Cologne, Germany

[Mack the Knife]

I am travelling to Europe in July to compete in the Gay Games VIII in Cologne, Germany.

It's going to be an awesome event but I'm really worried about being able to eat safely while I am there. I have spent the last year and a half training for this and a lot of money to fly around the world to get there, so I really don't want to get sick during the Games and have them ruined.

Unfortunately I booked my accommodation before I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease and it's not refundable. So I am stuck in a hotel with no cooking facilities.

So does anyone know of Gluten free safe places to eat in Cologne or shops where I can buy gluten-free products (bread, crispbread, etc)?

I am also going to Paris, Salzburg and Vienna and would appreciate any tips on these cities too.

[nowheatpete]

Here's a list of gluten free places in k

[Mango04]

I haven't been to Cologne but Germany is my absolute favorite place for gluten-free foods. I live in a neighboring country and nearly all of the gluten-free products I but are German. Be on the lookout for DM and Rossman drug stores, where you'll be able to find many gluten-free foods. When I go to Germany, I'm usually able to find gluten-free bread before I even leave the train station.. Schaar products are quite good. I believe gluten-free in German is "glutenfrei". It's very straightforward and easy to figure out.

In Paris, I had good luck at this restaurant

Open Original Shared Link (maybe because the waiter was particularly helpful)

In Vienna, there is a huge and amazing fruit and veg market, DM drug stores...(it's similar to Germany). Good luck...

[Ahorsesoul]

Be sure to contact your hotel. Let them know now that you are gluten free. They may be able to help you find places to eat. Europe is way ahead of the USA in being gluten free. Contact the Gay Games event planners, they may already have a list of gluten free places. If not, they should! Let them know this is needed.

Are you just attending the games or are you a participating? Good luck and let us know how it goes. Post once you are back any gluten free places you find.

[irish daveyboy]

I am travelling to Europe in July to compete in the Gay Games VIII in Cologne, Germany.

I am also going to Paris, Salzburg and Vienna and would appreciate any tips on these cities too.

Hope some of these prove helpful.

Maredo

Address: Flughafen K

[Mack the Knife]

Awesome. Thanks for your help everyone. This information should make things a lot easier.

I hadn't actually thought of contacting the Gay Games organisers or the hotel. I'l do that now and see if they can be of any help.

Yes, I am competing at the Gay Games in Same-sex Dancesports (Ballroom and Latin). So part of the reason I am stressing is that the competition days will be very long (9am - 10pm, four days in a row) and I won't be able to leave the venue in case the schedule of events changes. So I need to be super organised and have lots of food with me.

The other reason I am stressed is that I don't want to get sick and let my dance partner down. It's not like doing an individual sport where you're not letting anyone else down, or a team sport where there are lots of other players. If I can't dance then neither can she. I'm really worried about that.

[nowheatpete]

Good luck at the games! with all that info you should be well taken care of foodwise. Rossman is everywhere for example.

[Mack the Knife]

I'm leaving for Germany in about 12 days time now. So I thought I'd bump this topic up and see if anyone has any other advice to add.

I'm going to Bruges as well now for a couple of days so if anyone knows of any gluten free places in Brussels I am interested.

[nowheatpete]

Hi

I noticed that that one of the links I posted before wasn't working. www.glutenfrei-unterwegs.de/ as I said its only in german but google translate will sort it out.

Theres a vocab list here that you can download too www.food-info.net/allergy.htm or just get some cards from www.delicardo.com.

Oh and very important is the gluten-free beer that you can get in Cologne, Residenz Beer. It is made in the region and can be found in most bottle shops (Getr

[Mack the Knife]

Okay, well I've been in Germany for a couple of days now so I thought I would post an update.

My flight was pretty good. Qantas remembered my gluten free meals and they were quite edible if a bit tasteless. My only complaint is that all their special meals have the same extras, ie soy milk, margarine instead of butter, etc. So even though I could have had milk, butter, cheese and chocolate that all the other meals were served with, I didn't get them. There was a lot of fruit salad and rice cakes too. I'm a bit over them. But I'm happy I got fed.

Qantas Business Club was pretty bad. They hardly had anything that was gluten free. They had fruit and a buffet style salad bar as their only gluten free options. So I had an apple and some cheese. Sigh. I endd up going outside into the terminal to buy a gluten free cookie from a cafe.

Food has been pretty easy in Germany. The supermarket had nothing but I found all the local drug stores and they stock lots of gluten free food. Their product range is a bit limited though and I think I'll be eating cornflakes for breakfast the next few weeks. All the cafes are bread heavy for breakfast but they all have yoghurt and fruit salad so I can have that until I get over it.

Hardly any restaurants have gluten-free options on their menus but my coeliac travel cards have been invaluable and the staff find them easy to understand. I am using that a lot and have been able to eat safely at quite a few restaurants. I went to Maredo (the steak place) and they had a whole allergy menu which was great. Two thirds of their menu contained gluten (all the marinades and sauces and dressings, fries, etc) but I had a steak, baked potato and salad so that was great.

[Monklady123]

I'm glad it's going well.

And hey, I realized I know someone who's competing. Michael Adee, from New Mexico. He plays tennis.

He said that the motto of the games is "Personal best with no rivals, only comrades in unity." I like that. We should all follow that in the rest of our lives, not just in gaming.

Well, have fun. I hope you get your personal best!