When I last left you, I indicated that Fred is, like, biologically programmed to try to hit every E ticket ride with maximum efficiency even though it's probably not possible...?
I would prefer to enjoy theme parks at a leisurely pace. You aren't going to get to ride every ride - obviously - so slow down! Geez, we live in NYC where every day is so amped. Must we muscle our way through vacation as well?
I got my wish this time as we found ourselves standing in front of Food Loop right at the time that Fred was hungry for lunch...
...and novelty.
So here's how it works:
1) they hand you a "credit card" when you walk in.
2) you stick the card in the side of a computer and place your order.
(The computer does not have any English instructions. Go, us!)
3) you wait as your order is sent to the basement kitchen...and marvel at all the tracks and food whizzing by.
4) here comes our food!
Fred ordered spaghetti:
I ordered schnitzel and frites:
(Ignore my scraggly hair - riding roller coasters, yanno.)
(Also, my meal came with a lollipop. Did I accidentally order off the "kinder" menu? I think I did.)
Schnnnnnnitzel and Frites!!!
Oh so good. I don't care if it is for the kinderen.
The schnitzel was tender, not overly chewy, and the frites were crispy and salty - just like I like them. Fred's spaghetti was good, too. The tomato sauce was tangy. Not bad for theme park fare!
5) when you are done eating, you take the card out of the computer and bring it up to the front register. The register-worker swipes the card and tells you how much you owe.
6) if you want to leave a tip, you can drop a euro or two in the bowl next to the register.
I assume (hope) the workers pool this tip money. I don't know about other areas of Germany, but the region that we are living in is kinda funny about tipping. It's okay to tip at the end of a meal over here, but only if you hand the money directly to the server. It's rude to leave it on the table. The Food Loop restaurant doesn't have "waiters" per se, but the patrons don't bus their own tables after eating, either. There were workers constantly clearing tables and a couple of them checked on us during our meal and asked if we were okay...so yeah, don't know where my 2 euros went at the end of the day, but I hope our table clearers saw a portion of it.
Care to share a novel place you've eaten a meal?