Say what you like, there is something pleasant about waking of a morning in a large bedroom with lovely, cheerful wallpaper and finding that the first thing you touch is a heavy satin quilt; and it is exceptional to have an early breakfast in a room opening onto a terrace, with the fresh morning air drifting in from the front garden through an open glass door, and to be served neither coffee, nor tea, but a cup of chocolate–yes, every morning, a cup of birthday chocolate, with a thick moist piece of pound cake. Part 2, Chapter 2
I’m enjoying the beginning of Buddenbrooks immensely, although it’s not a picture of my typical morning…
Dolce Bellezza 
Who wouldn’t want to wake up to that room and breakfast – LOVELY with a capital L! I’ve been craving a hot chocolate and think that I’m going to have to indulge in one later this week 🙂 I love the detail in that paragraph and can easily envision everything described. Enjoy the rest of the book!
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It’s starting out to be a wonderful read! Being wealthy in the late 1880’s couldn’t be anything but such a luxury such as Mann describes, and eating hot chocolate and pound cake every morning would be a bit detrimental to my figure (ha!). Still, it’s an escape I’m enjoying on a cold, November day of parent/teacher conferences. In between meeting with parents, of course.
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Loved that paragraph, and actually I feel exactly this way about my bedroom even though I am served tea rather than chocolate.
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You know, I think your bedroom and this has quite a few similarities!
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What a wonderful paragraph! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book. Maybe I should tuck it into my suitcase after all…
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JoAnn, it’s much more fun than I expected; I think you’d really enjoy it, too. The readingi sent hard, or complicated, at all.
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What exquisite luxury.
I may have to make myself a cup of hot chocolate this evening. I am inspired!
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Oh, I know! There’s nothing like (European) hot chocolate. I was served it as a child in France, and I still remember how delectable it was.
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Chocolate cake every morning? YES please. She’s speaking right to me.
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I’m not sure I’d like cake, in the morning, but a cup of chocolate right around 10:00 would often hit the spot.
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The photo is too lovely for words, and the description is fabulous. Sumptuous indulgence begins first thing in the morning. How wonderful! 🙂
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The photo is the best I could come up for how I imagined the setting to be (credit is given in the link if you click on it); that bedroom seems to fit the passage with its luxurious mood quite well. It will be interesting to see the decline of this family, as the beginning is so auspicious.
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In theory, more pictures are available at the website of Buddenbrookhaus in Lübeck if you can figure out how to make them sit still. I borrowed one for my week about Buddenbrooks two years ago, of the “landscape room.”
These pictures are not exactly authentic, since the Buddenbrook house is strictly speaking fictional, but they’re based on the book itself.
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Thank you for the link to the site, Tom.
And, thank you for your post on Effie Briest. Cannot wait to read it myself.
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