We have the most amazing bakery right at the end of our street. I embarrass myself with my terrible German in there at least once a week.
BACKbAR is right at the tram stop, so oftentimes, I like to pop in and get myself something as Coco and I are going out. I park her buggy right out front so she can see me and I go inside. Then it's a race to see if I can get something before the tram arrives. Sometimes I'll have just 40 seconds and the women working there never understand my pitiful German pronunciation, which slows things considerably! Trams wait for no one in Zurich. If it's leaving at 11:09, it's leaving at 11:09, so sometimes I have to just leave mid-unsuccessful-order and run out and get on the tram and zoom away. Hopefully they understand that! I mean, the trams have a schedule that ticks like a Swiss watch to maintain!
Two items really appeal to me at BACKbAR. One is the "Cherry-Pie" (which is really more of a crumble). I am powerless to resist the "Cherry-Pie" with a cup of coffee during summer afternoons, but for some reason during the winter, I couldn't give a crap about it.
Then I'm pretty much obsessed with their Pizzabrötli. It's a little piece of bread with tomato sauce and mozzarella put under the broiler. It's my preferred snack and not only is it good, but it is so CHEAP! And cheap in Zurich doesn't happen. The Pizzabrötli is a mere 1.80, which is truly unbelievable. I can't name anything else that you can get in this city for less than 2 francs. Not a tram ticket (not even a short-distance tram ticket!), not a cup of coffee, not anything. So the Pizzabrötli is truly something special in the most expensive city in the world.
I'm sure the bakery ladies think I'm a weirdo coming in there all the time with my reusable coffee mug trying to order Pizzabrötli and not even able to say it. But oh well! It's my yummy little indulgence that I don't have to feel guilty about because it basically costs nothing. :) From now on, I'm just going to speak English at BACKbAR. "Cherry-Pie" obviously won't be a problem and if I just say Pizzabread, I'm sure that will save me at least 8 seconds. ;)
Don't feel bad...my Swiss-German is always a bit rusty when I go back for a visit...I once was ordering something at a store and the young girl at the counter just automatically started speaking English to me (I guess I was REALLY rusty!) ha ha ;)
ReplyDeleteAt least you are trying, and that is always a plus (and fun at times). :)
ps...mmmmmmm....bake goods! ;)
You're right. I shouldn't just give up on German, but it's tricky. It seems like most Swiss prefer English to high German. So I don't feel so bad - and I don't feel compelled to learn, either! ;)
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