AmericansInLeipzig

faq

WGT 2008
May 9-12, 2008

AmericansInLeipzig
Frequently Asked Questions

Food:

When is there time to eat?
How easy is it to get vegetarian food?
How easy is it to get vegan food?

When is there time to eat?

Shea writes:

Well, honestly time is the biggest challenge to eating at the Treffen. Ian and I find that our biggest meal is often the great breakfast at the Renaissance Hotel. After that, we usually have a snack later in the evening.

As for food at the venues, the AGRA does have fairground-style food available. It's not that great-tasting or healthy, but it's reasonably priced and will sustain you. There is a grill-type food vendor inside the Parkbühne venue, and Jutta recommends a biergarten that's within sight of the Parkbühne (she says the food is "average" but that overall it's a nice biergarten - and it's right in the park). Also, the Moritzbastei does have some food available very late into the evening. As for the other venues, there are usually snack food vendors or other fairground-style outlets.

Don't count on being able to bring your own food into the venues. Ian and I have been able to sneak through German chocolate and an apple, but one security guard actually threw away our banana - I guess a banana could be used as a weapon.

At the hotels we've stayed in, the mini-bar includes some space for your personal use. A suggestion is to buy some bread and cheese and fruit and stash it in the fridge as a cheap way to beat hunger pangs - but you're not going to spend too much time in your hotel.

How easy is it to get vegetarian food?

Shea writes:

Being a vegetarian, I can confidently say that it's easier to find good vegetarian food in Germany than in say, Florida or Las Vegas. German-style breakfasts often include meat, but it's still quite a big meal without the meat. The stands at the AGRA have included some vegetarian options including at least an Asian noodle and rice stand and a pizza place.

{TRAGEDY! Avocado closed in late 2003! We'll need to find a new home for the Thursday night dinner...} There are some great restaurants in Leipzig, one of which is the Avocado - a fantastic all-vegetarian place. Conveniently, the strassenbahn {streetcar} route between downtown and the major venues (AGRA and Werk II) passes right by the Avocado; it is at the corner of Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse and Arndtstrasse (exit the strassenbahn at Kochstrasse and walk a block or 2 in the direction away from downtown). It is becoming a tradition that Ian and I host an Americans In Leipzig meet-and-greet at the Avocado on the Thursday night before the Treffen kicks off.

There is a stretch of Gottschedstrasse just west of the city center with several "young" restaurants. The one we'd highlight is Magapon - it's a cool bar and restaurant - and laundromat! They have a nice garden out back to sit in, and very yummy food. And it's Grufti-friendly: breakfast is served until 3pm!

In downtown Leipzig, a great option is Bagel Brothers, a block inside the city ring from the Hauptbahnhof. As the title suggests, it's an American-style bagel restaurant, with a large selection of schmears as well as sandwiches. And they have huge glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice, cheap - great to recharge when it's hot.

Continue reading the next topic, "How easy is it to get vegan food?" for additional suggestions.

How easy is it to get vegan food?

Here are some suggestions, thanks to Jutta, our resident Leipziger:

There are lots of other options for vegans to get good food here, I think. You can for example go to one of those middle-eastern "Döner"-places and have some pita bread with falafel balls (consist of bean curd, I think) and ask them to omit the gravy / mayonnaise (usually milk product based, but some might offer extra oil and vinegar, to make things less dry...). Or in the city center, there is this "fast-food" (not quite McDonalds, though) chain called "Nordsee", they mainly offer fish, but they carry some take-away dish called "Kartoffel-ecken", which is potato chips. I really like them, and if you also tell them "ohne Soße, bitte" ("oh-nah so-zah, bittah"), you won't get milk-based gravy or mayonnaise with it. So maybe bring your favorite vegan condiment to make things less dry ;-). Though peanut butter is not common in Germany, you don't have to bring your own from the US. There's a well-stocked supermarket in the main train station (called "Minimal") that definitely carries peanut butter. Look for their "American Food" section (yes!). They have crunchy and smooth, so no need to bring any. Another option is Bagel Brothers, a place that many gothies go to frequently for quick lunch or late breakfast, it's in the city center. The bagels from Bagel Brothers are vegan! They even have vegan-friendly toppings there in stock (cream cheese wouldn't appeal to you, I assume, but they also offer peanut butter, jelly, and tomato relish), so maybe bring vegan cream cheese, and you'll be fine. Their bagels are excellent! And you can always stick to "freedom fries" with ketchup! We make good fries here, and we call them "pommes" ("pom'ess", stress on 1st syllable), derived from French "pommes frites", deep-fried potatoes. Ketchup is ketchup, so no problem with that one. There's a friendly and good chips place right across from Thomaskirche church in the city center, for example. Or look for a restaurant that has spaghetti with tomato sauce on the menu. Tomato sauce would be "Tomatensoße" in German ("tomuhtenzaussuh"). Ask them if there are eggs in their spaghetti: "Sind da Eier in den Spaghetti"? (Sint duuh eye-er in dane shpaghetti?"). I guess most of those halfway fancy student-type bars and restaurants should have some kind of pasta with tomato sauce on their menu, usually one of the cheaper options for a meal. Basically, starving shouldn't be a problem. I know quite some vegans living happily in Leipzig, and none of them ever complained about empty stomachs! Myself being a vegetarian for about 15 years now, I never had any problems here. But stock well if you're planning to head out to the countryside, not to mention rural Bavaria where you're lost if you don't like fatty pork roasts... urgh! "Vegan" is "vegan" in German, we pronounce it "vay-guuhn'", stress on 2nd syllable. A vegan person would be "ein Veganer" ("ein vayguuhnuuh") - "Ich bin Veganer, ich esse keine tierischen Nahrungsmittel" ("eej bin vayguuhnaah, eej uussuuh kine-uuh teereeshuuhn nuuhroungsmiddel"- man, that looks peculiar ;-)!! - means: I am vegan, I don't eat any animal products). Not too many people in regular restaurants know the difference though. Ask something like "Sind da Milchprodukte drin?" ("Sint duuh Miljproductah drin?") to check if meals without meat contain milk products. Another vegan who has attended Treffens in the past suggests bringing Cliff and Luna bars - but keep in mind our note that sometimes security won't let you through with outside food. She was also able to find a number of Asian and Italian restaurants with vegan options...but very little at the venues themselves.

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