If you’ve ever been to Berlin, or Germany for that matter, you’ve probably heard of, and hopefully tasted, Currywurst. Currywurst is essentially a Bratwurst covered in curry ketchup and then topped with, you guessed it, more curry! It’s amazing and delicious, and even as a semi-regular vegetarian, I love it! But did you know, there’s an entire museum devoted to this amazing food!?
The Deutsches Currywurst Museum was founded in 2008 and is a fun, interactive way to learn about Berlin’s favorite snack. This museum covers everything there is to know about Currywurst, from how it was invented, to its presence around the world. Plus – every ticket to the museum includes a Currywurst tasting!
I visited the museum this summer with our American friends – Sally and Evan.
A Little History of Currywurst
As I learned at the museum, Currywurst was invented in Berlin in 1949 by Herta Heuwer. After World War II, Berlin was divided into four sectors (American, British, French and Soviet), and ultimately into East and West. The city, particularly West Berlin, suffered tremendously after the war and through the Cold War. People had to get very creative while cooking, as supplies were limited.
Herta apparently obtained ketchup and curry powder from British soldiers and created the now famous Currywurst! She then began selling it at a street stand in Charlottenburg, my home neighborhood!
Fun Things at the Museum
This museum is so interactive! Upon walking in, the first thing you’ll see are these little snack stand tables. The ketchup bottles on these tables are actually little speakers through which you can hear fun songs about Currywurst and other fun facts. Plus you’ll look ridiculous holding a ketchup bottle up to your head.
Next there is a map of Berlin, with all the Currywurst stands throughout the city, marked with little pieces of Currywurst and Currywurst forks. There’s also an interactive world map with stories of Currywurst around the world. The museum then has an interactive spice smelling station, where you can try to guess the spice. Finally, it goes into the history and creation of Currywurst before the real fun interactive part starts!
Probably our favorite part of the museum, was the Currywurst game! Here you can see my friend Sally working hard to make some Currywurst! There’s a cute little stand, with a screen and tools that interact with the screen. You receive an order and then have to cut the sausage, put ketchup on top and add curry powder. It’s really hard but so fun!
Finally, there’s even a little food cart that you can walk inside and create some plastic Currywurst. It really looks like a fully functional food cart. It’s so fun to see what’s inside and feel what it’s like to work in one.
At the end of your museum trip, you can go to the attached restaurant and get your ‘Currywurst in a cup’ as part of the regular ticket, or if you get the Snackticket you actually get 3 small trays of Currywurst, all slightly different and delicious.
Overall, the Currywurst Museum is a great place to spend an afternoon. It’s fun, quirky, interesting and definitely a memorable experience.
Unfortunately, the museum is closing this year so if you want to go you’ll have to get there by December 21st!
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