Weisswurstfruehstueck mit Brezeln und Weizenbier

Is there a surer sign that spring has arrived than dining alfresco? I think not. Today dawned warm and bright and the fact that now it has turned overcast this afternoon is a moot point, because this morning (and right on through noontime) was gorgeous. 

Earlier in the week we received this invitation:

Weisswurstfruehstueck mit Brezeln und Weizenbier
DEfA will open its outdoor season with a Traditional Bavarian White Sausage Breakfast
When: Saturday, April 18th.  Starting 11:00 am
Where: Outside Defa Shop in Haian Rd.1, Jingyuanfu (Eldo View) Shopping Center
Bavarian White Sausages are eaten with sweet mustard and fresh Brezeln.
A cold wheat beer is not a must, but highly recommended.
We will also provide Bratwurst, other sausages, sandwiches and soft drinks.

Late this morning the Johnson crew piled in the family van and trekked over to DEfA, our new favorite shop in QD. Its a butcher shop with hams and worsts and sausages galore. They opened about a month ago, and I am convinced they will be responsible for creating an increasingly obese expatriate community in our fair coastal city. 

In the years we've lived in QD the thing we've longed for the most is a good sandwich shoppe. In reality just the ability to make a good sandwich would suffice. We have trouble locating decent bread, and once a nice bread shop opened we struggled to find something to put on it. Enter DEfA... their cooked ham, sliced thin and piled amply on a ciabatta or a kaiser roll from the Austrian bakery is like finally scratching an itch we've been trying for too long to reach.

We arrived at DEfA and climbed out our silver bullet of a van, joined the throng of other expats, many of whom were Da guo ren (Chinese for Germans). We sat outside in the sunshine happily growing fatter was we dined on cheese krainer, weisswurstfruehstueck, big soft pretzels (brezln) and a hot potato dish that is sure to be artery clogging. In the bright sun, under unusually vibrant blue skies the expats came together alongside Chinese neighbors who also share a similar affection for good pork products. 

We smiled and nodded as if we understood when we addressed in German. Our fair haired children could pass for being a variety of nationalities other than American, and today it was like we'd successfully pledged into a prestigious fraternity, and to be considered an insider was nothing less than a compliment. 

It was barely noon, but big, cold bottles of Weizen were being cracked open and enjoyed out of tall pilsners easily over a foot long. I liken the Weizenbier to a loaf of bread in a glass. On normal occasions (that would typically be after 5 p.m. and not barely noon) a sip from Mr. Johnson's new favorite bier would be more than sufficient for a non-beer drinker like myself!

There was one die-hard expat from the South of Germany who could not contain his excitement for the Weisswurstfruehsteck mit Brezeln and Weizenbier event. He showed up in lederhosen complete with suspenders and wool socks!