Couples remember good ol’ days at German Bakery

For years, the German Bakery (GB) has been a preferred rendezvous spot for couples in the city. The old-world charm made it a quiet, laid-back haven for youngsters to sit with their partners for hours and talk over breakfast or a cup of coffee.

However, last year, it was on Valentine’s Day eve that the bakery was rocked by a bomb blast, killing 17 and injuring many more. As Puneites mark a year of the GB bomb blast on Sunday, city couples, who regularly visited the bakery, recall fond memories of it.

For sales manager Rahul Sharma and his wife Divya, who is a human resources manager, GB is the place where they found their soulmates in each other.

“It was on the evening of August 18, 2009, that I took Divya (then girlfriend now wife) to our favourite hangout, GB. It was a quiet day like any other day. I wanted to make that day special in our lives and as we entered the place I ordered for a chocolate pastry and silently gave the waiter an engagement ring. When the pastry was cut by her to eat, she was surprised by the ring she found inside it and I can never forget that smile on her face,” says Rahul.

Zenia Vajifdar, who met Zubin Postwalla for the first time at the GB almost five years back says, “I remember how I first met Zubin, through a common friend at the bakery one rainy evening,” she says.

And since then they both have been seeing each other.
“Zenia met me and a common friend at the bakery, for the first time,” says Zubin.

They both spent a lot of time chilling out at the bakery. Talking about the German Bakery Zenia says, “When I think breakfast, I think of German Bakery. It’s a perfect setting with the wooden decor, just the right amount of sunlight seeping in from between the fencing and the right kind of people around you.”

Zubin has his own tale to tell about the bakery and its importance in his life.

“It was one of those places that allowed you to leave the stress of everyday life behind. It had the convenience of being in the heart of town, and yet, the moment you stepped in, you were instantly
disconnected from the chaos,” he says.

Divya adds, “Most of our good and bad times have been there. We used to sit there almost every day as it was the central point for both of us.”

“I was too shocked when I read about the bomb blast. We both were in Ahmedabad and it genuinely shook us both to the core,” says Rahul.