Vegan In Germany

[Kuklasmom]

Hi! I'm from Chicago. I've never been to Germany, but I do know of a German vegan Web site. (They have an English and French forum, too.)

Here's the address:

http://www.vegan.de

For those of use who are learning a foreign language, it's essential to practice. And it's especially fun when you can share common interests.

Enjoy!

Best regards,
Kukla's Mom

[Kuklasmom]

Thank you for your message, Michael!

Your list is very helpful for any vegan who plans to visit Berlin (eine schoene Stadt!).

In my opinion, we vegans should communicate internationally. Such communication supplies useful information and offers encouragement.

It's always good to know that we're not alone in the world following a vegan diet!

If you ever visit Chicago, please try one of my favorite vegan and vegetarian restaurants: the Chicago Diner. They have a Web site; here's the link:

The Chicago Diner

Schoener Tag! Bis bald!

(Ach, mein Deutsch ist schrecklich! Ich bin nur eine Anfaengerin, und ich mache noch viele Fehler! Entschuldigung, bitte? )

Best regards,
Kukla's mom

[mysh]

(Ach, mein Deutsch ist schrecklich! Ich bin nur eine Anfaengerin, und ich mache noch viele Fehler! Entschuldigung, bitte? )

Actually, your German is quite outstanding, especially for a beginner!

[Kuklasmom]

Ach, vielen Dank!

Best regards,
Kukla's Mom

[paradoxsund]

Guten Tag meine Damen und Herren!!! Ich hab' diese Gruppe heute gefunden, und ich interessiere mich, wie Ihr deutsches Essen finden. Wann ich nach Deutschland geflogen bin (zweimal für sechs Wochen), fand ich es schwer, um Veganerin (richtiges Wort) zu sein. Ich bin ins ,,Reformhaus" einkaufen gegangen...wie findet Ihr veganerisches Essen? Ist das schwer zu finden? Entschuldigung, mein Deutsch hat vielleicht viele Fehler, aber ich bin Deutschstudenten und hoere gern ihre Gedanken!

[Tanja]

Hallo paradoxsund,
da Du auf deutsch schreibst, antworte ich Dir auch so. Ich höre immer wieder anderen Veganern, daß es in Deutschland sehr schwer sei, vegan zu leben; daß es in anderen Ländern viele vegane Restaurants, vegane Produkte in den Supermärkten etc. gebe. Wir in Deutschland kennen nicht diesen Komfort, in jedem Supermarkt vegane Würstchen oder ähnliches kaufen zu können. Wir haben auch fast keine veganen Fertiggerichte, das Vegan-Label ist hier noch so gut wie unbekannt. Aber wir leben trotzdem sehr gut. Ich kaufe fast all mein Essen im Supermarkt ein: Obst, Gemüse, Getreide... und nur wneige Sachen im Reformhaus oder Naturkostladen. Falls Du interessiert bist, wie deutsche Veganer kochen ;-), kannst Du Dir ja mal http://tierrechtskochbuch.de ansehen (leider nur auf deutsch), da gibt es sehr viele Rezepte. Solltest Du noch Fragen haben, nur zu.

Viele Grüße,
Tanja

[tails4wagging]

Hello, Germany!. How many vegans are there over in germany, is they a growing band of you there??

[Tanja]

Hi tails4wagging,
I really don't know how many vegans there are in Germany; but I'm afraid not so many as in GB or the USA. Even in larger cities you can't go into a restaurant and have your coffee or tea with soymilk - and I think, this is because nobody asks for ist. But I'm convinced the number of vegans is growing larger, lots of of the bigger supermarkets sell soymilk and tofu now, a few years ago vegans hat to go to the "reformhaus" (health food store?) to get things like that.
It is hard work because most of the german ar activists spend their time in campiagns against fur, vivisection or hunting (I don't want to say, this is bad, but I think, these cannot be the only things we fight for if we want animals to be free), only a few of them work on veganism and animal liberation, e.g. with information about the suffering of "farm animals". So people don't get much information about ar and veganism, and the number of vegans grows very, very slowly...

[tails4wagging]

I would imagine AR activists vegan over there. We in the UK have The Vegan Society have you got one over there?. It is a great resource and networking society.
I think globally, veganism is becoming more recognisable as an alternative lifestyle.

[Tanja]

Sorry, the first sentence didn't make any sense to me. ;-)
We do not have a Vegan Society over here in Germany, just something like a "Vegetarian Society". The vegan network isn't so good as well - I think, we in Germany are at a point where GB stood 10 years ago.
So that's why ar activism is hard work. ;-)

You can find some photos and information about what I do on http://maqi.de/english.html .

