Sigeric never had it so good. Food, different types of food.

Traveling in 990 CE through Switzerland, he would have eaten porridge, heavy breads, apples, beans and peas. Probably no meat, unless wild game. At the higher elevations, nuts, berries, mushrooms, dairy products. Again, only the wealthy ate meat apparent.

There was no sugar, no potatoes. No tomatoes. No large variety of spices. And, horror of horror, no fondu dishes. Fondu is first mentioned in 1699! No official muesli. Or, Birchermüesli, as the Swiss call it,is a breakfast or snack consisting of cereal (oat) flakes, chopped fruit and milk. The Swiss nutritionist Max Bircher-Benner created this “apple diet dish” in the early the 20th century for sanatorium patients as an easily digestible evening meal. Thank you Wikipedia.

I can tell why the Swiss love food!

The Swiss can eat any type of world cuisine that they want.

The last couple of days, I’ve walked past restaurants of every nationality and ethnicity. From Asia, Indian, Chinese, Thai, even a Tibetan in a street market selling momos. From other European regions, the Greek and Balkan restaurants along with the British pubs and the Italian pizzerias. If one has a hankering for a quick bite, there are the Lebanese and Istanbul kebabs. Given the number of French speaking West Africans (Mary and I sat next to a Senegalese young man at the Hotellerie Franciscaine last night at dinner) I’m sure that I could find their dishes. And, if I knew where to look, I might find food from the Americas, Caribbean or Brazilian.

I’m no foodie. Not much. I know that I can enjoy these foods, and more, in Atlanta. Not Siegeric!

We experience the world with others. We rub shoulders with a man from Senegal. I wait in line after an Asian fellow to buy a lemonade. I hear an Eastern European language at the kiosk. I talk with the Sri Lankan street market vendor. As trite a saying as it is, our world, our local and immediate experiences are global. We not only have global news, global recreation (European football), global health products (voltarin), but also neighbors, friends, and family whose ancestry comes from a different global location. All of that is not going away.

Walking allows me to pass restaurant after restaurant, vendor after vendor. Food illustrates this globalization.

Sigeric didn’t have it so good. Well, I confess that I haven’t either. Mary and I have had an expensive fondu dinner, a couple of kebabs, and your usual supermarket salads and frozen meals. So, the restaurant photos are photos from the outside only!