WDB
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Butter
Jan 15, 2017 12:46:21 GMT
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Post by WDB on Jan 15, 2017 12:46:21 GMT
As mentioned elsewhere, I was in Germany again this week. In Cologne, in fact, at a hotel I've used before. And, as I'd done before, on my first morning there I went downstairs for breakfast. I collected my plate of assorted cold slices, which are always delectable in Germany, and a couple of chunks of rye bread to eat with them, then looked around for the usual basket containing little wrapped portions of butter. No luck, so I looked some more. Sometimes it's kept with the other cold stuff, sometimes next to the bread, so I must have just missed it, right? Ah, here we are! Ugh, no, that's peanut butter. Was ist los? Then I noticed this: www.butterspender.deA white pyramid, maybe 60cm tall, that on closer inspection offered to dispense a disc of butter on to my plate. And so it did - once I'd found an empty plate that would fit under it. After two breakfasts in Cologne I travelled on to Berlin - and found the breakfast buffet there - at a hotel of a different chain - had the same machine. Our best hive-mind guess was that the German government has toughened the rules on non-recyclable waste, and that this enterprising company has sold (or leased?) its machines into the hotel market as a way to help them comply. Good idea, really. Anyone seen them anywhere but Germany?
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Butter
Jan 15, 2017 13:35:15 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Jan 15, 2017 13:35:15 GMT
Nope, never seen its like before, tho in fairness I haven't been in a european hotel for a year or so.
Always enjoy hotel breakfasts, either here in blighty where the full monty is the order of the day, or in europe where I enjoy the continental version on offer (Italy strikes a chord where Cake and Prosecco is also on offer)
They say the US is king of breakfasts PAH I say, the bacon is invariably crap. (one noteable exception, the east beach cafe at Santa Barbara where Back Bacon was on offer - A place I understand that is soon to be closed!)
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Butter
Jan 15, 2017 17:20:12 GMT
Post by Humph on Jan 15, 2017 17:20:12 GMT
No, never seen that arrangement. In fact I would be moved to complain. That sort of thing can get out of hand. It all started with liquid soap dispensers in hotel room bathrooms instead of the provision of a stylishly packed bar of of proper soap. Then they started suggesting you "recycle" towels instead of giving you fresh ones each day in order to save penguins or something. It's all going to hell. 😡
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Deleted
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Butter
Jan 15, 2017 21:01:52 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 21:01:52 GMT
Yup, both hotels I've used recently in Frankfurt and Stuttgart had them. In Frankfurt they had a member of hotel staff showing guests what it was and how to use it so I guess it had probably just been installed.
Today, Mrs K was reading reviews of the hotel I'm staying in next week. Apparently they have a little boiler thingy for guests to boil their own eggs. WTF? Do I have to write my name on the damn egg so I know which is mine and not Pierre's?
Also it's €18 for a self service buffet breakfast. No thanks, I'll find a local cafe.
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Butter
Feb 3, 2017 10:32:42 GMT
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Post by Hofmeister on Feb 3, 2017 10:32:42 GMT
I'm happy to report my hotel does not have a butter pat machine
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WDB
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Butter
Feb 3, 2017 10:52:09 GMT
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Post by WDB on Feb 3, 2017 10:52:09 GMT
Nor did mine this week, at least not on public view. The plateful of little pats looked like they could have been produced by one.
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Avant
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Butter
Feb 3, 2017 12:19:44 GMT
Post by Avant on Feb 3, 2017 12:19:44 GMT
I wonder what tortured genius decided that 'pat' was a good word for something that originates from a cow.
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WDB
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Butter
Feb 3, 2017 13:35:28 GMT
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Post by WDB on Feb 3, 2017 13:35:28 GMT
Flatness and roundness seem to be the defining characteristics of any kind of pat. Whoever the genius was has probably been dead for 500 years.
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Butter
Feb 3, 2017 13:44:28 GMT
Post by Alanović on Feb 3, 2017 13:44:28 GMT
I thought we were pat free here.
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Deleted
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Butter
Feb 8, 2017 19:27:59 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2017 19:27:59 GMT
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WDB
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Butter
Feb 8, 2017 21:29:57 GMT
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Post by WDB on Feb 8, 2017 21:29:57 GMT
Horrible thought. As it happens, I'm back in the butter machine hotel this week.
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Butter
Feb 8, 2017 21:56:27 GMT
Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2017 21:56:27 GMT
I'd offer to catch up for a beer but I'm pretty sure bacterial pneumonia is not on your list of take homes. At the minute the stairs are challenge enough.
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WDB
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Butter
Feb 9, 2017 6:40:16 GMT
Post by WDB on Feb 9, 2017 6:40:16 GMT
Crikey, no. Sounds grim; hope you're over it soon.
The thought occurred to me: could pneumonia be that rare thing whose German term is shorter than its English one? Nein: 'pneumonia' has nine letters, 'Lungenentzündung' - erm - rather more.
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Butter
Feb 9, 2017 8:27:08 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Feb 9, 2017 8:27:08 GMT
Horrible thought. As it happens, I'm back in the butter machine hotel this week. Judging by the picture, you are dossing down in the station bar again.
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Butter
Feb 9, 2017 9:43:34 GMT
Post by Alanović on Feb 9, 2017 9:43:34 GMT
Crikey, no. Sounds grim; hope you're over it soon. The thought occurred to me: could pneumonia be that rare thing whose German term is shorter than its English one? Nein: 'pneumonia' has nine letters, 'Lungenentzündung' - erm - rather more. Odd one. As we all know, English often has two or more words for the same thing. Benefits of being a mongrel language, influenced by migration and conquest over the centuries. A general rule of thumb I was taught when looking at philology and linguistics at University was that if there are two words for the same thing, the shorter one usually has a Germanic origin (Norse/Viking influence), as opposed to the longer one being more likely French/Latin in origin.
Modern German having bewilderingly (to us) long words is an effect of them having 'compound' nouns, made up of a series of shorter words (my favourite being Strassenbahnhaltestelle - street rail stopping place, or tram stop to us). Obviously, there will be exceptions to prove the rule. Whilst we as native English speakers think our language straight forward and free of much of the arcane grammar which blights others, this is actually the aspect of English which makes our language less penetrable for the foreigner, and in fact makes German in some ways easier to understand and learn. Pneumonia is a good example - as a non-native English speaker you'd actually have to understand Greek to get this word, however in German it's called simply 'lung inflammation' - 'Lungenentzündung',as you say. If you have a basic grasp of German, you'll understand this without need to have any ancient Greek of consult a medical dictionary. Therefore, German is simpler to understand. There was a piece on Radio 4 about this the other day, most interesting.
Apologies if I'm teaching anyone to suck eggs here, but linguistics and philology are of nerdish interest to me much in the same way cars are.
As you were. Back to butter/Butter/beurre/maslo/burro etc.....
I shall report on the butter dispensation methods/equipment in both Italy (spending a couple of nights in Venice in order to bore the tits of the children lest they have too much fun skiing) and Slovenia in the forthcoming days.
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