Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018): Season 7, Episode 7 - Cologne, Germany - full transcript

The Ground Rules of Kolsch:

It is what it is.

It'll come as it comes.

It's always gone well.

What's gone is gone.

Nothing stays as it was.

Don't know it, don't need it, ch

What're you going to do?

Do it right, but not too often.

What's with that?

You drinkin' one with us?



♪ Beautiful world ♪

♪ Felt the cool rain ♪

♪ On my shoulder ♪

♪ Found something good ♪

♪ In this beautiful world ♪

♪ I felt the rain ♪

♪ Getting colder ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la ♪

[Bourdain]

They say--and by "they,"

I mean, people from around here



that Cologne is an ugly city.

This is quickly followed

by the proud statement

that the people are nice.

That they are welcoming,

tolerant, kind,

open to new things.

I never saw Cologne

as ugly at all.

I always saw it

as, well, charming,

in the least patronizing sense

of the word.

I mean, the city charms you.

It takes you in.

It makes you feel...

welcome.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain]

Maybe it was the non-douchey

beer culture here

that appealed.

I don't mean beer culture

in a judgmental,

neck beard hovering over you,

waiting for you to decide

between craft beers way,

either.

I mean--I mean,

that here decent beer

is a way of life.

It's a birthright.

You don't talk

about it too much.

You freaking drink it.

Beer here means,

more often than not,

kolsch.

Heinz Gruna has lived

in Cologne his whole life.

-[speaking in German]

-[speaking in German]

[Bourdain] He does marketing

for several German breweries,

so kolsch is an integral part

of both his social

and business lives.

Kolsch is not a brand.

What is this, anyway?

-Let's call it a style.

-All right.

-It's a pale ale.

-Uh-hmm.

And people love to drink it

in high amounts.

[Bourdain] Malzmuhle brewery

has been slinging beer nonstop

for the last

hundred fifty years.

Democratic. Utilitarian.

Welcoming to all people

with a powerful thirst.

I love the whole style.

Like, the little glasses.

Is this unique to Cologne?

Other regions of Germany,

you won't find such...

-small glasses.

-Right.

They start with

0.3 to 0.5.

-To the giant--yeah.

-Yeah.

You know, if you have

a giant thing of beer,

it's, like, piss warm

by the time

you get down to the bottom.

But here, it's necessary

because it is not

very carbonated

and the foam disappears

in minutes.

There are guys

who drink it in one sip.

I'm not sure the exact

blood absorption rate

of alcohol

but I would think that

if you're hammering

these things back,

it's hitting your bloodstream

at the perfect rate.

Maybe we have to name them

alcoholics,

but they are

accustomed to it.

[Bourdain] There are certain

iconic accompaniments

to beer drinking

when in Cologne

like metthapen,

which is minced raw pork

with onions on a roll.

Or halver hahn,

which is simply

gouda cheese on rye.

[man speaking in German]

This is really good.

[Heinz] Then now you see

how it goes, no?

You'll get a kolsch

without ordering.

I don't like

this custom, though.

This--I don't wanna know

how many beers I've had.

-It's just--

-Okay, but he has to know.

[Bourdain] Yeah. It's fine.

Can't he do his own

little system?

Somewhere around here,

I'm thinking, "Jeez,

I've got a--

I've got a problem."

[both laughing]

[Bourdain] It's when

the himmel und erde,

or heaven and earth,

hits the table

that I start getting deep

into my happy zone.

That's blood sausage,

fried onions,

and mashed potatoes

with applesauce.

Which if you don't like,

by the way,

pretty much removes you

from my "will save

from drowning" list.

And then, there's this.

The dish that almost alone

brought me back to Cologne.

It was sweet, sweet memories

of this stegosaurus-sized

shank of cured pork,

boiled and boiled

until it literally

falls away from the bones,

steaming and moist,

a symphony of meat and gelatin

and good, good stuff.

God is hiding

in there somewhere.

[Heinz] Cologne

is a workers' town, you know?

So, the kitchen is definitely

a workers' kitchen.

And yet, it has

a pretty liberal,

progressive world view,

where did that come from?

It has something to do

with the river.

Occupation here was trading.

So, the Cologne people,

from the beginning,

were interested

in other people,

and they took profit

of other people.

We are not afraid

of influences from outside.

But therefore,

it's also important

to have some traditions

that are lasting

for a long time.

And one of those

would be kolsch.

One of is kolsch.

One of is the dish.

