Gemutlichkeit
That's sad news about the death of the baker and owner of Edelweiss Bakery & Cafe, located on the sharp corner where Harford Road meets Old Harford Road. The pastries and cakes were extremely good, and I purchased the German chocolate for birthdays. We had some amusing visits there. The last time, Turkey Joe Trabert, Ingmar Burger, Frank The Fifth Beatle and I sat for the lunch-size portion of sauerbraten, dumplings and red cabbage. It was delicious, and while we dined a dozen pleasant men and women gathered, as they did each Thursday, to sing along with two accordion players. One of the accordion players wore eyeglasses with no lenses - I think to hold his hair in place. But I'm not sure. I didn't ask. It didn't seem like the time or place.
Edelweiss Bakery was a great good place, and a thing about the Thursdays there: When the accordian players gathered and the customers started singing, the room filled with gemutlichkeit. That's German for camaraderie, or "the warm, comfortable feeling one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere." We need all the gemutlichkeit we can get, and now, with Edelweiss's closing, Baltimore has lost a great good source of it.
Comments
I guess you never know when you'll experience something for the last time. The Edelweiss has been our go-to bakery for a number of years. Early this month we got an outrageously good double chocolate cake with a raspberry glaze between the layers; a combination requested by my younger daughter to be her birthday cake. We got the 10 inch cake, it didn't seem the 8 inch version would serve the extended family. The smaller cake would have been enough as it turned out, but that didn't stop us from sabotaging our diet in the "struggle" to finish the whole thing. What a way to celebrate the end of an era!
Posted by: Carlos Z. | November 28, 2007 7:38 PM
It really is a shame that we are losing so many places that represent Baltimore's German heritage.
Posted by: Robert | November 28, 2007 8:49 PM
Thank you so much for the nice comments about my father's bakery. He loved "German Thursdays". I know that my dad and his bakery will be missed by many. It is comforting to read nice things about him since his death. Thank you again, Tina Kimbrel
Posted by: tinakimbrel | November 28, 2007 10:22 PM
Everything Mr. Paul made was outstanding! My husband and I learned of his illness when we breakfasted there last month. We're so sorry for his passing...he was a true "gentle man" who will be missed.
Posted by: Dottie | November 29, 2007 9:16 AM