What Food You Will Find in Any German City?

Surprisingly, Germany has way more food to offer than just beer and sausages. Even though every German city has unique things to offer, there are many similarities as well, which we're going to explore today. And let's start somewhere where usually people break their fast, which is a bakery, that you can almost find around any corner, since they're so popular. Bakeries in Germany are elite, because Germans love their bread and buns. Buns and bread? German bread tends to be heavier and heartier than bread you can find in Italy, Spain or France. Typically, at a bakery you will find big loaves of bread and buns, ready-to-eat sandwiches, pastries and some kind of cakes. However, almost all items have uncomfortably long names, that fuel stress when you're trying to read or even pronounce them. The most popular items are the one and only German pretzel, that was made to represent arms folded in prayer. And if you are located in the southwest of Germany, the butter leek pretzel combo is a very good and popular snack. And then we have the not-so-popular cousin pretzel bread, which is a great bread for sandwiches. Then next, of course, we have the Holles Berliner Donut, filled with jam. Typically eaten on New Year's Eve or Carnival in Germany, but I cannot find them anywhere right now, so I think it depends on the city. Mehlbrötchen or milk rolls, a very soft milk bread, often filled with raisins or chocolate and can easily disappoint you, if you get the wrong one. Then we have your German cheesecake, which is made from quark. Quark is thicker than yogurt, but not as thick and sweet as cream cheese. Quark on its own is pretty bland, but it's great for cheesecakes. Then where would we be without the French and their croissants? They're often enjoyed with Nutella and jam, making it more calorie dense. And last but not least, my favorite, which is the pudding pretzel. A sweet version of a typical German pretzel with yellow pudding, and sometimes glazed with sugar, which is a bit too much in my opinion, but it's a great combo with coffee. But of course, this is not the end of the list, and there's much more to discover, because every bakery is unique. Moving on to more filling and hearty meals. We have of course the classic and traditional restaurants that Germans and tourists love, since it has many German dishes like Rouladen, Sauerbraten, Hassenpfeffer and so on. These places also serve food that are associated with Germany, but are not necessarily German, like Flammkuchen. It is a very thin rolled out bread dough, with a sour cream base and topped with raw onion and bacon. Even though it was not made in Germany, it was made in the most German part of France, Alsace. Then we have the schnitzel. A schnitzel is a breaded pan or deep fried thin piece of meat, usually served with a side of potatoes. Again, Germany did not invent the schnitzel, but what they did invent is the Tillemans toastie, which is not a schnitzel, but it's a thin breaded piece of meat that you can just put in a toaster and it's ready in a minute. You can eat it like that or put it on a sandwich. Peak innovation. After these traditional restaurants, we also have pizza, burgers, sushi and occasional healthy spots. Look at this. And also while exploring any city you'll find these sweet specialty stores that are great for souvenirs. Then if you're looking for something more quick, on the go and not necessarily healthy, fast food or German street food might be something you're looking for. Let's start off with something familiar. Every German city will probably have a McDonald's, most likely a Burger King and more often than not a Subway and a Pizza Hut for some reason. But if you're looking for a more German experience in your fast food ventures, there are plenty to choose from. Firstly, how can we talk about German food without mentioning Wurst? Just like the French with many types of cheeses, Germany has many types of sausages with an estimate of 1500 different variations. Wow. You can easily find them sold in the street stalls, usually in some kind of bun or with the side of potatoes or sauerkraut. Then we also have the currywurst. Steamed or fried sausage, usually pork, typically cut into bite-sized chunks and seasoned with curry ketchup, topped with curry powder and often served with a side of fries. Not so keen on sausages? That's okay. Pommes frites aka french fries are also great on their own. You can either get them with ketchup and mayo or you can try with some more adventurous toppings. Then for my pescatarian friends and seafood lovers, Nordsee is a popular German fast food restaurant chain specializing in seafood. In more recent times, more and more international cuisines started opening up their businesses. But what has stood the test of time is the Doner Kebab. You can easily find them by looking for very flashy and cheesy pictures posted around their place and is commonly paired with pizza. It was first introduced in Germany by Turkish immigrants. They invented something unique to the German busy public and called it Doner Kebab. It is made from thinly sliced meat cut from a rotating vertical roasting spit. The