And people know that

they can come here

and it won't change.

This place will not change

in the next 200 years.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] Cologne is, or was,

a predominantly Catholic city.

Perhaps more Mediterranean

in temperament

than those fun-hating

Lutherans and Calvinists.

It's Germany's fun zone,

and from November to February,

Cologners celebrate Carnival.

Partying here

has a whole season.

♪ ♪

[all] ♪ Polka, polka, polka ♪

[singing in German]

♪ Polka, polka, polka ♪

[Bourdain]

Carnival here is an exuberant,

anarchistic, bat shit-wild,

40-day celebration

leading up to Lent.

It can be absolute mayhem.

My completely rational

fear of clowns,

mimes, parades, public dancing,

and crowds in general, really,

prohibits me from taking part.

These days, Brian Jones

could come back from the grave

for one night only

with the Stones,

and Janis, and Jimi, and Jim,

they could all be there,

and you know what?

I ain't going.

But the Cologners,

God bless 'em,

they love it.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain]

Bei Oma Kleinmann

handles enormous crowds

of revelers.

Fortunately, the madness

is still a few weeks away.

[crowd chatter]

And this is my

old friend, Tracey,

who had the good

or bad fortune,

depending on how

you look at it,

to travel and produce

shows around the world

with me for many years.

Anke is from Cologne,

and makes me feel better

about my Carnival-phobia.

Carnival.

You like Carnival?

I do, and I'm not

ashamed to say it.

Will jesters, and bards,

and medievally-attired

pranksters

be popping up

during my stay here?

You're missing out.

You really--

Mimes? No mimes,

troubadours, jugglers,

human statues?

All of them are wearing

bonkers costumes

and look like shit all day.

I don't like it. No.

I always get embarrassed

about those people.

I hate Carnival.

-I hate Carnival, too.

-Are there parades?

-[Both] Yes.

-I hate parades.

-Okay.

-Are there clowns?

-You hate clowns.

-I hate clowns.

-Okay.

-Jesters?

-Yeah, occasionally.

-Festive attire?

Uh...

I have beer right now.

I don't need

no stinking Carnival

to drink beer, man.

And as I understand it,

I'm urged to drink beer

as part of a community

of beer drinking

with other bros.

-I hate bros.

-No. It's not just bros.

It's a whole community

of people, speaking in dialects.

-Singing songs in dialect.

-Singing.

I forgot to mention that.

I hate that, too.

There is another side.

And if you open your heart,

you would see it.

My heart is a cold,

cold place.

And there's no room in it

for jugglers.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] What did you think

when you heard

that I wanna come to Germany

and go to Cologne?

That's awesome,

because Cologne is, like,

the other city in Germany

that I can really

identify with.

It's like I have this

love affair with Cologne.

I often say that

the places I go,

there's a pheromonic

decision

made very quickly.

You step outside

the airport terminal

and you go [inhales]

and you know right away.

"There's something

about this place

that's--that I think

I'm gonna like."

A few weeks ago,

a friend of mine

from Berlin

came to visit me,

and after three days,

he just looked at me and said,

"Anke, what is this?

Why are you all

so satisfied by it?

Why are you all so happy?

Why are you all so relaxed?"

And I thought,

"I don't know, maybe it is

because everybody's telling us

that our city is ugly

and Berlin is the big thing,

and maybe we have to show

with our hearts

that we are good people

and that we are having fun,"

and I think the kolsch

is helping us.

[Tracy] For some reason,

every time I arrive here,

I always feel, like,

somehow that people

are more open here

to me being American

and speaking German,

and part of it

is this Carnival thing.

-Really?

-Maybe it's my own

self-discovery of, like,

being in another place

and finally being accepted.

Maybe because I'm in costume

and they don't know right away

-that I'm not German.

-Right, it's kind of like

an "Eyes Wide Shut"

kind of a thing.

No. No.

[Bourdain] This is what

I came here for, though.

Surf board sized slabs

of veal and pork

filled with

many wonderful things,

dredged in breadcrumbs

and fried in magical,

magical deep fat.

Now, that's a carnival

I can get behind.

♪ ♪

-[Bourdain] Wow.

-[Tracy] Wow.

[Bourdain]

That is unbelievable.

[Tracy] Supposedly, you can

split your schnitzel in half,

take the other half home

and it's really good

for breakfast.

It's, like,

the German equivalent

of pizza in the morning.

