So that the hotdog, whenever apparently invented by people of German origin, clearly is a US invention. I basically prefer Wienerli, but with them you only can move to the nearest position to stand or sit down, while with the far more practical hotdog you can move wherever.
The wienerli is closest thing I've found to what I would call a "hot dog". Since American hot dogs have been skinless since the 1950's, the skinned texture of the wienerli is an acquired taste as the skin makes it a bit tougher to munch.
Being a hot dog fan from way back, but I have to say that I've grown to love the wienerli... particularly the Migros version over the Coop dogs. I like the smokey flavor the Migros wienerli have. I picked up some Ballpark Franks in Germany a while back and though they were my all-time fav at home, I think I'm hooked on the wienerli now. The Ballparks just seemed bland and overly soft by comparison... I guess I've gone over to the dark side, huh?