For Every Slice of Strudel, There’s a Big Corny
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.