Good gifts and presents from Germany

I'm going to have some old acquaintances put me up for two weeks while I'm in the States. They will be saving me *unbelievable* amounts of money, so it's incumbent upon me to find a way of showing my gratitude. I would like to carry along something nice; possibly uniquely German. Is there anything that TT-ers have taken to friends abroad that have proven to give high "thank-you" dividends? Marzipan, for example, has always been a winner, but I need something... err... a bit more valuable than that too. (No- a Mercedes won't fit into the overhead compartment )

Any tips? *scratches head*

And failing that, anything non-uniquely German that tends to get points?

Totally clueless here...

Cuckoo Clocks

Weisswurst in a tin from Dallmayr. Damn expensive for what it is (entrails, skin and brine).

Heidi Klum?

Do NOT bring any meat or animal products of ANY kind into the US. It will be confiscated and destroyed at the border. If you lie and they find it on you, you face a MINIMUM $250 fine plus possible jail.

The Agriculture Department has new machines in most int'l hub airports to go along with the beagles. After claiming your bags, you may get sent "over there" to be further inspected.

If they want Weißwurst, they're gonna have to come here to get 'em.

The best gifts for kids or pepople with kids are the cheap police cars and helicopters and such you see in Aldi or Kaufhalle because no other kid in the US will have one in German.

Don't you dare refer to the beautiful Miss Klum as a "Meat Product"!!!

Belgian chocolate is a real winner. For kids, kindereggs

i bought my dad a silly ceramic stein with a metal flipping lid, that raised a chuckle - the more ridiculous and colourful a bavarian hunting scene it has on it, the better. or a glass mass from one of the beer halls? Typische München if anything is.

Yeah whatever about Weißwürst, I would recommend having a poke around in Dallmayr on Diener Str. behind the Rathaus. Käfer on Prinzregentenstr. could be good too.

Alcohol is always a good one. If there are into wine try Eiswein, it is super expensive but good. Goldschläger is also good, Schnapps too.

Lebkuchen & Gluhwein!!

belgian chocolate comes from belgium, not from munich

what about some quality cuban cigars? you still can't get those in the US can you? lots of shops in town have them. if you want really expensive i think you can get handmade german mechanical watches in some of the really posh shops - this is not something i have experience of, i'd like to add.

Yeah, that's my problem. A lot of things from Bavaraia are nice, but actually really kitchy when removed from their context.

Cubanos.. now that's an idea...


Very true, but any good chocolates would probably get me points. Whatever I get doesn't *have* to be German, if I'm in a pinch...

Do the sniffing doggies get me in trouble if I bring back chocolates? What happens if they catch me with a suitcase full of chocolate and another full of wine? Has anybody been caught by customs for being over their limit in cigs/booze/chocolate?

It's close enough, and the Belgian chocolate I brought back was a real winner. Carried 2 pounds of that, about a dozen bottles of beer in my carryon to the U.S. No problems with customs, even unloading my entire carryon to remove the miniscule first aid scissors at the bottom didn't raise an eyebrow.

Bringing back two liters of excellent tequila was no problem either.

oh, and I took back a bottle of gluehwein, which was nicely received.

I find mass glasses are always very popular as well as cheap (well they're free or at the most €1 deposit), particularly if they also have a logo on them.

Alternatively, if you've got enough space, then take a few bottles of Helles. As we all know, the beer over there is shit, so they'd probably appreciate that.

taking chocolate to the u.s. is okay. i usually take 20 bars back and give them as gifts. this year i am taking a "smoking man" with me for my aunt. you know, those things made of wood and put you those little cone-incense things in there and it smokes out of a pipe/oven/teapot/chimney, etc. i might also take a nutcracker. those are traditional german, coming from the harz mountain area. i'll warn you though, they aren't cheap. i've been shopping around and they start at €35!

would an american know that belgium and munich were different places?

now then Spiderv6, let's not start that. Think about your own knowledge of the States' geography.

