Resolution Update: International Breakfast Adventure

Its been a while since my last resolution update, but I've finally got my act together and ticked off another one: "Visit at least two countries, and write a review of the local breakfast foods".

After being given a "use it or lose it" ultimatum on my remaining holiday allowance for the year, I decided to take a week and do some sightseeing. I booked a few days in Paris and a few in Berlin, so I could visit all the tourist spots I'd heard about but never got around to visiting, as well as sample the morning offerings in the hotels.

So, first stop: France for petit déjeuner.

The hotel buffet consisted mainly of pastries and other baked goods, which was enticing, but I couldn't find the balance between taking too little to set me up for the day, and taking so much that I looked like a glutton. The variety was nice though, even if everything was extremely sweet, leaving me expecting a severe sugar crash around about 11am.

As a deviation from the baked treats, I also picked up a pot of what I assumed was some kind of fruit slices or similar. It turned out to be an apple puree that was halfway between a pork accompaniment and baby food. I wasn't entirely sure what to do with it, so spread a little on some bread. If anyone can explain what it actually was (and how it was intended to be eaten), I'm keen to find out.

The coffee was ok, but I was confused by the lack of cream, whitener or even a small jug one could decant cereal milk into. Not wanting to appear drastically uncouth by pouring directly from the large jugs at the buffet, I resigned myself to black coffee. Which actually helped offset the sweetness of the food.

So final verdict, enjoyable - if mildly confusing - but not something I'd have every day.

A couple of days later, I headed to Germany for Frühstück.

Now the buffet at the hotel in Berlin were far more savoury, with a selection of cold meats, sausage, eggs, and an interesting potato dish. I believe pastries and such were also available, but I'd had my fill of those in Paris.

Selecting what I now realise was the closest I could approximate an English breakfast, my biggest surprise probably came in the scrambled eggs. I'm not normally a fan of this particular form of egg preparation, but these had a heck of a lot more flavour than I expected. Whether this was due to the eggs themselves or some extra ingredient I'm not sure (mustard has been suggested as an explaination), but they were very tasty nontheless.

The potatoes were also very enjoyable, served with bacon lardons and grated onion: possibly something I'll have to try making myself at some point.

Meat wise, I selected a few slices of ham and some sliced sausage (two varieties were served together). The cold meats on offer seemed a bit like a deli counter (including salami and other sandwichy meats), but was surprisingly tasty first thing in the day.

I did cheat a little and had the "English Breakfast" tea, but heck, my resolution specified foods, so there was nothing wrong with alternative beverages.

I'd probably vote for the German breakfast over the French, mainly as it was a tad closer to what I'd call a "proper" full breakfast, and because I didn't actually feel hungry again until late in the evening, which meant I didn't have to stop my sightseeing tour for lunch, etc.

Another resolution down. Only a few left now, but also only a few weeks left of the year! Better get a move on.

And speaking of sightseeing, I took a heck of a lot of pictures and video during my trip, which I'll be putting online bit by bit over the next few days. So stay tuned!