German 'scharf' is not the same as English 'hot'

On my last trip to Bad Orb, which was this October, I had the first decent meal I've ever had there. I've not tried many places there. I have to avoid anything with gluten and German cooking is heavy on schnitzel and dumplings, the Italian restaurants offer pasta and pizza, and bakeries...well... the problem is obvious. If I play safe and order a salad, it's like travelling back to the UK in the 1970s, when salads mainly consisted of iceberg lettuce leaves, shredded and drowned in pink salad cream. There's also the problem that if they do open for lunch time, they open later than when I want to eat lunch and when I've long been back in my room after 3 or 4 hours of non-stop walking.

Anyway, this time, the walk had taken 4 hours and I was cold and a bit damp (very misty) and tired. I happily found myself in front of the Curry House in Bad Orb at two minutes to one - and they had just opened their doors. I walked in and sat down.

There was a couple on the next table. I can't remember what he ordered but she ordered what I wanted, too: chicken tikka masala. Only she ordered 'mild' (it's the same word in both German and English) and I ordered 'scharf' (which is related to the English word 'sharp'). 'Scharf' is what the Germans say when they mean 'spicy' or what we just call 'hot' in the UK.

Well, the dish was delicious, but when she asked if everything was okay, I said, "I think you may have mixed up our dishes. I ordered 'scharf' and this is 'mild'." The young Indian girl looked at me very surprised and assured me that I had got the 'spicy' chicken tikka masala.

A couple of days later, I went back for a vegetarian dish. This time, the mother greeted me and I told her, "Look. I'm from the UK. We're used to eating curry there. Even children eat curry. Your 'scharf' is very mild."

And the Indian woman looked across at some Germans sitting in the restaurant and said with a sigh: "They're just not used to it."

This time round, the food was even better. Curry is not curry if you can't feel it warming your mouth for a couple of hours afterwards. And curry is extremely beneficial for one's health. It's all down to turmeric and other spices. Sadly, though, of all the fast foods available, it's also the most calorific, but when you've been stomping through the hilly countryside around Bad Orb for three or four  hours - where you always have to walk up hill first to get to the interesting paths - and it's a bit cool, then a good hot curry is just what you need.

The next time I visit Bad Orb and go to the Curry House, I'll have to tell them "charf, scharf". Maybe then they'll get the message loud and clear.

Here's the menu:

http://curryhouse-badorb.de/menu/