That’s All the Same Soup

Food can inspire in many ways.

The other day I bought some towels. The store was rather empty, so the clerk and I struck up a friendly conversation about towels. Until we got to my current use for the ones I had just purchased.

“I’m going to a spa,” I said, “I love those places. And water in general.”

“Yes, water,” she said, smiling. “I really love it and miss it. I’m from up north.”

“Where from?”

“You probably wouldn’t know the place. It’s a small town on the Baltic Sea.”

“Oh, really. I grew up north of Bremen, that’s pretty close to the North Sea.”

“North. Close to the sea. That’s all the same soup.”

I really liked that idea, not to mention that I love soup.

When you think about food and dishes, they have inspired a lot of sayings. If something works ‘like bread and butter’, it’s easy to see what’s meant. A ‘cheesy’ novel is nice, but maybe a little heavy on the smooth part of fiction. And ‘a piece of cake’ is always easy to eat and enjoy.

Of course, not all dishes are the same in all places, so unfortunately some of the fun comparisons get lost in translation. Which is really a shame, because I have heard some very good ones in French, Spanish and German that would most likely not suit your personal gourmet preferences of humor if you do not speak the language.

Still, humorous remarks and sayings about food are something we can all relate to. It’s a very innate part of our daily lives as human beings.

Not to mention, of course, that in some ways we are all part of a bigger soup. And in one way or another, we all live near water.

“North. Close to the sea. That’s all the same soup.”

Side Notes:

• Interestingly, the spa I mentioned in that conversation with the clerk is in the Bavarian Alps. Which are apparently also close to the water (even mineralized).