We have a rule when cycle touring that we don’t take a pastry break until 20k/12miles into our day of riding. And then it may take some kilometers to find the exact right spot to take a break. We try to stop at a bakery in the town where we slept, or the next town, so we hit the bakery when they have a good selection of treats and sandwiches. I usually fill my Kleen Kanteen thermos with tea, and we’re ready for our pastry break.
Apple Strudel for Rich in Erlensee bei Erlensee.And my absolute German favorite, Quarktasche. Cheese pocket. Some might call it a cheese Danish but to me it’s heaven. This is a rolled, or snail, version.
We could call it elevenses, with our American habit of adopting things from other cultures we have embraced the British elevenses, but we’re sometimes earlier than 11:00. Second breakfast also works to describe this break.
Rhubarb crumble at Auenverbund Kinzig.I’m always a bit too overwhelmed and panicked in the bakery to snap a picture of the actual name of the pastry, but I know enough about baked goods to usually figure it out. Sometimes with help from friends.
We take turns going into the bakeries and procuring food. One of us stays with the bikes and one braves the bakery. It can be stressful if it’s busy, but usually the women behind the counters are helpful and patient.
Our bikes waiting to see what pastry will emerge this time. Pastry shop in Bad-Hersfeld, Germany.This! One of the best impulse buys. Poppyseed filling, a seam of marzipan, and the dough a rich cross between yeast and butter. I knew it was good because the bakery had trays and trays of it, and everyone ahead of me in line bought some.Close up. Hersfeld-Rotenburg. 20k into our ride.That looks says ‘Quit taking photos so I can eat this!’Plum pastry.Look at how huge this pastry is! It took us two days to finish it off. That filling is a butter cream, between two cookie like layers, topped with streusel. After we started eating it we realized it is probably intended to be a shared dessert. Probably for a family of five! We sat in a city park in Altriesa.
I think I found the name of it in a streusal cookbook by the checkout line at the grocery store: Streuseltaler, or Streuseltielchen.
Pastry breaks aren’t always on cycling days. On a rest day in Dresden we actually sat at a cafe for coffee, tea, and Black Forest cake.All pastry breaks are eagerly anticipated, and Rich waits patiently for me to stop snapping photos. Train pastry break. With the 9€ monthly train passes in Germany this summer we happily took train hops.Cherry Streusel.This fantastic bakery on Bornholm Island was a hit. Svaneke Brød in Svaneke.A cardamom bun and a heavenly chocolate roll.Chocolate roll for the win! And this seeded load of sourdough which we were still eating two days later. One more photo of the amazing chocolate roll.
Our mornings always start with the bakery and lunch discussion. Where to stop, when to stop. We always err on the side of stopping at the one in town unless there seems to be a better bakery up the road, and in Allinge on Bornholm Island we stopped in town which was very busy with Folkemødet 2022 starting.
Bakery stop, Rich went in and I stayed with the bikes.
Folkemødet, The People’s Meeting, in Allinge is Denmark’s festival about society’s opportunities and challenges. It made for a very busy town, Island actually, and was fun to see the set up and the people arriving. But, back to pastries, and elevenses.
Do we always find a picturesque bench for pastry? Usually. We do sometimes ride on for miles and miles searching for a good spot to stop.Raspberry filled Danish. Cinnamon bun in Denmark. Rest day in Malmo, Sweden and a kanelbulle in the park. Cinnamon bun in Swedish.Another Swedish pastry break.At another fantastic location on the coast on Sweden’s National route #1.
Yes, there is more to cycle touring than eating yummy baked goods. There are hours of cycling, head winds, tail winds, the occasional mechanical issue and a small slow speed tumble – me. Too many pastries maybe? Only a small bruise. We’re now in Copenhagen for a week and will, for the first time, see a stage of the Tour de France. The first stage is in Copenhagen this year. We’re also excited to get our bikes tuned up for the first time in two years. The supply chain issues seems to have cleared up, and the shop we stopped by here in Copenhagen said, sure no problem, we can do it in a day. Music to our ears. More posts soon, with more riding.
The happy travelers enjoying the summer and summer blooms.
21 years car free, 11 years serving on transit boards helping SF and Caltrain move forward, and now, traveling the world. Happy doesn’t begin to describe how I feel when traveling with my hubby TravelRich.
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6 thoughts on “Fueled by pastry.”
Was this post for me! I sympathize with Rich’s looks of angst, pastry first, pictures second.
Less Car, More Life 
Was this post for me! I sympathize with Rich’s looks of angst, pastry first, pictures second.
I took the photos to share with you and realized I had many I could do a post!
Great. Now I’m hungry!!
Thankfully you live in a good pastry city. Go wild!
Yum, now I need to go find a good bakery…
Not hard in your fair city! 🤩