April 17, 2014

eis evel

Spring has officially sprung in Germany! This year has been the polar opposite of spring 2013, which was a typical "Pacific Northwest" type of season (meaning rain, and lots of it!) This year has brought loads of beautiful sunshine and warm days, and most people have told me that spring came at least a few weeks early. However, the best part isn't the gorgeous weather… it's the ice cream! Daniel lived in Viernheim nearly a full year before we were married, and he soon found a small shop on the main street near our house that always had a line in front of it. This shop is called Eis Evel, and it sells the greatest. ice cream. ever.

It's hard to put into perspective just how amazing this stuff is. Imagine the best ice cream you've ever had and then multiply it by a trillion and a half. It's insanely creamy, flavorful and never a bit watered down. Eis Evel has been owned by the same family since 1928, and the quality brought on by time definitely shows! If you don't trust my opinion on good ice cream purely on faith alone, there is also plenty of physical evidence to prove that this place is, indeed, the best ever. Remember that line I mentioned? It's never totally gone, it only gets shorter during certain parts of the day. Also, Eis Evel has been known to back up traffic on the main street due to people parking illegally for "just a few minutes" (haha) to get their sugar fix. The owner makes it all by hand daily, and we know he makes it daily because there is never any left come closing time.

Daniel and I are such regular customers that the ladies (known as the Evel Engels, or Angels) know us and can even tell you what our favorite flavors are. It helps that we live only a five minute walk away, but something tells me we would probably be just as regular if we lived on the other side of town. Spring in Viernheim means that this famous shop opens its doors again until November, and everyone tries to take maximum advantage of the delicious frozen goodness while they can!

It's not unusual to wait in line here for the same amount of time as your favorite roller coaster (on that day we waited over 30 minutes, and it wasn't even the best weather!)



Generations of ice cream sellers


The "GrĂ¼nder" (founder) of Eis Evel… selling his ice cream out of a horse-drawn wagon


A view through the selling window, and the list of available flavors


Success!