german cuisine-need advise!
 

we are considering a 2 week trip to Germany
(including 2 or 3 days in Prague) While clearly there is an abundance to see and do,
I am more than a little concerned about DH,
since he is not the most adventurous of diners, and I don't want him to be merely surviving on a diet of weiners for 14 days.
(I do not mean to be curt, but really, he ate spaghetti bolonese and pizza for 2 weeks in Italy!) So please, some advise...Also, is Germany as expensive to dine in as Italy??
That spaghetti and pizza cost us a king's ransom!

He'll have a hard time - there are only W<b>ie</b>ners, Bratwuerste and pork knuckles with loads of potatoes or potato dumplings, heavy gravy and hardly any vegetables available in these necks of the wood!

that's what I was afraid of....I am posting a similar thread for Spain and Portugal, if you have any input...Some might disagree, but you have to eat, and it is a part of travel...I don't want him to sacrifice basic life for sights! I might mention, he travels for me, enjoys all the sights, but he goes for me, so I don't want to make him miserable!

You probably did not catch my sarcasm.

There are Italian restaurants in most German cities, towns and villages. Greek restaurants are abundant, too. As are Chinese.

German cuisine itself has been dramatically reformed over the past years and can even reach gourmet level, while often including elements of French and other cuisines.

Additionally you would be able to indulge into cuisine styles from all over the world in most major cities such as Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, and Munich.

you brat (wurst)! I didn't catch the sarcasm, since I am sincerely trying to help DH enjoy the trip!
Good to know though, since we had no problem with Paris or London finding something he would like!

Italian food is very popular in Germany, even most of the 'German style' restaurants will have a pasta section on the menu.

The prices vary, but in general for Bolognese, Lasagne, Pizza etc it can be very cheap, i.e. less than 6 euro ($8) for a huge portion with bread.

When I was recently in the States, I thought the prices at Italian restaurants seemed a bit on the high side, compared to say Munich.

Geordie

Hi D,

In Germany, Czech Rep, Spain and Portugal DH should be able to eat what he is used to.

&gt;is Germany as expensive to dine in as Italy??
That spaghetti and pizza cost us a king's ransom!&lt;

Prices should be a tad lower in Spain and Portugal, a tad higher in Germany.

I'm surprised that you would find a diet of pizza and pasta to be expensive.

What's your idea of a &quot;moderate&quot; priced restaurant?

((I))

ira--while we did indeed dine at &quot;tourist spots&quot; campo fiore, pantheon, venice in general, we really could not seem to spend less than 30 us per person per meal...now maybe we were doing something wrong??? All advise, as always, eagerly accepted!!! PS, aside from the above note, we both LOVED Italy!!!

Prices vary throughout Germany. The countryside is usually cheaper than the major cities.
Of the latter, Berlin is dirt cheap IMHO, Munich somewhere in the middle priced section and Frankfurt and Hamburg appearing to be a bit more expensive.
Unfortunately I find it impossible to have a decent quality pizza for EUR 6.00 as suggested before here in Hamburg. I paid EUR 11.50 for a pizza with Parma prosciutto and Rucola last Saturday (but it was delicious).
Generally a main course at a decent quality place will set you back around EUR 17.00 around here.

In case of emergency, McD and Burger King are available practically everywhere.
(Sorry, couldn't resist mentioning that.)

A more serious answer: Most German restaurants offer vegetarian alternatives, salads, vegetables, fish in addition to the traditional meat dishes, especially in cities. Country inns, however, often limit their menu to meat, meat and meat.
Italian food is extremely popular and can be found even in the smallest of towns. And a lot of other foreign cuisines as well. And all kinds of fast food.
Since prices have almost doubled with the introduction of the Euro, eating out won't be cheap.

If you want good sandwiches/rolls as a snack during the day, have a closer look at bakeries. Most of them offer a wide choice. A big salami-and-cheese roll (or mozzarella-tomato or bacon-and-eggs or...) is enough for lunch if you go out for dinner in the evening.

I do need to mention, while he hates to fly, likes food which is &quot;not too strange&quot; DH is actually the most enjoyable buddy to travel with! We have in our 10 years of marriage, have travelled to London, Paris, a good slice of Italy, a good chunk of China,
as well as Costa Rica, and twice to Mexico..He is facinated with the history and architechure (could barely tear him away from it in Italy!!) So to give him a little consideration in the food department, doesn't seem to be too unreasonable!