meat is served in a warm pita pocket or flatbread with lettuce, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and some kind of sauce. Also, Asian fried noodles are a beloved fast easy dish to devour. Drinks. Even though Germany is one of the biggest beer drinkers in Europe, it's not their only source of hydration. The most popular non-alcoholic drink in Germany is coffee. Tea is not that popular, but someday it might get there. Black filter coffee is typically enjoyed first thing and throughout the morning. At mealtimes, locals drink juices such as apple juice as well as sparkling water or both at the same time, making it Schorle. And Kiva is a beloved juice consisting of banana and cherry. And when it comes to wine, Riesling white wine is a crowd's favorite. Cramming something sugary with bubbles that lingers in your teeth? Well, here you can find Spezi that's made in Germany and we have Metzumix, which is the same thing but made by Coca-Cola. They're both basically Fanta mixed with Coke. Or Fritz Cola, aka cola made in Hamburg. They also have different flavors. And if you're looking for some dessert to finish off the day, getting something from a bakery could be also an option if they're still open. Like a piece of a black forest cherry tart. Or maybe getting spaghetti ice if the weather allows it. It is vanilla ice cream shaped like spaghetti, placed over whipped cream, topped with strawberry sauce and sprinkled with whatever looks like parmesan, making the whole thing look like spaghetti bolognese. A great prank on someone that likes spaghetti more than ice cream. Otherwise, you can head to the supermarket to get some sweets or snacks. Unless it's Sunday. For my sweet tooth, the grand assortment of Haribo. And trust me, it feels like it never ends. But this one is my favorite. Hanuta, a chocolate hazelnut filling between two wafers. Pickup, chocolate between two biscuits. Mr. Tom, sweet peanuts in a bar. Toffifee, chocolate filling in caramel with a hazelnut. If that makes sense. Yogurette, a chocolate stick filled with strawberry yogurt filling. Cream thing. Duplo, which is basically a Nutella branded KitKat. The chocolate assortment Merci, which I thought it's French, but apparently it's made in Germany. Ritter Sport Chocolate, with many great flavors. No, not mint. Rum and raisin. Maybe dark chocolate hazelnut? Nah. Cornflakes, white chocolate cornflakes. Oh, this one I actually like. Oh, and this one is so cute. Endicament sweets. I don't know who invented the name, but it is German. For something savory, we have Erdnussflips, which is like chips with peanut flavor. Crisp, fresh. Beefy, a sausage stick. Pretzel sticks and stick pretzels. Haribo chips, because Haribo decided to make chips. And let's throw in this jar of meat, because it's odd and probably used as a snack spread, I think. If you're rented an Airbnb and you're planning to cook your dinners during your visit, at the supermarket you can discover what kind of different foods you can make for dinner. Like Spätzle. It is a sort of pasta that will make an Italian shake their head, but it's very good with cheese. And you can also microwave this? Okay. Again, many sizes, flavors and variations of Wurst. Not to mention the microwave-ready curry Wurst. And many variations of deli meat. Supermarkets also offer baked goods, but they're mainly empty at the end of the day. Then a not-so-good-looking potato salad. Simply because homemade is better. If you have some kind of Slavic descent, Maltaschen might be something that speaks to your heart. I would describe them as big Slavic dumplings with a variety of filling in them. And they all taste amazing. You can either eat them like a soup, or you can cut them and pan fry them with other vegetables. And if it's that time of the year, which is April, you will find a lot of asparagus everywhere. And a little package of sauce that you can drown it in. And then for dessert, you can of course buy a whole box of frozen cake of your choosing. Or frozen pastry. Whatever fits your boat. But I don't recommend you buy any kind of ready-made salads at the supermarket. Because the ones that I tried were pretty bad. Also, what you will not find in Germany is easily available good peanut butter. I already tried five or six jars of peanut butter. And they all suck. They're either too sweet and made with palm oil. Or they have awful texture and they're bitter. And last but not least, what I want to mention is Too Good To Go. It is not a sponsor, so don't worry. This is an app where places that sell food basically sell their leftovers. For a way cheaper price. They call it the magic bag. Because you don't know what you're gonna get. Wow. Holy macaroni. What even is that? Just looks like pudding. And it jiggles. It just jiggles. But make sure to read if you need to bring your own container. Otherwise, you'll end up with a pile of sushi wrapped in foil to bring home. So I covered basically what food you can find in any German city. Nevertheless, all the cities have something new to offer. Whether it be food or its quality. So there's a lot to explore. Thank you so much for watching. I appreciate you. And don't forget to take your time.