Dining/snack options and prices in Germany

Hi Diane,

... suggest you prepare a budget IN WRITING based on what you know things cost, then add a fudge factor of, say, 15% ...

Guten Appétit... P

Love the 15% fudge factor.

I don't have a clue as to what food costs now, it's been 2 years, & we've never been to Germany.

For this trip BB is included in our lodging.
Past Euro trips we had morning coffe or cafe stop, Lunch was take out, vendor stand, picnic or light sit down meal,
an Afternoon break for beverage/snack,
end with a light Dinner with wine.
Sometimes we had a large midday meal & then only ate light snacks in evening.
The add several bottles of water a day & some healthy snacks like fruit.

Any info is appreciated.

Being a German, having grown up here, living here I have to tell you that - please read my comments on European colors - we eat all sorts of food from all sorts of countries. There are more Turkish and Italian restaurants in Germany than German ones - or so it feels. There is plenty of vegetarian traditional German food like Kässpätzle (the Americans watered it down completely, made it bland and called it Maccaroni and Cheese), Lentil meals etc etc. We eat beef, pork, veal, venison, chicken, turkey (plenty of it), all sorts of North Sea and local lakes fish, have got plenty of Chinese and Middle Eastern restaurants, Mongolian BBQs, Starbucks, McDonald's, Burger Kings (so we know what you eat), a Subway at every corner, KFCs... Bottled water costs 19 cents per 1.5 liters (your big soda bottles contain 2 liters) plus 25 cents of deposit at Aldi, Lidl, Penny, Rewe and other grocery stores. Beer, wine etc. depends on city and restaurant or bar. A pint can be up to €4.50 in Frankfurt or...

...Munich and as low as €2.00 in smaller cities and urban areas. A McDonald's cheeseburger is €.99.

I just came back from Germany, and the prices do vary for just about everything, but I can give you averages: a 6-pack of small water bottles was 89 eurocents at Aldi. A big bottle of good wine was 2 euros at aldi. A sandwich on the sidewalk (department stores and other places have service windows) was 2 to almost 5 euros, depending on the type of sandwich, and they were good.

In a restaurant, I had a turkey schnitzel with potatoes for 8 euros. I also had a couple of pasta type dishes in nice restaurants for that price.

In a restaurant, wine is from 3 to 5 euros, much cheaper than wine at big restaurants in the US, and bigger glasses, too, as the amount is a legal thing.
Beer was 2 to 10 euros. The 10 euro one was in the airport, and it was a large one, but my husband was shocked.

In general, I think prices are the same or better than here in California. And the chains are everywhere. McDonalds in Germany has a one euro menu. Hope this helps!

My question was directed as to what local German fare I would discover there just as you would find crepe vendors and patissieres all over Paris.

Perhaps my '101 ways to have Veal' was inappropiatly written. I didn't intend to take anything away from German culture. Growing up in a large family in the USA, it was a standard expression at the butcher shop to say how we would have ground beef "101 ways" this week.

Your tips are very helpful as to the average costs of every day things there and what chain stores carry
food. What stores do people feel have the best quality foods to go?

I make an estimated food/snack budget. Then I add or subtract money from this portion of my trip. If I'm on the plus side I put it towards gift shopping, a splurge, or maybe additional sightseeing.

We avoid fast food chains and they are our last resort when travelling. But thanks for the McD prices
as they show how the economy is running throughout the world.

for snacks, almost every bakery has a few quick sandwich type things. they are usually very good but not as cheap as they used to be. they are the german version of american deli sandwiches.

my personal favorite grocery store is aldi. you must bring your own bag or pay for one, and they only take cash, but everything is very cheap. they have a good selection of picnic type foods.

in every town there are also konditorei, which are like a coffee shop but usually much more fancy. they are not cheap, but they are fun for an elegant dessert in the afternoon.

and there are imbiss and kebab stands. and pizza by the slice. and unfortunately subway, burger king, and mc donalds.

we always stay where we get breakfast in our room (coffee is very expensive in germany, by the cup, no refills) and eat a nice, big breakfast, have a glass of wine or beer with a snack around lunch time, then we usually have a nice dinner. for us, the food is important; we are past the souvenir stage

I was in Bavaria in October of last year. Everyplace I stayed, breakfast was included with my room. For lunch and dinner, drinks and tip included, I spent a total of just under €20 per day. That was for one person; I was alone. I drank mostly beer. A half liter (16 oz) glass of Weissbier was usually €2-€3. A smaller glass of any beer was usually around €1,70.

I would make that 1 way to have veal (Wienerschnitzel), and 101 ways to have pork (all kinds of Schnitzel, tenderloins, and, in Bavaria, Schweinehaxe).

BTW, here is a typische Deutsche Speisekarte, www.weinhaus-wieghardt.de/download/speisekarte.pdf. I was there at lunch time and had a light meal, Gemüserösti, kind of hashbrown but made with vegatables.

Most squares have bratwurst stands. It's essentially like getting a hot dog. Instead of a bun, it's a roll and some mustard on top.

I do a lot of eating out of small grocery stores. Go to the deli in back. 100 grams each of your choice of sliced meat and cheese is more than enough for two. Buy a couple of rolls (sold individually out of bins). Pick up a tube of mustard, some chocolate for dessert and you're set. You can add olives, nuts or some fresh fruit. It will be healthy, filling and reasonably inexpensive.

For drinks, the store will have a choice of beer, wine, juice, mineral water, milk or pop.