BootsnAll's Travel Community

Good day to you all,

I am a vegetarian and I am backpacking Western and Eastern Europe starting in April. I was wondering if any of the other members who are vegetarians could give me some insight on any positives / negatives of being a vegetarian in Europe. Those who are not a vegetarian, I would greatly appreciate any insight as well about what you have seen about vegetarian frendly meals.

I plan to do as much cooking myself to save money of which i do not have much. However, i do want eat a "traditional" meal from each country that I visit. I am trying to hit the majority of the countries in Eastern and Western Europe. If anyone has any advise/insight, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all and have a good day,

Joshua

"Never mind what's been selling, It's what you're buying,
And receiving undefiled" Fugazi

You shouldn't have problems finding vegetarian meals in most larger cities. Smaller/rural areas might be more of a challenge. Learn to say "I am a vegetarian" in the local language. There are a couple of good reference sites for the traveling vegetarian/vegan.

http://www.happycow.net
http://www.vegdining.com

You'll find vegetarian restaurant listings there.

I'm a vegan at home, but when I travel I try to be a little more flexible and will consume some dairy and eggs. That certainly makes things more manageable.

Check this thread, and this one

Sorta hit and miss. Belgium (where I am now for the moment)...Bad! Switzerland, surprisingly easy. UK? The national dish is curry...no problem!

Above links will be helpful, beyond my tiny anecdotal comment.

I guess, it's all relative. Europe should be absolutely fine. Obviously knowing all the meaty bits by name in all those foreign languages doesn't help. But generally, in Central Europe you'll find that most dishes are listed fairly detailed - so usually you should be able to see if there is meat in there or not. Eastern Europe...that's definitely a bit trickier. The further east you go, the meatier the meals get. I had a faily hard time in Russia, without hot meals for days at a time - even resorting to french fries at McD. Generally eating was not the problem, as markets are great and there are plenty of fresh dairy products, bread, veg and fruit. However, getting a vegetarian hot meal was bit of a problem. The 'variniky' (potatoe or meat ravioli) served on train stations was usually my best hot meal in days.

Thank you all for the information and the links! They all were helpful.

Joshua

"Never mind what's been selling, It's what you're buying,
And receiving undefiled" Fugazi

Hey,

Before my trip I put a post about being a vegetarian in Europe. I also wrote this article:

http://www.bootsnall.com/guides/05-09/traveling-vegetarian.html

The worst in Europe might've been Spain. I called home that night, crying, eating cookies. (I need sleep and food, and if I don't get enough of either, I'm a wreck. Call me high-maintanance, or human!)

This is one part of it: "After hearing horror stories, I made sure I stayed accommodations with kitchens in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Hungary, which made things easier."

Good luck, and PM me if you have any questions!

quote:

This is one part of it: "After hearing horror stories, I made sure I stayed accommodations with kitchens in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Hungary, which made things easier."

Cherie,

After reading the other posts, your article (which was very interesting), and thinking / researching, I think that you are exactly right about staying in hostels with kitchens. That will be the healthiest way for me to travel. I can live on bread and cheese if I need to; however, I would much rather go to a market and cook / make my own food so I can eat a much more balanced meal! On the other hand, I am excited about those cities who are vegetarian friendly so I can hopefully get a 'traditional' vegetarian meal! Thank you for your post and the link to your article! Have a good day,


Joshua

I've been in Paris since Saturday. I had dinner at Le Grenier de Notre Dame on Sunday. It's a good place. Lots of variety. Vegetarian crepes are also available just about everywhere. You can also get baguettes with veggies at many cafes. At the "mainstream" restaurants I've had trouble finding vegetarian items. Bistrot les Sans Culottes on rue de Lappe in the Bastille area has a veggie platter on their menu. It's otherwise a very "meaty" restaurant.

Just had an awesome vegan dinner at De Bolhoed in Amsterdam. I highly recommend this place if you're in Amsterdam.

I have a friend who lived in Hungary as a vegetarian for two years and she said it was awful, although she thinks a vegetarian restaurant has opened up there in the past year. She told me that the key was to always try to stay in hostels with kitchens or homestay style places that will let you use their kitchens.

She recommends searching the internet and posting on the LP thorntree because "they usually have quick answers".