Kerala

There is a brilliant German Expressionist collection in Leicester, where I first came across Kathe Kollwitz when I was a student. We went to the Kathe Kollwitz museum in Koln today. What an amazing body of work! The first time I've seen her sculpture in the metal. Here's a work on paper. "Seed for sowing should not be milled."

@liuzhou I can see why that reputation exists, but I think it's to do with expectations. @Duvel 's description is one I can recognise. Fruh was busy. There was one waiter serving a large room, including 2 big parties. He was a big, muscular, jovial bald man with a loud voice and a large smile. He looked splendid in his apron secured at the waist wirh a beautifully aged leather belt. Service was slow. The usual raised eyebrow and half-smile wasn't going to bring him scuttling across to our table to see what would make our dining experience more fulfilling and meaningful. Our reluctance to call out "Entschuldigung" because of language shyness didn't help. When Mrs K's order of meatballs was unavailable and she couldn't find another option straight away, he left us again for a while. The beers did keep coming on a fairly regular basis though, and he would chat as he worked. Throughout, he kept the atmosphere jaunty, boistrously engaging with whoever was next. The room we went to for a nightcap was similarly run by a sturdy young Madchen. She offered us the choices from the drinks menu (in German only) and when I hesitated, recommended "the local beer." Again, the Kolsch arrived regularly. I enjoyed the no nonsense approach. It's in keeping with the function of these places. The limited, almost identical menu choices suited me fine, and they will suit anyone who likes pork and sauerkraut. I could happily order half the items on these menus, Mrs K could get along with meatballs, and if unavailable as above, Fruh had goulash. I found the limited drinks choice in keeping with the function of the room. The Aperol spritzer was advertised on a glossy card with 3 or 4 Aperol drinks. The description of one if these included 3 other ingredients, crossed out with marker pen and replaced with a hand written, "Orange Juice," possibly indicating that only English speakers looked at this card. So that's what the service was like. No nonsense, friendly without being fake friends, certainly not obsequious. No fake refinement. No one offering a waffer-thin mint to complement the meal. A bit slow. Probably need to speak up! Anyway, we're here for a few more days, and it won't all be Brauhauser and Kebab shops.

I've realised I have a tendency to start eating and drinking before I think of my responsibilities to this Board. But usually, the food I eat, presentation is not the priority!

We decided to nip out for a nightcap. Mrs K asked for her usual, a Bacardi and Coke. No Bacardi. No rum. To be honest, I couldn't see any spirits. We settled on this: Aperol spritz for the lady, Kolsch for me. In fact, everyone was drinking Kolsch: men and women, young and old. They did seem well stocked with red wine, but I didn't want to be weird.

Authentic German eating experience includes Doner kebab at a Turkish kebab place. The bread was something unusual, very crispy crust. Lovely.

A beautiful evening here in Koln. A very late lunch, Himmel und Aad. Black pudding, apple sauce, potato mash, fried onions. Bourdain's recommendation. They keep bringing the Kolsch beer in little 200ml glasses until you do this. Another of Tony's top tips. Thanks Tony! Fruh am Dom is an interesting place to eat and drink, for sure. Bourdain came here, but @mgaretztip was spot-on! Thanks to @IrishAdventurer too, who sadly doesn't hang around here anymore.

Bacon,white pudding, cheddar cheese in a buttery, flaky croissant. Coffee and fruit juice. Very happy.

This is from yesterday. The little discs are fried white pudding. I know it should have been a big mug of tea, but the coffee hit the spot!

Really interesting. As you know , @liuzhou they are a huge presence on British supermarket shelves. I wasn't aware of any controversy around them (other than the global problem of over-fishing.)

@weinoo The page you linked for John West states the sardines are caught in UK, Portuguese, Spanish and Moroccan coastal waters, and JW appears to be a UK based company now under Thai ownership. Anyway, the fish was fine, perfectly servicable but not memorable.

Well I did not know that!

P I searched for Anthony Bourdain. Its Parts Unknown, series 7, episode 6. It came up as available on FreeVee, viewable with ads, but when i clicked, it streamed without any adverts.

Linguine with prawns and smoked salmon. A generous pinch of red chilli flakes in the sauce gave a lovely warmth but went undetected by the family. Peroni 0.0 because I had a busy night of short drives ahead. It was quite nice, actually.

I just found this, Also available on Amazon Prime, where I'm watching it. For future reference if someone is searching...

Had a barbecue last night, had the partners over. I kept it simple, just chicken and lamb with a good load of veg. Unfortunately the coals didn't light and at the last minute I had to dash to the Spar to get an instant lighting bbq coals bag. The actual story is a lot longer and even more tedious. Here is some of the food And the lamb

Grilled then on toast. I should have taken pics of "after." Perfectly fine.

Ah, when the family is away, that's when I can play! Heart, liver, kidneys, octopus, haggis...

All good, no worries!

Air Fryer chicken, mixed leaf salad, toasted pine nuts. I drizzled some honey and olive oil, and sprinkled some sea salt as dressing. Tomato from the garden. The wine was a Muscadet. The weather was perfect.

Catching the last of the late summer sunshine.

Another successful start to the day. Take your wins where you get them.

Just put some chicken drumsticks in the Ninja Foodi with a thrown-together dressing including fish sauce. The kitchen is filling with the pungent savoury smell of chicken fat and fish sauce, and my mind with a nagging worry that this will be repeated every time I use the Ninja from here on... I'll keep you posted.

Never before 7:30, usually before 9.

I used the aluminium trays for the food. The bamboo trays were just weight for the inverted lid. For smaller amounts I do use the bamboo trays.

Soft, with seeds for interest. No crisp crust. From Asda.