Wednesday Snapshots: The German Currywurst Museum of Berlin

As promised... The Deutsches Currywurst Museum in Berlin. A temple for pilgrims who worship at the alter of the wurst.

Your relatively steeply priced (13 Euros!) entrance ticket includes access to all exhibits as well as a tasty little currywurst sample at the little bude (vendor) that you have to walk through to exit the museum (clever!).

The decor includes giant drops of faux ketchup coming down from the ceiling and life-sized fries. To help illustrate the different variations of currywurst, replicas have been constructed, safely protected behind this glass should you temporarily forget that they are plastic and attempt to sneak a piece.

A colorful diagram of the various spices that go into the curry ketchup...

A brief history lesson that includes Herta Heuwer, who Berliners believe invented the currywurst just after the war - part necessity, part ingenuity, and part flirtation with an admiring British soldier. There was a brief mention of the fact that Hamburgers have their own Ms. Heuwer who they believe invented the currywurst... but they didn't dwell on her. Hmmm, a little bias on the part of the museum's home town, or am I just more of a proud Hamburger than I like to believe I am?

And a map of Berlin, currywurst bude by bude, indicated by little pieces of wurst made of cork and silver forks displaying the bude's name. Nicey.

 

My mom and stepdad, the kids and I will be heading to Berlin next week - my mom hasn't been there since she was threatened by mean German guards at Checkpoint Charlie in the 60s and my stepdad has never been - and the Currywurst Museum is high up on our list of things to see in Berlin.

The Iconic German Currywurst

German currywurst. To some a snack; to others an institution. To the untrained palate it is nothing more than a hot dog with spicy ketchup. But to connoisseurs, it's a delicacy - depending on where you find it.

Last October, I was in Berlin for a short stint and wanted to make sure that I got in one plate of Berlin currywurst. Lowri and I jumped in a cab and I asked the driver if he knew "this one currywurst place in Prenzlauerberg, under the S-bahn tracks, near Schönhauserallee".. that's all I had to go on; no name, no address. To our surprise, our Algerian cab driver, who became quite chatty when he found I out spoke a bit of French, refused to take us there. 


"Oh yeah, I know the one you are talking about," he said. "But you don't want to go there."


Me: Um, actually, yes we do. Right there. To THAT one. We want to eat currywurst THERE.


Cab driver.: No, no. Not THAT one. It's dirty. You don't want to go there. I'LL take you to THE BEST currywurst stand in the city.


Me: Well, OK. I guess. I mean. I've already had the currywurst at THAT place and I thought it was great and others swear by it as well but if you know a better place....


Cab driver: Oh, I do.



Me: So, it's your favorite currywurst then?


His face shot up in the rear view mirror, eyebrows askew, feigned shock. 

Cab driver: MINE?!?!? I don't eat that sh*t, I'm Muslim. But you know, it's what they say. 

Me: Right, OK.


About 25 minutes and 20 Euros later, we arrived at Biers 195 on the Kudamm - one of Berlin's most beloved shopping addresses. My fears that the driver only took us there for a larger cab fee quickly dissipated as I took my first bite. The wurst was juicy, the curry sauce had just the right amount of kick and the fries were also good. Plus points.


So, this episode - in addition to a run in with the "Curry Queen" in Hamburg, where the curry mixes are prepared by a Michelin-starred chef and the sausages include, in addition to traditional pork, venison and Kobe beef - more on that another time - and the incessant debate between Berliners and Hamburgers about who owns the dish, led me to the Currywurst Museum of Germany, in Berlin, one lovely summer day last month. 

And I will tell you all about it.. in my next post.