mark

I am trying to get an understanding of what everyone is paying in Germany these days for a typical lunch and dinner, with no beer or wine included for the 25 Euros.<BR><BR>I am wondering if 25 Euros for lunch and dinner will be enough.<BR><BR>

Dick Yeager

Mark,<BR><BR>Should not be a problem. I think you will eat very well on E 25 per day.<BR><BR>One thing to remember, most hotels have breakfast included in the room price. My wife and I ate no lunches when we were there within the last three weeks.<BR>We had our "cocktail hour" in our room with sausage and cheese, then went out and had nice dinners for around E 40 for two including 2/3 glasses of house wine each.<BR><BR>Dick

Wayne

Mark--Although Dick Yeager has given you a reasonable answer, I'd like to point out that your location in Germany has a lot to do with how well you can eat on 25 Euro per day. In a big city, even in the lower cost restaurants, prices will be higher than for comparable food in small towns and non-resort or non-touristy areas. I'd be terribly surprised, for instance, if you could eat very well in Berlin on that amount of money. So take into account that your question is too general to answer accurately. It would be much easier to give you an answer if you had some destination or some city or area of Germany in mind.

Dick Yeager

Wayne makes a good point. My reference was for Munich.<BR><BR>Dick

Rex

Spending 25 euro per day will feed you in a fashion to 18-20 USD per day. Many Americans are accustomed to being to eata very filling (high calorie, even if not high quailty) lunch - - whether fast food or "casual" for under $5 (fast food) or $5-10 for casual sit-down. It is much more likely to cost you 10-15 euro for lunches in Germany (and many other places in Europe) - - unless you go the route of a picnic (or grocery store-based) lunch - - or just a "snack" lunch.<BR><BR>True, a 15 euro lunch can be a very substantial and pleasant "dining experience" - - and then you might be satisified with a cheaper "picnic" supper - - or something light.<BR><BR>But I think that eating "well" will require budgeting 35 euro per day. Eating "on a budget" will be more like 20-25 euro - - and "princely" starts at 60 euro and up per person per day (and unlikely you will want to do this, more than every other day or 2-3 times a week).<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

sarah

<BR><BR>Sorry to change the subject - slightly. How much would you budget for budget lunch and supper in London?

can

Just a note - the meals in Germany are also very high in calories ... all of the sausages, red meat and noodles and the cheesecakes and cream for the coffee are no exception. Perhaps I am only referring to Bavarian food and Schwabian food, I can't speak for any further North. But I really can't imagine that their food is lighter than American food. When I went to the States, I noticed that the portions were huge - and that is in comparison to Canada - and they eat much junk food. They may have a healthier approach to their food here, but please don't mention calories, the food here is SO high in fat and for a vegetarian or for anyone who likes a bit of spice or garlic, or even Thai zest, your choices are very limited.

bettyk

On our previous trip to Germany, we found that we were spending around $30 per meal for the two of us so this is what we budgeted for our most recent trip. However, we also found that we aren't eating as much these days, so we decided to share an entree with maybe a dessert or soup if we were really hungry. This worked out great for us as we didn't tend to overeat and we saved some money as well.

Victoria

We just returned from Berlin and other cities in the former east Germany. Our breakfast was usually substantial enough that we only had a quick bite of sausage and/or bread/cheese for lunch if we needed it, so I can't comment on lunch prices. Our dinners were usually at the "three or four star" restaurants, and the most expensive one in Berlin was 60 Euros-the others were between 20 and 30 Euro without beer. In Leipzig and Dresden, equivalent dinners cost slightly less; and in Goerlitz, we dined at the recommended best restaurant in the city, and dinner was 40 Euro, including alcohol.

Dick Yeager

Can,<BR><BR>I didn't think the food was so much more caloric. The thing to remember is that the Germans walk, walk and walk! They need the calories. The food is excellent, by the way.<BR><BR>Dick

bettyk

One person in our group ate primarily salads and/or roasted chicken during our recent 2-week visit to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. She said the salads were fantastic -- very fresh and flavorable. I have to admit, they did look good!

christian

To lighten things up a bit, I´ll give you some examples:<BR>Schnitzel with Chips in an average (= non posh) restaurant: from 5 to 10 Euros<BR>Main course in a restaurant with one Michelin star: from 15 (in the country/smaller city) to 30 euro (munich)<BR>Roll with cheese/coldcut/ham etc/sandwich at a bakery: 2 Euro<BR>pasta in a middle-class italian restaurant, not too fancy: 6-12 euro<BR>Kebab: 2-3 euro<BR>Bratwurst: 2-3 euro<BR>8 course menu in a top class restaurant: 80 - 250 euro<BR>Berlin is relatively cheap, Munich, Hamburg and D&uuml;sseldorf are expensive.<BR>Prices vary very much from city to city.<BR>For a cup of coffee in a munich street cafe, you may have to pay a preposterous 3-4 euro, whereas the normal price would be something around 1.5 euro.