For Every Slice of Strudel, There’s a Big Corny
From apple strudel in the Alps to a Croatian candy bar called Big Corny, a Midwestern family explores the weird, wonderful and unforgettable snacks hiding in European grocery stores.
It’s no secret that foreign grocery stores hold a special place in my family’s heart! Visiting a new country is endlessly fascinating, not just for the landmarks, but also for the snack aisles. Sometimes you find variations of old stateside friends like Cinnamon Toast Crunch masquerading as Cinni Minis and sometimes you find items that are just too weird not to share. Follow along with me as I take you on a journey along the grocery store aisles of my past vacations.
But before I begin, here’s a few shots of my sons’ favorite international cereals, respectively from Germany, Croatia and even Canada. Captain Crounche is so much more fun to say than plain old Captain Crunch!
Back in 2018, I was overawed by our first visit to Austria — the mountains, misty waterfalls and green pastures were invigorating. Everything felt clean, fresh and very similar to an idealized summer day featured in a pharmaceutical commercial. Imagine spending a lazy day riding a telecabine up a mountain, hiking past grazing cows, dipping your toes in freezing cold alpine lakes and lounging in chairs covered with sheepskins? Now how could you improve on that situation — by ordering dessert!!
But not just any old dessert, the quintessential dessert in Austria is apple strudel, or apfelstrudel in German. For anyone unaware of this delectable pastry, it’s flaky and delicate, dusted liberally with powdered sugar, garnished with fresh fruit and served with or without cream or even vanilla sauce.
I hope life has already given you an opportunity to eat traditional apfel strudel.
If you’re still waiting, enjoy this little piece of Austrian heaven. Make sure you have the sound turned up — more cowbell!
Or perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a slice of kremšnita — Slovenia’s iconic cream cake. Crisp puff pastry layered with silky vanilla custard and lightly sweetened whipped cream and best enjoyed with a dreamy view of Lake Bled and its elegant pletna boats gliding across the water.
But for every slice of strudel enjoyed in a mountain cafe, there is… well, just wait.
Sometimes, we’re introduced to new and wonderful foods with slightly unfortunate names. Take hagelslag, the beloved Dutch breakfast or snack treat with an ugly name. It’s simply a slice of bread slathered with creamy butter and topped generously with sprinkles. Apparently, it’s eaten for breakfast or really anytime you’re feeling a little peckish.
We discovered it on the very first morning of our vacation in the Netherlands at a resort breakfast buffet. Look at that tiny sprinkle box in my sister’s hand that sealed the deal. How could we not love it?
Being who we are — long-time snack enthusiasts, we promptly headed to the nearest Aldi and found ourselves face to face with an aisle of sprinkles. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, rainbow ones, and even tiny colored sugar pearls. It was glorious.
But then we stumbled upon other products with names like “Gangmakers” and “Heartbreakers” sharing shelf space with sprinkles and Dutch Little Debbie knockoffs!
If you know why those translations landed that way, please drop me a note. I genuinely want to understand. There may be an untapped market for people who can help overseas companies verify that their English translations are appropriate?
Other times, new overseas foods simply delighted us, or at the very least entertained us. Like the time my boys ordered pizza in Croatia. What do you want? French fries? Pizza? French fries? Or wait — why choose? You can have both!
The concept was stronger than the execution, but honestly? That’s part of the fun. Travel food doesn’t have to be fussy or fancy to be memorable.
Europe also seems to have unlocked the cheat code for vending machines. Find yourself in downtown Ljubljana, needing eggs? There’s a vending machine for that.
Midnight along the Rhine and suddenly famished? The hotel restaurant is closed, but don’t worry — you can custom order a piping hot pizza from a vending machine that even takes Apple Pay. The “mid gebacken in 3 min” claim was a little misleading — it was more like 15 minutes of watching, waiting, wondering if this would be genius or regret.
But it was amazing — hot, delicious and definitely perfect for a late minute meal.
There’s something magical about finding fresh food available at all hours in walkable cities. It feels spontaneous and a little adventurous — the opposite of our carefully planned itineraries.
And don’t even get me started on the European potato chips situation.
