Our aim with these My Favorite: posts is to give our well-traveled Explorica employees a chance to share some of their favorite travel experiences with all of you.
We’ll be doing two My Favorites this week, and first up is Tom O’Grady. Take it away, Tom…
My favorite store in all of Germany is…The Kaufhof!
A few years back, I had the chance to go to Germany to see the US play in the World Cup. I spent three weeks traveling through Germany, following the team and the sport that I love. I spent a lot of time in Munich and became a regular in the Marienplatz .
In the three weeks I was there, I saw just about every part of Munich, and many days I had some time to kill before the games would start at night. Also, I discovered that due to the heightened number of tourists, many restaurants and shops were inflating their prices to take advantage of the World Cup traffic. I was not going to fall victim!
That’s when I discovered the Kaufhof. Its kind of a one stop super-department store. Picture a Macy’s with a cafeteria/restaurant on the top floor and a supermarket in the basement.
I literally found everything I needed right there–and due to the fact that locals shop there, the prices weren’t affected as much. To escape the sun, I wandered through the multiple floors, checking out everything European, from clothes, to music, to electronics, to the different kinds of snack foods they eat. I also got many of my World Cup souvenirs there as well. They have great prices on many of the things you’d find on the streets.
If that weren’t enough, when I’d get hungry I could go up to the cafeteria and get a great serving of wiener schnitzel and french fries, washed down with a cool orange Fanta (the European version). You can eat at a fraction of the cost of a restaurant, and you’ll be sitting in a bright, air conditioned room where you can sit for as long as you’d like.
And the best point of all about the Kaufhof……free restrooms!
Sure… they do ask you for a small donation to the cleaner, which is normal in Europe, but you get to use a perfectly clean bathroom that is not known by many tourist. Plus, you’ll get to impress your fellow travelers with your behind the scenes knowledge.
Buon viaggio!
Last 5 posts by Tom O'Grady
- Travel Tip of the Week: Buy Local (clothes, that is...) - November 6th, 2008
- Better Know a Program Consultant: Tom O'Grady - November 4th, 2008
Schnitzel, shopping, and available seating...oh my! 
