IMO, it can never hurt to spend a minute or two on basic travel infos like what to do in an emergency in country X, Y, or Z. In the old days, people would buy a paper travel guide for their destinations and had at least a clue that a trip to a drugstore is useless in Germany if you look for OTC drugs.

It is not realistic to assume that because something is available in the UK or Greece that it will also be available in Germany or Sweden. The countries are all different with different legislation especially on sensitive issues like pharmaceuticals.

It can also be helpful to know the ingredients of the drug you are looking for. Otherwise you will probably burp your heart out because you find no Pepto-Bismol in Germany.

As a rule of thumb, most medication against acute mundane illnesses like diarrhea (or the opposite), allergies/ anti-histamines, pain killers, irritated skin, coughs, sinusitis, muscle pains etc. are OTC in Germany, but only sold in pharmacies.
Once a drug contains controlled substances like codeine, penicillins, or are sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs or other psychoactive drugs it will not be OTC.

Though, there can be OTC variants of non-OTC drugs. So when you ask for one specific brand you know from back home and it is prescription only, you should also ask if there are OTC versions.

In major cities like Munich, you always have (aside from ERs in the hospitals) regular doctors as well as dentists on duty on weekends. Plus the late hours and weekend services of regular and specialist doctors medical center in the Elisenhof, which is right next to Munich's central station, and which is most convenient for all non life-threatening emergencies.
The Müller drugstore on the lower level of the central station is also open late and on weekends.

@TommieG: Hi Tommie, that wasn't our experience - my husband asked at a few Apotheken (and his German is reasonable). And he really didn't want to see a doctor for something so insignificant. That was in July (Vienna, just one Apotheke, where I did the asking) and August (Germany, specifically in a small town near Stuttgart, so Baden-Württemberg). In both locations we were told he needed to see a doctor and get a prescription. Maybe the law is different for different states ...? Thanks for the names, anyway, we know those from Australia.

Where we live you can't exactly buy products like that off the shelf either - there is an area near the pharmacist's counter and they always intercept you and advise you if you look like you are going to select something. But you don't need a prescription.

Lavandula

@lavadula Strange, as far as I know there is no difference betweens Bundeslander in Germany regarding these kind of things. Good luck next time.....

I myself live in the Netherlands, OTC medicines are widely available in drugstores and most of the time available off the shelf. The most common OTC medicines (like painkillers) are even available in some supermarkets and gas stations since a year or so.

Quite easy.

Pharmacists have a strong lobby in Germany. It comes from times when it was still a very regulated business. And a lucrative one. In most cities, it takes longer to find a convenience store than the next pharmacy.

In addition, some German states still have strict closing hours. So a supermarket which has to close at 8 is no real alternative to the pharmacies with rotating 24hrs on duty.

It's also regulated by one of the toughest educational standards. Actually, it takes longer to become a pharmacist than to finish medical uni to become a doctor.
While lots of medication is OTC in Germany, not all is harmless like M&Ms. Pharmacists are supposed to ask you if you already have other illnesses or take other meds. As people rarely actually read the product info. So when I bought an OTC cough syrup, the pharmacist asked me if I had asthma and warned me not to drive. Or asked if I had gastritic problems when I bought ibuprofen. The gas station dude will hardly do that.

So it's a mix of tradition, lobbying, and health reasons.

On the other side, if you need contact lenses you don't need a prescription in Germany but just buy them off the shelf. I was amazed that I could not get them in the US that easily ;-)