen). I am a big fan of food and I happened to be within walking distance of two German eateries last week (because I was taking genealogy classes downtown about finding my ancestors who happen to be…Germans—I kid you not).

First up was Siegfried’s Deli. Now, I haven’t been to Germany, but the food seemed pretty legit to me. And delicious. Did I mention delicious? Leberkäse is a sort of meat loaf made from ground corned beef, bacon, pork, and onions that’s baked and resembles ham. It’s delectable on rye. Weiner schnitzel is not a hot dog (despite what the fast food Weiner schnitzel would have you believe). It’s a very thin cut of meat, usually pork or beef, that’s breaded and fried. And spätzle? It may sound weird, but it’s actually a soft egg noodle that just melts in your mouth. Of course, you can’t have German food without a range of German mustards from which to choose. If your a German far from home, this deli also has an attached market with all your favorite German goodies. Enjoy!

Vosen’s Bread Paradise is just that: a heavenly bakery. It does do some breakfast and lunch sandwiches and quiches, but it’s main thing is breads and pastries. There are even French and Italian breads available. For my purposes, I opted for krustenbrot (crusty rye bread), hornchen (a horn-shaped pastry), and bienenstich. The bienenstich or bee sting cake is a light yeasty cake filled with whipping cream and custard and topped with caramelized almonds. It’s truly amazing.

Now that I’ve been to Germany through books and food, all I have to do is go there for real now, something that’s been on my travel bucket list for an age.