Schnitzeljagd

Schnitzeljagd: This is how you call a game of treasure hunt in German

literally: “Schnitzel hunt” / meaning: “treasure hunt”

I vivdly remember these birthday parties where we had to walk through our town and follow little clues to find a treasure. I also remember my birthdays being in February and everyone having a terrible cold the next day.

These games of treasure hunt are called Schnitzeljagd in German, and it’s quite hard to tell what they have to do with everyone’s favorite breaded meat slices. Well, not very much at all, it turned out. The German word Schnitzel is also (albeit far less frequently) used for little shreds of paper. So, the word Schnitzeljagd refers to the paper scraps that were sometimes used to form the iconic arrows on the ground indicating the right way.

To be honest, the absence of real Schnitzels did not bother me that much back then, as good old 90s candy like Chupa Chups, Hubba Bubba or Maoam were the best prize I could imagine.

https://www1.wdr.de/radio/wdr2/themen/frag-doch-mal-die-maus/schnitzeljagd-100.html

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