Salami for Breakfast Anyone?

In Germany, almost all hotels include breakfast in your room rate, even small Gasthofs along the back roads. These are usually served buffet-style and include a wide variety of cereals, fresh fruit, even fresher yogurt, pastries, rolls, and a big deli tray with hams, salami, bologna, and cheeses. I can't quite get into salami at breakfast, but I confess that I often snagged some of the spicy meat, along with some cheese and a crusty roll, for a snack later in the day.

The Kronen Hotel in Stuttgart had a killer breakfast spread that included tasty crepes, quiche, new potatoes with chunks of ham, the requisite cheese and meat tray, cereals, etc. and a huge pastry table with coffee cakes, pastries, rolls, croissants, and other tempting bakery goods.

I also had not only a great breakfast, but a really excellent dinner at my hotel in Triberg in the Black Forest, the Schwarzwald Residenz Inn. This is something that Germany is fairly consistent about...hotel food is fairly priced, fairly portioned, and cooked well. I had a really good wiener schnitzel with fries, a nice Reisling, and a huge Black Forest ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce, cherries, and whipped cream.

The other thing I noticed was the mini-bar prices for a beer or soda in the room were the same as they were in the dining room, and while they were higher than if you went to a market and bought them, they weren't ridiculously expensive like in some U.S. hotels.

Overall, I think the Germans take great pride in their hospitality and have always found that accommodations in every price range are clean and comfortable, with a hearty breakfast to start the day.

www.kronenhotel-stuttgart.de
www.residenz-triberg.bestwestern.de