Coffee and cakes at Pâtisserie Passion

A few days ago I had coffee at this lovely cafe.  Originally, I was carried there by a friend on a fact finding mission.  She needs dessert for a large party.  Just as we arrive her phone rings and she digs in for a conversation.  Well, after staring at chocolates and tarts and cakes for a few minutes my will caves in and I sit at a table.  In a fit of deviousness, I order two coffees in the hope that she will have no choice but to sit and enjoy a cake with me.  In spite of my obvious chocoholic tendencies I have not been idle.  I spoke to the lovely waitress and informed her of our mission.

At last my friend came to the table, apologized with the only apology that is acceptable when it comes to being ignored for a phone "It was my husband".  As an aside, I have often noticed that when my lady friends call their husbands the calls are invariably short and to the point... he has no time to speak to her.  On the other hand, if he should call he expects her to be available to listen and take notes as he often calls because he needs something. These men assume that the wife is sitting by the phone waiting to be of service.  They are generally nice men, but the sense of entitlement to their wive's time sometimes irks me.  Anyway, we sat to enjoy ourselves.

It was a pleasant surprise when not one but both owners asked to sit with us and answer our questions.  As far as service goes, I was impressed.  These young ladies knew their own business and cakes well.  They were informative and friendly.  The cakes and coffees we tasted were delicious.  They cater but can also hold parties on their premises.  In short, I plan to go back, maybe for their breakfast  On the menu it looked good.

Pâtisserie Passion |
Kaiserstraße 34a, 40479 Düsseldorf | +49 211 178 35563 |  www.patisseriepassion.de

Welcomed at Cafe Muggel

The Cafe Muggel in Oberkassel, Duesseldorf is one of the first places I got to know well when I came to Germany.  I did not feel welcome with a baby in other cafes or restaurants.  My habit was to give my baby her lunch and then let her take her nap while out for a walk.  Once she was asleep the idea was that I could have a cup of tea and relax if only for a few minutes.  Waiters and managers as well as patrons often associate a baby with noise and smell, instead of associating the mother of the baby with a desperate need of TLC (tender, loving care).

The staff at the Muggel have, through the years, consistently been kind, attentive and patient.  All kinds of people come here at all hours with and without children to relax.  It is fantastic that they open at 8:30 instead of 10:00 because sometimes an hour or two in the morning before everything else like banks or shops open is all I have to sit with a coffee.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served and there is a bar.  I personally like breakfast and lunch best but I've enjoyed myself at midnight as well (without a baby).  Another fun bit is that they have a small movie theater downstairs called the 'Souterrain'.  They present independent or small films from all over the planet.  Look for the 'OmU' if you wish to see it in original version.

Cafe Muggel | Dominikanerstr. 4 | 40545 Düsseldorf | +49 211 554182

No More Dubbing Please

I take my daughter to watch "Brave" today at Cinestar, Dusseldorf.  Like many foreigners who try to go the movies here, I was surprised to discover that all films are dubbed in Germany.  Sometimes Swiss or Austrian films are dubbed into german German.  Cinestar is the only movie theater  that regularly has a few movies playing in what is called OV or OmU which is German for original version.  Alas, "Brave" is called "Merida" and will not be in English.  Children's movies in OV are even rarer than adult movies in OV.  To the theater's credit, this Summer they played "Ice Age 4" in English and 3D along with the dubbed versions.

Smaller theaters in Dusseldorf will have films in OmU but this is hit or miss.  I just never know which film will be shown, if at all in OV.  Sometimes I get excited if I see the OmU sign first and then find out the original language is Norwegian, though my Norwegian acquaintances rejoice.  Theaters such as the Bambi in Klosterstrasse, the Metropol in Brunnerstrasse or Souterrain in the Cafe Muggel at the Dominikanerstrasse will have foreign film in their original languages though they may not always be English.

Cinestar has been kind enough to answer my questions and complaints over the years but have changed nothing.  I was informed that the individual theater has no control over which reel they receive in OmU and which reel not.  I was extremely disappointed to miss "Captain America" as it was only shown in German.  I pointed out the the manager that to watch Captain American dispatching Nazis while speaking German was weird at best and laughable at worst, given that the hero is already wearing tights.  I got shrugs and sorries.

Some enthusiastic Germans have informed me that I live in Germany and that Germany is a German speaking country, therefore they wish to see their films in German.  I responded that if that is the case then why are they watching American movies like "Captain America" at all instead of watching German films, after all, we are in fact, yes, in Germany.

45 minutes away is The Netherlands.  The charming people there have the wonderful habit of subtitling everything, even tv shows, which means that "House" got to keep his sense of humor, such as it was.  Subtitling has the added advantage of letting us interpret the translation on a deeper level.  By this I mean that we can still hear the original actors and presumably the intentions of the director in choosing these actors.  "Como Agua para Chocolate" or "Life of Brian" are almost unrecognizable dubbed.

Then we come to the hateful habit of using the same voice actor for the foreign actor over and over.  I don't know if anyone else has noticed but actors like Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro or even Liv Tyler will modulate their voice, change tone, pitch and even accent for different roles.  This is something that is often beyond the talents of these voice actors who often seem to play Meryl Streep playing Julia Childs as opposed to the concept of Meryl Streep disappearing and Julia Childs appearing.  In short, German dubbing leaves me with the feeling that I am watching the same movie over and over again because the voices are always the same.  

Introducing, A foreign foreigner

Introduction

There are many books and blogs about being a stranger in a strange land. So why another one? Because I like reading and writing and as a foreign foreigner I hope my points of view are perhaps a little less biased. You see, I have no "home" to compare "here" to. I did not live in my native country long enough to form an attachment. In fact, I have not lived anywhere long enough to form any attachments.  For people with strong roots this can be confusing; "You must belong somewhere!"

This blog is about being a stranger who is most comfortable being a stranger.  Everyone who hears me speak asks where I am from.  Good question, do you mean where did I live last or what does it say on the passport.  Funny enough when I go back to my native country people ask me where I am from...

So whatever I experience has no home to compare it to, only my previous experiences without nostalgia or home sickness.  This is not a disadvantage.  I do know where my favorite pie is, a diner in New York; my favorite Mexican food is chiles rellenos cooked by Lucrecia in Mexico City; my favorite ale is Doombar at any good pub in London; my favorite book shop is Hatchard's on Picadilly; my favorite vacation is almost anywhere new.  So where do I belong?  .... with my family who are also foreigners in foreign lands.