it is all messed up. So I'll start anew. Just wanted to report on my experience with www.Germandeli.com. It was mentioned as a place to buy Stiglmeier sausage (and other good things). I just received my order from them (I ordered prosciutto, not sausage), and the packing was amazing. Everything was securely packed in a little foam ice chest, with ice packs, and that inside a sturdy cardboard box. The ice packs were still frozen solid, and everything was nice and cold. The top of the ice chest was decorated with the colors of the German flag---nice touch.

I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again, even sausage. Maybe not in the summer, but now it is fine.

Enzian - for those of us in the DFW area who are lucky enough to be able to drive to Germandeli.com (yes, you can actually go to the place and shop), it's an absolute delight to be able to. Their selection of stuff is top notch. I try to go there at least once a month at the very least to see what new Milka chocolates they have or gummis. Has anyone else in the DFW area gone there yet?

trafaelywr---Lucky you! I had so much fun with the website; I can't imagine being able to actually shop at the store. And I was surprised to learn that it is in Texas--I hadn't associated that state with a large German population.

I'm already planning my next order. . .

Enzian,

You're from the Seattle area, aren't you? Then you definitely need to visit the Bonney Lake Schwingfest held yearly the second weekend in August. You can get bratwursts, watch swiss wrestling, see Swiss costumes, do Swiss dancing at night and just enjoy the Swiss atmosphere. My family went every year...and they still do.

I'm probably the only person in Switzerland who gets homesick for the states when I hear Swiss music.

Schuler---yes, we are in the SEattle area. There is a Schwingfest HERE? What fun!

We'd still like to catch one in Switzerland, but I don't know if our itinerary coincides with any. The weekend of June 30-July 1, we'll be in Mürren, and the following weekend we head to Gstaad to watch some opening rounds of the Swiss Open (so probably won't have time for Schwingen that weekend). But if there were something near Mürren that first weekend (Schwingen or any king of Dorffest), we'd be happy to travel to see it.

I just looked at German Deli online and compared their online prices against the prices for the same products we buy in Germany.
Even taking into account the exchange rate, the www.germandeli.com prices are HIGH. For example, we buy for my inlaws a German toothpaste. On germandeli.com, it's $5.79 a tube. We paid just over a euro per tube in Baden-Baden (which isn't exactly a discount paradise). Very high markups for things like Guhl shampoo...and I'm comparing retail to retail prices. If the owner gets things at wholesale prices, well that's a nice healthy profit.
But if people are willing to pay those high prices, then why not charge them, I guess.

Hi Enzian,

Here's a website listing all the Schwingfests this year. Couldn't find anything that suits your itinerary though. http://www.esv.ch/anlaesse.php

Btilke - Your post pointed out something rather significant - you're in Germany. As the stuff they sell is imported stuff, there will be a significant markup in price. I don't know what the break down would be, but I would assume it has to do with shipping costs, local tax, etc. Sure, there are some other online sites that sell German stuff, but germandeli.com really does have an extensive selection. When I make my trips over to Europe, I make sure I stock up on stuff before I come back home.

Actually, we're not in Germany, we're in the UK and Belgium. But we do travel to Germany frequently. Somebody who's planning a trip to Germany and who likes some of the non-perishables sold on the site might do better to take a decent sized suitcase and stock up in Germany. The toothpaste, in particular, doesn't take up much room in a suitcase and the Germandeli price is almost 4x the *retail* price we paid in Germany.

Thanks, Schuler. I see we'll miss the Küssnacht one by just a couple of days. Well, another time. And they even have them in Canada, I see!

BTilke---I'll happily pay $5 a tube to get my German toothpaste fix! Even bringing back 4 or 5 tubes, it doesn't last until my next trip. I proudly list all 5 tubes on my customs declaration form just to see the response of the inspector.

Only 5, how stingy. We bring about 2 dozen in at a time for my in-laws. I've got 25 tubes here now, those will go with me on my next trip to the U.S. Even two dozen tubes don't take up much space in a 26" suitcase and that's an annual supply for my mother-in-law. Buying them from Germandeli.com would cost her nearly $150 (plus shipping). We spent 27.5€ for the same thing.
Never had any problems bringing them in.

Anyway, it's worth making note of what you see on Germandeli.com and comparing that against the prices of what you find in Germany and figuring whether you can bring it back to the U.S. easily. For us, it's absolutely no contest whatsoever.

You're absolutely right about the price, it's no contest. But I don't mind buying just one tube when I run out, to fill out my GermanDeli order. Some of the food is actually very reasonable---Bavarian prosciutto (labeled "Speck&quot was less expensive than what we pay for the same product in stores here.

I'll have to consider doubling my toothpaste quota for the next trip.

If you do, hit a DM store. They carry the skin and haircare products on the Germandeli site at much lower prices esp. the Guhl shampoos/conditioners and Nivea skincare items. I just finished up a bottle of Guhl shampoo that cost me about 1/3 of the GD price. Shampoo, of course, is a little heavier and harder to bring back than toothpaste, at least in quantity. Generally, the toothpaste costs between 1.1 and 1.3 euros, depending on whether there's special or not. We hit the DM store and usually clean out about half their stock of that particular toothpaste brand. I'm going to Vienna in less than 3 weeks and will probably pick up a few more tubes there. I do let them know I'm carrying the toothpaste when I check in...in case 25 tubes of something or other looks suspicious on the checked baggage x-ray.

>toothpaste
Can't think of any german toothpaste that is worth exporting. Even Aronal and Elmex are nothing out of the usual you can get anywhere, same formula, just the names are different.

It's my mother in law's favorite toothpaste. Maybe you don't think it's worth bothering about, but she likes having it, so what's the beef?

It's just the "wrapping" that's different.

logos99---I haven't found Elmex or Aronal at any store in the US. These are "usual" for you, but very different from standard US toothpaste brands--viel starker!