Fischmarkt & Giant Pretzels

Sometimes it's amazing how much you can fit into a weekend. Mine was quite productive. Saturday started off with some cleaning which led to returning Pfand bottles (aka returning plastic and glass bottles and jars for money). Returning those Pfand bottles led to grocery shopping which only cost half as much.

I also went regular shopping, but, sadly, did not make any purchases. I really only buy things if I really, really want them. Unfortunately, nothing in the window as caught my eye. I also finally was able to get an extra hole in my belt (to make it smaller, thank goodness). The man was so nice, he didn't even charge me!

Then I was able to Skype with my mom and grandma (who just bought plane tickets to visit!) and my sister. And then it was on to an InterNations event where I had some wonderful conversation with Americans. I actually haven't met many Americans, so it was kind of nice to just chat about college football and life outside of America. I didn't stay too late (which was still later than I planned), since I needed to get up a little before 7am to meet Wiebke at the fish market.

The Fischmarkt is a classic stop for tourists and it took me six months to get over there, but it was well worth it. You either have to party all Saturday night and make a stop for breakfast or you have to wake up pretty early. We went with the latter, but maybe I'll party through the night another time.

The market opens around 5am or so and end between 9:30 and 10. You can buy noodles, fruit, veggies, plants, and, of course, fish! But it's not just about buying the goods, it about the entertainment. It was like a show! Instead of people haggling for prices, the stands kind of auction of their goods. I really loved watching the plant people. Some people got a lot of green plants and flowers for their money.

Wiebke and I ended up buying some fixing for lunch. We started with Krabben (prawns) and she taught me how to pull them. We also bought Krabbenkrikadelle which are like prawn meatballs. To round off the meal, we bought lettuce and potatoes. It took me a few prawns to get used to the pulling. And I only had one freak-out moment when I pulled out a really big prawn and screamed. They were clearly dead, but I thought it was moving. It was kind of like the Julia Roberts scream/laugh in Pretty Woman. I mean, I've definitely eaten these prawns before, but I never saw their eyes. Or antennae. Or legs. Or reproductive eggs.





After all that work and fresh air, I took an afternoon nap in preparation for the orchestra concert that evening. My colleague, Stephanie, plays the violin and this was the second concert I attended. They played New World Symphony, which is one of my all-time favorites. They did a wonderful job. My second favorite part of the concert experience was having a giant pretzel at the intermission. You don't see that in Chicago!

And that was the end of my very fun and productive weekend.