The sheer variety in grocery stores is enough to make a Midwestern snack lover weak in the knees. My sibling (ahem) became completely enamored with Eldorada chips, conveniently available in both Italy and Germany. If you have a lead on a stateside version, please contact me… her birthday is coming up.
But for every apple strudel enjoyed with a pastoral alpine view, there is inevitably is a candy bar named: after my husband : Big Corny.
My sweet husband found his namesake, sitting there patiently on a shelf in a Croatian Lidl, just waiting to be noticed and of course we bought it for him. Of course we did.
The original Big Corny (and the candy)
Later we found a milk chocolate version too!
Another time, my husband was left unattended in the Haribo outlet near Cologne and discovered a previously unknown snack — the Funky Tüte. I had to look it up and in case your German is as rusty as mine, it translates to “funky bag.”
Regardless of its name, it made it into our cart.
And please for the love of all things sugary, if you find yourself near a German Haribo outlet, make sure you stop. I promise it’s nothing like it’s American cousin in Illinois (trust me). Where else can you buy slightly imperfect gummies by the pound? And by the time you arrive home, you’ll never, ever want to eat another Haribo candy! It’s like vacation exposure therapy without the insurance bill!
So for us, travel isn’t just about cathedrals and castles.
It’s about grocery store aisles. Confusing packaging. Questionable snack names. Late night vending machine pizzas. Sprinkles for breakfast. French fries on pizza. Candy bars that sound like dad jokes.
For every elegant European dessert, there’s a snack aisle surprise just waiting for you.
And honestly? We love both.
Because when you travel anyway, with kids, with quirks, with curiosity — the magic isn’t only in the landmarks. It’s in the everyday moments that make you laugh, scratch your head, and try something new.
Sometimes the most memorable part of the trip isn’t the strudel.
It’s the Big Corny.
An Ode to Ketchup
Traveling through Europe with picky eaters? Learn how French fries and a bottle of ketchup saved our family dinners from Slovenia to Italy!
An Ode to Ketchup
Oh ketchup, red treasure, beloved and bold,
Why in Europe are you measured like gold?
We order our fries, our boys beam with delight,
Then groan at one packet? That can’t be right!
We’ve begged and we’ve paid, we’ve smiled and we’ve sighed.
But ketchup, dear ketchup, you can’t be denied.
So now in our daypack, you proudly reside,
Right next to the tissues and water inside.
To every cafe, you travel with flair,
Our trusty red hero, always prepared.
Dear Europe, you’re charming, but let’s make a deal:
Free the ketchup. Let us dip how we feel!
Traveling through Europe with kids means plenty of fun, new experiences—and, let’s be honest, a fair share of picky eating. Our kids aren’t the most adventurous eaters, but thankfully, pommes frites (a.k.a. French fries) are served everywhere. From Germany to Slovenia, France to Croatia, fries were the one menu item we could count on to keep everyone under the age of 15 happy.
Fries honestly saved us more times than we could count. The only hiccup? The ketchup situation.
In most places, a serving of fries comes with exactly one packet of ketchup and one packet of mayonnaise! That’s it. And while our kids were thrilled to see fries on the plate, the tiny packet of ketchup was often gone in two dips (and the mayo was regarded with disdain). Sometimes, you could ask for more, but not always for free. More than once, we paid a few extra Euros per packet just to avoid a fry related crisis.
So we relied on an old favorite — Aldi and bought our own bottle. Admittedly, we felt a little ridiculous pulling out a full-sized bottle from our bag at lunch, but it worked and avoided a lot of dinnertime drama.
Here’s a Croatian option — Ketch Up!
On later trips, we got even smart and ordered a bag of ketchup packets from Amazon and tucking a few into our bags each day became part of our routine, right along with sunscreen and hand sanitizer. Problem solved.
Did you know this was an option?
One of our favorite ketchup moments came in Austria. We were sitting at a beautiful outdoor café in a park with the most amazing natural playground with wooden climbing areas, a kid powered raft and plenty of room for the kids to run wild while we waited for food. As we sat down, the waiter walked over, took one look at us, and, with a grin and a wink, said, “You’re going to want this.” He placed an entire bottle of ketchup on our table. He was totally right, and we couldn’t stop laughing.
