Gluten Free in Germany
 

I mantain a strict gluten free diet due to Celiac Disease. It is not a choice.
I have not traveled much in Germany but the couple of times I was there had difficulty with Gluten Free meals.
Part of the problem is that I do not speak German.
I usually do fairly well in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and UK/Ireland
I will be in Nurenberg, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich during the Christmas Market period this year.
Any suggestions of where or what is safe to eat will be welcome.
Any special pastries or restaurants that you can recommend

Monitor: I was not sure if to post in "disabled travel" or here in dining buzz. Please move as you see fit.
Thank you

I'm gluten intolerant rather than coeliac, so am less concerned about cross contamination. As always it depends where you go. It's certainly a well known condition but, at the same time, typical German food is heavy on wheat. But there are limited menu options possible, and breakfasts are easy with their focus on meats, cheeses and yoghurts.

As a side note, LH lounges are very aware, with GF breads available.

LH in general does a great job all around - I prefer their gluten free meals and have had very little problems getting gluten free in flight. Just make sure you request it ahead of time.

As I live in Nuernberg, happy to help. Any other restrictions to be aware of?

No other restrictions.
I will be in Nuernberg for 2 days in early December.
Planning on visiting the Christmas markets.
I eat everything and anything as long as it has no gluten.
I eat oats but only if they are gluten-free (lots of contamination during the processing of oats)

Any suggestions in Munich will also be welcomed.

thank you

Germany implemented EU rules this year, requiring restaurants to mark the common allergens in menus. My son is allergic against egg and tree nuts (thankfully down to class 2 now, used to be life threatening class 5 a few years ago) so we have to ask every time. So in major restaurants you will be fine. In small ones you are in trouble. We just had an aunt visiting last weekend who has celiacs, she is very very careful and can manage. We went for dinner at the ratskeller, their allergen menu is here: http://www.ratskeller.com/files/rats...rd_english.pdf (1= Gluten)

Whenever you ask nicely, everyone does check. Don't expect that to happen in busy xmas markets though. When in doubt they will just say 'we cannot be certain/guarantee anything' and leave you standing empty handed.

If you are looking for day to day snack/supplies, visit a local reformhaus to stock up on glutenfree items: http://www.reformhaus.de/filialfinder.html

Thank you for the information

As far as I can tell Ratskeller is only in Munchen, is that correct?

rk

DM has a decent selection of gluten free items. As far as restaurants are concerned, a traditional one with meat and potato based dishes should work well.

Ask for "Glutamatfrei". Availability should be no problem.

Wrong: Glutamat is MSG, completely different animal!

The key word is 'Gluten' making sure to pronounce the e clearly the German way (ie the way the english say 'a')

No, "Ratskeller" is just the restaurant under the city hall; it's not a chain or the name of a particular restaurant. Almost every town has a "Ratskeller." "Rat" is German for council," and "Keller" for cellar.

Exact. It´s like Marktschänke, Dorfkrug, Zur Linde, Zur Post, Zur Krone. Italian restaurants are often called Roma, Napoli, Toscana, Pinocchio, Greek restaurants Akropolis, Athen, Poseidon, Dephi or Olympia. Not very creative:D

I forwarded this thread to my sister-in-law who writes:

My apologies for the mistranslation.