There is a saying in German, "Ordnung ist das halbe Leben", or Order is Half of Life. At the Edeka…read moreSimmel Das Einstein, it creeps up to about 80%
This place is so orderly that they make you use gloves to handle the (perfect) produce. The selection of yoghurts and cheese is awesome, and the butchery is pricey but meticulous. The bakery is a specialty shop in itself--high turnover and high craftsmanship mean you'll always pick up something fresh from the oven, and tasty.
The checkouts, though, are what make this place throroughly and utterly Germanic. Obviously, someone has done a time-and-motion study on the process of checking-out, and determined that dividing the process into two works more efficiently. One lady will ring you up, give you a rechnung with a barcode, which you can then hand to the money-taking lady or ATM your way into the mall outside. The speed means you need to get your skates on to pack your groceries tout suite, lest you clog the check-out artery.
And that, my dear friends, would create DISORDER! Tsk tsk.