It's the autumn break and I (desperately) needed to stretch my legs. With all the work from home and sitting down that I do in front of a laptop, a breath of fresh air would do me wonders.
So off we went as a family to Baumkronenpfad Hainich or the Hainich tree top canopy walk. It's only about 45 minutes from Erfurt city by car and an easy drive. Plus in these Covid times, I needed an open-air, sparsely-populated and naturally beautiful recreational activity to enjoy. We had never been to the Hainich National Park, or anywhere even close, so with all the boxes ticked, off we drove.
Before I get to the main point of this blog (i.e the food), I need to expound on the National Park's gorgeousness. If you ever thought autumn colours were beautiful, trust me, they're even more breath-taking up close. Walking above ground level, the canopy let us walk amid the higher-up tree branches and on the higher tier, even above the trees for a bird-eye view of the entire forest. Brilliant idea, this canopy walk, because unlike walking visitors at ground level, we don't disrupt any natural life on the ground.
In short, if you've never gone to Hainich or even thought about it, these pandemic days might be time to start doing so.
We had lunch there after our nice, long, leisurely canopy walk. There is a restaurant on-site, the Forsthaus Thiemsburg, which sells Thuringian dishes. I'm already a big fan of the Thuringian original, the Rostbrätel, so I decided to give it a break and try another original - the Schüsselsülze mit Remoulade.
Literally translated, "Schüsselsülze" means a "bowl jelly". In reality, it is pork that is mixed with jelly, made in big bowl (hence, the name "Schüssel"). I'm over-simplifying it but yeah, in a nutshell, that's how it's made. The Remoulade, as I mentioned in an earlier blog this year, is a popular dip for fish and meats here.
It came with fried potatoes, pickled pepperoni and a slice of tomato.
My first thought was, the portion was a lot smaller than I expected. I have gotten so used to oversized portions every where I go here in Germany (or what I call, German portions - said with a lot of love, by the way). I have learnt that culturally, serving more than is enough, is a sign of respect for guests and family. In other words, it's actually an indirect indication of love for the person who has come to enjoy your food. This is why you would be hard-pressed not to find an overfull, super huge platter of food served.
So, you can imagine my surprise and, yes, slight disappointment. I had hoped that this typically Thuringian restaurant in the heart of Thuringia (yes, geographically right in the middle) would be typically German in every way. After all, branding-wise, if one is deciding to be Thuringian, one should really go all-out Thuringian. Portions included.
On to the food.
The Schüsselsülze is ordinarily a little denser in taste and texture in comparison to the Bratwurst or Rostbrätel. Taste-wise, it is a little saltier than the two and in texture, more matted and clumped together. In these, this Schüsselsülze was no different. The Remoulade, too, was good - nicely spiced to be sour-ish enough to boost the Schüsselsülze but not too sour that it overcomes.
The sides, however, left me wondering if the kitchen had simply run out of ingredients and didn't have enough, or what. That one slice of tomato was really quite sad. Seriously, 1 slice? I could live with the much-smaller potato serving, but that 1 slice of tomato did leave me a little perplexed.
In case you think I'm overreacting, this was their version of the Rostbrätel. Note that single slice of tomato. So maybe it was a tomato shortage day? Compare this size to the other versions I've personally met and you'll see what I mean. Fish was also offered on the menu. They had the salmon in a creme sauce which was served with a two-pasta variety. The salmon was very uniquely served too - the fish and vegetable cream sauce were in the jar. As such, they were very much mixed together in flavour, which had its pros and cons, I must say. While the cream sauce was pretty good, the sensation of "fish" was completely lost after being drowned in it.
Like I said, pros and cons. If you like the taste of fish, then you probably shouldn't order this. But if you like the flatness of the salmon to taste more of vegetables, then, by all means, go for it.
All in all, lovely presentation, but flavour-wise, all fell a little short on expectations. They weren't totally bad, but I found the price-quality ratio a little low. For the price we paid for our meal, I expected better and more (maybe three slices of tomatoes). After all, I have paid less for better elsewhere so why would I expect any less in the heart of the Hainich National Park?
I would put it out there that here, food isn't a top attraction. Not by far. It's great for a meal that puts some food in the tummy after some physical exertion, but that's about it. If you're looking for a totally satisfying Thuringian meal, I would suggest driving out to the nearest township, Bad Langensalza. There is a variety of cafes and quaint restaurants there that might be worth a try (I didn't, but I really feel now I should have).
The Baumkronenpfad, on the other hand, is worth every effort. Every step of the way.
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