Gifts that have been winniners for me:
Weissbeer.
Lebkucken.
A calendar for 2004 with views of the Alps.
Flip-lid Steins.
Williams Schnapps

Hope this helps.

I'd go for Williams Schnaps, a can of pears to go with and depending on much you wanna spend a set of matching glasses.

Best present I can think of as a return: guaranteed accommodation for your friends during O'fest next year.

or guaranteed entrance to a beer tent on the weekenddays of Oktoberfest

Feuerzangenbowle set. You need to add a recipe too, and if you can bring a DVD of the absolutely classic movie that's just great:

• in German: http://www.stud.uni-hannover.de/user/68875/rezept.html
• in English: http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/...01/rec0123.html
• DVD at AmazonHere's the movie.

You heat up the red wine and orange juice and stuff in a big bowl over a heater (like in a fondue pot), then you have this sugar cone held above it in a metal thing (that's the Feuerzange -- Fire Tongs), and you pour rum on the sugar cone and light it on fire. Do this in the dark. This is good for people who "have everything," also because you don't get it at a restaurant -- you pretty much only have this at someone's house. The Feuerzange is about 10 Euros at Kaufhof, just ask the salespeople in housewares.

Don't forget the candle pyramid thingies -- Weihnachtspyramide -- this site looks terrible but it has a bunch of pictures of the pyramids.

• http://www.christmas-treasures.com/Taron/P...ds/pyramids.htm

And those tin Christmas ornaments that you get at the Weihnachtsmarkt are pretty nice too, never seen those anywhere else.

Hiya,
well as they are Americans the first thing I thought of was that you should look at the Martha Stewart website (the Goddess of homely things), see what she's flogging and nick her ideas - she sells a lot of traditional European things so that people can get a bit nostalgic. http://www.marthastewart.com

Now she is doing a lot of very nice glass blown tree baubles and you can get some beautiful ones here very cheaply, hand blown glass ones (or indeed the Swarovski Austrian crystal ones which are a yearly edition and 3 times the price in the US
http://www.swarovski.com/ go to the shop at Marienplatz and they giftwrap for free) are a nice gift and can become a future heirloom.

Steiff toys are always good but NOT cheap, of course if they collect Beanie Babies then please take a Germania with you, it is a small bear with a German flag on it which you can only buy in Germany and gets traded for silly money on Ebay.
Schmidt is the best brand for Lebkuchen and they do tin collector's boxes so is a nice present (you could later reuse the box for cookies etc) and are widely available.

For small presents (i.e. people you forgot about ha ha) I collect up Glühwein cups from the Christmas market (important that the city and year are on them), wash them and put a mini-Christmas market inside: glühwein spices, a cinnamon stick, some marzipan, maybe a wooden decoration, lebkuchen or spektakulus and wrap the lot in cellophane - very cheap, looks impressive, light to pack.

As for beer/wine/spirits try something like Obstler (Enziangeist is an accquired taste) or go in Dallmayr/Käfer for ideas but a good Riesling goes down well with turkey and the trimmings (sharpness cuts the fat) and is becoming fashionable again.

Hope that this has helped a bit,
Katrina

PS for the baby shower I'd get the mother something instead as it always seems to me that she gets forgotten Try Bio Basic (or other health food stores) and get things from brands like Dr Hauschka and Weleda as they are much much more expensive outside of Germany/Austria and many mum-to-be go a bit öko. At the last one I went to I bought Kneipp things especially foot products for the husband to rub in, pregnancy swells the legs and it is not nice she can still see her toes?

The Feueryangenbowle is an excellent idea -- anything that combines alcohol and fire is good in my book! (armed himself with 10 Zuckerhuete on Friday)

Just found this website: http://www.germandeli.com/ -- this'll give you an idea of more random food things that are hard to find out of the country. It's based in the US. Yes, it means that you can get these things there, but if you bring the stuff and tell people about the traditions involved etc., it's really nice.

Glühfix btw. looks like this: -- easy to make Glühwein with it. Instructions and chat about it Dried Glühwein mixture, and it's available in all grocery stores.

