Here are 7 major lessons learned that can make shopping easier for a newcomer to Germany:
1. Plan to shop for only a few days at a time, especially for produce and meat. If you like prepackaged shortcuts, seek out meat and produce packets like this soup package with fresh veggies. Just add your own meat and voila! Soup for supper!
2. Bring your own shopping basket and bags or plan to buy them at the register if available. I bought a wonderful heavy duty shopping bag that I like to keep in the car for impromptu shopping trips. I don’t mind buying shopping sacks at the register, but only if I need to. I also keep a small packable shopping bag with me at all times. I’ve also got a collapsible market basket in 2 sizes that I’ve used to go down the street to the nearby Hofladen, produce market, or to the bigger market in the city.
3. Timing is important. Learn when the slow days and times are at your favorite shops. If you cherish your weekends and would rather not do all your shopping on Saturday when everything is a lot more crowded, plan to do it all between Monday and Friday evening. Be warned: Most workdays end around mid afternoon on Fridays, so some shops are crowded by late afternoon.
When I worked a normal office job, I had to plan dinner for my preschooler around necessary shopping for groceries. If I needed produce, I would stop at a Hofladen which sells produce and even prepared sauces and foods like spaghetti sauces, baked breads, milk and cheese at Domäne Mechtildshausen and soups, desserts and sauces at Pankratius Hof.
4. Carry a 1euro coin for the grocery cart deposit if you plan to buy more than you can carry in your hands or in a hand carry basket. You get the coin back when you return the cart. That is such a simple and ingenious way to ensure carts are returned, ensuring that employees are not wasting time going to all corners of a parking lot dragging back carts. There are also cart coins that I have heard you can buy. I lucked out one day when the cart I picked outside a store had a forgotten cart coin.
5. Bag your own stuff quickly to avoid backing up a busy cashier or market stall. Some stores, like Lidl and Aldi, purposely have about 18″ of sacking space at the register. I’ve often felt like Ethel and Lucy getting backed up packaging chocolates when I’m slower at bagging my purchases than the cashier is at scanning them. The secret? Don’t worry about the dirty looks the next customer gives you. Do you really think you’ll see him again? Better yet, do not stack your groceries…spread your items on the belt to buy yourself a few more seconds. Or just put them right back into the cart and bag them after you’ve paid. Then you can be sure your soft bread and produce don’t end up underneath canned goods by accident.
6. Buy local. Believe me, it helps to support your neighborhood’s little stores especially as a foreigner. They will get used to seeing you over time and even anticipate your order. Our favorite bakery, Mayer Landbäckerei, has good coffee for me and a steady supply of gummy worms for Bella if she’s with me.
7. Ask your neighbors where they do their shopping. Bring a dictionary if needed so you can ask about that special ingredient you really need. Is this butcher, or metzgerai, better in price than the other? Where do they buy their produce? Flowers? Better to find out soon after arrival than when you really need to know!
Bottom line, don’t be intimidated to shop in any foreign country. It may take a while longer for you to figure it out but it is well worth it. If I can live in both Japan and Germany and shop in local grocery stores without too much issue, so can you! You need a sense of humor if you buy sugar instead of salt and try to learn some helpful phrases if you need to ask a question (I’d forgotten my Japanese dictionary and couldn’t recall the word for sugar and was too shy to ask for help). If you’re reading this blog, you probably already have a translation app on your smartphone. Bring it or a small language dictionary with you.
Have fun! Have a great foodie adventure!
The post An American in Germany: 7 Key Things that make grocery shopping easier appeared first on Global Family Treks.