Right, which is a tradition

I totally support.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] Considering

it's a beer-drinking culture,

at the end of the night,

will there be two, or three,

or five, or ten people

all hanging out, like,

way past the point that

they should have gone home,

or does everybody reach

a sensible point

of intoxication

and say,

"Well, you know what?

I'll see you tomorrow."

You're forcing beers on us.

I didn't order a beer.

Like, another one

just keeps coming.

Do you know

how to make it stop?

Face-plant

into my schnitzel?

[laughter]

[Tracy]

There's an easier way.

You do this.

That means, like, "I'm done."

Yeah, but nobody's

doing that.

-Not yet.

-I'm not doing that.

[Bourdain] So, let's talk about

the elephant in the room.

We know that Cologne

is a proudly-tolerant,

fun-loving,

beer-drinking, pork-happy,

and friendly little city.

But just a few days

before we arrived,

Cologne became the focus

of the whole argument

over Europe's refugee crisis.

Cologne, of all places,

is now the example

for both sides

of an increasingly

bitter argument

over whether Europe,

and by extension the world,

should turn their backs

on the millions of refugees

spilling out of Syria, Iraq,

and a Middle East

spinning into chaos

and slaughter.

With the bodies of children

washing up on Greek beaches

and few other countries

willing to help,

Germany has taken in

1.1 million people

fleeing ISIS,

Russian, and Syrian bombs,

and war.

One should, I believe,

be admired and even celebrated

for doing

the morally-right thing

over the probably-wise thing.

Sakher Al-Mohammed

is one of many

who found his way to Cologne.

Hani Zaitoun helps refugees

as they try to integrate

into German society.

This is, unsurprisingly,

easier said than done.

-Getting to Turkey, no problem?

-Yes.

Turkey to Greece,

problem?

Getting to Turkey

-is now a problem.

-Right.

But at that time,

it was not a problem.

Next went from

Greece to Macedonia?

-Is that correct?

-Yes.

Welcome there? No.

Serbia? No.

Were you welcome here?

Yes. Very welcome.

[Bourdain]

So, here we are, Cologne.

One of the most liberal,

if not the most liberal

cities in Germany.

A city doing the right thing,

and on New Year's Eve,

the whole attitude

towards refugees

not just European policy

that the whole moral question

was thrown into doubt.

Cologne found itself

the test case,

both example

of tolerance and hope

and worst-case scenario.

Here's what was reported,

on the night

of December 31st, 2015,

witnesses saw crowds

of up to a thousand men

described as predominantly

Arab and North African,

near Cologne's

central train station.

Some broke off

into small groups,

assaulting hundreds of women

as they left the train station.

Police were

completely unprepared.

The situation continued,

reportedly, for hours.

Three weeks after the incident,

the official numbers

were as horrifying

as first reported.

Seven hundred sixty-six

criminal complaints,

of which

three hundred eighty-one

are sexual offenses,

including three rapes.

Many across the world,

of course,

saw this as the perfect

"I told you so" moment.

A sadly understandable

reaction.

There is no minimizing

381 sexual offenses

in one night.

[man speaking German]

[Bourdain] How big an effect

is this gonna have

on the situation?

[Hani]

So, all Syrians that I knew

were totally condemning

what happened.

And we absolutely cannot

tolerate something like this,

because it's not

a part of my culture.

-It's not a part of what--

-But do you think it will change

the political climate

is what I'm asking.

Before,

it was relatively easy

for a German politician

to say,

"Look, have a heart, here.

Let's do the right

and moral thing."

And it is being used

as a club

to beat any politician

or leader

who would like to have

a more consolatory

or more welcoming

attitude

towards people

who clearly need help.

Refugees are human beings,

and some of them

are good,

and some of them is--

are bad.

There is 500 refugees

who did this,

and they're pretty bad.

It's the fault

of those who did it.

But it's not the fault

of the refugees.

It's not the fault

of the Germans.

The infrastructure exists,

-more or less...

-[man] It's exists.

...to handle this

enormous influx.

An integration

of 200,000, 300,000

would be easier

than integration

of 1 .1 million

that entered in 2015.

This is a challenge,

not only for the Germans,

but also for those who came

to integrate

in the community.

It's something

that have to be work--

worked on from both sides.

Not only the Syrians,

but also the Germans.

The Germans

are willing to,

because they're pretty

well-organized.

♪ ♪

[woman] ♪ I live ♪

♪ In a parallel universe ♪

[Bourdain] Germany and Cologne

had reason to believe

they could pull this off,

absorb all those refugees

from a culture

very different than their own.

