A large cultural adjustment for study abroad students often occurs when encountering a new cuisine. I experienced this cultural difference in both day-to-day grocery trips and in the restaurants of Berlin.

The fresh fruits and vegetables in Germany are of a far higher quality than within the US. The German groceries are also measured on a scale of health levels to help customers make informed decisions about the food they eat. I found this system to be incredibly helpful in balancing healthy meals with all the chocolate treats available here. The available groceries reflected the flavors of German dishes and the dishes of nearby countries such as Poland, Italy, and France. I found the new selection of food and spices to be an exciting way to interact with Berlin culture while staying within my budget for the summer.

The restaurant scene in Berlin is incredibly diverse. As Berlin has grown to become a city of international immigrants and tourists in the past 30 years, the food scene has become an amalgamation of food authentic to one culture and fusion food across multiple cultures. One example of this is the popularity of döner restaurants in Germany. A döner is a sandwich-like food that originates from Turkey. Germans have taken the genre of döner sandwiches and developed it into their own street food catering to popular diets in Germany such as vegetarian and veganism. During my time at the language school at the beginning of the summer, I made two friends from Turkey who noted that the döner in Germany are entirely different from those in Turkey. This goes to show that Berlin not only welcomes new cuisine but is constantly redeveloping food culture as a reflection of the changing international population.

Some of my favorite foods to eat in Berlin have been those of Turkish, Indian, and Polish cuisines. I would encourage other study abroad students to embrace not only the historical local food of their host country, but also the cuisines of recent immigrant cultures and the fusions between them. You will learn about the intricacies of local culture in a special way through the food available to you both in specialty restaurants and common grocery stores.