Bäck

Loaf of Bread. Not too exciting.

Today I went to the store (where most exciting things happen, right?) and I splurged on some baked deliciousness. No, not that gross, black, seedy blob of rye, but those tempting, golden yellow, jelly-filled buns of donut. I began to think about how, in 2 months, I will sorely miss those sweet morsels of deliciousness.

Those dessert cakes are actually quite the interesting phenomenon here. In the USA, yes, we have that array of donuts at the supermarket, 59 cents each, or the box of dozen that we can pick up fresh between 5 and 7 am on Saturday, but, I'm sorry Krispy Kreme, it does nothing to top a trip to the local Konditerei.

On any given day, my favorite little bakery shop has a wide assortment of apple-filled turnovers, chocolate-dipped Hörnchens (croissants), almond-sprinkled swirls, and strüdel-covered danishes. Biting into my favorite, the apple-filled turnover, is like eating a slice of heaven. If I arrive early enough on my way to my 11:30 class on Thursday, the glaze is still slightly melted on top of the flaky crust, and the apple filling is of the right consistency to make me just oh so happy. It really sets up the rest of my day (and the flaky remnants remain somewhere on my clothing.)

So really. What is it with desserts here? They have a name for so many things: The Amerikaner (of unbeknownst-to-americans fame), the Berliner (of JFK fame), and Marzipan (of every kid during Christmastime fame). A trip to the student cafeteria gives the opportunity to try out this kind of cheesecake with geletanized strawberries on top (also delicious) or some sugar-coated brotchen (it's like a hot roll.)

Oh, it's like a smörgåsbord of things that will cause one to instantly gain 5 pounds (3 just by looking at it.) And the great part? They're not really that sweet. Often, I'm overwhelmed by the glazed donuts from my local supermarket - the sweet remains in my mouth for an hour, and sometimes it's so strong I feel sick. I've never felt sick after a binge-bakery-run here. It's like the pastries (and also the ones I tried in France - namely the Macaroons) have the right amount of sweet balanced with the right amount of fruit with the right amount of dough. The three together give you something that tingles your entire tongue without the stomach sensations thereafter.

It would just be perfect if I could buy them at the grocery store and have them for a whole week, but sadly they become dry and stale after about 1 day, inedible after 2. Plus, they get squished in my backpack as I lug them on the bus. The battle of bottled water vs. Berliner usually ends with jelly smeared inside a bag.