Here in Cologne,

the Turkish presence

is larger than any other

in the country.

[Bourdain] As I understand it,

during the '60s, '70s,

the German industry

essentially recruited,

-in cooperation with

the Turkish government.

-Uh-hmm.

Huge numbers

of Turkish workers.

Was that the beginning

of the sizeable

-Turkish population?

-Yes. It was.

Like, my grandfather

and my grandmother

they came here

in the '70s.

My parents, they started

to work in a company,

like, in a "wool" company.

Everybody has almost

the same story here

in the third generation.

[Bourdain]

Melek Yaprak's grandparents

were among

the first wave of Turks

to arrive in Cologne.

And to a great extent nowadays,

Turkish food is German food.

The way Italian,

Eastern-European Jewish,

and Chinese

have become American food.

Raki to start.

-Prost.

-Prost.

-That brings me back.

-Yeah?

This brings back

Istanbul to us.

-Yeah. A lot.

-When we go there

we have, always, raki

in the Bosphorus and here,

this is like

Istanbul feeling for us.

Yeah, me, too.

And meze,

spicy mashed vegetables,

tzatziki, hummus,

beet root and olive dip,

fried eggplant,

pastries with feta,

meatballs with tomato sauce

and mint.

Whoa, that looks really pretty.

I don't think that

you have any problems

with spice, yeah?

No, no, no.

I like very much.

Since you were born here,

how Turkish do you feel,

and how German do you feel,

and when does that

equation change?

Are there times that you feel,

"I'm not part of this."

Or other times you feel, "Oh,

I'm definitely part of this."

That's a question

I'm thinking about

all my life.

In my heart,

I'm--I'm Turkish.

In my head, I'm German.

I'm glad that my parents

wanted to have

a good education for me.

But still, at home,

they were Turkish.

Like, Turkish traditions...

-Right.

-And Turkish thinking.

So, I was always

on both sides.

And now,

I'm adult enough

to pick the best ones

from both sides.

Growing up here as the child

of Turkish immigrants,

how did you feel at school,

you felt German?

Yeah. Yeah.

So, why do you think

Germany's good at that?

The Germans are very

correct people.

They want to have

everything on the point.

They don't like surprises,

so they organize

everything before.

It's almost a cliche

that it's organized.

It's not a cliche.

It's organized.

[Bourdain]

Grilled, minced lamb

basted with hot tomato sauce

and slathered with melted

sheep butter and yogurt.

Roast lamb with feta, bulgur,

and roasted vegetables.

-Ah, that's beautiful.

-[Melek] Danke schoen.

So, if you graduate

from university here,

and choose to live

in Cologne,

could you afford

to live here?

-Yeah, you can.

-So, it's reasonably affordable?

Yeah, but because of

the refugee situation,

I think living space

is becoming less,

like, everywhere.

Do you think

this is a pretty town?

Every--most of the people

I speak will say,

"Well, you know,

we're a very ugly city."

-Yeah.

-But I don't think so.

I think it's very pretty.

Everything was destroyed

after the Second World War.

Yeah, but it's not the most

beautiful city in the world,

but it is not an ugly city,

I mean, at all.

Hmm, I think

I'm more

with the ugly city.

-You think it's ugly?

-The buildings are new, ugly,

gray, like, made up

after the Second World War.

-There's only a small old town.

-Right.

I miss old buildings,

like in Munich.

So, 20 years from now,

will Cologne be the same?

I don't know.

I don't want to think about it

because now, it's fine.

I love it as it is now.

I don't hear that a lot.

You go to

San Francisco, Rio,

-there are pressing problems

-h-hmm?

Or that the character

of the city is changing.

The character of the city does

not seem to be changing here.

No. It stays as it is.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] If there's

one musical movement

or one band that

represents Cologne

better than this one,

I don't know what it could be.

Created in 1968

with Holger Czukay,

Jaki Liebezeit,

Michael Karoli,

and this man,

Irmin Schmidt,

Can was at the forefront

of what was called,

inevitably,

the Krautrock movement.

Combining the sounds

and attitudes

of classical, avant-garde,

rock, and funk.

[Bourdain]

So, you moved here--

-how old were you when you came?

-I moved here in '64.

Interesting time, '64.

It was a very

interesting time.

It was the time of

where Cologne

was really blossoming.

It was the art town

in Germany.

