Translated: Shopping in a German supermarket! And, whew, what a task!
A few days after Pfingsten, it was Jannik and I's turn to cook lunch. Me not being such a crafty cook, actually, me not being a cook at all, I opted for making tacos. Easy! ...I thought. But seeing as Germany is in Europe, and Europe isn't all too close to Mexico, Mexican food is an afterthought here. For instance, how we (Americans, or Floridians at least) have Mexican fast-food, mom and pop, and upscale Mexican restaurants literally everywhere (and entire isles dedicated Mexican dishes and spices in grocery stores), Germany has Turkish food (döners!), and England has Indian. So, naturally, there wasn't a single jar of salsa, taco seasoning, or taco wraps/shells in their house. My 'easy' dish turned into a full-fledged shopping trip.
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| ♳ Recycling ♳ |
First whenever you go to the grocery store, you return all your bottles. See, they buy their drinks in cases of 1L glass bottles. When the bottles are empty, they are returned to the store and you get some money back (I think like 25 cents, nothing great). But everybody does it! They are extremely "bio" friendly here. Everyone recycles, etc. No bags are used at grocery stores, you either bring your own basket, or (as the Tödters do) just load everything into the car, and unload everything out... no bag necessary. "You have hands," as they say. In the bigger stores, they offer plastic/paper bags, but you are charged for each one.
Shopping carts here cost too - 1 euro. However, when you return the cart you get your euro back. Eliminates the task of workers having to get the carts from the parking lot. Although I'm not sure how that would fly at bigger stores such as Walmart...
Anyways, I happened to reunite with my best friend while at the grocery store. Oh, had it been too long since I'd seen him last. One of the happiest moments so far. TOBASCO!
Gladly I had Jannik with me, otherwise I would have left the bottles and struggled with trying to free a cart from the dispenser not knowing that it costs a euro.
Aldi and LIDL are the most popular grocery stores in Germany, although LIDL, I've found, is pretty much popular everywhere throughout Europe. We went to LIDL, which is about half the size of Publix, so I began referring to it as "little" instead of "leedle" (which is how it's supposed to be pronounced).
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| Don't have €1, be prepared to carry everything! |
Aldi and LIDL are the most popular grocery stores in Germany, although LIDL, I've found, is pretty much popular everywhere throughout Europe. We went to LIDL, which is about half the size of Publix, so I began referring to it as "little" instead of "leedle" (which is how it's supposed to be pronounced).
At first glimpse, the market doesn't seem all too different from those back home. Aside from the German wording and relatively smallness of everything, it appears almost identical. That is until you start looking closer. I had no clue what half of the vegetables were, either they didn't look familiar or they just aren't common in the States, I'm not sure... Plus, everyday food necessities such as - kraft, Ramen noodles, and jalapeños - are completely absent from the store. Okay, those are probably necessities only for me, but still...!
Did I mention that I found chocolate pasta in the pasta isle?! Doesn't sound good at all, but I kind of wanted to try it. I didn't though. What would you eat with it? What type of sauce and sides? Strange... Anywho, the section dedicated to Mexican/taco food was ridiculously small. Which, in a way, helped me a bit, because I didn't really have much to choose from. One brand of salsa, one brand of taco shell, one brand of seasoning, and two types hot sauces - that was all!
Next to the taco section was a cute little 'American' section complete with 'American hot-dogs' and peanut-butter. I thought it was adorable. Oh, these German's don't known how much good food they're missing out on. It's a pity, really
I will give them this: their beer section is on point. Cases and cases. The store is smaller than my neighborhood Publix, yet their beer section probably doubles it, no problem. Also, their deli (I guess) was pretty nice. All the different meats and cheeses (and, boy, did those cheeses stink up that section of the store) were quite vast. No Gatorade, however, which was a complete bummer. I've gone the last month and a half without sweet tea and Gatorade. It's like I'm fasting or something. I've been living off of Punica and milk. The latter, with me being lactose-intolerant and all, hasn't gone over too well. Not to mention the cheese (they use cheese on everything, in everything, and with everything)! My stomach will be happy to get to Brussels in a few weeks (Italy and France are going to be equally as bad, I assume).
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| Best friends for ever. |
The tacos, I'd say, were a hit, though. I guess they'd never made their own tacos before, nor rarely ever eaten them, because they asked for my instruction on how to assemble them. It was cute. Of course, the tacos were served for lunch, and we went back to sandwiches for dinner. Honestly, if I never saw another sandwich again, I'd probably be quite okay. I barely liked them in the States, so now they're pretty much dead to me.
I came into Germany completely obsessed with their spicy mustard (which is considered regular mustard to them, they don't have - at all - our type of mustard). After eating the same sandwich, every day, for 30+ days, consisting of mustard, lunchmeat, Gouda cheese, and a tomato - I can barely stomach the taste of the mustard anymore. I have, however, grown to LOVE sausages, eggs, and pancakes - three things I used to absolutely despise. I guess you win some, you lose some.
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| My dinner. We didn't have any tomatoes that day so I spiced things up with some bell pepper! |
Since we're on the topic of food, however, I have high expectations for Italy and Belgium. You can probably keep Poland, Czech, Austria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, and I'm undecided about France.
Pizza in Pisa, authentic italian food in Rome, mussels in Brussels, and some Belgium chocolate to finish it off. Can't wait! England's fish and chips weren't bad either, probably get some of that on the way back. Not sure about France... their cheese repulses me.
And, don't worry folks back home, I plan on bringing a box of Belgium chocolates back with me!
Pizza in Pisa, authentic italian food in Rome, mussels in Brussels, and some Belgium chocolate to finish it off. Can't wait! England's fish and chips weren't bad either, probably get some of that on the way back. Not sure about France... their cheese repulses me.
And, don't worry folks back home, I plan on bringing a box of Belgium chocolates back with me!
Vaarwel, Bianca.
