What to Eat on the Fairy-Tale Road

A specialty of northern Hesse is sausages with Beulches, made from potato balls, leeks, and black pudding. Weck, which is local dialect for "heavily spiced pork," appears either as Musterweck, served on a roll, or as Weckewerk, a frying-pan concoction with white bread. Heading north into Lower Saxony, you'll encounter the ever-popular Speckkuchen, a heavy and filling onion tart. Another favorite main course is Pfefferpothast, a sort of heavily browned goulash with lots of pepper. Trout and eels are common in the rivers and streams around Hameln, and by the time you reach Bremen, North German cuisine has taken over the menu. Aalsuppe grün, eel soup seasoned with dozens of herbs, is a must in summer, and the hearty Grünkohl mit Pinkel, a cabbage dish with sausage, bacon, and cured pork, appears in winter. Be sure to try the coffee. Fifty percent of the coffee served in Germany comes from beans roasted in Bremen. The city has been producing the stuff since 1673, and knows just how to serve it in pleasantly cozy or, as locals say, gemütlich surroundings.