Berlin - the most vegan friendly city in Europe

Delicious fruit pop of date and almond

one of many fun signs

I had heard that Berlin was the city of plant based eating and sure enough, this is what I discovered. We have been here for ten days and it would take many more to visit the many restaurants and shops that carry all or mostly all vegan foods. People always ask me if I feel deprived when traveling and not experiencing all of the foods of the culture I am visiting. My answer is always that I choose to eat this way and therefore never feel deprived but here in Berlin I partook in all the culture as here they understand what being plant-based is all about. Every restaurant marks its items as vegan (as well as gluten free) and has ingredient lists posted to help those with allergies. One does not have to ask so many questions and feel out of place as is common in many other places. Berlin is a young and healthy city with people walking and biking everywhere.

Let's go to a few of my favorite places.

Favorite breakfast

Breakfast most days was at a small porridge shop. We kept thinking we should go elsewhere but it was too delicious to pass up and every 7 bowls bought us a free one so we managed to get 2 free during our visit. It is in the area of Berlin called Prenzlauer Berg where we lived. The restaurant is Haferkater on Eberswaldler Strasse. The new world for me with my Iphone and the ability to look up whatever I want whenever I want has changed our travel, no longer necessary to find these places in a guide book or on a computer and make detailed notes as well as hours over a map.

The Bowl - Beet falafel balls on left and
tempeh, tofu bowl on the right

Our days included many tours and visits in and outside the city. For a detailed travelogue you can visit my travel blog at: http://mexicotravel-susan-ricardo.blogspot.com   Most days we ate at least one meal in a restaurant but having a kitchen in our airbnb was good too. There are many lovely veggie stores with wonderful produce.

Superfoods - carrot and zucchini strings
with nuts, seeds, quinoa and veggies

Favorite restaurants included "The Bowl" above the large store Veganz at Warschauer Strasse 33. The orange drink pictured above is tumeric and almond milk and was a favorite of mine. There are also many Thai, Vietnamese, Asian and Indian restaurants all with dedicated menus to plant based eaters. Another favorite was Superfoods Berlin with several locations and a shop for take out items.

At Pizzare

A great option especially for me who rarely finds gluten free pizza was Pizzare which has a full several page vegan menu. The pizza options were many and we went twice to enjoy several different toppings on each pizza. The vegan cheeze was delicious as well. On our last night in town we went with Tom to his favorite veg restaurant - Chay Village, with Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine on Niederbarnimstrasse 4 and we enjoyed three different entrees from their varied and large menu. 

My mother's German style
potato salad with oil and vinegar

We did two different boat trips. One was a traditional boat tour of the Spree river running through the city of Berlin and even there on the menu was a vegan item. I had the delicious potato salad that my German mother made that was a highlight of every family party - yummmm. We also went on a boat canal trip in Spreewald and afterwards ordered a lovely plate of vegetables and potato with the traditional linseed oil that is still produced in the area along with all types of pickles.

Lunch after the boat ride in Spreewald

As luck would have it, we were here for the 3 day Vegan Sommerfest in the large outdoor Alexanderplatz in the center of town. It was packed with people enjoying the food and information presented at the many vendors. Most of the speakers were in German so we did not attend them but I was happy to be among so many of "my people" and to witness this growing worldwide movement.

Veganes Sommerfest Berlin

At the Sommerfest

We will be traveling for another two months so you can look forward to posts from many other country. Thanks for traveling with us.