Cologne Hotels
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Not Just Your Typical Bakery
Entry 9 of 61 | show all | print this entry |
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(Originally written Nov. 7, 2007)
After having continental breakfast every morning and enjoying tasty croissants and other little pastries, I decided to go to a fresh bakery around the corner and try something new. As soon as I walked inside, I knew I was heaven! I have always been a donut freak. Whenever we used to have donuts at work, I would always take one and then sneak back when no one was looking and steal another one. The smell of fresh cinnamon rolls and apple fritters filled the small café and my eyes swelled as I gazed upon the 50 different types of pastries. I was in awe! They had everything you could ever think of and more.
One of the neatest things about the pastry shops in Germany is that you can order from outside while walking on the street or you can order inside and sit down. Of course you have a much wider variety if you go inside which is why I chose to go in and look. Now most of you who know me, are well aware that I don't make decisions very quickly. So obviously when I went inside, I needed a little time to choose what I was going to have. Well apparently in Germany, "time to decide" is not an option. As I stood there looking at the huge display of items, the lady behind the counter abruptly says to me..."What you want?" I replied, "I'm not sure." She motioned for me to back up as if to say, "If you don't know, you can't look". Well, if I can't look, how am I supposed to know what I want? So from 10 feet away, I tried to get a glimpse of what they had but I couldn't see much of anything from that far away. After a minute or two, I decided enough was enough and so I walked back up toward the counter. I pointed at something that looked like a chocolate brownie and said, "Ein Bitte". She scowled at me, took my money, and put it in a bag. I was going to ask for a plate but didn't dare out of fear that she might throw it at me!
Once I had my pastry, I went to the back of the bakery to get a cup of coffee. The German bakeries are set up such that the pastries are in the front and the coffee counters are farther in the back. So I go to get my coffee and the lady asks me if I want it for there or to go (at least that's what I thought she asked me). I pointed at the "to go cup" only because it was the first cup she grabbed. I paid for my coffee and asked for a plate. She handed one to me and gave me a dirty look just like the lady at the other counter. I didn't get it.
Once I had my coffee, I walked over to an empty table and sat down. I put my pastry on the plate and started eating while I read my newspaper (Financial Times...the only thing I could find in English). The café wasn't that busy and there were many open tables. I wasn't at the table more than 3 minutes when I heard a lady behind me say, "Nein" (which means "No" in German). I didn't know who she was yelling at but since she said it pretty loud, I looked up. Too my great surprise, she was yelling right at me. "To Go...You Must Go" she says. I couldn't believe my ears...she was kicking me out of the bakery!
She pointed to my bag and then at my plate and said "No". So from what I could gather, either you can't buy a pastry in front and eat it in the back. Or, you can't buy coffee in a "To Go" cup and then decide to stay. Either way, I was screwed. So, I grabbed my pastry off my plate, shoved it back in the bag, and just out of spite I scattered crumbs on the plate and all over the table. This time I gave HER a dirty look and walked out. Once again this is a first for me...I have never before been told to leave a restaurant and now here I am getting kicked out of a German bakery by a lady who probably wrestles for a living! To make things even worse, the brownie sucked...it was dry and tasted like cardboard. But I haven't given up yet...I WILL find another bakery and next time I'll make sure I bring my own plate!
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