Get them a Wolpertinger, it made my friend laugh when I took one home for her wedding present!!!

(we did get her a 'proper' wedding present too!)

These are good ideas, and I've jotted down some of them as gift ideas for people we're visiting in Japan. Where do you get Wolpertingers from though?

you can get a stuffed one at the Jagd- und Fischereimuseum in the Kaufingerstr.

Hi, how did you put spektakulius in the Glühwein cups without breaking them? I thought about packing spektakulius (in decorated cellophane) too but they break so easily...


Where do you get these Glühfix?

Also, have anyone seen this "drinking tin" (no idea the name at all!) anywhere in the shops/online? I was at a German Silvester last year and we had fun drinking Goaß from this. I thought of getting one home.

Available in most supermarkets right now.
Just don't pack the biscuits too tightly and pad out the cup with crunched-up cellophane.

Anyone seen the weird sugar and schnaps device?

Basically a lump of sugar about the size of a beer bottle, covered in schnaps (rum, I think), which is lit. The resulting sugary alcohol runs down to the container in the bottom.

Handmade chocolates are always good. Gooseberries covered in chocolate, yum.

A friend over from the states took back a stein, which was well received.

Shame about no meat products though, I´ve taken back nice hams and cheese to the UK, but not strictly german are they.

I´ve received my first present already , a rather nice half moon ´shuffle box´ wallet. These are quite unusual and it´s a lovely thing. I thought it was from France since the company is called Picard but it´s actually a Bavarian company.

Feuerzangenbowle? Read the rest of the thread.

Do you know what I saw the picture and scanned the post but it just didn´t register at all.

I probably need another coffee.

I go along with the Feuerzangenbowle set idea. Another idea, if you can get your hands on a bottle is SLYRS Bavarian Whiskey.

Re Bavarian whisky, or strictly speaking Franconian whisky, check out Tara Whisky Shop (Munich Rindermarkt 16 or www.whiskyversand.de). Lots of different kinds.

The reason you can't get Cubanos in the States is that there is still an embargo against ALL Cuban products. Do NOT attempt to bring them in with you. They're going to have to come visit you or go up to Canada if they want them

From the horse's mouth (Prohibitions on Cuban Cigars, US Customs and Border Protection):

"There is a total ban on the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products. This prohibition extends to such products acquired in Cuba, irrespective of whether a traveler is licensed by Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) to engage in Cuba travel-related transactions, and to such products acquired in third countries by any U.S. Traveler, including purchases at duty-free shops. Contrary to what many people may believe, it is illegal for travelers to bring into the United States Cuban cigars acquired in third countries, such as Canada, United Kingdom, or Mexico.

Importation of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products is prohibited whether the goods are purchased by the importer or given to the importer as a gift. Similarly, the import ban extends to Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products offered for sale over the Internet or through a catalog.

It is also illegal for U.S. persons to buy, sell, trade, or otherwise engage in transactions involving illegally-imported Cuban cigars. The penalties for doing so include, in addition to confiscation of the cigars, civil fines of up to $55,000 per violation and in appropriate cases, criminal prosecution which may result in higher fines and/or imprisonment."

Yikes.

Am off to the US soon and will be staying with my Aunt who is Diabetic. Therefore chocolate and alcohol are probably not the best gifts. The ideas given on this thread are great but I just thought I would bump this topic to see if there were any new and inspirational suggestions.

Get some diabetic chocolate!

They sell diabetic chocolate all over the place now...in Munich I last saw it in the chocolate shop on residenzstr. behind the Ferdhernhalle...that could a very nice surprise

Anything from Erzgebirge. There is a whole store here in Berlin - I don't know if there is one in Munich.

Maybe some item made by Hutschenreuther porcelain. Its very traditional and very bavarian. I think it now belongs to Rosenthal. I know that my family in the US like them alot.

What about kitchen knives from Solingen?
They are not cheap 70€ for a good one.
A kitchen set for 500€?