Europeans have a weird way of doing things in the morning, and some of their routines will probably leave many Americans scratching their heads.
Breakfast comes around again
A single breakfast isn’t always enough in countries like Poland and Spain. People tend to eat something when they wake up, and then they’ll have another meal around 10 or 11 a.m. In Poland, it’s called drugie śniadanie, and that literally translates to ‘second breakfast.’
It won’t be anything too fancy, just something like a sandwich with cheese or sausage, for example. People in Spain do it, too. They call their midmorning meal almuerzo, and it might involve getting a coffee and a sandwich at a café before returning to work. The idea of having two breakfasts seems like too much for most of us over here.
A spoonful before anything else
One of the strangest morning routines in Iceland involves what they drink in the morning. No, they don’t have orange juice. A lot of Icelanders grow up having a spoonful of cod liver oil with their breakfast, and they’ll often continue with this routine when they’re adults. It’s called lýsi.
This isn’t some recent health trend either, as the tradition goes back generations, and it’s mostly because of the climate in Iceland. The nation has very long, dark winters, so many people there don’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight. They have to rely on cod liver oil instead.
The breakfast bowl
If you ever enter a French home during breakfast time, you might see a large bowl sitting on the table. But the bowl might not have cereal in it. French people traditionally drink their morning coffee with milk from a bowl, and then dunk their bread into it.
They’ll even dunk bread that’s covered in butter and jam into their milky coffee.
They’ll eat bread with a topping, known as tartine, and French people often make it using a sliced baguette. It’s a bit too messy for most Americans to consider eating as breakfast, however.
The unofficial coffee deadline
It’s completely normal to order a cappuccino after lunch in America, but don’t expect to do the same in Italy. People over there only drink cappuccinos in the morning, and they’ll often have one with something called a cornetto. That’s essentially a kind of pastry similar to a croissant.
Most Italians switch to espresso by around 11 a.m., and that’s because of an old belief that having something so milky after a meal hurts your stomach. Not every Italian follows this rule, of course. But there are many of them who will point-blank refuse a cappuccino after breakfast.
A blast of fresh air
No matter how cold it might be, plenty of Germans believe in immediately opening their bedroom windows after they wake up. It’s a practice known as Stoßlüften. Many Germans will fully open their windows for a short period in the morning rather than leaving them slightly open all day.
Germany’s Federal Environment Agency actually recommends the habit as a way to get rid of moisture and stale air in the mornings. There are some Germans who will open windows on opposite sides of the house, too. It makes for quite a brisk start in the winter.
No sugar required
Traditional Scottish porridge is rather different from the sweet oatmeal many Americans eat. Yes, Scottish porridge is as popular over there as oatmeal is over here, but it’s a lot saltier than our traditional breakfast food. Preparation involves cooking oats with water and adding salt. That’s right, no brown sugar or maple syrup.
There’s no cinnamon, either. The Scots have historically used a special wooden stick called a spurtle to stir the porridge while cooking it. They’ll often eat the porridge with milk or cream. Either way, though, salty porridge does take some getting used to for many Americans.
A song before lessons
School mornings in some Danish schools start with something called morgensang. You might be able to guess what it involves. Students and teachers join in to sing familiar Danish songs as a way to begin the day, and it’s quite common in Danish folk high schools.
There are many ordinary schools that do it as well. In 2024, the Danish government announced funding to encourage more schools to take part in the tradition, and it makes for a very different start from the usual American morning announcements.
A swim before the office
It’s time to go back to Iceland for this one. Most Americans wouldn’t even consider going for a quick dip in an outdoor swimming pool, especially when it’s freezing outside. But that’s exactly how many Icelandic people start their day.
The country’s public pools are heated, and many have hot tubs where locals will sit around chatting before they begin their day. A lot of them don’t bother swimming. No, they’ll happily sit in the warm water before they head out to work. Imagine doing that here.
Making the bed can wait
We’re often taught in the United States to make our beds first thing. The advice in Germany is to do the opposite. Over there, people will pull their comforter back while the windows are opened, leaving everything to air out.
It makes sense, really. All that sweating during the night leaves moisture in the bedding, despite the sheets feeling dry, and covering everything traps that moisture in. In other words, Germans see an unmade bed in the morning as a good thing.
Toothbrushes at school
Another strange school morning routine happens in German kindergartens. Children will stand around brushing their teeth after breakfast, and it’s quite a normal routine in many daycare centers over there.
Each child will have their own toothbrush that they store separately from everyone else’s. Not every kindergarten does it, yet brushing their teeth alongside classmates is still normal for many German children. They don’t simply do it at home.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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