i provide you a catalogue of pretzels.

note; this is a very private catalogue.

taken with nikon fe2 on portra 400nc

a bretzel i met at frankfurt airport, germany in last may. ( i noticed that germans call a bretzel but a pretzel.)
the one, which is the original and has a coarse salt sprinkles on the surface, in the picture was eaten by my husband, and i ate the different one, a raisin bretzel.
they were eaten just after we reached there for a transit to rome, italy from chicago, the u.s.
mine was soft like a raisin roll.
it was actually not my type, but i was so excited with the incident i ate a pretzel in the country of its origin and where it's called as a "bretzel".
i asked him to offer me a small bite of his original one.
i loved that.
loved that very much.
a big wave of envy and regret for having chosen a raisin one attacked me. ;P
i almost drowned before i reach our last destination, rome.

btw, isn't a cup of cappuccino so lovely?
it had a white heart on the surface and that made me feel a love for germany so much.



taken with nikon fe2 on lomography 100.

also eaten at frankfurt airport on my way back to the u.s. on the same trip as above.
i must've thought that i had to make up for my regret that i experienced above.
ok, i admit that i'm a kind of person who holds a grudge especially about food. ;P



taken with mamiya m645 on portra 160nc

i hope you remember this picture.
i've already talked about this pretzesl platter sometimes before. (about a month ago or so)
this is my most favorite one served at restaurants in the u.s.
brewery restaurants usually bake good pretzels.
so, this was served at one of my favorite brewery restaurants, 'bridgeport brewery" in portland, or.
they really do a good job on this pretzel platter.




taken with mamiya m645 on portra 400nc

there's an unique brew pub in portland, or.
my husband and i have loved that place for a long time since we used to live there.
whenever we visit portland, we go there.

what makes this brew pub unique and makes us feel love it?
i don't know where i should start with, but firstly there're a lot of tables and chairs here and there, both inside and outside.
workers there don't walk around the place to ask orders, but we walk to the long counter along which there are taps.
the menu was written on a big chalk board.
if you want, you can order some light and easy meal, but you don't have to.
after you got something you need, you sit at the table wherever you want and can stay as long as you want.
if you need another glass of beer, or start to feel hungry, you walk to the counter and make an order.
you can repeat that as many time as you want.
as the place has such free atmosphere, guys are playing a chess game at a table, a couple is chatting intimately at a table by the corner, a group whose member might or might not have known each other is playing darts, a family is having their casual dinner, a big group is having a party in the room which is located at the corner and has a door they can isolate the place from public.
outside, a lot of people who brought their lovely dogs are relaxed.
and all of them are doing that of course with sipping glasses of beer.
lovely place, isn't it?

oh, i just wanted to mention about a bowl of pretzels offered at this place for just a dollar or so.
eating pretzels with drinking beer especially at this cozy place is so much fun!

one more thing about this brew pub. (i know that i've talked too much about this place though i just wanted to introduce my favorite pretzels ;P)
as the name of the place is "lucky labrador", there're lots of pictures and information about lab inside, even their window has a stained glass which has an image of lab :), and outside you see lots of real labs here and there :))

i totally forgot to mention, their beer is soooo good as well as their place!






here's another favorite pretzel from portland, or.
pretzels in the top image came from the pretty old show case whose cracked glass makes it prettier in the bottom image. (oh, can you see pretzels in the bottom image? they're in bottom row, a second heap from left.)
i don't know if this german bakery, whose name is "fressen", has their own actual location somewhere in the town, but i think they basically sell their items at the famous portland farmer's market held in saturdays from early spring through late fall.
whenever i'm luckily in portland on saturday, i go to the market and visit this bakery the first.
they sell out their goods fairly fast, because,i guess, they don't bake and bring lots and many people know theirs are something.
the price is kind of pricy, but they're quite worth to be paid such.
i've been admiring this pretzel the most of all pretzels in the world.




taken with hasselblad 500c on polaroid 669, the image transferred on a piece of cloth



all of my family member including those who live in japan love this snack, chocolate coated pretzels.
and i myself really love to take pictures of them at the occasions i have them with tea or coffee around 3 or 4 o'clock by myself at home.
i love their good looking; a dark brown color and a chubby shape.
they always induce me to take photos again and again.
as a result, i have a lot of pictures taken with different cameras and films ;)




taken with some old camera, i forgot which camera i used, sorry.

fyi, there is a white version of chocolate coated pretzels.
the flavor is probably yogurt and has a bit tartness.
they are also pretty, although they're not as yummy as brown ones.




taken with olympus compact digital camera, i don't remember the name of this guy.

a very ugly and funny picture.
my husband was holding a chocolate pretzel at san francisco airport some time before.
he needed that during our trip going back to japan for a short stay.
a chocolate pretzel looks dusted with white particles in this picture because they were rubbed each other in a plastic bag packed tightly in my luggage.
that's ugly, isn't it?

what makes my husband love this snack soooo much is the subtle balance of the saltiness of pretzel and the sweetness of chocolate.
all family members testified for that.






taken with contax-rts on superia 400

some of you who have good instinct have already guessed right after seeing 2 pictures above, i bought some pretzels at frankfurt airport and brought them back and put them into freezer before i ate them 5~6 months later after the trip.
the reason why i kept them in the freezer for that long time is that i had been enjoying the existence of the real german bretzels there.
i had been so content with the fact they had been there.
do you think i'm crazy?
i'm afraid i'm crazy.




taken with hasselblad 500c on ilford 3200, developed and printed by me.

thank you, thank those who have seen and read all weird pictures and stories above.
this is the final one.
most weird and the most becoming picture at the end of the catalogue.
i took this very late at night when i was drinking a glass of wine with my husband at home.
i love to drink with pretzels.
it really goes well with both beer and wine.
but you have to be careful about dehydration. ;P
fyi, i prefer "rold gold" 's pretzels than "snyders" '. ( both are most major pretzel brands in the u.s..)

i'm not sure if this picture can be seen as a serious art work or just a joke, anyway i want to make an end for this project with this picture as a token of admiration for all kinds of pretzels i've loved till now.
love you, pretzels. ( please count all the today's pictures and words as a love letter to pretzels :)) )