My family has always been a road trip family.  I have so many fond and not-so-fond memories of road trips to New Mexico.  Eighteen hours with four people and two dogs in a suburban has the capacity to make a lasting impression on a person.  While I have been studying in London, my sister has been studying in Germany, and for Spring Break, my family has  reconvened in Germany for a road trip – it was only appropriate.  Our first night in Germany, my Dad, Mom, and I rented a car and drove to the small town where my sister is studying.  We encountered a few minor problems – driving down a dark, steep ravine covered in mud due to some bad GPS directions, but ultimately, we ended up at a fabulous restaurant, which is the important part – at least in terms of food blogging.

Maximilians was a character- filled, spacious restaurant with quaint country charm located on the Rhine River near the town of Koblenz.

How amazing are these beer glass chandeliers?

My sister had dined at Maximilians before and decided it would be a good place to take the family for our first German meal.  I wasn’t expecting many options, but Maximilians had an entire vegetarian menu.   Most of the options had cheese or cream, so I opted for an appetizer of brushetta.  The brushetta was exceptional, but the real sustenance of my meal came from vegetables of the  Risesen-Brawuwiesenpfane.  For the record, I have no idea how that is actually pronounced.

The platter of food was a huge (HUGE) platter of food; those are not miniature pieces of silverware.  And although there was a wide variety of meat, there was also a wide variety of vegetables – potatoes, corn, green beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  This platter was more than enough for five meat eaters and one vegetarian, and it was quite delicious.  I am usually a member of the clean-plate club, but there was just no way all of this food could be finished.  It was a wonderful welcome to Germany and provided some reassurance that being a vegetarian in Germany is possible as long as you have some peanut butter, crackers, and chocolate on hand in case of an emergency.

Since Monday night, my family and I have traveled through Koblenz, Bacharach, and Freiburg.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some more adventures in German travel and vegetarian cuisine!  Until tomorrow!