What's a typical day like?

In case you're wondering, here's what a typical work day looks like for me:

0130 - rise and shine, or yawn

0200 - start work. The first part of the day is about baking, preparing for baking, the actual baking, and additional steps after baking. For example, pretzels need to be coated with an alkaline solution to give it that dark brown colour, slashed and sprinkled with salt before baking. After baking, danishes and other pastries are coated with a sugar glaze to make them look irresistibly yummy.

0600 - breakfast. While the bakers take a break, the bread is being delivered to the shops and other customers.

0630 - preparation. The second part of the day is about preparing for the next day, and the following week. Some items like bread rolls and pretzels are made daily, while others like danishes and apple strudels are made weekly. Depending on the day of the week, we have a list of items to prepare. One thing is for sure, this being Germany, I get to roll and shape a lot of pretzels! The items for the following day will be put in a special temperature and humidity controlled room, and will be ready for baking the next day.

1130 - lunch. I love having a delicious hot lunch waiting for me when I'm done work. I think the German way of having a big hot lunch and small cold dinner makes much more sense.

1330 - nap :)

1530 - read, email, learn German, walk, etc

1730 - dinner with the family, listening to the conversation, don't have a clue what they're talking about, but it's fun guessing what they're talking about.

1830 - read, email, learn German, etc

1930 - time for bed. The alarm will sound all too soon.

While the work is challenging, I enjoy it tremendously. Each day passes by so quickly. I can't believe this is my 5th week already.

Last weekend, I was invited to a confirmation ceremony (a teenager confirming his commitment to follow Jesus), and made this cake. Well, the pastry chef made the cake, I just wrote on it. The writings' far from perfect, but it's a start.



Thanks for reading. I'll write more about my new life and post some pictures in the hopefully not too distant future.