German Renaissance Faire Excursion

Sometimes I'm a really good planner/packer. Other times, most times, in fact, I'm not. Today was definitely the latter. For the past few days, I've been very excited to attend Ritterturnier Kaltenberg, a German Renaissance Faire that has music, a two hour knight jousting tournament/play, booths, costumes, etc. Having attended the New York Renaissance Faire in 1992, I felt somewhat confident that I knew what to expect for entertainment and food. I have fond memories of turkey legs and humongous pickles on that 5th grade field trip. Though it wasn't too pleasant when my father dropped my half of the pickle in the dirt. I got over it...or did I? Anyway, I figured that eating wouldn't be that much of a challenge considering how many large chunks of meat were consumed during that period of history. And what food item is safe for someone who is gluten free, lactose free, and histamine intolerant? A large chunk of meat. Due to this assumption, I didn't pack myself any food. I'm sure you know where this is going.

Unfortunately, I forgot that I was in Germany. What does Germany have to do with anything? Well, while tradition Bavarian food is pretty easy for me to consume--large pieces of meat with sides of potatoes--Germans don't typically consider that street food. What do they consider street food? Bread. Tons and tons of bread! Sandwiches filled with sausages, ox, pulled pork, etc. Slices of bread smeared with schmaltz--rendered animal fat. Bread dough twisted on a wooden stick that you bake yourself over a fire. Pretzels and even just a loaf of bread. There are, of course, a handful of other food items available for transport--two noodle options, lots of pastries, and ice cream. In the end, I broke down, bought a sandwich, and ate the meat out of it. Not what I was expecting for dinner, but it wasn't half bad.

In the end, I survived as I always do. But I am getting so tired of being surrounded by food that I can't eat, especially when everyone else around me gets to enjoy it. I would never ask or expect anyone to not eat something because I can't but it just sucks and I haven't yet figured out a way to adjust my mindset to make the situation more tolerable. Maybe one day...