Living in Germany: Pickles, the Baltic coast and are supermarkets a place for small talk?

Are supermarkets a place for small talk?

Well, it’s happened. Germany has finally embraced small-talk! Kind of… a branch of the Edeka supermarket in Memmingen, Bavaria, (and at least one other in the state according to local reports) have opened slower checkouts to allow people to have a chat. As we reported this week, the 12-week initiative has been prompted by the pandemic, which led to people feeling increasingly isolated. The till, which is known as a Ratschkasse after the Bavarian word ratschen meaning to have a chinwag, is open from Mondays to Thursdays from 9am until 11am. The supermarket's owner, Ilka Abröll-Groiß said: "It's the opposite to those self-scan checkouts that we think are really awful," she said.  

As we discussed on our Germany in Focus podcast this week, this project is the opposite to regular German supermarket culture which involves extremely fast checkouts and precisely zero small talk. And we think this begs the question: couldn’t Germany just slow down the checkout process slightly and allow a bit of small talk for everyone? Even though we love the idea of dedicated checkouts for a chat, it would be nice to have a slightly more relaxed time while packing our groceries. But we know not everyone agrees with that view, and a quick checkout experience certainly has its good points. We’d love to hear your views. Let us know if German supermarkets are a place for small talk by emailing [email protected]. 

Tweet of the week

This is definitely a quirk of living in Germany that we’ve all had to negotiate from time to time! 

https://twitter.com/tessaapproves/status/1655560267122581508?s=20

Where is this?

There’s been some milder temperatures in parts of Germany this week. But only the brave are bathing at this point! Here, a few people are photographed out and about on the Baltic Sea beach in Wustrow on the Fischland peninsula on May 10th. Germany has some stunning beaches and coastline that are usually packed in summer. 

Did you know?

The Spreewald region south east of Berlin is known for its forests, wetlands and waterways fed by the river Spree, making it an ideal destination for fun activities like canoeing. But did you know that it’s also known for its pickled gherkins? The mineral-rich soil is ideal for growing cucumbers, and Spreewald gherkins are EU-protected as well as being one of the largest exports from the state of Brandenburg. 

If you visit, expect every sort of gourmet Gurken delicacy there is at restaurants and cafes, from creamy Gurkensuppe (served both chilled and warm in the summer), Gurkenaustrich (spread) and a tangy Gurken and raspberry Radler. The town of Burg even offers Gurkeneis (pickled gherkin ice cream) if you fancy trying it.