Berlin was our first stop on our 1-month trip across Europe.  The moment we arrived in this great city we realised that we not only had to figure out where were we going to sleep (in a hostel, of course!) but also how we were going to eat!

With the hostel’s kitchen the number one choice, we went to the nearest supermarket and with the currency exchange in mind (actually, stop right there, don’t ever do that, well especially not if your Argentinian in Europe like I was - forget it!) we began the ‘amazing but cheap’ food hunt. Needless to say, by the end of this shopping trip, we felt like buying bread and water and nothing more!

After buying pretty much exactly that: a bread bag, a bottle of water and some cheese, we went back to the hostel and ate our poor meal.  While having dinner we were joined by this crazy Dane who was having caviar (wtf?!) with crackers as an appetizer and rice and hamburgers as a main course while drinking Coca Cola!  So we approach this guy and ask him for merciful advice on how to shop (how pathetic).  After a 20 minute laugh, he told us that he was having his meal for less than 2 Euros.  Go figure.

Long story short, he said we had to walk beyond the supermarket and we’d find a small local shop where almost everything was under 99 cents!  He also imparted some invaluable words of wisdom onto us that we wouldn’t forget in a hurry:

• Walk further than your comfort zone distance to find cheap food - and ask locals for advice if unsure!
• Never buy a food item for more than $2 - anything above is a luxury, and you are a backpacker!!!