Eurolife Day 41

I tell you, it is your lucky day. Today you get to learn all about the Mensa. Words cannot express the affection that I feel for the Mensa. I can only hope that, in the following pictures, you will see past the gray cafeteria trays to the beauty that is Mensa.

What is the Mensa, you ask? The University's cafeteria. There are actually several Mensas, including a mini one in the Library. We prefer the one that we affectionately call "Nerdy Mensa." I will get to that story in time, but first a picture. Here you see a typical Mensa offering: Meat, potatoes, sauerkraut. On the side you will find the optional, but so good as to be deemed necessary, chocolate and vanilla pudding.

Reason #1 why the Mensa is so fantastic: This meal costs us about 2 Euros. (1.50, plus .50 for the pudding. Often the meals come with either a salad or a desert.) Once Michael gets promoted to the full position, he will stop getting the student price and have to pay about 3.00/meal. Somehow I think we will survive.

Here, again, is a typical Mensa meal. Why? Because, let's be honest, this looks pretty gross. But here's the thing: it really is absolutely delicious. We have been eating lunch at the Mensa about 5 days a week for the past 3 or 4 weeks. Only once have a been unhappy with my lunch. They don't overcook the food, they seem to use fresh pasta, and the flavors are interesting
and, to repeat myself, delicious. That makes Reason #2.

Now for Reason #3. Not only do the lovely Mensa Mitarbeiters cook delicious hot meals for us every afternoon, they also do all of the dishes. The value of this service cannot be overstated.

Reason #4: When it's cold outside, it's cozy and warm in the Mensa. When the weather is nice, we eat at tables outside and look out at the hills. It's what they call a win-win situation. (Or, as they say at Dunder-Mifflin, a win-win-win situation.)

Reason #5: Variety. Every day, the Mensa offers 4 meals from which to choose. One is vegetarian, and those tend to be very good, and the other three are some instantiation of the meat & potatoes or meat & noodles trend. They also come with various salads or desserts which we would otherwise never get a chance to try. To your left you will see my favorite of the Mensa salads. It's cucumbers, yellow peppers, cabbage, corn, and various other vegetables in a vinegar dressing. Lovely.

And now for my favorite Mensa picture. In addition to the daily meal offerings, soup and bread is always an option. Usually, though not always, the soup comes with a wiener. You eat the soup with your spoon, and just pick the wiener up and take bites from it as you make your way through lunch. The first time I saw this I was rather amused.
(This is not just a Mensa phenomenon; soup with a wiener seems to be a staple here in Jena.)

And finally, Reason #6 in favor of the Mensa's delightfulness...it's on a street called Philosophenweg. That's right, "Philosopher's way." (And that's not even why we call it the Nerdy Mensa!) As it turns out, our apartment is one block away from Philosophenweg. How we have not yet gotten around to telling people at home about this is beyond me.

So why do we call it the Nerdy Mensa? Well, a few weeks ago a German friend asked me if I'd like to join her at the Mensa for lunch. Much to my surprise, we walked all the way to the center of the city and into a crowded, happening spot that only loosely resembled the Mensa I know and love. We had to sit in the middle of a long table between people that we did not know. My friend asked if I had been to the Mensa before. Yes, I said, but not this one...I had been to the one on Philosophenweg. "Oh," she scowled, "that's not so good...that's where the people who do Physics and stuff like that eat." I had been introduced to the Cool Kids Mensa.

So there you have it. Perhaps one day, if you visit, you too can enjoy the Mensa. I do think that, upon returning to the States in 3 years, I will have grown spoiled. There's something to be said for a hot meal in the afternoon without having to cook or clean. I'm a big fan.