Breakfast

I admit, I am not a morning person, despite which I love breakfast. Especially when I find a hot breakfast while traveling. The feeling of night time hunger being take away by a plate of scrambled eggs and the sense of the whole day in front of me.
Breakfast is really one of the meals that travelers should not forget. If you pay attention when booking you can often get buffets included in the price of the room just by picking the right hostels and hotels. Breakfast is my time to slowly get into my day, plan out what I want to do and sometimes just chill and read for an hour. It is a relaxing time and also a great time to meet people.
Culture and Friends and Self-time
The culture of a place shines through in almost every aspect of life. How people start their day shows often a lot of how they go about the rest of it. Depending on where you are it is a nice time to talk to people. Morning is before most people get stressed (or drunk) and since there is a day to get on with the conversations never really seem to drag on. Not to mention, new friends made in the morning breakfast room can be traveling companions by lunchtime. Some of the best traveling companions are people I met at breakfast.
As mentioned above, I’m not a morning person. So I use the time to start up my engine and plan out my day. On days that I have designated as ‘rest days’, sometimes I sit at my breakfast place for hours just reading and watching people. Getting food early means you avoid being hungry and can stop in better cheaper places for lunch as opposed to succumbing directly to the high-priced places that cluster around sights.
Ireland
Being in Dublin for several weeks was some of the best times for breakfast. My hostel was awesome, but charged a few euros to get some cereal and yogurt. I did it one day and then struck out to find better. I found a cafeteria on O’Connell street that had a pay as you go buffet. The picture above is from that cafeteria. You just put on your plate what you wanted and the lady rung up everything based on a list of prices. Don’t feel like sausages today? No worries, and you don’t have to pay for them. So it let you have both variety and control over prices. Once I found it I only skipped eating there once. The one time I didn’t go to the cafeteria was to a place in Temple Bar that had Pancake day. Mmm pancakes and waffles…..drool.
The typical Full Irish as I understand it contains fried tomatoes, white and black pudding (not my thing), hash browns, eggs, beans, toast, sausage and sometimes cheese and fruit. It is hearty and filling.
Germany

The German breakfast is an interesting animal. In most hotels you are given a few brötchen (hard rolls with soft insides). I usually make a mess when cutting these open, crumbs everywhere. They depending on the place there is a wide variety of things to put on these rolls. Jams, honey and nutella are the sweet options. Remember to put a layer of butter under these to be real German. Then for the savory team is a selection of sliced cheeses, salami and ham. Sometimes you even see spreadable sausage paste (not my thing either). Coffee or Tea are the drinks of the time. I have seen scrambled eggs or softboiled eggs as well, but most hostels and hotels provide just the cold stuff, which is fine to me. It sometimes feels more like sandwich time than breakfast.
The last thing I think of at a German style breakfast table are the table-trash cans. These are small plastic containers for you to put all of your plastic scraps and such into. It keeps the table cleaner and in order as is proper.
Italy
Italian breakfast for me will always be what I remember from Bologna. A room with only standing places. Espresso is a Euro and usually brewed as fast as the bar tender can make it. People come in drink their cup, pay and leave almost all in one motion. Look for a place with the word “bar”. They have sweet pastries to go with the espresso called “brioche”. I like either chocolate or apple jelly. In contrast to those that rush in and out are the few people that read the pink tinged pages of the newspaper and sip cappuccino, which is only a morning thing, don’t try to order it after lunch. It is a different feel from the hearty Irish or more orderly German, but fits perfectly in Italy.
Prague
As breakfast memories and places go Prague holds a special place in my heart. That place is called Bohemia Bagel. There are several in Prague, and it feels more like a typical American place than anything I would feel is local. Despite that I loved it. I spent many hours over Easter working on the concept for this blog there. As for the food, wonderful to me. It made me feel like home. In the mornings you can get an egg and bagel sandwich with refillable drink for only a few euros worth of crowns. They also have bigger platter including piles of fresh pancakes. Mmmm more drooling. So even if it isn’t a cultural view deep into the Czech soul, I still went there every day and have no regrets.
So breakfast stories? How much are you willing to pay? What constitutes a “good breakfast”? Ok, I’ll wait for you to swallow that bite of croissant.
German Breakfast Gripes - Grounded Traveler
July 9, 2012 @ 8:01 am
[…] hungry? Check out my look at breakfast across Europe. If you enjoyed this post.. Join the Facebook fanpage or subscribing to Grounded Traveler by […]
American Foods We Can’t Find in Germany » Grounded Traveler
March 15, 2012 @ 11:32 pm
[…] however you want to call it, we definitely have plenty of it in Germany. Jam on bread is a breakfast staple. There is even pretty good selection of it. In our market, there is several brands and a […]
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March 11, 2012 @ 10:14 pm
[…] have outdoor tables and the square makes wonderful people watching. Cafe Legere also has great breakfast […]
November 14, 2011 @ 1:27 am
Although I truly love a big American breakfast (every now and then), I loved having hot soup for breakfast in China. Yum.
November 15, 2011 @ 8:21 pm
What kind of soup? Like chicken soup? I eat an awful lot of odd things, especially for breakfast so I can imagine it. But still the idea of soup for breakfast is odd.
Typically German, yet little known. » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
October 26, 2011 @ 6:52 pm
[…] in Germany. Everything from jelly to nutella to meat and cheese can be put inside of one for breakfast. And these are just the standard rolls. Kaiserweckle are flatter and round with a spiral of cuts. […]
October 13, 2011 @ 12:21 am
Not to forget the waffles in Belgium and the Netherlands!
March 25, 2011 @ 12:15 pm
I’m a big breakfast fan and am off to NYC next week – am so excited, mostly at the thought of blueberry pancakes, American style. Yum!
March 26, 2011 @ 11:31 am
Ooo blueberry pancakes in a NYC cafe sounds great. Enjoy.
September 21, 2010 @ 9:13 pm
Andrew, I am not a morning person either. All the way back to my first trip to Estonia, I was the last one to get up and got breakfast on the way out the door. However, my best breakfast experience came in Spain as we spent two hours talking to a couple from Canada (I just wrote about this on GotSaga – Travel lessons from Spain – connecting with others http://su.pr/Ahj0zM). Like you, I LOVE breakfast food! Oh the irony!
This is one of the reasons I liked Spain. It was a late morning type of place as even the museums didn’t open until 9 or 10. So I can completely relate to your feelings on breakfast, not being a morning person, but how special a breakfast while traveling can be.
October 5, 2010 @ 5:25 pm
I’m not naturally a morning person either, but the tasty breakfast treats help.
What is Estonian breakfast like?
September 21, 2010 @ 2:30 pm
Nice round up! While I only take coffee in the morning at home, I absolutely love breakfast when i travel! I only function partially without coffee so while at it, see what the new city has to offer. I love walking in Paris to buy croissant at the nearby boulangerie. Fun to be blogging about this.
October 5, 2010 @ 5:24 pm
Thanks. I didn’t really go into it so much in the post, but it is cool how much culture is wrapped up and visible in the breakfast habits. The Paris croissant sounds good, especially as early morning is a nice time to wander.
September 21, 2010 @ 2:02 am
I’ve never put this much thought or effort into breakfast when I travel….maybe I need to!
October 5, 2010 @ 5:23 pm
Pancakes and bagels and coke.. mmm breakfast of champions. Bohemian Bagel is the best.