Vatertag or Männertag is celebrated on Ascension Day, or the much more fun to say "Christi Himmelfahrt". The holiday has been at least partially absorbed by young, not-father guys in an excuse for groups of males to get together and be manly over beers.
Wikipedia reports on the possible historic path this holiday has taken:
These traditions are probably rooted in Christian Ascension Day's processions to the farmlands, some of which reportedly took on the character of drinking sprees as early as in the 17th century. Similar "gentlemen parties" have also taken place in the streets of urban areas, especially Berlin, since the 19th century.
Where today's adventures are often in combination with wheeled adventures, either by bike, with Bollerwagen, or by beer bike, our Men simply focus on the drinking/outdoorsy element.
Much video was taken, and I tried to cut it down to the least embarrassing parts - quite a challenge.
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Following the shenanigans of last Thursday's event, Sunday brought Mother's Day in both Germany and the USA. Our lovely mommas were on our mind, and we couldn't wait to speak with them. We are only 10 days away from seeing them at this point and excitement was palpable on both sides of the ocean (that's right dear readers, Porterhaus is returning to Seattle for a month! Rent our Berlin flat). We've been having rambling daydreams about all that we are going to eat/see/drink in Washington, including the 2 weddings we will be back for and a camping trip to Idaho/Montana, but seeing family is number 1 - especially the moms. The trip is coming up fast, but for now, our daydreams. (Try not to be too wowed by my awesome skills.)
When we are re-united in just over a week we shall...
Overall, I embrace German food. Sure I miss my Mexican food, but expat life has a way of making you a mad scientist in the kitchen. I am far from an expert cook, but I have learned to whip together a bunch of things I always used mixes for in the States, or only bought when I ate out. A random list of some of my proudest cooking moments:
Anyhoo - back to the German food. While we've also learned to make several of these dishes at home, I usually rely on the wondrous offerings of Berlin for my German food cravings. Käsespätzle, halbes hähnchen, döner and the Geschnetzeltes Zürcher Art at Tiergarten Quelle. Lecker!
But there is one wurst that sounded like the worst (I know, I know - terrible). Blutwurst - known in different cultures as black pudding, blood pudding or simply blood sausage - the name says it all. It is made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when
cooled. Sound tasty? It didn't to us.
When a friend told us about the oldest bar in Berlin
and it's delicious Blutwurst we looked at each and realized the time
had come. Let's chow down on some blood.
Wilhelm Hoeckwas opened in 1892 with a large distillation center and tasting room. Artifacts like an oar and certificate awarded to the
founders's son for winning the Gold medal in the 1932 Los Angeles's Olympic Games still line the wall. They are proud of their natural ingredients and make everything in-house. Our waitress was the rare bird in Berlin offering excellent customer service and the whole meal just felt special. The bar and restaurant were filled with people who looked like they had been here
since the beginning (read older), but it was such a lovely place I
wouldn't mind becoming a regular.
menu
Pork Belly with beer sauce
Our family & lovely dining companions
The most common variant of German Blutwurst is made from pork rind, pork blood and regionally different fillers such as barley. The version we ate most resembled a specialty of Cologne, the Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth) which combines apple sauce, mashed potatoes and Blutwurst served hot on one plate. Our version was some beautifully sweet & cinnamony cooked apple slices on top of the Blutwurst and a potato puree.
(Apparently a traditional Berlin version is hot Blutwurst mixed with liverwurst and potatoes called "Tote Oma" or "Dead Grandma".)
The good news? Divine. Legendary. Delicious. The bad news? We might be ruined on other Blutwurst forever.
Get in my belly!
Note
that there is a bar, and a restaurant and we were asked which we
preferred when making reservations. The restaurant was casually upscale
with an open kitchen. I enjoyed watching the chef work and the mellow
atmosphere. The bar was more jovial with an old tavern feel. We will
back to sample your wares bar....
Hot tip: This place is located just next to the legendary Rogacki. My sharp-eyed parents saw this historic deli featured on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and insisted on going there. Good choice p's, as Bourdain declared it his best meal in Germany. Here we are enjoying duck, roulade, pommes, boulette, and leberkase. Last time we went, everyone was ordering the fish. ORDER THE FISH. So good.
If you haven't gotten your fill of Blutwurst after Wilhelm Hoeck, this place might do the trick. Get a feel for this place in this lovely video via Econet:
Wikipedia reports on the possible historic path this holiday has taken: 
