Weiner Schnitzel!
The Polka style band
Day 12,
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Last Sunday, we decided that we would cancel our train trip portion from Chicago to Buffalo, NY. Originally, we were going to drive back to Chicago from Detroit area (about 6 + hours due to all the summer construction and road repair). Had we gone back to Chicago, the train we would have taken would have just traveled at night - in essence a hotel that moves. Because we cancelled in less than 7 days from the time of travel, we got Amtrak voucher credit. I guess this means we’re taking another trip sometime. We were told we needed to use it up in one year. Chris is interested in a trip to Seattle … hmm, maybe our train trips are not over yet. Jonathan was the most disappointed, as he loves the train, especially sleeping on the train. However, it didn’t make sense to drive back, when in the same amount of driving time, we would be at Buffalo.
There was another draw for us to drive. We would be passing by a DDD restaurant in Ohio. It was “Sterle’s Slovenian Country House”. This was run by a German woman (and her husband) who came from Nurnberg, a city close to Ingolstadt, where my grandparents lived. When we came to the restaurant, it was hopping, literally. A group of musicians who will be playing in a festival in town were there and on a spur of the moment, played their “Oompah” style music. I enjoyed it, and there were many people milling around, even swaying or should I say bouncing as they listened. The owner who was featured on the DDD was too busy to talk when we arrived but she greeted us and sat us at the table. All the specials were gone (no cabbage rolls for me, nor liver and onions) but we each found something we liked; Russ and Jonathan got Weiner schnitzel, I got a chicken smothered in wine sauce, and Chris got sausage and saurkraut. The side dish was mashed potatoes, but German style has big chunks of potatoes, with herbs and spices that make it “ausgezeichnet!” As we ate, the restaurant emptied out. It closes at 2:30, and we got there around 1:30, so it wasn‘t just us! We enjoyed our dinner now in a very quiet restaurant and as we got our check, I asked our waitress, Veronica about this restaurant and about her beautiful accent. Then she told us her story, and I think this was one of those God encounters. She and her husband came from Slovakia about 16 years ago and just 2 months prior, he died. She expressed feeling “lost” not sure what to do now. She plans to go back to Slovakia to bury her husband, but doesn’t think she’ll stay. Her job is here, as is her home, but her support - her family, are all back in the old country. We listened, and empathized and then I told her I would pray for her. She seemed so grateful to have that prayer. I would have prayed right then, but she looked like her tears were just behind the words. How I wish I could have done more, but that night, when we had our family prayer, led by Chris that day, in our hotel room, he remembered her in our petitions. As we paid the check at the register, I spoke to the owner, named Margot, in German, she was pleasantly surprised to know I spoke German and responded of course in German. I found out, she too lost her husband - 8 months ago, but it still felt as fresh as if it happened last week. They worked together and rested together, and did everything together, she wondered how can she even think of doing anything alone. She still catches herself making plans for the two of them. I couldn’t imagine this kind of loss. And my mom had to experience it twice. So Margot is added to our prayer list as well. To see the menu or info click here http://www.sterlescountryhouse.com/
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