[Bourdain] Irmin studied

with Karlheinz Stockhausen.

But it was a trip

to New York City

where he was exposed

to what Lou Reed

and the similarly

classically-trained John Cale

were doing with

the Velvet Underground

that would prove to be

the catalyst for Can.

'64 was still

pretty early days

for cultural ferment,

I guess, we--

-But not here.

-Not here.

-Not here.

-So, the question is, why here?

What was it

about Cologne?

Well, I think

it's this generation

which were like me.

We grew up in this after--

terrible destruction,

And that was the generation

which started to create

something new.

There was this bubbling

from everywhere.

[Bourdain] We're having dinner

at Ox & Klee,

part of the new Cologne

dining scene

where Chef Daniel Gottschlich

plans to kill us

with deliciousness.

Grilled scallop

with black salsify.

A consommé of burned hay,

lemon gelee,

and walnut oil.

[Bourdain]

When you began Can,

what was the initial reception?

[Irmin] In the beginning,

they said that

we are not able

to play music.

We were dilettantes.

[Bourdain] But, I mean,

you were all technically

proficient,

accomplished musicians.

We were all,

except the guitar player,

who was the youngest,

but Holger, Jaki, and me

had a musical career

-already behind us of 10 years.

-Right.

For us, it was important

to create something

by, more or less,

listening to the other

and intuitively

trying to create something

spontaneously.

We didn't even plan

to become a rock group.

Was there a precise moment

at which you crossed the line?

In which you all looked

at each other said,

"Wow, I guess,

we're sort of--

I guess,

we're a rock group now."

I'm not sure we ever said

we are a rock group.

[Bourdain] Grilled lobster

with a dashi of eel,

marinated algae,

fermented kale,

and yuzu froth.

If people were to draw

a direct line forward

to bands and musicians

who were influenced

by your music, for instance,

you know,

people mention the Bowie,

Iggy Pop Berlin period

and a lot of other

great work.

What about EDM?

Do you--

do you share the blame?

-No.

-Is it good or bad?

-It's good.

-It's a positive thing?

-It's positive.

-Electronic dance music.

Yes, sure.

I mean, you can't

any way

classify any style

or any kind of music

as good or bad.

But it excludes

the musicians.

Traditionally,

is it the opposite

of what music should be?

Is it all okay?

I have no idea

what music should be.

Because whenever you start

knowing what should be,

you are already

starting a new dogma off.

Uh-hmm.

Yeah, I hear you.

There are DJs

which make fantastic music,

and they make it

for a certain purpose.

And there is the purpose

of this environment,

and they fit.

Neither the purpose nor

any dogma can be used

as a judgment

for your music.

[Bourdain]

Braised ox cheeks with marrow.

Beet roots with mustard.

Gratin potatoes.

Black truffle.

You don't get paid

for the influence

you have on the culture.

-[Irmin] No.

-No.

I wouldn't complain

about that.

I mean,

we never consciously

did something intending

to make money with.

We still have fans

which are 16 years old

and think this is a music

-created yesterday.

-Uh-hmm.

And it's 45 years old.

-Does that feel good?

-That's very--

That's satisfying, too.

[Bourdain]

An amazing meal, but, you know,

the heart wants

what the heart wants.

And baby, I'll always

come back to you.

And if history

teaches us anything,

it's that chefs no matter

how elevated their food,

how fine their restaurants,

chefs, at the end

of a long night,

want this.

Grilled bratwurst with curry.

Daniel and his friend Demetri

come here, De Fressbud,

for the bratwurst

and spie braten,

which is just what

you need at this hour.

Marinated, rotisseried

shoulder of pork.

-[speaking German] Mayo?

-Yeah.

Mayo. Mayo.

[Bourdain] Oh, yeah.

Oh, I feel so ashamed.

Drunk or sober,

good is good,

and I want this.

You want this.

We all want this, right?

Where do currywurst

come from?

I mean, this is

a truly fiendish idea.

It sounds like

a really bad idea.

-Nobody knows, really.

-Nobody knows.

-It just appeared one day.

-Uh-hmm.

Ordinarily, I'm totally

against mayonnaise on fries.

Yeah, they don't even

ask you sometimes.

-[Bourdain] Really?

-Yeah, they

just put it on there.

And they put, like,

50¢ for the mayonnaise.

Yeah.

Man, that's good.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain]

The legend is, Cologne is very

accepting of new cultures,

accepting of new,

obviously, cuisine.

