German Grocery Shopping and Daily Life Tips for Expats
Daily life in Germany runs on a set of unwritten rules that nobody tells you about until you break one. Stores close on Sundays. You bag your own groceries at lightning speed. Recycling is practically a religion. And if your neighbor hears you doing laundry at 10 PM, expect a sternly worded note. Here is your survival guide to the parts of German life that guidebooks skip.
Grocery Shopping
Germany has a tiered grocery system. Understanding it saves you real money.
Discount Supermarkets
- ALDI (Nord and Sud) - the original discounter. Limited selection but excellent quality for the price. Expect to spend 30-50% less than at a full-service supermarket
- Lidl - similar to ALDI with slightly more variety. Their bakery section is surprisingly good
- Netto and Penny - other budget options, quality varies by location
Full-Service Supermarkets
- REWE - the solid middle ground. Good selection, reasonable prices, and their online ordering/delivery works well in major cities
- Edeka - the premium supermarket. Best selection of specialty items, international foods, and fresh produce. Prices are 20-30% higher than discounters
Specialty Stores
- DM and Rossmann - drugstores for toiletries, cleaning supplies, baby products, and basic health items. DM is generally preferred for quality and selection
- Asian/Turkish/International stores - every city has them. Often the only place to find ingredients from home. Prices are very reasonable
Pro Tip: Download the Too Good To Go app. Bakeries, supermarkets, and restaurants sell unsold food at 70-80% discounts at closing time. A 3-4 EUR bag from a bakery usually contains 8-10 EUR worth of bread and pastries.
The Sunday Rule
Almost everything is closed on Sundays in Germany. Supermarkets, shops, hardware stores, most restaurants outside city centers. This is protected by law (Ladenschlussgesetz). Plan your shopping for Saturday at the latest.
Exceptions: bakeries open Sunday morning (usually until noon), gas station convenience shops, shops in major train stations (Berlin Hauptbahnhof, for example), and restaurants. Pharmacies rotate Sunday duty, so one in your area will always be open for emergencies.
Pfand: The Bottle Deposit System
Germany has a bottle deposit system called Pfand. You pay a deposit when buying drinks in bottles and cans, and get it back when you return them to any store with a Pfandflasche machine.
- Single-use plastic bottles and cans - 0.25 EUR deposit
- Reusable glass bottles (Mehrwegflasche) - 0.08-0.15 EUR deposit
- Reusable plastic bottles - 0.15 EUR deposit
Look for the Pfand symbol on the bottle. Save your bottles and return them all at once. Some people accumulate 10-20 EUR per month in Pfand returns. The machines are in every supermarket, usually near the entrance.
Important: Bring your own bags to the supermarket. Plastic bags cost 0.10-0.25 EUR each, and paper bags cost similar. Most Germans bring reusable bags or use the boxes left out near the registers. Cashiers will not bag your groceries for you. Pack fast or face the silent judgment of the queue behind you.
Recycling
German recycling is comprehensive and mandatory. Your building will have separate bins:
- Gelbe Tonne/Sack (yellow bin/bag) - plastics, metals, packaging
- Papier (blue bin) - paper and cardboard
- Bio (brown bin) - food waste, garden waste
- Restmull (black bin) - everything else that cannot be recycled
- Glas (glass containers) - usually communal containers on the street, separated by color (clear, green, brown)
Glass containers have quiet hours. Do not throw bottles in before 7 AM or after 8 PM, and never on Sundays. Your neighbors will notice.
Ruhezeit: Quiet Hours
Germany takes quiet hours seriously. The standard rules:
- Nachtruhe (night quiet) - 10 PM to 6 AM. No loud music, no drilling, no vacuuming
- Mittagsruhe (afternoon quiet) - 1 PM to 3 PM in some buildings. Check your Hausordnung (house rules)
- Sundays and public holidays - treated like extended quiet hours. No mowing, no drilling, no loud activities all day
These rules are in your rental contract (Hausordnung). Violations can lead to complaints from neighbors, warnings from your landlord, or fines in extreme cases. When in doubt, keep it quiet.
Cash vs Card
Germany is still more cash-dependent than most Western European countries. About 60% of transactions are cash-based. Many bakeries, small restaurants, and market stalls are cash only. Always carry at least 20-50 EUR in cash.
That said, card acceptance has improved dramatically since 2020. Most supermarkets, larger restaurants, and chain stores accept EC cards (Girocard) and increasingly credit cards. Apple Pay and Google Pay work at most places that accept cards.
Useful Apps for Daily Life
- REWE or Flink - grocery delivery
- eBay Kleinanzeigen (now Kleinanzeigen) - buy and sell used items. The German Craigslist, essential for furnishing an apartment cheaply
- Too Good To Go - discounted surplus food
- PayPal - widely accepted for online shopping. More common than credit cards for German online stores
- Lieferando - food delivery (German version of Uber Eats)
One More Thing
Germans greet everyone. When you enter a bakery, say "Guten Morgen" or "Hallo." When you leave, say "Tschuss." In the elevator of your apartment building, greet your neighbors. In a doctor waiting room, say "Guten Tag" to the room when you enter. It is basic courtesy, and skipping it is considered rude. This small habit will improve your daily interactions more than any German course.
