Travelling in Germany - Allergies, Water

A friend is coming to Germany next year and has requested information on various topics. The information we have put together may well be of interest for others

Allergies

The following ingredients must be specified by law on restaurant menus when they are present in the meal offered:

1. Colouring (s) 

2. Preservative (s) 

3. Antioxidant (s) 

4. Flavour enhancer (s) 

5. Sulfur dioxide 

6.  Blackening agent 

7. Phosphate 

8. Milk protein  

9. Caffeine 

10. Quinine 

11. Waxed (if the surface of fresh fruits has been so treated) 

12. Taurine 

13. Containing a source of phenylalanine (eg aspartame must be indicated as sweetener) 
14. Sweetening agent

A restaurant must have must this or a similar list available for inspection. 

Packaged food bought in a grocers will have a list of ingredients printed on the packing.

Dairy

It is assumed that milk is from cows, sheep or goats. In most German cafes and restaurants you will not find synthetic milks - almond, oat, soya, etc those milks produced by animals. Vegetarian restaurants often serve some synthetic milk. Maybe Starbucks do as well, but we are very suspicious of Starbucks tax model in Germany. There are enough good traditional cafes in Germany. We also have little experience of non-dairy milks because my wife has a nut allergy and reacts badly to unfermented soya. If cows’ milk gives you problems then either buy lactase tablets here from a pharmacist or learn to drink your coffee black. On the other hand beef here is not pumped full of hormones and chickens are not washed in bleach before consumption.

As for gluten: You can buy low gluten bread and Brötchen e.g. from dinkel or spelt flour. With a request the day before most B&Bs and small hotels can provide gluten free bread. It is virtually mainstream these days. 

You need to talk to serving staff about allergies. My wife has a range of allergies to various raw fruits and vegetables. One of which is carrots. Unless we stress every time we order that she cannot eat raw carrots, we find her food comes sprinkled with the damned things.

However you won’t get a free glass of water with your meal, you will have to pay for expensive mineral water.

Unfortunately the economics of the German restaurant trade mean that restaurants use mineral water as source of income. If he or she gave you a glass of water this would mean additional costs, for example glass washing and serving with a good chance that some of us would just drink tap water and not order anything else to drink. Your meal cost would probably rise, in case you were given a free glass of tap water. The owner is unlikely to change his or her charging politics unless he or she is forced to do so by law.

If you are going to carry drinking water with you, it is worthwhile buying a stainless steel or plastic water bottle for walkers and filling it in the hotel before you leave for the day. A plastic half litre bottle of mineral water will cost you 50 cents or more in a supermarket or even more in filling stations or kiosks plus the additional 25 cent returnable deposit. Over a three week holiday you can pay for a reasonable drinking water bottle with your savings. Many charitably minded folks drop these plastic half litre  bottles off in street bins where they are picked up by people living on Hartz IV the basic German social support, which gives you enough money to survive but not enough to enjoy life. You can take these bottles to supermarkets, etc and pop them in an automated device that prints you out a chit to redeem at the cash out desk. Many Germans buy mineral water believing that it is superior to tap water, but the latter is perfectly safe and contains less plasticiser than prepacked bottled water. In fact if you hit the supermarket at a time when Harz IV recipients have been paid you will see members of this group buying 6 x 1L packs of cheap mineral water, spending most of their day’s allowance on plastic packed water.