All fueled up with fries and plenty of ketchup! By the way, this is a very typical kids playground and one of the many reasons we recommend multi-generational travel in Tirol.
So yes, if your family travels with picky eaters, rest assured that fries are on the menu just about everywhere in Europe. Just don’t count on getting enough ketchup without a plan. Whether it’s a bottle from Aldi or some pre-packed packets from home, having a little stash in your bag might just save the day.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. We only share products we actually use and love, like the ketchup that saved our sanity across Europe.
Why Aldi (and Hofer!) Is a Hidden Gem for European Travelers
It all begins with an idea.
Wait! Is this an Aldi in disguise?
When we plan our travels across Europe, there’s one stop we always get excited about and it’s not a castle or a cathedral. It’s Aldi. Yep, Aldi—the no-frills grocery store many of us love and know from home. And when you’re in Austria or Slovenia? It’s called Hofer, but it’s essentially the same awesome store.
If you’ve ever shopped at Aldi in the U.S., you already know the basics: bring a quarter (or a €1 coin), pack your own bags, and expect great prices. The beauty of traveling in Europe is that the Aldi experience is basically the same—just with a local twist and a lot of similar, but slightly different foods. It’s one of those rare moments while traveling where you feel like you just might know what’s going on.
Looks just like home, right?
🛒 Familiar Setup, Local Flavor
We’ve visited Aldi (and Hofer) stores in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Slovenia and every single one felt like walking into a version of home… with better cheese. The layout is similar, the checkout process is just as efficient and it’s easy to navigate even if you don’t speak the language. If you’re new to Aldi, you can even “practice” at home before your trip—learn how the carts work, how to bag quickly and what to expect in terms of store flow. It really does make the whole experience less stressful abroad.
🌍 Where You’ll Find Aldi and Hofer
Aldi is in: Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Switzerland, the UK, and more.
Hofer (Aldi’s Austrian name) is in: Austria and Slovenia (though some Slovenian stores are now called Aldi, too).
We’ve even made it a little tradition: first stop after landing = find the nearest Aldi!
Here’s an Aldi in The Netherlands
🥨 Cheap, Fresh, and Local
We’ve stocked up on €0.49 pretzels in Germany, got bakery baguettes in France, and grabbed ice cream in Switzerland. It's the perfect place to grab breakfast on the go, snacks for a hike, or a picnic lunch without draining your travel budget.
When traveling with kids, Aldi is a lifesaver. They can pick out fun local treats (like stroopwafels in the Netherlands!) or grab fruit, yogurt, and even frozen pizza(!) on nights when you’re too tired to eat out. Another favorite quick and easy dinner is a charcuterie board! Plus, it’s not just groceries—sometimes the aisle of mystery treasures has things like art supplies, pool floats, or sandals for a few euros.
🎁 Surprisingly Awesome Souvenirs
One of our favorite tips? Aldi is a great place for inexpensive, unique souvenirs. On our recent trip:
We picked up adorable Dutch sprinkles (called hagelslag) in the Netherlands that made it home safely in our carry-on.
Found official Olympics T-shirts in France from the summer games—€5 for something we actually wanted to wear!
Bought regional chocolates and cookies that our friends back home loved (and they cost a fraction of the airport prices).
❤️ Little Wins on the Road
Travel can be unpredictable, but finding an Aldi or Hofer on the map feels like a win. It's clean, efficient, affordable, and stocked with treasures that make daily life on the road a bit easier. For us, it’s not just about saving money—it’s about feeling prepared, even in a country where we barely speak the language.
If you're planning a trip and feeling overwhelmed by food costs or unfamiliar routines, put Aldi or Hofer on your radar. Your wallet (and your stomach) will thank you.
Bonus tip: After you load your groceries into the car—don’t forget to close the trunk before you drive off. Not that that's ever happened to us, of course. But if it did… we might have chased a runaway watermelon down an Austrian road. Just sayin’.
So long, Aldi — until next time!