What treasure did you bring back from Germany?

I brought my Dad back some German mustard for his sausages, they sell it in squeeze tubes that resemble toothpaste containers. They are cheap and easy/lightweight to pack, and he loved it.

Great idea. I had forgot that a dear friend brought some back for us once. I wonder if they sell them in 3 oz tubes?

I bought mustard in 3 oz tubes last year. They are harder to find. I found them in small co-op stores. Since grocery stores do not use plastic bags, they do sell nice inexpensive but designed cotton shopping bags. I have one from Bacharach and a couple of other ones. I also have socks and bandanas. You could always buy Birkenstocks and I have a wonderful little leather Birkenstock key chain. I use it and have a happy memory with me all the time. Happy travels.

definately the tube mustard. How I wish I had bought more! Also Ritter chocolates - IMO it is the best chocolate ever :) I usually bring back foods from the countries I visit for family and friends. Seems they like that better than another knick-knack.
I buy clothes, shoes, &/or jewelry in other countries. That way I have something that reminds me of my travels on a regular basis and nobody has the same thing back home either. I also like to pick up magnets of each place I go to.

Well, for me it's always Christmas ornaments from the Erzgebirge but be careful not to get the made-in-China reproductions. If you don't want any for yourself they make good gifts as well.

Aside from that I fill my suitcase with Milka chocolate. My new favourite is "Trikolade" by Milka, also available at the duty free shop in Frankfurt airport in 300 gr bars. Also "Kuhflecken" which looks really funky.

For kids I buy "Ahoi Brause". Haribo Gummi Bears are great for kids and grown-ups alike (that's actually their slogan). The originals taste soooo much better than any knock-offs anywhere else in the world. I've done blind taste tests with my daughters Girl Guide troop here ;-)

For sweets shopping at Aldi or Lidl is the easiest and cheapest.

On one trip, I filled my extra carry on space with chocolate. I brought a variety of the Ritter Sport bars and, my personal favorite, Milch bars that come in a light purple wrapper.

I used to wear cargo pants. I kept a bar in my leg pocket to eat on the way home. Unfortunately when I went to eat it, it had melted and my pocket was full of chocolate goo. Their chocolate melts a lot easier than ours.

Theresa - come on down and buy my extra Lederhosn (well, it actually was handed down to me by a colleague whose 300-lb. father probably never wore it). We'd never sell our own, though. They were handed to us in our youth with the admonishment that we were to keep them all our lives. Lucky me - mine are 50 years old and I can fit into them just fine!

But the question is appropriate: apart from Oktoberfest, when would an American wear Tracht? Probably not at all, unless you are like me and wear it at times in summer into the office (gales of laughter) or the longer version other times of the year (admiring glances).

Tracht is probably not a good pick, unless your giftee plans on joining a dance troupe. Not only is it ridiculously expensive (Lederhosen-prices start at $180 and head up into the $500s) but socially and professionally crippling in this country.

Easiest to take: linens, textile or crocheted table cloths, folk art made with fabric, and the occasional heavy-duty plate (Gmundner or Northern German/Polish serving ware).

And yes, I also got a nearly new small Bavarian dirndl from the same source. We can't wear it either . . .

Beatrix, I get the "Brause Brocken" for myself because it was my favorite candy as a little "Kraut"! :)

I get the Gummis for my 2 grandchildren, and they tell me that the Gummi Bears I bring them taste much better than the ones here in the US?

Just wondered if any of y'all have noticed that?

As to the original question: The treasure I brought back was an authentic Bavarian "Tracht" ensemble complete mit Lederhosen.

I "modelled" it for my SO, and she said, "Cute Bill, but when and whatcha gonna wear it for?"

My brain screamed out at me: "HALLOWEEN!!", but I resisted and said...... "OKTOBERFEST, mein Schatz!"

B~

I can see now that my bag is going to filled with chocolate and mustard--and I'd love to find a lederhosen for my husband, but he's quite a big boy at 6'3" and pushing 300 lbs. And, then there's the task of actually making him wear it! HA! I love all your clever ideas, and I know we are going to have the time of our lives!

Bill:

The German gummi bears DO taste better because Haribo invented them!!! Everything else is just a cheap knock-off. When we did the blind taste test (like the Pepsi-Coke tests) with the Girl Guides here in town it was very easy for them to point out the better tasting ones - Haribo OF COURSE ;-)

My youngest daughter is actually the biggest Brause fan in our house. For her it has to be the powder. I showed her the real way of eating it: pour it into you hand, spit on it and let it start to bubble, then lick it up. There is a scene in the movie "The Tin Drum" that uses this method. Only that it's another child who spits on the Brause and makes Oscar lick it up ... btw that's a great German movie to watch! The book brought a Nobel prize to its author Guenther Grass and the movie won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Which reminds me: I often bring back DVDs of German movies. However, I do have a multi-region DVD player sitting here in my Canadian home. 90% of players on the Northamerican market can NOT play DVDs from Europe! Be very careful if you consider this as a souvenir.