[buddadragon]

My gal is from Germany. Travis my son who is currently in Iraq will return to Germany in May..Vilsik..probably spelled wrong. Im trying to learn German. We hope to visit this summer.

[indianvegan]

Dear Tanja,

You will be happy to hear that one of German vegan is right now visiting India and you will be more glad to note that he is with me right now and he also lives close to Frankfurt.He will reach Germany by the end of June 2005.
He has recently joined Vegan club.

Cheer up now !!

Manish

[mysh]

I just spent three weeks on holiday in Germany (which is where I am from). I stayed with my mother in Freiburg, and I actually had no problems at all. The Reformhaus was the best place to look for special vegan foods, for example, they have lots of (generally yeast based) bread spreads that are completely vegan, but taste like different kinds of leberwurst (liverwurst). I brought a whole bunch of them back with me - they are soooo delicious!

Also the bread you get at the baker's or at stores with their own bakery are almost all vegan, and quite fantastic. You simply cannot find good fresh bread in American grocery stores, and all of the big brands of bagged, sliced, non-fresh bread are non-vegan here, whereas in Germany it is almost impossible to find bad bread, as long as you stick to the fresh baked kind. With some specialty breads you have to watch out for honey, and some bakeries are now doing horrible things like fish-fat in certain "super healthy" (???) breads.

Most grocery stores also carry soy milk nowadays (although what they have isn't quite as good as Silk, for example). Besides the Reformhaus, there might also be a Bio Markt, or some other organic store that would carry vegan fare. (incidentally, organic things are called "Bio" in Germany, short for "aus biologischem Anbau"). I found a whole collection of soy-based things from a company called Taifun. Their plain tofu is firmer than any I've found in the US, and they have some very good flavoured tofus. They also make an incredible tofu terrine, and mind blowing bratwurst.

Restaurants are a little more difficult - most pastas are egg noodles, and soups frequently contain meat even when no sane person would expect it. For example, I had a rather traumatic experience when I ordered a tomato soup, which not only had an enormous dollop of cream on the top, but also, to my absolute horror and disgust, contained bacon pieces that I only discovered on my second bite.
All in all, in restaurants I found my best options were plain salad (making sure they contain no cheese, meat, joghurt-based dressings, mayonnaise, etc.), or a vegetable pizza with no cheese on top (although that one always paled in comparison to the ones my wife and I make at home).
Be warned, though, that when an item in the menu says "vegetarian" ("vegetarisch"), it means ovo-lacto veg, and veganism does seem to be rather unknown (although people in the Bio Markt or Reformhaus will probably know what it means).


Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to get excellent vegan food. As long as you are able to cook for yourself, and don't have to rely on restaurants, it's a snap. And it's not like restaurant chains in the US are really any better. And it's way better in Germany than in France, where the words "soupe" and "salade" (or "crudités") mean that it contains meat in one form or another (not the dictionary definition, but the de-facto restaurant implementation).

[Korn]

The Reformhaus was the best place to look for special vegan foods, for example, they have lots of (generally yeast based) bread spreads that are completely vegan, but taste like different kinds of leberwurst (liverwurst).

Tartex?

[Vegantastic]

In my opinion, we vegans should communicate internationally.

We need a vegan language!!

Until 5 years ago I went almost every year to germany on holiday. I understand german, but don't ask me to write or talk german, because I am not so good in that My grade for german on high school was also not so good I was better in French and that I can't even understand

Ich spreche keine deutsch

[mysh]

Tartex?

Yes, amongst others.
Tartex are actually based in Freiburg, which is where my mother lives, and where I stayed for a week while in Germany.

[Miriam]

Does anybody know of a vegan food mail order or online shopping coming in
germay? My family are due to move there early next year and I'm worried about getting the meat and dairy alternatives that the children are used to.
Hope someone can help

[applepie]

Hi Miriam,

I am actually German, and when I go to Germany I take advantage of bulk-buying some stuff I have difficulty finding in Britain like yeast flakes or soya coffee creamer. Very good online shops are:
www.so-ja.de
www.smilefood.de
If you have any specific questions I might be able to answer - fire away!

[harpy]

I wouldn't worry, Miriam - I used to know some German vegans and even though the place they lived in was pretty small they seemed to have a better choice of vegan products than we do here in London! Some of the products I buy here (Tai-fun?) are actually German imports.

[Miriam]

Thank you both for your replies. I feel happier about getting vegan food in germany now. My 2 older children are very happy to hear about taif-un because they like their sausages.
I also contacted the Veganstore website and found that they will deliver (at a price, so I'll be placing bulk orders, I think).
Thanks, once again,
Miriam

[applepie]

Miriam, don't order from the Veganstore - order within Germany and save yourself a lot of money.
Try www.so-ja.de or www.smilefood.de - they are both good and very helpful.

