AATrout

I forgot to add "Bitter End" bitters the absoute best for cocktails, made just outside Munich but sold all over. You can find them in the US but not that common. Their orange and celery flavors are great for martinis and bloody marys.

http://the-bitter-truth.com/bitter/

tdeers

Isn't that just too expensive to import those products?

exbayern

I believe that is the entire point of this thread - purchase them whilst in Germany before flying to the US. I would far rather pay 0,80 cents for a bar of chocolate than $2,99++ in the US for the same bar.

oliver2002

When I was in the US I used to scan the international aisle in the local supermarket for offers: they usually mark down a number of goods if there is no movement for a few weeks or if the expiration date is within the next four weeks. I bought countless jams, cake mixes, cookies etc for less than the German retail price

geo1005

True. Or even $2.99+ for an inferior 'mass market' export version... ^

exbayern

I did notice that the $39 5kg tub of Nutella at American Costco is the real version (I will never forget my father calling me once, to ask what was 'wrong' with the Nutella I had left in his cupboard. It was a jar purchased in the US, which tends to get very gummy after a week or two. He thought that it had gone bad as it was the first time in more than four decades of Nutella consumption that he had seen it do that)

But it's one more reason to buy things in Germany, especially Maggi and Knorr which really put in junk for some export markets (Maggi India however is pretty decent compared to the US version) I even don't buy those in France as they put junk in the French versions of their soups and sauces.

oliver2002

Nutella is Italian BTW (Ferrero) and Knorr (like Milka) belongs to Kraft foods

exbayern

Sure, but they are both sold in Germany, in their pure forms. Hence the reason to buy them in Germany and not in the US if possible. And a lot of groceries are cheaper in Germany than in France, not to mention significantly cheaper than in the US.

ysolde

Nivea cream. The real one. And there's a Nivea deodorant for sensitive skin, roll-on. No stains, no burns.

Mucoangin for sore throat. Gelo Re-voice, for when you're hoarse.

oliver2002

Speaking of which, I have not found Soventol anywhere else in the world. Its probably some variant of an Antihistamine cream, but travelling with kids its the most effective bugbite soothing cream/gel I've come across. Even in the Nordics (where we usually need it due to some very aggressive mosquito) they have nothing like it.

Safti

I'm in Berlin now and leaving in a few days. I would like to bring back to Canada some skin care products as well as some baby lotions/creams. Can anyone recommend which products and where I could buy them?

exbayern

Penaten for diaper rash and other product, Weleda baby cream, German Nivea products (as opposed to the Mexican version often found in Canada), Kneipp bath and skin products, and some of the other ones mentioned on the last page are some options. Rexona is the same deodorant company as Degree, and usually the one I buy in Germany is made in Canada, but cheaper in Germany! (The 'clinical' version)

You can buy them at any of the drugstores which are called 'Drogerie' (dm, Müller although they are not common in Berlin, Rossmann), or in the personal care/baby aisles at grocery stores. If you are near Potsdamer Platz the shopping centre there has several options. More medical type product is at the Apotheke (pharmacy, separate store from the drug store, unlike in Canada)

I'm a Müller shopper and like just browsing for product there; my 2nd choice is Rossmann, and I'm not a big dm shopper but that is just a personal preference (sort of like having a preference for Pharmaprix/Shoppers over London Drugs, for instance) dm carries the same 'house brand' as Pharmaprix/Shoppers Drug Mart, interestingly enough.

oliver2002

+1 on Penaten, that stuff works miracles with diaper rash. It defies logic. The brand belongs to J&J though and I have seen it abroad recently.

chollie

Toothpaste in 100 ml tubes (fits in my 3-1-1 bag).

Licorice powder - well, just all kinds of black licorice.

Calendars - far better selection than I have ever seen anywhere in the US.

Mustard in tubes, including small ones that really make impromptu picnics a breeze.

exbayern

It's usually 75ml in Germany, but Dentagard just started to sell *NEW 100ml tube** (Still 100-1-1 compliant)

On a side note, I switched from Dentagard to Colgate (it's the herbal version of Colgate) and had really sore teeth. I'm back to using Dentagard but it's frustrating as it doesn't seem to exist outside of Germany.