The joy of the morning

More freedom often means less money, so I’m determined to learn to appreciate the simple things in life. Last week I decided to get up early in search of good bread. While I’ve had pretty good bread in Gdańsk, it still wasn’t quite what I remembered from my childhood–few things ever are! I learned that there was an old fashioned bakery on the outskirts of the old town. Trick is that it opens at six and closes at noon, and most of the bread is gone by nine. 

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

I had the Cat Stevens song running through my head as I was walking to meet my cab. Morning had broken around seven, given the fall season and the northern latitudes. Sweet was the rain’s new fall and quite a few blackbirds had spoken, rather assertively, as I waited in a short line at the small, unassuming building of Majchrowski Bakery.

Through the warm yellow window I could see shelves of bread and an older lady dispensing it to customers. Inside, it was a time capsule. The walls were lined with old master baker diplomas and baking awards bestowed on generations of Majchrowskis, as well as a few children’s drawings on the subject of bread making. When my turn came, I ordered a challah, a rye bread, and a roll. The bread lady explained that I should cut the rye bread from the bottom, because the top crust was very hard. 

I returned home with the loot, stopping at my favorite coffee place, Ginger Kawa. It is one of the few coffee places in Gdańsk that opens at eight–most of them wait until ten, for some reason. Ginger Kawa is tiny, with a single bench for sitting, and a charming Belarusian gentleman making delicious coffee drinks. It offers a powdered ginger topping which adds an extra zing to a cappuccino or a flat white. You can also get a tattoo while you are at it, from the barista's wife. 

I had the challah for breakfast, and it was delicious. Sweet and a bit chewy, how it should be. I toasted it and had it with plum preserves from my cousin. The roll had a thin crunchy crust and a soft inside. The rye bread was a challenge to cut as foretold, but had a dense soft inside. It was perfect later in the day with paté and pickles, and later with herring. Both breads lasted me a week, though towards the end they were better toasted. It is definitely worth getting up early from time to time.