[Miriam]

Thanks again. I have had a quick look, but as my German is apalling , I was looking for an 'english speaking' site. I guess I'll have to work harder on my language skills!
Miriam

[Wishin986]

When I went to Jena this summer - I found that in their local supermarket there was no peanut butter and my host dad didnt even know what I meant! Is that true of most places in Germany - no pb?!

[applepie]

Wishin, it's not as common in the UK or the US. Not many people will have had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in Germany! I can't say I have been looking for pb in Germany as I don't like it particularly, but thinking about it I have never consciously noticed any on the shelves. I'm off to Germany in a week's time, I'll have a look around for you!

[harpy]

Peanut butter doesn't seem to be that common in Europe, apart from the UK and possibly the Netherlands. In France, for example, I think you may be able to get it in the odd health food shop, but not usually in supermarkets (though this information may be out of date as it's a while since I looked).

[aloevera]

we shop at a giant organic co-op, apparently the biggest in Germany, here in Dresden, and its brilliant has so many fabulous processed things (if thats what you like) the range of spreads and dips, pates etc is huuge, also about the peanut butter im not sure about the general supermarkets but cashew or almond butter or even hazlenut butter seems to be more popular at our co-op.On the whole though i think the best way to be vegan in germany is to cook at home. The restaurants and the like are pretty terrible for us, and i dont think theres a single one inthis city that has a soymilk option!
But on the other hand there are vegan cafes probably in most larger cities,our closest ones are Leipzig and Berlin.

[Monika]

I am making a trip to Berlin with my German class at school in a couple of months. I was wondering if anybody knows of any particular shops I should visit; vegetarian, fair trade, ethnic or so? Is there a vegetarian shoe-shop in Berlin, for example?

Any tips for a visitor not looking for only food to buy?

[mercysky100]

I also understand German language, but as i not use that then i forget that..............English is in most places!

[Bodybuilder]

I have a bunch of friends from Germany. I was there in 2004, but most of my "friends" from there I met online, on various forums. Check out this vegan german giant : http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/article/724

[Tanja]

Hi Monika!
There is a small vegan store in Berlin, they also have "Vegetarian Shoes" etc.: http://veganladen.de/Kontakt.html .
Enjoy your trip to Germany.

Tanja

[rocknroll]

Hey there, right, nearly nobody eats peanut butter over here, such a shame, I love it, you´ll surely find it in bigger supermarkets. To get vegan food and cosmetics, especially cheese, but also cat and dog food, try
www.radix-versand.de , it´s great. I´ll move to Northern Ireland in a few months, so I´ll see how it works there. Bye, Nad

[rocknroll]

Oh, and for the food in restaurants: someone mentioned pizza - make sure there´s no milk in it, some seem to use it. For the pasta thing: I´ve only hear of egg-based pasta very seldom in restaurants, only things like Tagliatelle or "Spätzle" are egg-based as far as I know. If anybody is to visit Munich: try an excellent new restaurant, vegan of course, called "Zerwirk", don´t have the adress, google it! Bye then, Nad

[paulvegan]

[quote=paradoxsund]Guten Tag meine Damen und Herren!!! Ich hab' diese Gruppe heute gefunden, und ich interessiere mich,


could you say that again i think i missed a bit!!!!!!!!!!

[yorbo]

How do you say "vegan" in German ? Is it the same word ?

[Tanja]

It's the same word, but the pronounciation isn't the same. It's pronounced like the underlined letters in the following words, usually stressed on the second syllabe: will bed good bath north

[toma_Paella!!!]

hey hey

seit zwei Monaten wohne ich in Berlin, in der Nähe von Friedrichshain. Gerade mache ich ein Fernstudium und versuche meine Deutschkenntnisse zu verbessern (und leider bin ich noch auf der Suche nach einem Job ). Ich würde gern vegane Leute kennenzulernen... um Spaß zu haben, ein Tandem Deutsch/Spanisch zu machen, zusammen zu kochen... oder was sich eben ergibt

( übrigens: ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt und komme aus Madrid, Spanien . Bin Vegan seit 2005 und vorher war ich Vegetarier für noch zwei Jahre.)

Weiß virklich nicht, ob es hier gestattet ist, aber jedenfalls meine Nummer ist 0157- 73908327

Liebe Grüße, und bis bald!!!

- Juan



( http://veganladen.de dieser Laden rockt )

[jem]

i'm in germany right now
i found peanut butter pretty easily, though unexpectedly, at a pharmacy-like store (rossmans ? or something like that).
they had an entire wall of health food.

[lysi]

Hi everyone and especially Tanja

Tanja especially because we know each other - well, from another forum here or there. - Tanja is a pretty active German vegan activist for those of you who haven't noticed yet.

