The Weekly Chore

It's a sad lifepoint when the most eventful part of my day is going to the supermarket, but it comes to that sometimes. Especially when it's raining for the umpteenth day in a row.
German supermarkets are somewhat different from those in NZ. For one thing, they're all pretty shit. The standard of shittiness varies, of course. The worst are the mean little "Märkte" where it's dark and cramped, with sagging veges. The best are the Kaisers supermarkets. They're bright and large and inviting, but most of the food is still awful. Really, the best place to go for food are cafes or the many little outdoor markets, but sometimes a supermarket trip is necessary.
The trollies are tiny, basically the size of the kids' trollies in NZ supermarkets. You "rent" one for one Euro (why don't they do that in NZ and prevent uni students collecting them?) and push it boredly round. Some of the tins and jars are flat out disgusting (who buys spam? who?). When you have found something to put in the trolley, you can head to the checkout where a surly woman with a mullet will greet you, shoving your food across the counter faster than you can pack it, then stare as you pack it yourself in your own bags.
But you get used to it. And last time I returned to NZ from Germany, the chipper customer service of the check out people seemed so overwhelming, I felt I was in a land where Ecstasy was consumed as part of the daily norm.