Europe - A Piece of Vegan Cake
By Jim Dunn
Prior to a recent two-week backpacking trek through Europe, I found myself wondering if my wife, my brother, and I would have a problem finding healthy vegan food. So we armed ourselves with lists of vegetarian restaurants for all the cities we would be visiting. I also threw a few freeze-dried soups and Clif Bars into our packs just to be on the safe side. As it turned out, all of the above was helpful. None of the above was essential.
We started in Frankfurt, Germany. None of the Frankfurt restaurants listed were convenient, so we scratched around for what we could find. We had a falafel at a Schnell Imbiss (quick food) hole-in-the-wall across from the main train station. It became clear as we were waiting in line that several of the Middle Eastern guest workers in line with us were also there for a vegetarian lunch. The food was delicious.
We occasionally did find that a restaurant had nothing for us. For example, the Fodor's Guide lists the Melange in Frankfurt as "largely vegetarian" but they simply could not accommodate a vegan. That, however, turned out to be a stroke of good luck. Soon after, while walking around Sachsenhausen, the old part of Frankfurt, we wandered into the India Palace, Darmstadter Landstrasse 6, where we had a dozen vegan options to choose from, and the food and service were excellent.
In Berlin we stayed with friends who made sure we had plenty of cereal, soymilk, and fruit for breakfast. For lunch we ate at a cafeteria-style lunchroom where a variety of vegan salads and individual vegetables were available. We also had two very good dinners in Berlin. One was at the Café Oren, Oranienburger Strasse 28, in the Jewish quarter. The menu offered only one vegan option, but they were anxious to accommodate and we were able to negotiate changes to other entrées to meet our needs. The second restaurant was Natural 'Mente, a macrobiotic restaurant on Schustehrusstrasse 26, Berlin-Charlotteburg. The waiter was the cook was the server was the cashier, and he did it all very well indeed. All the food was vegan and delicious.
In Amsterdam we weren't able to try any of the restaurants on our list. Our hosts insisted on cooking dinner for us. They found it to be an adventure to prepare vegan meals, and they were quite successful. During the day we relied again on fast food — in Europe you're never far from a falafel. By the way, two interesting things struck us about Amsterdam. One is that English is virtually a second language. The other is that they take recycling much more seriously than we do. For example, our host's kitchen had separate cans for everything, including vegetable peelings and other organic waste.
On to Zurich, where we experienced the pleasure of dining at the Hiltl Vegi, Sihlstraβe 28, Europe's oldest vegetarian restaurant. This is a large (2-story) restaurant, and business was booming. When we inquired about vegan options, they handed us a pre-prepared list of all the vegan options in each section of the menu. It was a real treat to have so many choices. The only downside was cost. Because of a less than favorable exchange rate, it was fairly expensive.
We also spent some time crossing a few alpine passes. I was particularly happy, as an avid bicyclist, to stumble across the Tour de Suisse race during this excursion. However, my joy abated somewhat when we tried to get something to eat. The concept of "no animal products" was not well embraced at the little inns to be found at 8,000 feet. However, with some work, we did manage to get a shredded vegetable salad with a tasty vinegar dressing and some delicious, hearty bread.
Next was Paris. Paris is a beautiful city that is clearly worth seeing. We found the food situation a little more difficult. Although many restaurants could accommodate lacto-ovo vegetarians, we struggled to find a restaurant that would accommodate vegans. I feel certain that had we spoken French beyond the largely forgotten French 101 level, or had we had more time to check out every possibility, we would have done better. And as it turned out, we did fine anyway. We ended up eating our main meals at Country Life, 6 rue Daunou 2. Country Life Restaurants, which are affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, serve nicely prepared, high-quality vegan food, and can be found in several cities around the world. Maybe we missed the character of the native French restaurants, but we ate very well indeed.
We also ate at the Country Life in London as we were passing through on our way to Oxford. In Oxford we chose a Chinese restaurant. The Restaurant Xian at South Parade offered many vegan options.
All in all, we found food not to be as much of an issue on the trip as we had expected. There are regions on both continents that are years behind other more progressive areas, but even off the beaten path there are options. Stay flexible and get creative and you won't have any serious problems as a vegan in Europe.
Jim Dunn is a vegetarian/animal rights activist from Illinois.
