This post is just mushroom pictures

In the parks, hidden beneath the undergrowth and seeping out of old stumps, are mushrooms (Pilz). These fungi grow anywhere soggy and muddy, and come in all sorts of shapes and colors. In fact, Germany is known for its mushrooms and consumes the most amount in Europe (2.9 kilos per person annually). There’s even a Pilz App which helps with identifying mushrooms.

Mushrooms are such an integral part to the German lifestyle, that the word has taken on special meaning. Glückspilz (literally lucky mushroom or happy mushroom) is used to describe a lucky person. It means “lucky devil/sod/dog/bastard”…probably not the most polite word.

While it is legal to pick mushrooms in Germany, it’s only allowed in designated areas (parks ain’t one of them). Plus there are over 60 poisonous types that grow in the wild, so I’m not going to test my luck. I’ll stick to getting mine at Weihnachtsmarkt, battered and fried, please.

Instead, please enjoy this random collection of photos of mushrooms I’ve encountered.🍄