McDonald’s in Munich

After a full day of visiting the concentration camp, we were jonesing for something to eat, so we went to the only logical place we could think of when one is in Germany.

We couldn’t help it, seriously. It was like those golden arches were a beacon of light and since I was the one driving, it was calling my name. I was beginning my second trimester at the time, which meant I just regained my appetite, so we had to stop (I can’t remember the last time I had McDonald’s before this stop). It turns out that our little fast-food detour was pretty darn awesome and provided us with a little family history.

Fun fact: McDonald’s tastes pretty much the same no matter what country you’re in. The quality of products is better (in my opinion) and things are a little more fresh, but it all pretty much tastes the same.

Since we were headed into Munich after this, we didn’t have a full meal. Actually, we got a Happy Meal and some chicken nuggets to split between the three of us. (After three months of having an aversion to chicken, I saw those little nuggets on the menu and needed them in my life.)

I will say that the Happy Meals out here are pretty awesome. Not only do you get the fries and whatever main protein you want, but you also get a side of fruit, like a piece of pineapple (in Italy they also throw in a wedge of cheese). It’s awesome. The toys out here are also pretty stellar (maybe they are in America? I haven’t had one there in years.) Check out this book I got in Germany:

But that’s not the cool part of our Micky D’s trip. The cool part was the dipping sauce we got with the nuggets. Usually you have to pay for ketchup out here, but since we ordered chicken nuggets we got to choose from a plethora of flavors. They seriously had like seven different kinds to choose from! If you know us then you probably know we like things spicy, so we went for their chili sauce.

Okay, to 99% of the people, the picture above is no big deal. But to us, it’s pretty freaking awesome. My mom’s maiden name is “Scharf,” so it was really, really cool to see it written out there on the sauce packet!

Growing up, my mom thought her name (Scharf) meant “sharp,” but apparently it means “spicy” or “hot.” Ah! I just love it! I don’t know if we ever would’ve figured that out if we didn’t stop for a quick pit-stop at McDonald’s.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that fun little story with you. By the way, after McDonald’s we spent a good hour making our way into the city, because someone (*ahem* me) had to get a shot glass from the Munich Hard Rock Cafe. Driving in that city, in the pouring rain, was crazy. By the time we got there I was famished again. (Hello, pregnancy) Luckily, Hard Rock has more than just shot glasses, so we had a pretty delicious American meal, which means I had about 20 glasses of ICE water 🙂

Our European adventure continued after Hard Rock when we braved the rainy weather and made our way to Salzburg.

…but more on that leg of our trip next time!