𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘁 in 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀

We’re in the final week of Lent, and on my train travels through Germany, I’ve been reminded of something deeply human:

When faced with strict rules, we don’t always rebel; we often practise 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

🍻 In 𝗕𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮, the Paulaner monks weren’t allowed solid food during Lent, so they brewed 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘳, a strong, malty beer they called “liquid bread.” Technically, it didn’t break the fast. Spiritually? Debatable.

⚓️ In 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘄𝗶𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 — where Lübeck is the marzipan capital of the world — a sweet Lenten tradition took hold. Thomas Aquinas once declared: “𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘻𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵.” So people shaped almond paste into sausages and roasts; sweet, plant-based stand-ins for what they missed.

👜 And in 𝗕𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻-𝗪𝘂̈𝗿𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴, there’s a legend that monks in Maulbronn once hid meat in pasta dough so God wouldn’t see it. The result? 𝘔𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 — still eaten today, and fondly nicknamed 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘴𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘪ß𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘦, or “God-cheaters.”

Three regions. Three examples of creative compliance.

Because when rules don’t quite fit life, people get creative.