Me Gusta
My last few posts have been about places we visited with my parents. On the surface to our guests it could seem like we’re living one big European vacation (not the Chevy Chase movie), but I think they started to get a sense of what it’s really like to live here on a day to day basis. We really are getting used to it. The everyday errands like getting groceries and paying bills are becoming more routine. We know all the brands that each supermarket carries and have figured out what you can and can’t get here. We’re learning all the German names for everything from ginger (Ingwer) to bathroom cleaner (Badreiniger). I also found a dictionary app for my mobile phone that I’m not too proud to pull out at the grocery store when I’m stumped by a new label.
Most things that we want are fairly simple to find, even if it takes trips to multiple stores. However, I can say with some certainty that there is no Jello in Villach. Some weird clear, flavorless gelatin for use in tortes? Yes. But good old instant cherry or lime Jello? No.
We can live without that, but something we’ve really been missing are black beans. In California we had many types (regular, low salt, extra spicy) to choose from as well as multiple brands, and our fajitas here have been lacking that little extra side dish.
A few weeks ago we were in Vienna and stumbled onto a strangely out of place Mexican market. We stocked up and are rationing them for now until we find another source.
halftime
July 29th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Ricardo and I completely understand. Black beans were easy to find in London, but not good tortillas. We were so thrilled when we found a mexican store that sold maseca for making torillas. 🙂
April 25th, 2012 at 12:07 am
When we live in Begium we found a internet grocery store in the UK for things like jif peanut butter, pancake mix. we finally found pinto bean and bought them all on the shelf. Being from SoCal hard to survive with out mexican food