German State Fair
Before I left on Semester at Sea, I was VERY disappointed I would be missing the New York State Fair. It's one of my favorite things to do over the summer because of the 25 cent chocolate milk, butter sculpture, endless stands of shopping, the rabbit building, I Got It, apple dumplings, and the time I get to spend with family. But I missed it this year...by ONE day. So I was a little more than upset. BUT, while I was in Germany, I learned that there's a German version of the New York State Fair. It's called... the Fish Market. Imagine waking up around 5am, joining a crowd of people all walking in the same direction past street musicians and down a staircase, to join mass chaos where all you can hear is German shouting, all you can smell is fish, all you can see is flying bananas, all you can touch is scarves, and all you can taste is breakfast pastries. That's the German Fish Market. And it was awesome.
I'm sure you're a least a little bit curious about everything I just said, so I'll try to explain. The Fish Market did originally start as just a small market where Germans could buy fresh fish and other foods, such as fresh fruit and freshly baked pastries. However, it has expanded since then to include multiple flea market like stands. The fish is still a main attraction, and it was amazing to see how many locals just came into the market to buy their fish and then left. The fishermen were CRAZY too. I had no idea what they were shouting, but it had to be interesting enough to gather whole crowds of people to just watch them pick up different fish, slap them into paper very loudly, and then pass them out to buyers. The fruit stand owners were crazy too! One stand in particular attracted customers by throwing out individual free bananas to the crowds that would gather. I wasn't skilled enough to catch one of these bananas, but it was still really cool to watch! However, the flea market stands were my favorite part, considering I love to shop. Almost every single stand I saw was selling scarves, and a LOT of them! If you know me, you'll know it's a miracle I only walked out of the market after only buying one scarf (as well as a handmade winter hat)! It was also interesting that although it was a German market, a few of the stands were selling things from other countries. There was an India stand, Morocco stand, France stand etc. In addition, since it was so early in the morning, stands selling breakfast food were very popular. You could buy fresh donuts, danishes, and a ton of other pastries for a very low cost. I bought this huge, fresh pastry for only .80 Euro and my friends Morgan and Liz bought 10 mini donuts for 3 Euro! All in all, the whole market was VERY affordable and a fun, cultural experience to have early on a Sunday morning!
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