:: Germany > EAT+DRINK > Habits > Habits & Customs Germans start their day with the "Frühstück", the breakfast. It consists mainly of 1 or 2 slices of buttered bread with cheese, Wurst (slices of salami, poloni or ham), Schinken (sliced smoked bacon), Marmelade (jam) or Quark (a sort of smooth cottage cheese) on top. A boiled egg is frequently served as a side item, a yoghurt as well. A cooked breakfast is unknown in Germany, but can be ordered in bigger hotels, just like cereals, muesli or fruit salad. Germans also like - instead of bread - Brötchen for breakfast, freshly baked crisp rolls. The breakfast comes with coffee - "schwarz" or "mit Milch" - or tea (also herbal teas). "Mittagessen" (lunch) is - traditionally - the main meal in Germany, usually served between 12 and 14 o'clock. It can consist of one to three (or more) courses. The main course is called Hauptgericht. A starter is a "Vorspeise" and can be a soup or a salad. A dessert is called "Nachspeise". Germans like to drink water, juices, beer or wine with the meal and a strong coffee afterwards. If you are in company, you would start the meal saying "Guten Appetit". In the afternoon, Germans like to sit down for a slice of cake or tart and a cup of coffee or tea. Whatever your drink is, it is always called "Kaffeetrinken". This can take place any time between 3 and 5 pm. If you are invited "zum Kaffee", arrive at about 4 pm. Dinner is called "Abendessen" or "Abendbrot", any time between 6 and 8 pm. Traditionally, this is not a cooked meal, but people just eat "Butterbrote", slices of bread with butter, Wurst, Schinken etc. However, in contemporary families, where both parents are working, the Abendessen can be the main, cooked meal of the day. If you go to a German restaurant in the evening, you can, of course, always expect a proper dinner.
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