I'm a simple emigrant, and one day I bought art from a vending machine

Germany has a special form of panic: holiday shopping. Supermarkets close early or don’t operate at all. Salvation comes from where you didn’t expect it — vending machines. If you think vending is only coffee and a chocolate bar, you haven’t been to Germany in a while. Here are the most ordinary goods you can buy from machines: pizza, sausages and steaks, eggs and milk, beer, items for adults 18+, household chemicals, electronics, wine, forgotten parcels and even art. Once I bought such an art object from a machine, I’ll show it in the comments. There are even rarer options. Sometimes you’ll find machines with fresh flowers or bicycle parts. This is if the bike breaks suddenly, without warning, but someone thoughtfully did this near a bike vending machine. The most interesting thing is the unique machines. In Berlin, for example, there is vending with live larvae. You buy a can, open it, and inside is a worm party! I don’t know why you’d need worms for a Christmas table, but if you suddenly feel like going fishing at night — you’re ready. In Saarbrücken there is a shampoo vending machine: you come with your own bottle and fill the required amount. There are similar ones for detergents. This is to use less plastic. In Munich, a few years ago there was a vending machine with ballet flats. You go at night after the party in your heels, tired of fighting with the pavement and buy new shoes. The main thing is that the ballet flats don’t get stuck in the dispenser during dispensing. And in one of Hamburg’s churches there is a vending machine with rosaries. You choose a bracelet or rosaries, and for only 2-4 euros you get a box with a product and instructions for prayer. Personally I’m shocked. I wonder how the local parishioners reacted. Germans are far from Japanese levels, but only in 2024 through vending machines made on average about 12 million purchases per day, considering the standard type like coffee and snacks. The total market turnover is more than 4.6 billion euros and continues to grow. Overall this seems logical: here you have access to goods 24/7 without queues and casualties among staff. And if snack machines start being installed in every office — it would be a golden mine. True, for people like me, I’d have to constantly fight the temptation to buy something tasty. Have you come across strange vending machines? And have you bought anything from them? #food