GThe pretty insult “Bratwurstbude” serves several dimensions easily – that’s what Deniz Yücel called the PEN at the weekend, after all an association of intellectuals par excellence, namely the writers, and hung up his golden grill tongs, i.e. the Wurstbuden presidency. On the one hand, there is the accusation that the PEN-Peepz are not intellectuals at all, but rather bratwurst stand operators, which is not ruled out per se. Then the accusation of being bourgeois: Hardly anything is as German as a sausage stand, at most maybe kebab shops, which are not found in such concentration in any other country. And then the sausage accusation: If you have a sausage, you can go to the PEN – or something like that. The insult is still somehow ungendered: everyone can really enjoy Bratwurst.
Now, by chance, I worked in a bratwurst stand myself, for about a year, alongside my studies. I’ve never been to PEN. But I’m still sure that the two things don’t have too much in common. And I have to resolutely counter the apparently prevailing prejudices against bratwurst stands: For me it was a wonderful place. I was allowed to eat as many sausages as I wanted (and I wanted!) during the breaks and after work, as well as fries, an offer that is unbeatable for poor first-year students anyway. I also worked there on the weekends, so I was always hungover – what could be better than greasy fries and a crispy bratwurst? Okay, doner kebab is just as good. But this is really about the sausage.