Turkey and Germany – Food
As a vegetarian, food has been a bit of a struggle here in Turkey. I’ve mostly been surviving on whatever I can get. One vegetarian on my trip actually suspended her vegetarianism for the same reason. Turkish food is very meat-centric, so I’m probably not the best person to tell you about Turkish cuisine. We don’t have a kitchen in the hotel, so I do all my eating out, and I mostly rely on a few staples: cheese toast (grilled cheese), lentil soup, and rice and beans when I can get it. My first night here, I spent two and a half hours waiting for food in a restaurant because I tried to ask for literally anything vegetarian that they could give me, and they didn’t understand, so eventually they just gave up and didn’t bring me food. I was eventually able to get some plain pasta. I’m hoping that this will be less of an issue in Berlin.
The good news is that food is extremely cheap here in comparison to the United States. Thanks to the exchange rate, I can spend what feels like way too much money on dinner, and still have paid a lot less than I ever would in the US. Food culture here is also very different. Whenever we walk by any restaurants, I assume because we are American, there are waiters (and I mean waiters, I have only had one waitress the whole time I’ve been here) waiting on the street trying to convince you to eat in their restaurant. If we’re lucky, they’ll bring us English menus. Otherwise, finding vegetarian food when everything is in Turkish is basically impossible. I’ve had several experiences where the waiters hover over you while waiting to take your order. They usually expect to take your order immediately rather than giving you time to look at the menu. It’s very similar once you get your food. The waiters will often stand next to you waiting for you to finish your food and then take your plate away before you’re even sure if you’re done. Contradictory to this rushed service, there is definitely more of a culture of spending long hours relaxing at the table than their is in the United States. Dinner doesn’t always end once the meal is taken away. Often times the meal is followed up with delicious Turkish tea or Turkish coffee, which is the strongest coffee you will ever have in your entire life.
Once I get to Berlin on Wednesday, I’m going to have a kitchen, so I hope that I will be able to find more nourishing meals for the rest of my trip. Even though Turkish hasn’t been the best place for me food-wise, it’s definitely been great to experience the culture around food here.
