German Grocery Shopping

One of the best things about grocery shopping in Germany is the cost of food. You can subsist on 20 euros a week if you have to, or less. When I was first here and times were tougher, I did just that. Müsli, Kaffee, Äpfel, and Milch with perhaps a small loaf of healthy bread and some cheese and butter can be acquired for under 10 euros, and with that, you have almost all the food groups plus morning energy in a cup for the office. With a few more bucks you can get tortillas, chicken or pork, nuts, a good cucumber, and some Zaziki to top your homemade Döner.

Notably, in every grocery store I've been to, the chocolate aisle is the longest and most varied. Therefore, supplies are endless. You can choose from fine chocolates such as Lindt and Hachez or buy store brand bars to satisfy your Schoko cravings. There are so many choices, and chocolate is an art here. Around holidays, you will find special displays -- in addition to the long rows of chocolate -- filled with chocolate frogs, bugs, Weihnachtsmänner, and bunnies. Chocolate is important and everywhere; this is definitely a country that has its priorities in order. 

Be prepared with a few of your own reusable grocery bags for your Lebensmittel, because most stores charge you 20 cents to buy a plastic bag. This is for good reason: supplying the bags is costly, and there is way too much plastic floating around in our oceans. You can put your groceries in one of your bags as you shop, if you don't have too much to buy. Many people in Germany arrive at stores with their own large bags or even small trolleys for carrying their purchases home (from any store) -- even the men. 

Grocery carts are not free for customers. You must put one euro or a plastic token in the slot provided on the cart handle. For this reason perhaps, there aren't too many homeless German people pushing grocery carts around.

When you check out at the cashier, be prepared to move quickly. Many Germans are not patient when it comes to standing in line. It's incredible how some people will rudely glare at you and stand very close to you to hurry you through the line. (Out of necessity, I have my elbow ready to jab them when they get too close.) Others will cut in front of you in line -- the courtesy you might experience at home is much less common here. Checking out is harried, because the cashiers are quick, especially at ALDI, where they swipe and scan your items so fast you don't have time to put what you've bought into your bag or cart. 

It seems that the people who have the most time -- retired or elderly people -- are the ones who are in the biggest hurry. Perhaps they've lived long enough to have stood in bread lines during or after the war, I don't know. There are exceptions of course, but a lot of older German people are pushy. 

One day at a store in Heidelberg, the one cashier open had a long line, so a new cashier was opening. A woman at the very end of the other line rushed in front of three other people who were waiting for the new cashier, including myself. The woman who led us three told the other woman, "I was waiting in line." The rude woman said, "Well, I was waiting in a line, too." I looked at the man in front of me, who was kind enough to offer to let me go in front of him, but I said no thank you and that some people WERE NOT VERY NICE in a voice that grew steadily louder, so the bitch could hear. What did she do after she purchased her one item that was so important she had to cut in front of three other people? She stood at an empty counter nearby, reading the store's advertising brochure. I almost walked over to tell her what I really thought, but hopefully she heard me the first time. 

Bagboys? Non-existent. You bag your groceries yourself. What Germans do if they have many items is simply put them back into the cart after the cashier has scanned the items, then they bag them on a counter or table nearby after paying. This is all for speed and efficiency (rushing and impatience) in the checkout line. Once, when I had a lot of groceries spread out on the belt and I was slow to put them in my cart, I had to explain to the cashier that I am American, and I do things differently. She was understanding. 

Yes, grocery shopping in Germany can be fun, if you ignore the pressure at the checkout line. There are so many new foods to discover and try out (especially in the chocolate section). 

Wörterbuch/Dictionary
Äpfel  - apples
Döner  - a Turkish fast food like a gyro -- flatbread stuffed with meat and toppings
Kaffee - coffee
Lebensmittel - groceries
Milch - milk
Müsli - granola
Schoko - short for Schokolade, or chocolate
Weihnachtsmänner - literally "Christmas men". Der Weihnachstmann is Santa Claus.
Zaziki - a Greek sauce made from yogurt, with garlic and cucumber