I found out that my local Asian store has chickpeas ( Kichererbsen in German). After asking a colleague of mine the correct pronunciation I decided to pick up a couple of tins on my way home. I felt that getting the correct pronunciation was important seeing as my colleague thought I was asking about church peas …But on my arrival I not only found one of the aisles stacked full of chickpeas but also written in English. So much for my language skills!
Yet why can I not find these in a normal supermarket? Just the same as I cannot find certain herbs and spices, baking products, types of potatoes, breads (bagels are not stocked in all supermarkets!), pastry mix and decent beef! Then again, supermarkets in Germany are stocked up with asparagus come Spring/ Summer time. However, one thing I do enjoy is fruit and veg being stocked seasonally in Germany. There is something sweet about strawberry stands popping up all over the place during the Summer and seeing oranges in the supermarket end of Autumn. I am not saying you cannot get these items at all the rest of the year but they are well stocked for example during ‘strawberry season’.
So there we go. It isn’t all bad… But give me a 24 hour supermarket 10 times the size of my local Rewe or Kaisers any day ..!
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