Supermarkets in Germany

When you are used to the food and the prices in Spain, Germany seems quite expensive. The good thing is that you still can find supermarkets in Germany that an exchange student can afford. The cheapest supermarkets in Germany are the ones that most of you already know - Aldi and Lidl. I prefer not to buy fresh food here, but you have good and cheap drinks and also food that is already packed. Another two supermarkets that have midle prices are REWE and Hercules. Here you can find anything (especially in Hercules) and you also have sales and good offers. There are some food that is cheaper in the Bio version, so don't hesitate - is better and tastes better. In Germany the Bio products you can buy them in the normal supermaket and sometimes they are cheaper than others. In these two supermarkets you have the no-name brands or the supermarket brands that are cheaper and quite good. One of them is JA! You'll end buying everything of JA! 'cause is the cheapest one and with a quite good quality. But there are still 2 most important things for me that I cannot find the same quality as in Spain: the tune and the oilve oil. It's quite expensive in Germany and is less tastefull as in Spain.

Regarding drinks you usually have REWE, but another one only with drinks. There you also have the machine where you return the bottles and get the money back. When you buy water or another drinks in Germany you have to pay the bottle (pfand). It's usualy 25 cent for a plastic bottle and 8 to 15 cents for beer bottles. Not all of them work like that. The ones that is writen;pfand frei; don't charge you anything. So if the water costs you 30 cents, you'll pay 55 (25 cents pfand). The pfand works everywhere: in the discos, bars, Christmas Markets.

There are other markets like Rossmann and Schlecker were you can buy everything but food. You already know Schlecker, so Rossmann is simmilar. The only difference is that in Rossmann you have special offers for things that in some moment in your erasmus you'll need.