Buying food and Eating out

The cheapest way to feed yourself is by cooking yourself or buying food from the supermarkets. However, there are other cost-effective ways in which you can silence that grumbling stomach. Below are a few:

Supermarkets

There will be atleast one supermarket near your place of residence, best way is to check on maps. The most common supermarkets in Magdeburg are:

• Kaufland
• Edeka
• Aldi
• Rewe
• Lidl
• NP Discount
• Netto
• Penny
• Norma

Opening hours

Most supermarkets open at 7:00 and close at 20:00. There are a few that are open till 22:00. The NP Discount supermarket near the university is an exception, and is open from 5:00am to 1:00am. All supermarkets and shops are closed on Sunday and public holidays as a rule in Germany. On Saturdays and the day before a holiday, all the shops close at 20:00.

Indian, Asian, African, Turkish, Helal shops

You can find specific things like spices, vegetables, rotis, etc. in these small shops, which may not be usually available at local supermarkets.

List of Indian stores

• Asia Afro Shop, Keplerstr.
• Indische Lebensmittel P. Kumar, Olvenstedter Str.

Asia Markets

• Asia-Markt, Breiter Weg

Helal markets

• Al Rahman, Erzbergerstraße 1, 39104
• Turkish market, Breiter Weg 230, 39104 Magdeburg

Eating out

At the University

Mensa

The Main campus has a Mensa with two floors. Each floor has different food options as well as a salad, pasta and dessert buffet where you pay according to the weight. With your student card you can avail of the student prices. One meal (without drink/dessert) can cost somewhere between 2 - 4 € depending on whether you take extra side dishes. There are also vegetarian options and soup of the day. When you reach the food counter, the staff usually asks you to choose between rice or french fries and whether you would like a side of vegetables. Don't worry, it might seem overwhelming at first, but just observe the people before you, you'll get a hang of it. You can check the daily menu and prices on their website.

There is another mensa at the Building 40 (Humanities dept.).

Cafeterias

Apart from the mensa, there are three Cafeterias in the main campus. One is on the ground floor of the Mensa building. Second is in the library building and the third is in Building 16. The Cafeterias generally serve sandwiches, desserts, coffee/tea. You can pay with your student card in all of them except the one at the library where you can only pay by cash.

Outside University

Most popular fast food is Germany is Döner, Bratwurst, Currywurst and Asian food. You can find several Döner shops in Magdeburg, with options of Chicken, Lamb or Falafel (Vegetarian) Döners for a price range of 3 -4 €. Some of these shops also sell Pizza, Lammacum (Turkish pizza), Pasta for under 8€. Several "Asia-Imbiss" shops spread across the city offer a good and cheap fast food alternative, with prices between 3€ - 8€.

Fast food

Some popular fast-food places near Uni:

• Al Rahman - Cuisine from Syria, Iran, Egypt. They also have several Veg. options.
• Meet to Eat - Thai, Vietnamese, Burgers, Salads. They have Vegan and Veg. options.
• Flinky Pfanne - Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese
• Kodat Grill - Döner, Falafel, Pizza
• Kaiser Döner - Döner, Falafel, Pizza
• Subway

Restaurants

Eating out in restaurants can cost you anywhere between 9€ and 25€ without drinks for one person. Best is to check the menu-card ("Speisekarte") before you go eat in the restaurant, either online or outside the restaurant (near the entrance a menu is generally displayed). Some restaurants often have lunch offers or "Mittagsmenu" with reduced prices.

Bakeries

Germans love their bakeries. You can not only buy several varieties of good bread from here (for 2€ - 4€), but also sandwiches, cakes, cookies, coffee and tea. There are several chains of bakeries like "Schäffers", "Ihre Landbäcker" in Magdeburg as well as most supermarkets have a small bakery at the entrance and a freshly baked products counter inside.

Ordering out

You can order food online from the comfort of your home. Most popular websites to order food are:

• http://pizza.de
• http://lieferando.de
• http://lieferheld.de