Fall Vacation in Berlin with Grandpa
Growing up in northern Germany, every fall vacation or the equivalent of the French Toussaint holidays, my older brother and I would board a plane from Hamburg and fly to West Berlin to spend the two-week holidays with Grandpa. At the time, Germany was still divided into East and West, as was Berlin. A physical wall divided the city of Berlin, with grandpa living in West Berlin (see my previous post about some Berlin facts).
My brother and I would land at the Berlin Tempelhof
Airport. During the Cold War, this
airport was famous for the Berlin Airlift which became the only supply lifeline for
the citizens of West Berlin after Soviet authorities halted all land and river
traffic into or out of the western-controlled sectors of Berlin in June 20,
1948. Grandpa always pointed out proudly
the Berlin Airlift Memorial in front of the airport, affectionately calling it
by the nicknames the locals gave it: Hungerharke (Hunger Rake) and Hungerkralle
(Hunger Claw).
Since my grandfather did not drive, we would take the famous double-decker buses from the airport out to where Grandpa lived in a district called Westend. It was always an adventure for us to ride the bus. My brother and I would climb up to the upper deck and enjoy sitting in the top front row: the best seats on the bus!
Grandpa, of course, would join us and always point out the sights along the ride.
Not far from Grandpa’s apartment was a quaint little park
called the Brix Platz. As it was fall,
we would spend a lot of time playing in the park and its playground. There were quite a number of chestnut and
acorn trees in the park. That’s a
chestnut tree right in the middle of the playground.
We would collect the fallen chestnuts and acorns. Once back inside, we would make little animals and men out of the chestnuts and acorns. Grandpa handed us these little drills, so we could drill some holes into the chestnuts and acorns.
Or we would string them together to make bracelets and
necklaces. It was hours and hours of entertainment.
Chef Grandpa
Such serious play made us very hungry. Luckily Grandpa would make us pancakes, our favorites! He would prepare the batter, and let it rest for about twenty minutes, and then he would call us into the kitchen for the grand production. We kids were eager for the show.
He would fill a ladle with some batter and then pour it
evenly into the hot frying pan. After a
short while, he would pick up the pan with one hand, and with the flick of his
wrist, would flip the pancake in mid-air out of the pan, the pancake would do a
180-degree turn in mid-air and safely land on the uncooked side back in the
pan.
We kids were thrilled.
Grandpa was such a great cook. (Mom
never did that!) We would cheer him on: "higher, grandpa, higher!" After another
short while, he would repeat the flip, but this time would catch the finished
pancake on a plate which he held in the other hand. Taaa – daaah!
Do it again, Grandpa, do it again, higher. One time, I don’t know exactly how it
happened, as we dared him to toss the pancake higher, and higher still, grandpa
flung it so high, that it hit the ceiling.
It stuck there for a few seconds (I’m sure to grandpa, it must have felt
like an eternity!) As he looked up at the stuck pancake in amazement, it loosened and fell back down to earth. It landed on his head like a beret! We kids
were beside ourselves. We laughed so
hard that we fell on the kitchen floor with laughter. Grandpa too joined in and the three of us
laughed until we cried! What a cook! What a showman! They were the BEST pancakes EVER!
Grandpa’s pancakes were different than American Style
pancakes, as they were not tall and fluffy.
That is because he did not use any leavening (like yeast or baking
powder). They were thin, but not as thin
as French crepes would be. Here’s the
recipe.
Grandpa’s Pancakes (Pfannkuchen)
Ingredients:
200 g (1 1/4 c) all-purpose flour
300 ml (1 1/4 c) milk (you can use skim, 2% or whole milk)
2 medium eggs
60 g (4 T + ¼ t) melted butter (or vegetable oil, but
butter is better!)
30 g (2 T + 1 ¼ t) sugar
1 pinch salt
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and salt)
- Add the milk all at once, and whisk together until you have a smooth batter with no clumps.
- Add the eggs and continue to beat until they are well incorporated
- Add the melted butter, and incorporate well.
- Let the batter rest 15 to 20 minutes.
- Heat a large frying pan to medium.
- Fill a ladle with the dough and pour it in the hot pan, spreading the batter thinly in the pan (about 2-3 mm, or 1/8 inch)
- Keep a close eye on the pancake, as you see the batter drying, lift it with a spatula to see if it is golden on the underside, then flip.
- Fry a wee bit longer, then when golden, transfer to a plate.
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I am Remember My Childhood. Very nice...
ReplyDeleteYes, happy memories, simple times, no video games...
ReplyDeleteLoved your story of your Grampa Ingrid! I was the pancake maker for my kids, and even my father and I when I was a teenager, would have a competition to see who could make the biggest one....but the rule was you had to flip it without breaking! This made for a mess. Great memories! Now, we have our first granddaughter and I’m an expert at the same pan-flip your grandfather could do, so I cannot wait to have her visit and make her pancakes like yours. Funny, of all the things we’ll do together, I’m looking forward to her giggle when I flip her pancake for her in the air!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Paddy for sharing your pancake giggles with us. What a great family tradition to share from one generation to the next.
ReplyDelete