The bakery stand switches on its lights before dawn. Now it glows like a Christmas tree and feels almost as festive, enticing customers from the neighborhood with its warm brilliance.
The young, hardworking attendant busies herself with setting up her stand, expeditiously placing rolls, croissants, pastries, cookies and sandwiches into their respective posts in the front of the cart behind the glass. Loaves and baguettes take up space atop shelves on the back wall.
The goods are now on display and available to hungry customers.
The vast array of undeniably tempting delicacies sure to make mouths water may not be as alluring as another verifiable truth: a German bakery provides a quick solace from the routine of everyday life.
There are so many aesthetically-pleasing, finely-crafted choices, a German bakery will have something you desire — and need — to start your day off right. Though a Keto dieter may disagree, any- and everything a body lacks (for sustenance in the very least ) can be found at the local bakery.
Every day is different. As your eyes span the choices, you know this to be true, but your old standby and favorite (a pretzel, Brötchen or Laugenstange) is also waiting for you. Your mouth and stomach are pleased with your selection, whether you’re trying something new or grabbing your Lieblingsbrot for this evening's vespers or tomorrow's breakfast.
If a person can live on bread alone… the German bakery is a necessary part of daily life.
Breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner can be bought here. Many rely on the bakery to provide them with at least half of their day’s meals.
The bakery stand also sells farm-fresh brown eggs, bottles of Coke, fresh-brewed coffee and other non-baked goods at a reasonable price. You won’t be thirsty or protein-deficient, should you choose to add these to your purchase.
That's not all the bakery provides its customers.
You arrive very early in the morning, before all the other folks with less time for congeniality are rushing off to work. At this time of day (5:30 a.m.), you may stand in line behind an earnest, elderly, and bent-over gentleman who, after being questioned by the clerk, doesn’t need any rolls today — just his regular loaf.
When he turns your way, you’ll get a kindly but respectable Guten Morgen and maybe a smile. (Interacting with someone who has lived twice as long as you can start your day off just right.)
Hanging around for a few minutes, getting stuck in the longer queue with others who are also hankering for something sweet, substantial, quick and ready, you might exchange pleasantries and small talk. This includes news of the world, talk of weather, and perhaps a little local gossip.
Reaching the front of the line, you reap the benefit of seeing the smile and hearing the chipper voice of the consistently-cordial bakery attendant. She is happy to receive tips, too, when giving such fast and friendly service: customers round up or hand over a few extra small coins for her Trinkgeld (tip).
Though it provides food, the bakery may also be the only place a solitary person will visit in a whole day. It could be the only contact with the outside world some initiate... or require. It serves a purpose besides just the dough, salt, sugar and fruit contained in its pastries.
The bakery's variety, products, usefulness and human connection are a mainstay in German life, and centuries-old traditions like it will never go out of fashion.
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