Almost Like Home

Living abroad can be a richly rewarding experience, one that allows for personal growth, learning, and enjoyment.  Things will stick with you long after you leave, haunting you with the memory of experiences that you'll never quite be able to recreate, no matter how you try.  You might think food would be an easy way to transport yourself back there, if only for a few moments, and for some travelers and some countries that probably works; in the absence of Slovak restaurants we've even made guláš and knedľa with fair success (though the former used seasoning packets brought from SK).  But some things, like Kofola and Studentská, are harder to make at home.  Sometimes an unexpected package will land two unasked-for chocolate bars in your mailbox, courtesy of a thoughtful former student.  More often, though, you have to keep your eyes peeled for things that will remind you of another place.

One of the snacks that I enjoyed after school was something called chrumky.  My default description of it is this: Imagine Cheeto Puffs covered with peanut powder instead of cheez.  Like all of the best snacks, chrumky are delicious, cheap, and low in redeeming value.  They are also scarce on these shores.  Somehow a few weeks ago I came across a mention online of something similar to them found at an Aldi in the States.  Today my errands took me by an Aldi and I was able to check for myself.

Stepping into the store was like being in Europe again.  For those unfamiliar with the chain, it's a discount grocery store based in Germany; I'd heard of it before, but today was my first visit.  Compared to American supermarkets the store feels spartan.  There aren't multiple brands crowding shelves, just the store brand.  There are also some items imported from Germany, from chocolate to wursts.  It reminded me of Lidl, another German chain whose Brezno location we visited on occasion.  This Aldi didn't have the bread-slicing machine that I loved using at Lidl, or the carrot juice selection that H availed herself of, but it had frozen schnitzel, and spaetzle, and a seemingly random selection of home goods.  It was even set up in a similar fashion, with refrigerator cases along the back wall and those home goods in the middle aisle, toward the back.  Though I didn't use a cart, I noticed that they even had the anti-theft system common in Europe.  It all felt very familiar.

And they had chrumky--or at least a German version, labeled as "peanut puffs."  I managed to wait until I got home to try them.  They're a bit crunchier than what I remember, but certainly the closest thing I've had in years.  That and the $1.49 price will hold me over until the next time I go back to Slovakia.