Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Starbucks of Germany

Each day that I taught a 6 am class in the US, my friend Cox and I would venture out to the downtown or five points Starbucks for a morning refuel. I loved my morning routine and still miss it! So Coxie, this one is for you! Allow me to introduce the Starbucks of Germany...The Grimminger... You can see the signs everywhere...in every village and on every corner. Sure, there are some Starbucks locations...but nothing like this. It is not exactly like the "Bucks" as there is far more of a variety of food than coffee (as you can see below). I am sure the reason for this is partially due to the fact that regular coffee here is amazing, and of course there are cultural differences. Most people get their bread at a bakery instead of the store and get it every day or couple of days.
So what can you get at the Grimminger? Baguettes and coffee, of course, as well as pretzels, pastries, sandwiches, etc. They bake most everything in the back of the store and it smells great!
This particular Grimminger is in the Parade Platz (Shopping Square) in downtown Mannheim, so it is very big with lots of variety. Our village has a much smaller one although it is always very busy! When a go I get a small cup of coffee (kaffee tasse, klein) and add a little cream and sugar. SO GOOD:) It only costs .95 EUR. You can also get a hearty sandwich for about 2 EUR around lunch time. It is a deal! I used to go in the morning before we had a coffee pot. Tut put an end to that as the last time we went as he was pissed that I left him outside (dogs can go everywhere besides the grocery and bakery) tied up and he chewed through his leash. It freaked me out so I don't do that anymore...and I'm down to one leash! Lets just say we got a coffee pot two days later. (The day in between I was a bit grumpy!) In terms of coffee and tea there is more to choose from at the "Bucks", but it is far more expensive and much slower. I look forward to my parent's visit as we can do a morning walk with Tut and stop in my Grimminger to grab a tasse. They would probably appreciate it the most as they love coffee more than anyone on the face of this earth. So Cox, this is my new place...come and visit and we can hit an early morning class at the Pfitzenmeier and bask in the nostalgia of our former routine. Bring Jen with you...we would have so much fun!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

woo hoo.......I am there! 6 am has not been the same since you left! The place looks awesome and I love the new bike! I will be over at the end of the school year. If I can not drive Jen she may not come, but I will sure try:)
Enjoy Oktoberfest!!!

Annie said...

Miss you Cox!