Farmer Snook has started a new project…
Blog post! A tour of my local Munich grocery store and some of the important food differences we’ve learned about in the past seven months.
You all seemed to really like my cost of living post, so let’s dive into something equally as mundane – German groceries and supermarkets!
If you follow me at all here or on social media, you know that the Snook and I enjoy cooking and make a lot of things from scratch. Back in Australia, we even renovated our kitchen so we could get in a bigger fridge/freezer. Our normal process was that every Saturday I’d plan out the menu for the week and then we’d both go to the store to do a single weekly shop. We also got a veggie box delivered every two weeks as well. A couple of times a year we’d go to Costco and stock up on bulk things, and we’d also hit up the Aussie Meat Emporium every now and then to stock the freezer with meat. We’d generally cook probably 4 or 5 days out of 7, freezing any leftovers. We’d usually alternate who cooks, though since I made the menus I’d usually assign the really elaborate things to Rodd. 😉
Once we got to Germany, we realised pretty quickly that this system was going to have to change. The main problem is that German kitchens (at least the ones in apartments) tend to be smaller and have less storage space than we were used to. The AirBnB we were in for the first 10 days had only a bar-fridge and barely any pantry space! When we started looking for apartments, we deliberately looked a place with the biggest kitchen and fridge we could find. The one we got is great, but it’s still smaller than back in Sydney. We’ve got two cupboards to use for dry goods, a couple small shelves over the stove for spices, and then a stacked fridge/freezer.
We tried for the first few months to stick to the once-a-week Saturday shop but we’d struggle to store everything. We also tried out a veggie box delivery service but had the same issue, trying to figure out how to cram most of it in the fridge. The solution, it seems, is to do smaller shops, more frequently. How very European! 🥖
Our current process is to shop every 4-5 days (avoiding Sunday because everything’s closed here), and we take turns making the menu and going to the supermarket. One nice thing is that there are so many options within walking distance of our place. The main supermarket brands here in Munich appear to be Edeka and Rewe (analogous to Coles and Woolies back home), and there are like four Edekas of various sizes in the neighbourhood. For discount stuff there’s also Aldi Süd (different Aldis depending on which part of Germany you’re in!), Lidl, and Penny. There’s also Amazon Fresh for same-day delivery, which was a life-saver when we arrived! We’ve also found a couple Asian and Turkish groceries nearby for specialty items. Germans are big on organic, so there are also Alnatura organic supermarkets and a few farmers’ markets around too (though they’re mostly shut down due to Covid). And if you’re curious, we’re still mostly under lockdown here so current rules are you have to wear an N95 mask in any shops.
But anyway yeah, a plethora of options. Our default is the Edeka in Theriesenhöhe, just a short walk across Bavaria Park, mostly because it’s the closest and we’ve got a good feel for what’s available. (Aldi/Lidl always feels more hit and miss with what’s in stock.) It’s not huge, but they really pack in a lot of stuff! After seven months, we feel like we’ve mostly got it figured out. A lot of stuff is the same as in Australia, but there are still some wacky differences we’ve found. Read on for lots of pictures and details…
@chainedchaos31 Yes. I’m right there with you.
@parisba @TimesNTroubles @vmbrasseur There are various scientific papers about attempts to do this with computer vision – I’ve had a few goes myself – but we’re not there yet. The fuzziness and floppiness of yarn + the need for a REALLY good photo makes it super difficult.
@parisba @TimesNTroubles @vmbrasseur So the real way you do is to send the photo to a good knitter, or post it on Ravelry. The Queen Susan shawl is a great example of a collaborative reverse-engineered knitting project: https://t.co/oD7MO2aaxS
@parisba @TimesNTroubles @vmbrasseur There are very few patterns that a good knitter cannot easily work out. Sometimes you can identify stitch patterns by the texture, but if the photo is good enough (or you have direct access) you can actually read the stitches like cursive writing.
@parisba @TimesNTroubles @vmbrasseur Here’s a recording of a tech talk where I cite a bunch of the scientific research and show my own bumbling attempts with machine learning… https://t.co/a3MC6hh2RJ
@TimesNTroubles @parisba @vmbrasseur If you can borrow the cushion, take it to your local knitting shop (not Lincraft or Spotlight) or contact the Knitters Guild in your state. They sometimes get requests like this and might be able to find someone willing to undertake as a paid piece of work.
