Jeden Tag ist Dönerstag! (Every Day is Döner Day!)

The food in Germany is definitely different from America, but at the same time there are many familiar dishes, but with a German twist.

Every day for breakfast before class I go to a backerei (bakery). There are three within a two-block radius, but we usually go to the one that gives a 10% student discount called Café Arnold.

My usual breakfast is a cappuccino with a Käsebrötchen (cheese roll)

Or if I’m particularly hungry, one of their belegte Brot (sandwiches)

I’m not one for sweets, but many of my friends usually get one of their pastries, like this one

After German class we walk to the Mensa (student cafeteria) for lunch. There are two levels. The upper level serves less expensive food (€2-€3), where you pick one of three entrees they have that day, along with 1-3 sides. The lower level also has substantial meals, but they’re a bit more expensive (€4-€5)

This is pork, a vegetable concoction of tomatoes and onions, and boiled potatoes.

This is the same pork and tomato stuff, but with pasta, as well as a roll, salad, and a beer (yes, they sell beer at the Mensa).

This is stuffed pasta, rice, fried potato things, and sauce.

The lower level also has a salad and hot food bar that is sold by weight. They have stuff like pasta salad, lasagna, regular salad bar stuff, and a German dish called Auflauf that is sort of like a casserole.

In addition to that, they also sell belegte Brot and Brötchen and soup and other things like that for light lunches.

For dinner I either get some Döner (hence the post title), which can be seen here, or I make my own dinner in the kitchen at my dorm. Recently I’ve been making caprese salad because fresh mozzarella is so cheap here, but I took a picture of a meal I made myself that I’m particularly proud of.

It’s sautéed zucchini and onions, buttered noodles with oregano, garlic, and parmesan  and some bread with oil and vinegar, just like home!

Weird German Thing of the Week

I had a potluck with my German language class, and for an appetizer my teacher brought the strangest thing I have eaten here so far: melon wrapped in prosciutto. It was weird. I did not like it. It wasn't...bad...necessarily... but I didn't eat any more of it once I had tried it a few times, I just took it apart and ate the melon and then the prosciutto. Apparently it’s relatively popular here.