One should NEVER forget two main things....an Euro coin and shopping bags! I am not new to this German way of shopping and I rather enjoy it, yes I actually do - most of the time.So this morning I got up, the sun was shinning and it was COLD. It is already 3 degrees in the morning brrr. (That is about 35 degrees Imperial for those of you in the States) Anyway I decided since we were going to go out for dinner tonight to go ahead and put on my new Tartan hose and sweater dress. So ready for fall, I grabbed my grocery bag, my purse, my keys and headed out...oh I came back...one should always carry an umbrella here as well or one will be most certainly be caught in a down pour, maybe only for a few minutes but it will happen!
After my 20 min walk with the wind blowing and fog everywhere, I got to the store. Here is where the Euro coin comes into play. I always keep one in the pocket of my grocery bag. I put the coin in the slot on the grocery cart unplug it from the rest of the family and start down the rows. If you don't have a coin you don't get a cart! One thing about the Germans they don't like to wait so you had better have it in hand before you walk up to the family of carts! I do love the wheels. Oh the wheels on the carts...they are not like the States, they all four work, interdependently at that. I have yet to get a bad cart here. (On a side note - one thing I don't understand - I can go into any store here and buy anything from a small pencil to a coat or boots and get a free bag. But buy anything at the grocery and they just hand it right back to you! Weird right, and when you buy boots or shoes they take them OUT of the boxes and throw the box away while you stand there.)
I pass the meat counter, oh the meat counter is lovely here but, that will in-tale me talking - German. My conversational German is good but looking at 6 different kinds of Ham and other various meat products can drive me crazy. No one was really in the store so being brave...must have been the new hose!....I go back and explain "Ich hätte gerne zwei stuck von dem gekochten Schinken in der Rückseite bitte" I would like 2 pieces of the cooked ham in the back please. And yes. I did point, some of the German meats can be kind of scary, mixed with who know whats and gelatin, yuck. I didn't want to bring that home for supper. So the lady takes the ham and slices two slices and puts them on the scale. I started to laugh pretty hard and she stared at me. She had cut two of the thinnest sliced I had ever seen. It might have cost me 10 Euro cent and I think David would be rather hungry. So I said "Es tut mir leid, meine Deutsch ist nicht so gut. Kann ich zwei dicke scheiben schneiden" I am so sorry my German is not so good (that seems to be my middle name here of late) could I have 2 thick slices. I show her with my fingers about an inch cut! She giggled too and said No problem and then cut two THICK slices. She was about to take the two little ones off and I said no problem I will take them too. She thanked me, silly I guess but hey I can cut them up for Spaghetti Cabanara for one right? I say, again in German, thank you, I am trying, have a nice day, and goodbye. She was all grins. They do seem to much more pleasant here than in Düsseldorf.
I proceed to the check out, now here are some lessons. ALWAYS always use the little bar to separate your groceries from you neighbors, you wouldn't want her to buy yours by accident.If you don't use it someone will put it down for you and most likey rant something while doing so. ALWAYS lay you bottles down on their sides or you WILL get a talking too, and then you must be quick about it! They literally throw your groceries down the little conveyor and you need to NOT pack them but quickly, very quickly dump them back into your cart, hand her the money and GET OUT OF THE WAY. They actually have a little gate they swing past and start on the next person while you are frantically pulling groceries off the stand. I don't know why it is that way but trust me you will thank me if you do this every time-move! After you pay you move your cart out of the way, then and only then, you load up your bags (did you see the "s" on that word bags) I FORGOT to bring more than one bag. Oh bother...so I again walked home with 3 small heads of Romaine lettuce and 6 little rolls of bread in my arms while I had the one stuffed bag I did bring slung over my shoulder. I hope I don't smash the eggs or butter! Did I mention the cold and 20 min walk ha ha.
So I was leaving the grocery and I noticed a nice looking German mother and teenager come in. They were fumbling with their purses (presumably looking for their Euro coin) while I was frantically loading my bag, so I slid my cart over quickly, like I said got to get out of the way, and told them you can have my cart "Sie können sich meine Einkaufswagens". They both stared at me for a minute and asked about the Euro...I kept walking and said in German "no problem - have a nice day" You would have thought they had won the lottery. Now if I only remember to put an Euro coin back in my bag!
So Schönen Tag nach (have a good day) and don't forget your bags!!!
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