German Lunch

When I was taking language classes, we often spoke about food. What and when people from different nations eat varied. In Korea they eat soup for breakfast. In Israel it's a salad. But, one thing that always left me wondering about was German's and their lunches.

According to what I've heard, German's have their main meals at lunchtime. That means meat, potato, a vegetable, and dessert. Even though people constantly told me that this was true, I couldn't believe it. The thought that people had big lunches in restaurants everyday didn't makes sense to me — especially knowing how sensible and thrifty Germans can be.

Supporting my belief was the lack of quick and easy lunchtime options. It’s clear that they are not obsessed with sandwiches like Americans are. Sure, you can get a sandwich at every bakery in town, but they are on small rolls, and are more like a snack then a meal. Kevin, for example, usually has to order two. Yesterday he ate three!

So, where do they eat lunch? I think that German office workers eat lunch at a corporate canteen. Most large companies have big cafeterias, which are open not only to their employees, but to the general public. Kevin's office is small, so they go to the canteen at Deutche Telecom. Where I volunteer, which is also a small office, frequents the canteen at the Deutche Post Tower.

I recently tried the Post Tower's cafeteria for the first time. It wasn't bad. There were lots of options, decent pieces, and the food was pretty good.