Hi D,

&gt;could not seem to spend less than 30 us per person per meal..&lt;

That's not unreasonable, but it should be more than pizza and pasta and should include a glass of wine.

((I))

quokka- I think you nailed it when you mentioned the euro changed everything.
When my son and I went to Paris Jan 03
the euro/dollar was 1/1. when my DH and I went in March 04 it was 1/1.2. Italy with DH in May 06 1/1.30. Clearly at least part of the problem. I was talking to a fellow traveller a couple days ago, and he said the euro was intended at it's beginning to be 1/1 to the US dollar, was intended to stay there, but things went astray???

Daisy

I think Quokka was speaking as a European, as many people including myself think that the conversion of DM to Euro was an opportunity to greatly inflate prices.

I think the original Dollar / Euro exchange rate was around 1.18 Euro to the dollar.

Geordie

It isn't as if the folks in Germany ONLY eat sausages; there are a lot of OTHER metas available in German restaurants to include pork, veal, beef, etc., and there are also vegetables (the asparagus, for example, can be absolutely wonderful) to inbclude potatoes, etc., etc.

There is absolutely no reason for you or your husband to subsist on hot dogs or even &quot;Italian&quot; food not to mention the numerous other &quot;ethnic&quot; restaurant possibilities.

Frankly, if you've been to all those places you mentioned I would say that unless he IS eating in fast food places he is a lot more &quot;adventurous&quot; than you may be giving him credit for.

I recently had very fresh pasta including vegetables at Valpiano's in Hamburg for about 8 euro. It was as good as any I have had anywhere. They also have salads etc and make it all in front of you. Good price and good food.

Baldworth

I hate to get too deeply into the exchange issue, but surely a great part of the dollar/euro issue is the fall in the value of the USD? As someone who welcomes tourists to France from all over the world, it's not great for our business to have things expensive in dollars, but there are some economic issues in the US that are affecting the dollar.

It's not just the euro - the Canadian dollar, which hasd hovered around 75 cents to the USD for many years, and got down to 60 cents, is now up to 90. The Canadian economy is strong, but again, it's also a comment on the US economy.

Can we get back to Daisy's question?

Every now and then, German colleagues have taken me out to local restaurants where I've had fabulous German food (seafood in Hamburg, for example, especially if you're fond of eels).

Since both Mrs F and myself speak really rotten German, we normally just choose at random from restaurant or pub menus in the German-speaking world. And have never (except once in East Berlin before the Wall came down) made a bad choice - which is more than you can guarantee in France these days.

Personally, I'd suggest Mr Daisy does all his eating in Ratkellers, and just sticks a pin in the menu. But some people might be a bit leery of this. And there are a few German dishes (like ex-Chancellor Kohl's alleged favourite, stewed ewe's stomach) which really faddy people might have second thoughts about.

So how does a slightly nervous eater painlessly get to explore the splendid, rib-sticking, wonders of German home cooking?

Hi
There's inexpensive food in Germany other than brats. We usually like to go to a chain called &quot;Nordsee&quot; for seafood, including inexpensive lunch sandwiches&quot; In Berlin last year we found an inexpensive Chinese, Vietnamese restaurant near Potzdammer platz. There are also many Turkish restaurants or fast food places for lunch. Very inexpensive. The food is very good and less expensive than Italy usually.

Daisy, my husband and I are both very picky eaters and managed to thoroughly enjoy German cuisine. Granted we ate schnitzel almost every day, but its hard to go wrong with a piece of fried meat! ;) We had turkey schnitzel, chicken schnitzel, pork scnitzel...well, you get the point! But overall the food was very good. We don't eat any &quot;weird&quot; meats and managed just fine. The potatoes, especially spaetzel (small potato dumplings) were also very good and usually came with the schnitzel.

We also ate a lot of Italian food, as there is an abundance of it, even in the countryside, and we ate at a lot of cafes as well. I don't think he will have a problem.

I don't recall the food being too expensive. You got a decent amount of food for the money. In the countryside the food was better priced, and I think most of it was cheaper than, say, a meal in Rome or Paris.

Good luck!
Tracy