Although Mensa cafeterias are commonly found on campus at German universities and packed with healthy, athletically-inclined students, the dining halls are open to the public, and you’ll often find yourself dining alongside area businessmen and women. For the adventurous tourist, the cafeterias offer a unique and budget-friendly opportunity to get a taste of the real Deutschland.

Cafeteria food is, mildly put, not everyone’s culinary preference. But we enjoy it and embrace it for all of its qualities – healthy portions, light seasonings, regimented serving procedures, and unwavering value.

How the Mensa works

Most Mensa cafeterias require that you purchase a “MensaCard” onto which you can load – and reload – cash. These cards are for sale in the checkout lines for €1.55. Once you have procured a card, take it to the loading machine, where you insert money and load it up. At some cafeterias, you may also pay with cash, but you shouldn’t count on this.

Please note: Do not continue with your Mensa adventure until after you have fully loaded your card. The cashier can’t load up your card for you. Bad and embarrassing things could happen.

Your card activated, head into the cafeteria. Look for a big sign listing the day’s options (sometimes with illustrations), and note that most cafeterias offer daily options that are vegetarian, vegan, and “bio-essen” (organic). If you don’t speak or read German, it’s a pretty safe bet that you can ask any student around you for translation help. (“Schwein,” by the way, is “pork.” You’ll be seeing that.)

We usually head for the longest line, as it gives us a chance to survey the choices being dished up, and to overhear the ordering and practice our vocabulary. (English will probably not work on the women working behind the serving counter – but a smile and pointed finger usually does the trick.) Once your main entrée and side have been handed to you, slide down to the salad cabinet, and then head to the beverage dispenser. So many wholesome beverages are yours – milk, apple juice, orange juice, vitamin punch (Note: We’re still not quite sure what’s in the vitamin punch, but it does pack one)!

Now that your tray is filled with nourishing vittles, head to a checkout lane and be prepared to hand over your new Mensa card. If you’re a student, show your student ID before the clerk rings you up, as your prices will be markedly lower.

Our favorite Mensa cafeterias in central Berlin

In Mitte:
Mensa Nord
Reinhardtstrasse 30
Editors pick for dining in Mitte, north of Unter den Linden.
Monday – Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM

Near Alexanderplatz:
Mensa Spandauer Strasse
Spandauer Str. 1
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 3 PM

Near Gendarmenmarkt:
Mensa Charlottenstrasse
Charlottenstrasse 55
Pop into this one when heading south of Unter den Linden or shopping on Friedrichstrasse.
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 3 PM

Near Nollendorfplatz:
Mensa Kurfurstenstrasse
Kurfürstenstraße 141
Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Read more

Still hungry? Read more posts on cheap eats in Berlin.

The post Berlin: Mensa cafeterias dish up cheap meals appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

With the oldest of the three, Humboldt, in the midst of a 200th-anniversary celebration, it’s a great time to get in touch with Berlin’s collegiate side. German schools aren’t really known for their wild celebrations, so don’t expect to stumble across raucous soccer matches or wild kegger parties while touring the two most visit-worthy campuses.

Instead, FU and HU boast historic buildings, memorable museums, ultra-contemporary libraries, and tasty, Cheapo-friendly “Mensas” (cafeterias).

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Founded in 1810 by the education innovator Alexander von Humboldt, HU is regarded as the first “modern” university because it offered courses in diverse subjects, such as chemistry and physics, in addition to standard classes on the humanities.

Since its debut, the university’s (now faded) halls have hosted dozens of star students and faculty, including the economist Karl Marx, the folklorists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and the physicist Albert Einstein.

A statue of Humboldt guards the central building (Unter den Linden, S-bahn: Unter den Linden), a gorgeous 19th-century palace on Berlin’s monument-studded main drag, Unter den Linden. After browsing the used book stalls set up in the front yard (Mon.–Sat.), pop inside the entrance hall to marvel at the marble-bedecked East Germany-era staircase. It features a gilded quote by Marx.

Stroll through the back courtyard to reach the university’s newest building. Designed by the Swiss architect Max Dudler, the streamlined Brüder Grimm Zentrum (Brothers Grimm Center, Geschwister-Scholl-Str. 1/3, S/U-bahn: Friedrich Str.) houses the university’s central library.

Freie Universität

Nestled in Dahlem (U-bahn: Dahlem Dorf), a leafy suburb southwest of the center, “the Oxford of Germany” is newer, bigger, and more highly-regarded than Humboldt. In fact, HU is still fuming about the fact that FU beat it out for a spot on the exclusive list of German Centers of Excellence, a distinction awarded to the country’s best schools.

In addition to its trio of fantastic museums—the Asian Art Museum, the Ethnological Museum, and the Museum of European Cultures—FU boasts an impressive library of its own.

Opened in 2005, Sir Norman Foster’s cerebral Philologische Bibliothek (Philological Library, Habelschwerdter Allee 45) is literally shaped like a brain. Step inside the so-called “Berlin Brain” to find a curvaceous central chamber that plays host to nearly a million books.

If you find yourself in need of a study break, head to one of the campuses many Mensas for a cheap and filling meal. The best of the bunch, the bright orange Mensa FU II (Otto-von-Simson-Str. 26), is right next door to the library.

The post Berlin Universities: Visit these famous institutions for free appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.