Having a rare last name makes it exciting when you come across someone else with the same name. Although our family name is more common in some parts of Germany, it only has two entries in the Balingen phone book. One is for a woman named Marianne; Elena was asked by someone at work if she is related to her. This is a change of pace for Elena, who is used to having a Romanian last name which was consistently mutilated by people trying to pronounce it as they squinted at her name tag (usually only last names are printed). No one struggles with her last name now that she has a thoroughly German one -- given to her by her Canadian husband, ironically.
The other entry is for a butcher shop ("Metzgerei" in German) which I decided I needed to find immediately. After all, anyone who shares my last name and makes their living with meat must be a close relative. And after a short search, there it was, complete with a logo of a boy gleefully pulling on a link of sausages. Apparantly, they had found a photo from my childhood:
Of course, there was nothing else to do but go in and buy something delicious. I did purchase a few items, but due to the small line of people behind me, I regretfully chickened out when it came time to tell the lady behind the counter that I was related to the owner and should be entitled to a family discount. I think at the moment I was just so overwhelmed by the dreamy scent of smoked pork.
Jeremy this post made me laugh! I hope that some day you can claim your family discount because really, there's nothing like the smells of an authentic butcher, but it sure would be a bonus if you could taste it all at a discount. :)
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