For Family and friends - something to eat.
For Myself - my photos and a souvenier book of every major city/site. They do get heavy and I suppose I could mail them to myself. I read them in depth and I share my little Europe library with my friends who travel. In case of a fire (here in California - a possibilty) I'll grab my photo albums and my souvenier books. Happy Travels.

It's funny: while I was growing up in Northern Germany with no Bavarian heritage whatsoever if somebody had asked me to wear a dirndl I'd told him "only over my dead body". It's Bavarian costume not German! Once living abroad your outlook changes. I do own a very nice one right now, the apron is made of silk. And yes, I do wear it occasionally. Sometimes for a special Christmas dinner. Very appropriate attire also if you go to see Mozart's "Zauberfloete" at the opera house ;-)

Oh, and the chocolate in purple wrapping with the purple cow that's Milka. My alltime favourite!

Beatrix,

I have seen "Die Blech Trommel", and its easy to see why it won!

Does this sound familiar?

"Haribo macht Kinder froh. Und Erwachsene ebenso!"

I have both kinds of the Brause, but when I offer a piece to my American friends and tell them it will effervesce in their mouths, they don't seem to like it!

Oh well, more for me I reckon! ;)

B~

The treasures that our 3 sons hauled back were beer glasses (not steins) from the different breweries. Especially in Bavaria (Haufbrauhaus in Munich, Augustiner in Salzburg, etc). On site prices were from about 8 Euro up for a liter size with emblem. I like the little wooden spork from a beer garden. Knives and corkscrews. Check out current postage stamps. And food. There are all sorts of different items in the grocery stores (in addition to the above mentioned mustards!).

Have you considered a small porcelain figurine or vase? Germany has numerous world famous porcelain manufactories such as Meissen, Nymphenburg, Ludwigsburg. Or perhaps ceramics from the Majolika Manufactory or a Hummel figurine from the Goebbel Manufactory. My mother and wife collected cup and saucer sets.

We spend 4 weeks in Germany every summer, just got back. I rarely buy anything 'typically German'as I have enough of those items, although I do love my china and crystal I've collected in the past. Nowawdays I bring back German coffee, Dallmayr or Jacobs, chocolates such as Ritter Sport or Milka. I do like to pick up a 3D type map if I visit a new city, they make great souvenirs and it's fun to retrace your steps. Other easy ideas might be a German version of a fashion or news magazine,or instead of a dirndl,just an edelweiss necklace on a twisted ribbon cord. My daughter bought a German edition of one of the Harry Potter books a few years back,and sheet music esp. of German composers. Also the beer coasters used everytime you order a drink can be fun to collect-and they're free.
By the way, from what I've learned, Goebel will discontinue production of the M.I. Hummel figurines at the end of 2008, if you've ever wanted one.

The best things we brought back were our journals. Everyone had a different take on each day (mom, dad and 2 teenage sons). For family we brought back lace Christmas ornaments (flat easy to pack) and chocolate.

Christina, I was unaware of the Hummel issue--good to know! Thanks!

Beatrix mentioned the Milka Trikolade choclate bar. In the same size, i.e. 300g, they currently sell this summer's special called Champiolade (because of the Euro 2008). It's a milk chocolate filled with a yogurty cream which itself is filled with caramelized crunch things (really not sure what it is but it's so yummy I'd want to be a child again). It's limited to "as supply lasts" wich I suppose means by the end of this summer...

On another trip, I asked my aide what she wanted me to bring her from Germany. She said, "A man!"

I was in Koln during the Rathaus open house and met the Uberbergermeister. He had postcard sized pictures of himself that he was autographing as well as .2 liter beer glasses with his picture printed on them. I had him make out the card to my aide and gave her the card and glass.

Theresa, For something different, I brought back a pillow case I purchased in Rottenberg. Stuffed a pillow in it and put it on the sofa with the one I got in Austria and the one with the Eiffel Tower which says "I'd Rather Be In Paris."

