Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Photo courtesy of user --Tom S-- on Flickr Background : This section in the CIA Factbook mentions the word "Viking."  Can't fail to mention that. Location : Northern Europe, on a peninsula north of Germany plus several major islands Area : Over 43,000 sq km; 134th largest in the world          Slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts Borders : Germany Natural hazards : Flooding in some areas of the country Nationality : Dane Population : Over 5.5 million; 110th largest in the world         Note : About 25% of the population lives in the capital Capital : Copenhagen Government : Constitutional monarchy Chief of State : Queen Margrethe II Source:  CIA Factbook It is usually a good sign that there will be plenty of recipes out there for a country if their cuisine has  a Wikipedia page.   Sometimes, it also makes it a little overwhelming.  There were so many options out there for Denmark! ...

Photo courtesy of --Tico-- on Flick History : After much expanding and collapsing, underwent the "velvet divorce" in 1993, splitting into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Location : Central Europe Area : Almost 80,000 sq km; 116th largest in the world.  Slightly smaller than South Carolina Borders :  Austria , Germany, Poland, Slovakia Geography : Landlocked Nationality : Czech Population : Over 10 million; 84th largest in the world Capital : Prague Source:  CIA Factbook And you thought CY would end the C countries. The Czech Republic is exciting in that the country as it exists today was formed in my lifetime.  Also, because I have heard some interesting stories from Prague.  For the sake of those involved, I won't go into them here.  Just learn from their lesson: don't go onstage in a foreign country. I found a recipe that I was pretty excited about, because it was "the dish" to make almost everywhere I read about Czech food. ...