-Why?

-That's a good question.

I guess, we have a lot

of gay people here.

-Uh-hmm.

-People say it's like

the San Francisco

of Germany.

[Bourdain]

It's a very Catholic town.

Catholics are not notoriously,

you know, pro--

-you know, gay friendly.

-Yeah.

What happened here?

I'd say that's

a very good question.

Yeah, I don't know

the answer.

It's sort of a nightmare

scenario for a conservative.

You're saying

it's basically

immigrants, homosexuals,

and artists

have made the town

what it is.

Can I find work here?

[Daniel] As a chef, yes.

As a good chef, yes.

[Bourdain]

What if I were a mime?

There's actually

a lot of them here.

Prostitute. Work here?

Yeah, a lot of them.

There's, like, the biggest

brothel in Europe.

You know, that doesn't sound

like a good thing.

Smallest and most discrete might

sound--like, sounds better.

You know, biggest?

[Demetri] Yeah, well, it's also

famous for its parties.

So, you can probably

undercover go to a brothel.

You say, like, "Oh, yeah,

just--I'm just partying."

Why, of all the places

in Europe,

would the largest brothel

be in here?

Basically, every month

there's, like,

a big convention here,

so, I guess,

if you're looking

for a company,

-maybe that's why.

-It's a city of contrasts.

I mean, on one hand,

it's very--it's very Catholic,

you would think

conservative.

If you look at the menus

of a lot of the places here,

very traditional,

so pretty much the same menu

in a lot of the places.

And yet, then,

there's your place.

They're all doing well.

It's very confusing.

I need more beer.

-Yeah.

-Three more.

-Three more?

-Oh, yeah. Please.

-[man] Not one? Three?

-Yes.

-[man] No problem.

-[Bourdain]

That's what I like to hear.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Cheers, guys.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] Cologne.

You got to love it.

They support artwork

that might get you

punched in the face

elsewhere.

Performance artist, painter,

and cooking enthusiast,

Rene Stessl

works and lives here.

His current project is called

"The Restaurant of the Egoist,"

where you dine alone

with a full-length mirror

across from you at the table.

Which is weird, right?

Oh, wait, let me get a selfie.

Did I Instagram my food yet?

♪ ♪

"The Restaurant of the Egoist,"

it's a question.

If egoism it's a bad thing.

Or it's also a good thing.

I found out--or it's fact

that it's also a good thing.

Because simple example,

if you help a guy sitting

on the street, needs money.

You give him the money.

You helped him, of course.

But you help yourself

feeling happy,

feeling lucky

because you helped another.

It's a kind of energy,

a kind of engine

who makes people

helping other people.

[Bourdain] Kleine Glocke

has been a hangout

for Cologne's artist community

since the First World War,

which seems like

a bad business model.

But it seems to work.

They like artists in Cologne.

[Rene] You can feel free

with the way--how you think,

and it's all about

the Colognians.

I don't know why

the Colognians

-are like the Colognians--

-Right.

But they are the most tolerant

and open people I met.

And that makes it easy

for artists,

because you can go

onto the streets

and really make experiments

on the street with your art,

and nobody sends you

the police.

-Are chefs artists?

-No.

-Thank you.

-I say, "no."

There is a connection

between painting a picture

and doing a sauce.

Because you have

to find a balance,

and this is the only

one connection.

I happen to agree with you.

As much as we might like

to think of them as artists,

I think that chefs are

proud craftsman or artisans.

I think there's one chef

who I would argue is an artist.

I would hold up Ferran Adrià

as an example of an artist.

I say "No," he don't believes

he's an artist.

No, he says, "I'm a cook."

Yeah, but I think he's wrong.

[laughter]

[Bourdain]

Rheinischer sauerbraten.

Traditional sauerbraten.

Good sauerbraten.

But Morrissey is going

to brown out his shorts,

he sees you eating this,

'cause it is,

how shall I say,

equine in origin.

Old Bessie didn't quite make it

to the soap factory.

You like horse meat?

Yeah, I do like it, actually.

This is one of the few places

that still does it.

-Yeah.

-The arbitrary decisions

we make about what animals

we're gonna eat.

Even I do, you know.

15 years, I've been eating

all over the world.

-Yeah.

-I've never eaten dog.

If you are cute,

as an animal, you are lucky.

I think it's the eyes.

Big eyes. It's not food.

[Bourdain] Too bad

they're out of panda today.

That would piss

some people off.

