Gemütlichkeit
Gemütlichkeit is my favorite German word.
It does not have a one-word equivalent in English.
In fact, it will probably take this entire posting to convey even part of the meaning, which, in the end, can only truly be appreciated by experiencing it for yourself.
And, probably, most likely, you have experienced Gemütlichkeit for yourself at some point – or many! – during your life.
It has to do with satisfaction, contentment, and enjoyment. In the moment. And it usually revolves around a combination of good food, good drink, and good company.
I experienced it last night with my younger son when we went out to get a bit of dinner and celebrate following the end of his football season. We had been outside all day long – enduring the elements: cold, rain, wind, and hail – for his last football game, and we were in need of warm shelter and sustenance.
We decided to try a new eatery in our small little town. It touts itself as a “bistro.” My 12 year old asked me what “bistro” meant. Personally, I find it a rather pretentious word for café, which is already a pretty pretentious word, unless you live in France. Basically, it is a restaurant with a bar. It is not just a bar, and it is not just a bar “that serves food.” It is a family style eatery that appreciates parental need for a nice cold one or a glass of wine, although I think the alcohol element is kind of the theme as they feature all of these Belgian brews on tap, as well as beers from around the world. But most of the tables at the time we were there were filled with families.
The atmosphere was warm and relaxing. We languished over the menu, once we had put our drink orders in – a Belgian wheat beer for me and a Sprite for Manchild. The choices were daunting, as they tend to be in 21st century America, but in the end we opted for a mutually agreed upon shared appetizer and a shared pizza. The appetizer was called “Buffalo Bites,” which I was afraid was going to be a pretentious, trendy name for chicken nuggets, a favorite staple of my kids when they were toddlers – you know, ranked right up there with hotdogs and the dreaded fish sticks. But a good friend of mine had recommended them, and I knew my son was partial to chicken wings and hot sauce. We decided on the hot style Buffalo Bites, which came with a side of ranch dressing and some celery sticks. This ended up being a wise choice. The bites were made from real chicken breast, and the breading was very, VERY light. Not at all like McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. They were not oozing with grease or lard or anything even remotely disgusting. They were divine. And the hot sauce they used was to… die… for. Seriously, these were some awesome chicken thingies!
They went well with the Wittekerke, a very light Belgian wheat beer into which I had squeezed a nice little slice of lemon. They went well with the Sprite, too.
Next we shared a Margherita Pizza, which was again to… die… for. The crust was very thin and light and seemed to be made from whole wheat. It was topped with ripe tomato slices, fresh mozzarella that was melted perfectly, fresh basil, roasted garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil. My son was in taste heaven. As was I.
We were not in a hurry. We were enjoying each other’s company after a long hard day outside in the cold. And we were enjoying a totally awesome meal with totally awesome beverages. We had plenty of time to talk and catch up. Nobody was rushing us. The service was slow, but in a leisurely way, not an incompetent one.
And we had a really good time together.
The warm feeling of well being that you get under such circumstances would be… you guessed it!... Gemütlichkeit.
I first encountered the word as an exchange student in Munich (München), which is touted as the City of Gemütlichkeit. And I have loved it ever since.
I treasure the occasions in my life where good food, good drink, and good company have overlapped to create a warm, enjoyable, satisfying atmosphere.
I wish you LOTS of Gemütlichkeit.
Prosst!
It does not have a one-word equivalent in English.
In fact, it will probably take this entire posting to convey even part of the meaning, which, in the end, can only truly be appreciated by experiencing it for yourself.
And, probably, most likely, you have experienced Gemütlichkeit for yourself at some point – or many! – during your life.
It has to do with satisfaction, contentment, and enjoyment. In the moment. And it usually revolves around a combination of good food, good drink, and good company.
I experienced it last night with my younger son when we went out to get a bit of dinner and celebrate following the end of his football season. We had been outside all day long – enduring the elements: cold, rain, wind, and hail – for his last football game, and we were in need of warm shelter and sustenance.
We decided to try a new eatery in our small little town. It touts itself as a “bistro.” My 12 year old asked me what “bistro” meant. Personally, I find it a rather pretentious word for café, which is already a pretty pretentious word, unless you live in France. Basically, it is a restaurant with a bar. It is not just a bar, and it is not just a bar “that serves food.” It is a family style eatery that appreciates parental need for a nice cold one or a glass of wine, although I think the alcohol element is kind of the theme as they feature all of these Belgian brews on tap, as well as beers from around the world. But most of the tables at the time we were there were filled with families.
The atmosphere was warm and relaxing. We languished over the menu, once we had put our drink orders in – a Belgian wheat beer for me and a Sprite for Manchild. The choices were daunting, as they tend to be in 21st century America, but in the end we opted for a mutually agreed upon shared appetizer and a shared pizza. The appetizer was called “Buffalo Bites,” which I was afraid was going to be a pretentious, trendy name for chicken nuggets, a favorite staple of my kids when they were toddlers – you know, ranked right up there with hotdogs and the dreaded fish sticks. But a good friend of mine had recommended them, and I knew my son was partial to chicken wings and hot sauce. We decided on the hot style Buffalo Bites, which came with a side of ranch dressing and some celery sticks. This ended up being a wise choice. The bites were made from real chicken breast, and the breading was very, VERY light. Not at all like McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. They were not oozing with grease or lard or anything even remotely disgusting. They were divine. And the hot sauce they used was to… die… for. Seriously, these were some awesome chicken thingies!
They went well with the Wittekerke, a very light Belgian wheat beer into which I had squeezed a nice little slice of lemon. They went well with the Sprite, too.
Next we shared a Margherita Pizza, which was again to… die… for. The crust was very thin and light and seemed to be made from whole wheat. It was topped with ripe tomato slices, fresh mozzarella that was melted perfectly, fresh basil, roasted garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil. My son was in taste heaven. As was I.
We were not in a hurry. We were enjoying each other’s company after a long hard day outside in the cold. And we were enjoying a totally awesome meal with totally awesome beverages. We had plenty of time to talk and catch up. Nobody was rushing us. The service was slow, but in a leisurely way, not an incompetent one.
And we had a really good time together.
The warm feeling of well being that you get under such circumstances would be… you guessed it!... Gemütlichkeit.
I first encountered the word as an exchange student in Munich (München), which is touted as the City of Gemütlichkeit. And I have loved it ever since.
I treasure the occasions in my life where good food, good drink, and good company have overlapped to create a warm, enjoyable, satisfying atmosphere.
I wish you LOTS of Gemütlichkeit.
Prosst!
posted by delta at 8:02 PM
2 Comments:
Yay for buffalo bites! They rock and rule! OK, so I really really like them - I am glad I did not steer you wrong.
I had one of those Wittekerke thingeys last Wednesday - some guy was making fun of my beer choice a few weeks ago (Yuengling) and I made one of his friends pick me out a beer to drink - and that's what he ordered me. And I liked it. But it sorta tasted like Yuengling : ) I should probably stick to rum.
That is a great word. Much nicer than schedenfraude (sp?). Sounds like a lovely evening. I hope to have times like that with my kids when they are older too. Thin, wholemeal pizza crusts are the best, aren't they?
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