Each region of Germany has a different style of pottery, which can be nice. Our Frankfurt style is blue on grey. Also Easter eggs are different all over Germany too. If I was to bring something back though, it would be a great kitchen knife by Zwilling perhaps.
If you like mustard in a tube, you might also like tomato paste in a tube or mayo. It is so practical. Turkish stores have Harissa in a tube. A fab, hot, spicy paste. For kids, I always take "kinder eier" A chocolate egg with a surprise toy inside. Sometimes they are figures, but usually stuff you have to put together. Lots of people have huge collections of these. A few of my friends started just getting magnets from each place they visited. This could be a good trend for me too.

My favorite german purchases:

Art work- small sketches and painting of places we have been-My favorite is a pen and ink of Rothenberg

My husband's favorite:

A carving of a Bavarian hiker/cimber-it is about 12 inches tall. He has on a packpack and is leaning on his hiking stick with rope coiled at his feet. We had it wrapped securely at the shop and he carried it home on the plane. As a hiker/climber he loves it.

My advice:
Look for something that is as meaningful to you as his hiker figure is to him.

Awesome ideas, guys! I love the pillow case idea. I've always admired those old kitchy souvenir tea towels from around the US. I have often wanted to collect those and make pillow cases from them.

I love my beer steins! I also bought a Hofbrauhaus glass that I also love.

My daughter and I have ceramic tiles in blue and white that says "Bad". It looks lovely in our bathroooms and something we see everyday as a reminder of our trip. If you go to Baden Baden, you might get a nicely framed print of the spa for your bathroom. My daughter has one from Bath, England in hers. Have fun!

Kinder Eggs. These are chocolate (edible) covered eggs(plastic) that hold a cute toy to assemble. We can now get them here but the toy inside is now pretty awful. I think the German ones are still make with the cute toy. Ask before you buy. Old Kinder Eggs are collected and traded all over Europe. This is a great present for children old enough not to put the little parts in their mouths. We always brought them back for our adult friends too. They had just as much fun with them as the kids did.

Theresa, I have bought most of the previous suggested items and enjoy all of them for we love Germany. However, I might add that I enjoying daily the carved wooden plates with scenes from the specific area which I set on a plate stand or hang on the wall. Keep traveling.

Theresa, I have bought most of the previous suggested items and enjoy all of them for we love Germany. However, I might add that I enjoying daily the carved wooden plates with scenes from the specific area which I set on a plate stand or hang on the wall. Keep traveling.

My only treasures I brought back from this trip to Germany was a calendar for next year so I can have all the castels all next year and a very cute painted cowbell with an embrodered ribbon to put on my front door. They packed in to my carry with little problem so they were easy to transport. The calendar I just slid it on the top of my suitcase and it didn't get bent and the bell just fit in the corner.

we live in Germany and the big hits going State-side are:

Kinder- surprise eggs, sold in the grocery store usu. by the checkout, as mentioned by PP. I pack them in a cookie tin so they don't get crushed en route.

Milka, Ritter, Lindt, and Merci chocolates - all available in the local grocery store and delicious. Many also come in "Diat", usually in another section of the grocery store for "Diabetikers". My mom ADORES them - and I've tried it and it they taste just like the real deal, no joke.

Paper napkins with designs/flowers/etc. printed on them. Also can be readily found in a grocery store or any card/stationary shop. Cheap, light, and easy to pack. Good gifts for friends.

My husband (German) has a favorite mustard, Haendelmairs, which is in a jar with a red label, but is only just over a Euro for a jar and is more of a sweet mustard. We also buy the blue-white tube Thomy mustard.

Kitchen and baking tools are also awesome and affordable in the grocery store. If you're into dolling up your baked goods you'll find a decent selection of supplies in a normal-sized grocery store. Think doilies, wire slicers, templates to hold over cakes to make powdered sugar designs, piping features, mini molds, bundt pans, the list goes on.

Honestly, the grocery store is the best place.

Sometimes I bring soccer t-shirts or hats for the kids, with the Frankfurt team on them. German antiques are fun, like bed-warmers, rug beaters, spice jars with the German names on them, German phones, stuff like that. Old lace and linen are also usually on sale at these markets and some of them are so lovely. Especially christening gowns. Easy to pack too.

Thanks so much for all the ideas. I love the "check out the grocery store" idea. And, I'm a big antique collector. Maybe we will find some great places to check out on our journey.

Great memories, Milka chocolate and Rittersport chocolate. The Haribo gummies are good too. Also, I know that we can purchase a lot of these items in our grocery stores but they were much fresher tasting from Germany.

Uh, some small rocks from the Schauinsland silver mine just outside of Freiburg Germany. Doesn't everyone pick up a cool rock here and there ?