august-2010

PHOTO © CORBIS, WWW.MILBENKAESEMUSEUM.DE
Would you eat this?
MILBENKÄSE
WÜRCHWITZ, GERMANY
Milbenkäse means “mite
cheese”, and is sometimes
also called “Spinnenkäse”
(“spider cheese”). The creepycrawly
name refers to the
tiny helpers that take part in
the fermentation process.
Small balls of quark, salt and
caraway are rolled up and
placed in a box for three
months with rye fl our and
an army of Tyroglyphus
casei (cheese mites),
who diligently digest the
aforementioned balls. This
shouldn’t seem too strange,
since we happily enlist the
help of bees to make honey.
But with Milbenkäse, the
mites remain in the cheese
even when consumed! This
gives the cheese a ripe and
bitter taste that may put
some off . Nevertheless, it is a
popular delicacy produced
exclusively in the small
town of Würchwitz, about 45
minutes west of Altenburg
airport. There’s even a cheese
mite memorial in the town,
honouring those who gave
their lives so you could enjoy
a nice aft er-dinner snack.
FLY TO ALTENBURG FROM ALICANTE,
BARCELONA (GIRONA) AND LONDON
(STANSTED). VISIT WWW.RYANAIR.COM
How to be cool…
WHEN YOU BUMP INTO SOMEONE
WHO DOESN’T REMEMBER YOU
It seems everyone is cursed with at least
one individual who never remembers
who you are – it may be a work colleague,
it may be the spouse of a friend. Less
common, but it still happens, is bumping
into people from school or university who
clearly have no idea who you are. How do
you deal with this in a cool manner, when
what they are clearly saying is: “You are
an un-memorable blank of a person, who
I erased from my brain as soon as you left
my fi eld of vision.”?
It could be that they do it on purpose
as part of a status game, it could be
that they have genuine problems with
recollection. Either way, they deserve
your pity. Don’t let their absentmindedness,
or purposeful rudeness,
put you on the back foot. Just shake
hands, fi x them in the eye, and proffer
one of the following explanations:
“I looked very diff erent last time
you saw me. I’d just come back
from a North African desert trek.”
“Honestly, it’s not a problem. I
forgot Kevin Spacey’s name the
other week; he gave me such a look!”
WORDS: WILL SMITH
WILL’S BOOK HOW TO BE COOL (JOHN MURRAY)
IS AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS. FOR
MORE DETAILS, VISIT WWW.HOWTOBECOOL.CO.UK
TAKE OFF
Watch your
language
LEARN TO SPEAK IN
MANY TONGUES
“¡Hola! Ou est la
gare? Grazie mille!”
Phrasebooks
are useful, but
rarely tell you
what you really
need to know on
holiday. Ryanair
Magazine is here
to change all that
with our truly
important phrases
in the languages
of Europe. This
month:
“It’s raining
cats & dogs”
Czech: Padají
trakaře. It’s raining
wheelbarrows.
Danish:
Det regner
skomagerdrenge.
It’s raining
shoemakers’
apprentices.
Dutch:
Het regent
pijpenstelen. It’s
raining pipe stems.
French:
Il pleut comme
vache qui pisse.
It’s raining like
a pissing cow.
German:
Es regnet
Schusterbuben.
It’s raining
young cobblers.
Spanish: Estan
lloviendo hasta
maridos. It’s even
raining husbands.
BY ADAM JACOT DE
BOINOD, AUTHOR OF
THE MEANING OF TINGO
(PENGUIN BOOKS).
RYANAIRMAGAZINE
13