Chapter 202 - The Beer Garden

The lively music from the band danced across the open space as beer steins clinked and families chatted. It was the perfect weather to be sitting outdoors in a beer garden like this. 

Halia had never been to a place like this. In fact, she was brought up on baijiu, but had never been much of a beer drinker. After all, China didn't really produce great beers.

Jackson held onto Halia's hand and dragged her over to the food and beer stores. "Is there anything you want to eat in particular?" Jackson asked.

Halia looked around with confusion. Since their trip happened spontaneously, she did not do any prior research. What were some must-try foods in Germany?

Jackson saw the curiosity and confusion in Halia's eyes, "Do you want me to pick a few for us to share?"

Halia quickly nodded her head.

Jackson laughed and wrapped an arm around his fiancee's shoulder. He then led her to a store with big chunks of freshly roasted pork knuckle. The skin looked brown and crispy and it smelled heavenly. Fortunately, neither Jackson nor Halia were vegetarians. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult for them to find food. 

"I assume you aren't allergic to anything?" Jackson asked before he ordered anything.

Halia shook her head.

"No nut allergies?" Jackson laughed as he thought about the first meal they unintentionally shared together. Back then, he remembered how stupid he thought she was for ordering a dish with pine nuts when she knew she was allergic. Then, he remembered how shocked he was when they met again and he saw her eating macadamia with no problems.

"No," Halia replied, realizing what the man was referring to. "I had a colleague's memories at that time and she was severely allergic to nuts, so it triggered a panic attack when I saw it, but I'm not actually allergic to anything," she explained with a laugh.

Jackson smiled and quickly ordered a pork knuckle with his fluent German and got some potatoes on the side.

As the waitress handed the huge dish over the counter, Halia's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Is that meant to be for one person?" Halia asked in shock. The pork knuckle looked like it was the size of her head, how was a person supposed to eat that on their own?

Jackson nodded, "Don't worry, most of it is bone, and once you start eating, you won't be able to stop! Last time I visited Berlin with Max, he ate two in one sitting!"

Halia gasped as she stuck out her thumb in an impressed manner. "Max is a true foodie," she said before she licked her lips with excitement. She had a small frame, but she definitely enjoyed her food. "If Max was here, he would be having the time of his life."

Jackson then led Halia to another store where they were selling a variety of sausages and ordered a bratwurst with a side of sauerkraut.

"What's that?" Halia asked as she pointed to the finely shredded cabbage sitting on the side.

"It's called sauerkraut, it's German-style pickled cabbage. It tastes great with oily and fatty food. I find it helps cut the grease. It also contains good bacteria and aids in digestion," Jackson explained.

Halia clapped her hands like a child. "I love pickled food," she cheered.

However, Jackson looked at the woman with amus.e.m.e.nt. Sauerkraut was very different from the pickled food that they normally had in China; it was a flavor that some people did not like. He couldn't wait to see Halia's reaction when she tried it. Would she really like it?

As they took their two plates of food to one of the tables, Halia found herself salivating as she lifted a fork. But, Jackson told her to watch the food as he quickly ran off somewhere.

Halia placed the fork back down on the table with regret.

It was already 1:30pm and her stomach was grumbling. To stare at such delicious food and not eat it was a crime. But, she had to resist.

To temporarily satiate her hunger, she leaned over and fanned the scent from the two dishes into her nose. It smelled delicious!

"Smells good, doesn't it?" a chubby man sitting next to her asked with a German accent.

Halia glanced at the man shyly and nodded her head with a giggle.

The tables in the beer garden were long communal ones with benches for seats and it was normal to end up sitting next to a stranger. It was a part of the atmosphere.

The German man chuckled as his rosy cheekbones jutted out. "This is true hearty German food. You are going to love it," he said.

At that moment, Jackson returned holding two big glasses of beer, one in each hand. The glasses were huge!

"You haven't been to Germany until you've had one of these," he said.

The beers in the garden only came in one size: 1 liter (33.8 US fl oz).

"Is everything in Germany so big?" Halia asked the man beside her.

The German man laughed. "As big as our hearts," he said in a friendly manner as he raised a custom stoneware mug in his hand towards Jackson.

Jackson quickly clinked his glass with the man and they both took a drink of their beer. 

Halia looked at the stoneware mug in the man's hand with amazement. It had an interesting colorful raised design around it and it had a lid. But, most impressive of all, it was even bigger than the glasses that Jackson had brought back.

"I like your stein," Jackson said as he pointed to the man's mug.

"Stein?" Halia asked.

"Yes, this is a traditional beer stein. I got my one custom made. What you have are the modern glass ones, which are also called steins, but the serious drinkers have one of these," the German man explained.

He then placed his beer stein in front of Halia so she could see it properly, "Doesn't this handsome man look like someone?" he asked as he pointed to a chubby man that was on the design of his mug.

Halia looked at it carefully and giggled, "Is that you?"

The man nodded proudly, just as a few of his friends arrived and sat down, each holding their own custom beer stein.

The man then pointed to Halia's beer and food. "Hurry and enjoy your meal before the food gets cold and the beer gets warm. It was nice meeting you," he said.

Halia looked at Jackson and smiled. She was so happy that he had brought her here. The people were friendly, the atmosphere was great, the food smelled good, and most importantly, she was sharing this experience with the person she loved.

Jackson leaned over, cut a slice off the pork knuckle and placed it up to Halia's mouth. "Try some," he said.

Halia opened her mouth and took a bite as Jackson looked at her reaction with anticipation.

As her teeth cut into the tender meat and the juices spread across her mouth, Halia smiled with satisfaction.

"Wow," she exclaimed.