PERHAPS THE only thing Germans enjoy more than going on holiday, claims Michael Kress, a baker in Baden-Württemberg, is “coming home to buy their beloved bread at the bakery”. Germans’ love for their own loaves can come off as arrogant(显得傲慢): last year Friedrich Merz, the chancellor, offended Angolans by complaining he could not find “a decent piece of bread” in their country. But every nation has its cultural touchstone(试金石；检验标准)s, and on May 5th, while the Dutch hold their annual commemoration of liberation from German occupation in 1945, Germans will be celebrating the day of German bread.
巴登-符腾堡州的面包师迈克尔·克雷斯称，德国人比度假更享受的事，或许就是“回家去面包店买他们心爱的面包”。德国人对自家面包的热爱有时显得傲慢：去年，总理弗里德里希·默茨抱怨在安哥拉找不到“一块像样的面包”，冒犯了安哥拉人。但每个民族都有自己的文化标志，5月5日，当荷兰人举行一年一度的解放日纪念活动，庆祝1945年摆脱德国占领时，德国人却将庆祝德国面包节。
Germany has what may be the most diverse bread culture in the world. The official bread registry overseen by Germany’s national bread institute (yes, really) lists more than 3,000 types. Specialities include pumpernickel(一种德国黑麦面包), Dreikornbrot (three-grain bread) and Kürbiskernbrot (pumpkin-seed bread). There are specific regional iterations of rolls: Brötchen in the north, Semmeln in the south. In German the word “bread” is partially interchangeable with “meal”—a working lunch is Pausenbrot (break-time bread), dinner is Abendbrot (evening bread). Bavarians, who always do things differently, add Brotzeit (bread time).
德国可能拥有世界上最多样的面包文化。由德国面包研究所（没错，真有这个机构）监管的官方面包目录列出了3000多种面包。特色品种包括黑麦面包、三谷面包和南瓜籽面包。面包卷也有特定的地区变体：北方叫Brötchen，南方叫Semmeln。在德语中，“面包”一词与“餐”在一定程度上可互换——工作午餐叫Pausenbrot（休息时间面包），晚餐叫Abendbrot（晚间面包）。一向特立独行的巴伐利亚人还增加了Brotzeit（面包时间）。
The German bread institute designates a bread of the year (rye bread is the current title-holder). There’s also a bread ambassador. And Germany is home to the renowned Weinheim baking academy, which awards the degree of “bread sommelier(侍酒师；品酒师)” (Mr Kress’s title). Since 2000 one of the country’s most popular children’s television characters has been a depressed breadloaf called Bernd das Brot (Bernd the bread). Last year his fame spread to America after John Oliver featured him on his talk show.
德国面包研究所每年评选年度面包（当前冠军是黑麦面包）。还有一位面包大使。德国拥有著名的魏恩海姆烘焙学院，授予“面包侍酒师”学位（克雷斯先生的头衔）。自2000年以来，德国最受欢迎的儿童电视角色之一是一个抑郁的面包条，名叫Bernd das Brot（伯恩德面包）。去年，约翰·奥利弗在他的脱口秀节目中介绍了它，其名声传到了美国。
