Foraging in Germany
Tonight I went grocery shopping. Now I know you don't think that is very interesting or courageous, but trust me, it is a task for the undaunted. First I will tell you that you might think that the food, looks like the food and probably taste like the food but you have to know that the thing that looks like cauliflower is the thing called blumenkohl and it is going to cost 0,95 and that is not the weight. So, I wandered down to Aldi Sud (the grocery store that looks more like the Rite Aid with a grocery section around the outside edges and sale items in the middle) for some food for this evening.
When you are heading to the store, make sure you have a shopping bag to bring home your purchases. There is a charge for each plastic bag you need and if you are going to use a shopping cart while in the store you have to have a euro for a shopping cart. When you return the cart you get your euro back (San Francisco, are you listening? This might solve your problem). I have learned one thing in my travels. Never, Ever, get a cart if they have small baskets (unless you have a car). You will never be able to carry all the stuff you manage to stuff into a cart. Try it sometime. Go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and buy your evening meal with a cart. Now try to carry it all home! You would be amazed at how good you get at not buying that extra item!
First item in the store is a machine that spits out a brezel when you push the little blue button. This is not just any brezel (pretzel), it is a warm, toasted pretzel. I grabbed a bread bag so I could show it to the clerk (remember, I do not speak the language yet), because as we all know, I cannot have a warm pretzel just beneath my nose and get through the whole shopping experience without.... you guessed it... eating it! It definitely makes shopping easier and makes the load lighter on the way home.
I digress. Now, I have eaten the brezel and I have found the salmon (Pazifik Wildlachsfilet) because there is a picture on the box. I also got der rosenkohl (brussel sprouts) and I knew what they were because they were in a bag with rosenkohl written on the label. But the tomatoes in a tube (is it tomato paste?) or the other items with long labels will have to wait for another day.
When you are heading to the store, make sure you have a shopping bag to bring home your purchases. There is a charge for each plastic bag you need and if you are going to use a shopping cart while in the store you have to have a euro for a shopping cart. When you return the cart you get your euro back (San Francisco, are you listening? This might solve your problem). I have learned one thing in my travels. Never, Ever, get a cart if they have small baskets (unless you have a car). You will never be able to carry all the stuff you manage to stuff into a cart. Try it sometime. Go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and buy your evening meal with a cart. Now try to carry it all home! You would be amazed at how good you get at not buying that extra item!
First item in the store is a machine that spits out a brezel when you push the little blue button. This is not just any brezel (pretzel), it is a warm, toasted pretzel. I grabbed a bread bag so I could show it to the clerk (remember, I do not speak the language yet), because as we all know, I cannot have a warm pretzel just beneath my nose and get through the whole shopping experience without.... you guessed it... eating it! It definitely makes shopping easier and makes the load lighter on the way home.
I digress. Now, I have eaten the brezel and I have found the salmon (Pazifik Wildlachsfilet) because there is a picture on the box. I also got der rosenkohl (brussel sprouts) and I knew what they were because they were in a bag with rosenkohl written on the label. But the tomatoes in a tube (is it tomato paste?) or the other items with long labels will have to wait for another day.
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