@HyperGamer2 @parisba @TimesNTroubles @vmbrasseur Indeed. Bring on the knitting replicators!
@foobartel I use Tweetbot on my phone, but the old version. I’d like some of the new features, but I’m annoyed that it’s a subscription service now.
@justanotherkc @foobartel Yeah. I have no problem paying for software, but it annoys me that everything is subscription these days.
LOL Munich. At least Sydney is only “overvalued.” Quoth the Snook: “We should buy a house in Chicago.” https://t.co/eD0Mt0HZhg https://t.co/26X0jUAHQa
@justanotherkc @foobartel I totally get it when there are ongoing updates and feature improvements, and people should pay for that. But can I buy it and only get updates for a set period of time? If I pay for a year and then stop, do I still retain the functionality I have then?
@bazscott Heh. That’s a new one for me – usually it’s people mixing up crochet and knitting, which is sort of understandable. 🙂
That’s my little brother setting a record in his first year of uni! 🏆🏊🏻 GO JOEY GO! https://t.co/8bu8yumrc3
@vmbrasseur Haha, sorry about that! 😂
@DVDBits Dick and Ruby in Gold Diggers of 1933 was always my fave…
@unixbigot In Munich I can get next day for most things on Prime, and same day for groceries. Blows my mind.
@unixbigot But hey, you can go to restaurants and give people hugs. 😢
@nathangloverAUS Paging @alex_casalboni… 😂
@nathangloverAUS @alexbdebrie @rchrdbyd @alex_casalboni Nath, I think this is one of those Aussie things that we’re better off not telling the rest of the world about, because it’s never going to reflect well on us. (@alex_casalboni may well have died of shock.)
RT @danilop: Announcing the general availability of data management capabilities in the AWS Amplify Admin UI https://t.co/K1vvdGHrjH #AWS
@frconil That article is amazing. Nearly every paragraph has some quote that I want to, like, frame and put on a wall.
@boyter @anshumalis I know. I see it all over social media. Six months ago ago Germany was being hailed as one of the countries handling it best. 😕
April 7. The novelty of snow has officially worn off. https://t.co/NlH7sY3oRh
RT @scrivenix: I Am Once Again Asking You To Put The Time Zone In Your Online Event Announcements.
RT @pcalcado: Managers “don’t do anything” the same way operating systems “don’t do anything.”
@charrett I’m intrigued by this… 🦌
@susiegii Today we’ve gone from white-out snow to clear sunshine like 4x. It’s nuts! https://t.co/yBYOFnUBMA
RT @cdkday: ONE THOUSAND people have signed up to attend CDK Day on 30th April 🎉
I know i’ll be there! Will you?
https://t.co/3MHuDEQ8vO…
In a fit of crafting pique, I ordered 300 black buttons on Amazon the other day and then had a minor freakout before they arrived, paranoid that I wouldn’t have storage for what I envisioned to be a HUGE amount of buttons.
Instead, I am once again crap at estimating volume. https://t.co/F9LIY6APFu
RT @negaoryx: 99% of the time, I ignore trolls and ban them. 1% of the time, I do this: https://t.co/Nvt307S1De
@Malarkey Nice post, though I did spend 5 seconds mousing all over the page trying to see an example of the effects you’re talking about. 😂
RT @BerlinAWSUG: In one week time we will welcome @web_goddess, Dev Advocacy Manager at @AWS_DACH to talk about “Machine Learning for Softw…
@kylietimpani As audience or performer??
@adrianco @KaraHurst Congrats!!
RT @Karissa_Wood_: ⌨️Are you a developer writing code & building on AWS?
#AWSUserGroups exist around the world & are a great way to netwo…
Going out for breakfast in a cafe. 😕 https://t.co/ZZDRqe5wSh
@anshumalis Haven’t eaten at a restaurant in six months.
RT @developerjack: Wow. This is some toxic gatekeeping shit! https://t.co/xqN6FAeEpH
“The ones with the dots have peel in them.” The Snook baked homemade HCB. ❤️🐰 @ Munich, Germany https://t.co/ceTehNRqwM
“The ones with the dots have peel in them.” The Snook baked homemade HCB. ❤️🐰
My name is Kris. I’ve been blogging since the 90’s. I live in Sydney, Australia, and I spent most of my career in the tech industry.
No AI used in writing this blog, ever. 100% human-generated.
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