Years ago, I realized that in many scenarios, queuing is unnecessary. If you’re willing to prep a little more, walk a little more, or go about your day a little longer, you can often avoid it entirely. It’s one of those unspoken social norms which don’t make sense. And yet…
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. My parents were in town, and my dad had a craving for bratwurst. Naturally, we ended up at the busiest spot during the busiest time: Viktualienmarkt, Munich’s staple farmers’ and food market that’s been happening six days a week for the last 200 years.
We found a butchery stall selling our item of choice, but it had quite the wait. As the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, you can imagine what my dad said: “Ugh. That’s a long line! Let’s not queue there.”
Happy to try and find a faster option, I darted around the various vendors. There was one next to our first pick, and it didn’t seem too busy. But I remembered a store I knew we all loved, so I checked there. Nope, big line. After that, I ended up circling the premises for a while and checking all possible choices.
Sadly, I had no good news to report: “Okay, so some have a shorter queue, but they don’t look super nice. All the decent ones are busy.” By that point, we were standing back where we started, right in front of our second-best choice—except now this one also had a longer line before. “Come on dad, let’s bite the bullet. If you want bratwurst on a Saturday afternoon at Viktualienmarkt, this is what it takes.”
The wait wasn’t that bad, and, after about 10 minutes, it was our turn. Guess what happened? The stall had run out of sausages. “If you want bratwurst, it’ll take another five minutes,” the saleslady said. In the end, we got some “Leberkas” instead—sliced meatloaf with a crispy crust on a fresh bread roll. It was delicious enough, and we quickly laughed off the situation.
Still, a new lesson emerged: Avoid queuing where you can, but where queuing is inevitable, don’t hesitate. Get in there, and put in whatever time it takes—especially if you’re looking for a bratwurst in Munich on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