I'm German too although living in the UK now. Anyways, there tend to be two words for 'vegan' in German. The, in my view, correct vegan as Tanja already mentioned, but also sometimes 'veganisch', which you might see here and there. So if you do see or here 'veganisch', it will also mean vegan.

Although Germany isn't as 'advanced' when it comes to catering for vegans as maybe the UK, there are products from suppliers such as Taifun, Viana, Provamel and others that are actually offering a pretty good range of vegan products that you might not even get in the UK. On my last trip to Germany I noticed that Provamel offers a vegan margarine and ice cream - usually sold in Health food stores (Reformhaus / Bioladen) which I know are not sold in the UK.

*lysi*

[chey62]

http://www.ulmafit.de/index.php?list=KAT05

ich bin urspruenglich aus deutschland I am originally from Germany. This is a website I just came across. my friend who i grew up with told me that there is a new bio laden (store) coming about every week. It seems that it's getting more popular over there to be vegan.

[berta_the_aspie]

"bio laden" might be misread. anyways germany seems really vegan, environmentally and aspiefriendly!

[chey62]

Actually, I found that there is more variety in Germany than here...fake schnitzel, fake Bratwurst etc??? we can't get that here in the US!
What are your experiences in re reaction from Germans in re veganism?

[rejackson73]

Frankfurt isn't bad...although Berlin is much easier, and forget about Friedrichshafen! I know there is a great bio market in Oberursel...and Frankfurt seemed to have its share of Falafel places which are always good in a pinch..

[Dolly Dimple]

Sorry to be bumping an older thread, but I wondered what vegan products you can't get in Germany that you can get in the UK? I'm going to be visiting another vegan in Germany at the end of July, and thought it would be nice to bring something new for them to try, but it seems that Germany's pretty well-supplied already! Any suggestions? (Green and Black's chocolate goes without saying... )

[bryzee86]

Be careful about G&Bs:http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...reen+blacks%22

[Dolly Dimple]

OK, maybe not that then

[bryzee86]

I bought some yesterday, so you could have a look see if they still have the old batches. you can tell if you look on the back and it still says vegan. Other than that I don't think you can get Sweet William (labelled "Dairy Free" brand over here) bars in Germany, nor plamil or Vegan Organica. So perhaps try those?

[Dolly Dimple]

I'll keep a look out for those

[Kiran]

VEGAN GUEST HOUSE IN GERMANY

I got this info via e-mail from one of the vegans in the Indian Vegan group. Thought I'd share this with you .....

In her own words .....

---------------------------------------------------------------
I am writing this because I have just been to a wonderful guesthouse in Germany – not too near Dresden but in the mountains in the Allgau region. This guest house is run by a young couple – Torsten and Edita who have a son, Kevin. They were vegetarian and turned vegan because Torsten was influenced by some books about the health aspects of a vegan diet. Kevin celebrated his 6th birthday while I was there and is a very healthy boy. He has also not had any vaccinations. Torsten and Edita said that while the other kids in the kindergarten got flus and other problems, Kevin was rarely sick. They also said that they allowed Kevin to taste the non vegan food of his friends whenever he asked and so he had tried meat and eggs and cheese and milk and never liked any of them. Now he knows by himself that he wants to be vegan. Torsten said that becoming vegan changed their perspective on animals and I saw that neither them now even kill flies. They gently guide them out of the house.

I think the good energy in this guesthouse also contributes as well as the clean air – its in a small village with lots of beautiful walks around and snow topped mountains just nearby.

The guesthouse has options of vegetarian (cheese and milk) for breakfast but the meals are absolutely vegan and amazing. Their 13 year old dog is also vegetarian and healthy.

I want to suggest this place because though I was only there for 1 1/2 days it was one of the best holidays I ever had. There is nothing like having a holiday in a vegan guesthouse with an excellent cook. Torsten only buys organic foods of the highest quality, and the prices of the guesthouse and the meals are very modest.

For more information write to Torsten Stix or just call him. He speaks English though Edita speaks very little.

Gaestehaus Rita
Bergweg 16
87538 Bolsterlang-Kierwang
Telefon 08326 1211
Fax 08326 3859996
www.gaestehaus-rita.de

info@gaestehaus-rita.de
---------------------------------------------------------

[ellaminnowpea]

Thanks, for the info, Kiran. I'll definitely have to support them next time I visit Germany. I absolutely loved it there last time, although I had a little trouble with food in the lodges in Obersdorf. I'd love to stay in a lodge like this!

[ellaminnowpea]

Also, I noticed the website is in German. Is there a way to find out this info in English? I dont know very much German and am much better at undestanding speech than reading it.