I kid, I kid. No panda.

René is hitting

the schnitzel hard,

and I see he has opted

for the egg on top.

So, Cologne,

proud of its attitude

towards art, artists,

different cultures.

Germany's accepted

somewhere in the neighborhood

of a million refugees.

How do you realistically say,

"Welcome to Germany.

We're all gonna learn

to live together."

-Can that be done?

-It could be done, of course,

but I hope that

all of the right-wing people

will not develop.

And this is, for example,

a job for an artist.

Maybe we should go out,

a hundred people

with Nazi uniforms,

-Uh-hmm.

-and walk through the city.

Maybe these kind of actions

will just make the people--

remind on the time

and what our grandfathers

did wrong.

We really have to take care

that we don't fall back

in these structures.

-But we kind of are.

-We are on the way--

-I don't mean here, necessarily.

-We're well on our way.

-I'm allowed to be naive.

-I think I honestly--

And talk about utopias.

[laughs]

It's a kind of utopia,

just the fact that

the whole world

will mix up

with each other.

That in, I don't know,

70, 80 years,

there will be

no white people anymore.

Only cappuccino-colored

people.

-Well, but that's the only way.

-It's good.

That's--this is the only

solution.

-Yeah, mix up.

-It's our only hope.

-Is--our way out of this.

-Yes.

It's gonna take some time,

but it's really

the only way.

This sort of

Singaporean model

where everybody's

so mixed up

that you really

don't know who to hate

because everybody's

so hopelessly intertwined.

But we're a long way

from that.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] The tortured

relationship between Cologne

and its sister city, Dusseldorf

is a study in differences.

Most notably,

the beer is different.

The attitudes are different.

It's, if you listen

to partisans from either side,

a short trip,

but another planet.

Do they speak a different

language here or something?

Yes, it's--

it's a different dialect.

It's not an accent.

The actual words are different.

-Yes. Yes.

-The words are different.

The spelling is different,

and also,

the meaning of some words

is different.

And the beer, most importantly,

the beer is different.

[Heinz] And the beer, yes.

In Cologne, we have a--an--

a pale beer. A light beer.

And here, we have

a very dark beer.

-Right.

-[Heinz] It's called alt,

but it's not old,

as the word "alt" means.

-Right.

-It's surprisingly fresh.

Fresh. I would like

some fresh beer.

-[Heinz] Yeah.

-[Judith] Yes.

[Bourdain] Uerige Obergarige

is another one of those

old and awesome

German institutions

designed to serve

maximum number of people

the maximum amount of beer,

and pork products,

with maximum efficiency.

Look at this.

♪ ♪

[Bourdain] Opened in 1862

and able to serve

hundreds of people

day and night,

it's a marvel of orderliness

in an uncertain world.

Heinz and his friend Judith

introduced me to alt,

the completely different beer

these Dusseldorfians drink.

-That's quite good.

-[Judith] Yes.

And me,

as a Cologne person,

I must admit

there is a lot more

taste in this beer--

-[Bourdain] Right.

-Than it is in kolsch.

Unfortunately, after

three or four of these beers--

-[Bourdain] Right.

-I'm full.

So, as a utility,

everyday beer,

kolsch has definitely

got an advantage.

-You can just drink it all day.

-Yes.

But the Dusseldorf people,

they are accustomed to it,

so I think

they can do 10 or 15.

[Bourdain] Pickled eggs.

Peel. Cut in half.

Remove the yolk.

Add mustard and a bit

of oil and vinegar.

Return the yolk and go.

Hmm. Perfect

for beer drinking.

It's work but it's

worth the effort.

They make you

do this yourself.

I thought it was that Colognists

are supposed to be,

you know, working class.

I mean...

Yes, yes.

This is working class here,

There's not a lot of love

between Dusseldorf and Cologne.

Why can't we all get along?

[Judith] There was a battle

in the 13th century--

-Right.

-And Dusseldorf won the battle,

-[Bourdain] Uh-hmm.

-And that was the moment

Dusseldorf got the city.

-Right.

-[Judith] The rights...

-[Heinz] The city rights.

-The city rights.

Yes, they have

a different history, of course.

They are a little bit

more administration.

More a little bit posh.

Much more posh.

How would they describe

each other?

"Oh, those people in Dusseldorf,

they're all stuck up.

They are--they care about

outward appearances,

and they're all administrators,

and they don't

really work," or--

Or, I don't know.

