Managing meals in Germany

Germany has numerous supermarket chains. The competition from discount ones has forced the more upper scale ones to also carry cheaper house brands. In addition are many smaller specialty shops. And in cities there are few problems with accessibility since there are so many shops spread out and good public transportation. Good quality, selection and prices are the norm.  There are now multiple supermarket delivery services as well as services like Übereats that deliver food from eateries.

And shopping hours are much longer than they were some decades ago. Many supermarkets are open until 8, 9 or 10 pm. The Rewe City chain supermarkets are open until midnight 6 days a week. Most German stores closed Sundays but there can be exceptions in airports and major train stations as well as some shops that rely on vending machines or self-service. Thus they get around the restrictions on making people work on Sundays by having no onsite employees.

And the trend in recent years is that supermarkets often sell prepackaged salads, wraps and other ready to eat foods. Thus one can still easily avoid restaurants and eat cheap when away from home. And while plenty of more expensive restaurants exist; there are now many fast food options, bakeries that sell sandwiches. Also simple eateries called an Imbiss exist. Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai are common. Greek, Indian, Mexican or Japanese less so but not rare. One can often find an Asian meal for 10 to 12 Euros, sometimes less. Cheaper would be a dönner-kebab or falafel at one of the many Turkish eateries. I mostly cook my own food at home but grab a bite to eat once or twice a week. 

For Germans, lunch was traditionally the most important (and only warm) meal per day. Unfortunately, company canteens have largely vanished (for cost reasons) in the last 20 years and now only very big companies have them. Snack bars and food trucks have sprung up in industrial areas to fill the gap - but they aren't cheap (8 - 12€ for a meal is normal). So many Germans now bring a sandwich from home and eat their main meal in the evening.

Because of the high cost of restaurants, eating out is reserved for special occasions. Most meals are prepared and eaten at home. However, there is a lively scene of home delivery options in all quality and price ranges.