This Aisle Intimidates Me...

Living abroad, there are certain difficulties you have to overcome. Grocery shopping is high on that list.

I was naive the first time I went to my neighborhood grocery store. I didn't see my non-existent mastery of the German language as a problem. How different could it really be? I could see everything right in front of me - I should be able to recognize what I need. Right? Wrong.

In the produce area, there are vegetables and fruits I am unfamiliar with, don't even get me started on the weird meat section that is not refrigerated.

Four months have passed, and over that time I have learned more and more about my grocery store's offerings. With Blackberry in hand - set to Google Translator - I've moved through the aisles identifying items as I go. There are quite a few things I still don't have a clue about (like the weird jello stuff that has chunks of meat in it) but I have definitely made progress.

For the most part, I pick up all the same stuff as in the states but I now buy milk found on a shelf, not refrigerated, and I'm ok with that. It's a start.

There is one aisle I have yet figure out - and I haven't even tried. Dogs, sausages, wieners, wursts... whatever you call them, they are available jarred, canned, large, small, diced, sliced, pickled, seasoned - anyway you would want them. And they are found here, in aisle 12. ENTIRE aisle 12.

I don't know what to make of this aisle. No one is ever shopping the aisle either. The packaging makes everything look like you step into 1985 too. It is bazaar and I'm not sure I'll ever master this area. I pass through it to get to the pickles but I get embarrassed, quicken my pace and move on. Even taking the picture above - I was all business: walk, snap, keep walking.

One of these days... I will buy a wurst from aisle 12. It may just take me a while.