I mean, I'm ask--

That was a perfect

explanation.

[Bourdain]

Cabbage and mettwurst,

which is, simply,

kale and sausage,

and delicious.

And then, spicy pork goulash

with rye bread.

Ah, that looks healthy.

-[Judith] Thank you.

-Well, kind of.

[Heinz] There's one

difference as well.

When I was a little kid

in Cologne,

I never heard the word

"Dusseldorf."

[Bourdain] What do they do?

They say, "The other place"?

[Heinz] No. No, no.

Even not that.

Was not part

of our conversation,

of our thoughts, of our--

-Of your world.

-Of our world.

-[Bourdain] Really?

-[Heinz] The first times

when I came to Dusseldorf,

I learned that

the Dusseldorf people,

-they look to Cologne.

-Yes, yes,

Because it's a--

it's a smaller town,

And yeah, Cologne

is more in the media.

Which city's better?

[laughter]

Yeah, only one answer

that's true. Cologne.

For sure.

[Bourdain] Why?

What accounts for Cologne's,

some would say, un-German,

relaxed, and open style?

One explanation might be

the "Dead Roman" theory.

I've suggested

that the presence

of long-dead Roman legions

enriches the soil,

making for good wine,

and a propensity for frolicking

and drinking that wine.

It is, I hasten to add,

an idiotic theory,

but I want it to be true.

Cheers.

Maurizio Arca here

is German-Italian, sort of.

You've been represented

to me as Italian,

-but your Sardinian.

-Yes, I am.

That is a whole

different thing.

-It is, definitely.

-[Bourdain] My father-in-law

and his whole family

are from Nuoro.

-Really?

-So,

I am well familiar

with Sardinia,

and I know that, you know,

this is not a dialect.

-This--this is a language--

-Yeah, right.

There were some

ambivalence

about whether they even

consider themselves Italy.

They don't consider

themselves as Italian

because they've always been

left alone by the state.

And I don't know Italy,

you know.

I've been in Sienna.

I've been to Rome.

I've been to Milano,

but that's it.

So, Italy is a--

is more a foreign country

than Germany.

-Yep.

-You couldn't find me

an Italian?

I mean, what the [...], man?

Trattoria Bar Celentano

doesn't look like much,

but what they're serving

is deceptively good.

Antipasti.

Grassi.

Carpaccio.

Tomatoes with pepper.

Parmigiana.

Grilled zucchini.

Mortadella.

The Italians came during that

period, I guess, in the '70s?

To work in factories

along with the Turks, and--

-Right.

-Eastern Europeans,

and everybody else

who came in.

Like my dad did,

for example.

He worked in a car factory

near Osterburg.

Was your neighborhood Italian,

or mixed, or German, or?

It was mixed.

There were--were, like, those--

these homes made

for the guest worker program.

You know, all immigrants

were, like, stuffed in there.

-And integrated.

-Yeah.

Meaning, the Italians

didn't all live together.

Not all Italians,

but lots of immigrants

like Turkish people,

Italian people,

surrounded by "Germans."

What did they think

of the food, your parents?

Like, when they first saw, like,

all the cabbage and the potatoes

and the giant hunks of pork?

Oh, they love potatoes.

That's for sure.

But all this other stuff,

like haxen,

they don't like that stuff.

When you came home

from school,

what did your mom

cook for you,

Italian or German?

-Just Italian.

-Just Italian.

That's no surprise.

[Bourdain]

And spaghetti alle vongole.

So, life is good

as far as I'm concerned.

Give me a good spaghetti

with white clam sauce

and I don't need much more.

Maybe some wine.

Everybody here

says the same thing,

-"We are open-minded."

-Yeah.

"We try to be

fair to everybody.

We are welcoming.

We're proud of that.

-That will never change."

-Uh-hmm.

Do you think that the refugees

who are coming here,

that they will be integrated

into German society

as efficiently,

and as gracefully,

as your family was?

I'm not sure, because times

are so different to the '80s.

But look, Germans

are organized.

Organization

is just one fact.

You need to control

to handle this, but, um...

Look, all of the people

who were involved

on New Year's Eve.

-Uh-hmm?

-Do you think

that if they get work,

that if people

are kind to them,

if they're given housing,

do you think eventually

Germany will figure it out?

I'm not that optimistic,

to be honest,

because I'm convinced

that it's not a German problem.

-Right.

-It's a world problem.

It's a European problem.

We're all stuck

in the same boat.

♪ ♪