Travel Russia Today

I think we can all agree that eating inside or anywhere near an airplane is, to put it mildly, an unpleasant experience. On domestic flights in the US, I feel outright insulted when the flight attendants offer to sell me a pre-packaged snack. I would not want it even if it was free. Obviously, on transatlantic flights you get hungry and I admit that I have eaten my share of the “chicken or beef” dinners. I do so as fast as I can so as not to expose the meal to the germ-filled air being circulated through the aircraft. Does that sound neurotic or reasonable?

The airports usually do not offer anything better than fast-food chains or candy stores. You can imagine my surprise and joy when I recently flew through Munich and fell on an organic bakery. As I was wandering through the airport trying to kill time, I saw what I at first thought a mirage - beautiful huge loafs of artisanal sourdough bread lined up above a counter full of fresh vegetables. The walls around were covered with inscriptions spelling bread in several languages, from German and English to Italian, Hebrew, Arabic or Russian. And above it all: Aran Bakery and Coffeehouse.

The nice man behind the counter put together a wonderful open-face sandwich for me with a delicious spread of fresh cucumber and chives. You can choose from many different spreads, or order a soup and end the meal with some of their pastry creations. I never felt more civilized at an airport than when I was delaying the dreaded departure for the gate and savoring each sip of my wonderful foamy latte.