Tribute to the Central European bakery

Bakeries attract me like a gluttonous moth to a delicious carb-filled flame. Concerns over gluten have been conveniently set aside. Some side effects and prolonged toilet stops have been worth it.

The dichotomy of relatively low obesity in Central Europe and the number of bakeries is always a puzzler. Visitors to the counter come thick and fast, loading up on gloopy cherry tarts, chewy cheesy bread fingers, buttery pastries and cream-laden gateaux. As elsewhere, bakery and coffee trips are becoming activities in themselves, so there is a proliferation of very stylish premises with dough being proved on display and kitchens transplanted directly from the IKEA catalogue.

We visited a bakery in our neighbourhood before heading on the metro to the main train station. On the way a Californian woman struck up conversation. She'd taught for a year in Canvey Island and found the experience bizarre.

We boarded a train from Prague to Graz in Austria, which took several hours but passed through some blisteringly beautiful scenery. The Semmering Railway section in the Austrian Alps was the highlight but the train window was too grubby to capture it well. A friendly lady called Petra from the mountain town of Mürzzuschlag gave us some tourist tips and gave Ruby a gimmicky can of Berlin air, as she was travelling back from there.