23 Comments

  1. A Germany travel guide for budget travelers : Budget Travel Adventures
    March 8, 2013 @ 8:25 pm

    […] is the land of bread. Bakeries are on nearly every corner in the center of the city and still fairly common in […]

  2. Germany gets dark in the winter - Grounded Traveler
    November 28, 2012 @ 10:25 pm

    […] really remember being like this in the US. Maybe this is part of my cultural adaptation. Germans love the sun and will sit in a small patch of it at a cafe in the depths of winter like a cat, just basking in […]

  3. Dogs in Public in Germany » Grounded Traveler
    May 18, 2012 @ 8:35 am

    […] Public in Germany 18 May, 2012 Despite the industrial and technological bent of society, Germans love nature and animals. This includes dogs, which are often treated better than children in public. This is […]

  4. Lena
    November 25, 2011 @ 11:58 am

    Great! The first time that I feel an American has actually understood our culture. I mean, especially with the “love of nature” you described, many Germans became Vegetarians. Another big part of the population (including me) has reduced the consume of meat to like once a week. (for me this partly caused by the ridiculously high beef-prizes and the pork everywhere. I hate pork, I wish we had more beef like in the US). Anyway, this said it annoys the hell out of me when meeting foreigners (especially Americans) telling me, my country is the country of sausages … I mean, even if historically that might be true – it really hasn’t go a lot to do with the life of many of us. Whereas, without bread … you won’t find a single German person who doesn’t love our bread … even if maybe they don’t like the amazing black bread (you should get used to it, its good for you 🙂 ) – which is rare, anyway – they will still adore brötchen.

    there is only one thing I’d disagree on. I’ve been born and then raised for 19 years in Hamburg, now I moved to Freiburg. Anyway I am 99% sure that we do not use the word Semmel. Noone in Hamburg, I know, does. I have always thought that to be a pretty bavarian/southernish term. Well, you probably have a good reason why you associate it with Hamburg.

    • Andrew
      November 25, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

      Hey, thanks for the comment. Yeah, someone else mentioned that Semmel is not Hamburg. i have no clue why I associate it with that area. Especially if it is bavarian, as I have spent very little time on that side of the border. I should change that in the article to keep from confusing people.
      There are still a lot more sausages in Germany than in the US. You go into a butcher and an entire case is dedicated to sausages or sliced sausages.

  5. Sabrina
    November 10, 2011 @ 11:29 pm

    So true on all counts! Even after seven years in Texas I miss the crunchy Broetchen and different kinds of dark break that are not “fluffy” as you so aptly put it. I found some places that sell imported dark bread (Schwarzbrot) and even two that sell a different kind of Broetchen – I splurge on both! And I do miss nature here in the dessert that is West Texas, but I love, love, love the constant blue skies and sunshine. It drives me nuts that there are so few places where you can sit outside and enjoy a coffee or drink when the weather would be so perfect for that… but no, here everybody wants to get out of the sun and into the air-condition. Crazy!

    • Andrew
      November 10, 2011 @ 11:39 pm

      Thanks Sabrina. Approved by a German. 🙂 How do they import Brotchen? Uncooked I guess. Since here it seems that they go stale within hours in the bakery.

      Yeah, the US is not great at having outdoor community space. I can’t say about Texas, but I know in NC there wasn’t much. One mall has a pedestrian area with tables outside and a few places in strip malls with tables. But the space is usually near a road so not as pleasant as might be here. It is, I think, both a side effect of the car culture and the climate.

      • Sabrina
        November 11, 2011 @ 9:48 pm

        I hear you on the stale Broetchen. Wonder why they go stale so quickly. The few places I found here actually have in-house bakeries within a smaller supermarket, so they are fresh. Not quite like in Germany, but close enough when I feel like I need fresh bread. I usually wet them a little, pop them in the oven, and then they’re even a little crispy.

        Same here with outdoor seating. Very few are actually nice and most are toward a street. Oh well, you take what you can get.

        • Andrew
          November 13, 2011 @ 2:01 pm

          I think some of it is the lack of preservatives, but the idea that they are just tossed in a big pile at the bakery could have something to do with it too. You definitely can get dinner rolls in the US. Usually they are the bake-yourself style. They are smaller than a brotchen, but similar in a way.

  6. Andrea
    October 30, 2011 @ 2:39 am

    I love bread and I don’t think I’m eating nearly enough here after reading your post! =)

    • Andrew
      October 31, 2011 @ 9:18 am

      Well start sampling more. Find your local bakery and just start pointing at the various things in the case.

  7. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista
    October 28, 2011 @ 11:58 pm

    Absolutely love the bread in Germany! I wish we had more good bakeries in the US, I really like the idea of stopping by every day to get my bread. I have also heard the French complain about not being able to get good bread in the states too.

    • Andrew
      October 29, 2011 @ 10:19 am

      Yeah, I can imagine the French doing that too. Though the (very) few French bakeries I have been in, the selection is more sweet and pastry-like. In Germany it is much more utilitarian. I agree that the US needs more, though we probably don’t need more easy/tasty calories. Not to mention, how would they overcome both Dunkin Donuts AND Starbucks as draws.

  8. tehnyit
    October 28, 2011 @ 11:05 pm

    Great observations, especially the bread. Before shifting to German, we asked for some hints on what the expect in our daily life. Someone advised us to forget your taste of Australian bread and embrace the German breads. He was right. We love the German bread. It is a art form.

    • Andrew
      October 29, 2011 @ 10:17 am

      Indeed an art form, though watching the girls sling bread at the corner bakery in town, I do remember that I am in Germany. It is art sold in bulk and in classic German work-form.
      BTW what is Australian bread like?

      • tehnyit
        November 9, 2011 @ 11:52 pm

        The Australian bread has gotten more flavourful in the last few years. It wasn’t so long ago when there were really two types of bread, white and wholemeal. These days, more gourmet style of breads are appearing. Bear in mind that gourmet usually mean a bread with more seeds or one that is crustier.

        • Andrew
          November 10, 2011 @ 11:34 pm

          Is the Australian bread pretty light and airy or more solid like Germany? American bread, even a whole wheat one will crush to half its size under a carton of milk. I have the sense that even the white bread here might survive.

          • tehnyit
            November 11, 2011 @ 12:22 am

            Exactly the same problem in Australia. My father in law is extremely particular on how the grocery bag is packed when checking out. The bread must, at all cost, be on top of the bag, or even in a bag all by itself.

          • Andrew
            November 13, 2011 @ 1:54 pm

            And yet it is amazing how often baggers just don’t do that. One wonders if they are actually malicious or just don’t notice/care.

  9. Laura
    October 27, 2011 @ 12:41 am

    I just road tripped across the States with my friend from Germany and she complained about our lack of good bread (which I agree). She also complained about how much we use air conditioning until she landed in the south… then she understood why we can’t always open the winders here b/c you might suffocate 🙂

    • Andrew
      October 27, 2011 @ 10:28 pm

      Ha.. good to show them why air con is needed. You really just can’t do much without it in the south.
      There are good breads in the US, just takes a lot of work to find them and they are far between.

  10. Christy @ Technosyncratic
    October 26, 2011 @ 11:04 pm

    Seriously, the bread is amazing!! We eat so many pumpkin-seed rolls it’s unreal. 😛

    • Andrew
      October 27, 2011 @ 10:27 pm

      Yeah? I keep seeing those as well as the pretzels covered in seeds. It just doesn’t seem so appetizing. I’m still kind of a white bread sort of person. So Baguette, Ciabatta or similar are what I go after. Especially when belegt.