The farmer's market comes twice a week to my lovely town – late Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. I almost never go to the Wednesday market. It's held in a bank parking lot. The combination of 100 degree heat index, tired kids, sweaty mom, and asphalt is not a good one. We fare better Saturday mornings, but sometimes it's just hard to get going on the weekend, and by the time we're out the door, the market is pretty much done except for a few over-ripe tomatoes and wilted basil no one else wanted.
The town we visited in Germany this past summer has a market every weekday from 9 am to 1 pm, complete with butcher, baker, and cheese wagon. The cheese lady is friendly and very enthusiastic about cheese, and gives so many samples you almost don't need to buy any. (She also has the best sales pitch: "My English is bad, but my cheese is very better!") And the cheese is ridiculously inexpensive compared to what it would cost here in the States. So is the bread. As for the meat, I don't know, as I'm with the Hindu and don't cook it, but I'm guessing the same – cheap and good. The Himbeere (raspberries) were definitely good.
If only we could have that here in my town, I think to myself practically every day. It would be so easy for us to eat well, and we wouldn't even need a car. Here is a picture of the parking lot at the German town's high school:
People, we have our work cut out for us.
Motivated by the people of Germany, I rode my bike to the farmer's market last week, bought a watermelon, and carried it home in the front basket. The watermelon made it home in one piece and was delicious. So if you live in my town and saw a very sweaty, disheveled woman biking slowly with a watermelon in front of her, that was me. Unfortunately, I can't manage to look like these women, but one can always aspire.
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5 comments:
Upon seeing this picture, Oliver said "I miss Maya"
I planned to go to our market today, but we never got further than the yard.
Riding your bike in the heat? I hope the watermelon was refreshing!
hey, thanks for making durlach famous--the chamber of commerce thanks you as well, i'm sure!
i just got back and am eating blueberries and watermelon from that very market right this minute. adam finally met the famed cheese lady yesterday, and got the cheese lady pitch--and some free stinky cheese.
if the envy gets too much, just remember, (southern) germans may ride bicycles everywhere, but they don't stop for 9 month pregnant ladies with bags of groceries at a CROSSWALK. or you could just come back and visit :)
Kjerstin: Maya misses Oliver too. I suppose at some point you all will come back for a visit? The watermelon was very refreshing, well worth biking in the heat for. I bet Alaska poses its own bicycling challenges, at least in the winter.
Lauren: I'm sure the baby appreciates the fine produce you are feeding her. And the cheese lady (and you, of course!)is reason enough to visit Durlach; the chamber of commerce should totally use her in an advertisement. As far as bicyclists not stopping, that is rude -- it seems like it happens everywhere. But at least they are not driving CARS, so if you ever are hit, you most likely will not die, just be painfully injured. Walking in Atlanta is a near-death experience practically every day. But don't get me started on that, I could go on for a very long time. The only time I've screamed obscenities in public has been at oblivious car drivers.
I LOVE your blog, Jenny :-)
Sara Janssen just posted about biking too.
http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/2010/08/16/cruiser-love-affair/
Margie: Thanks for keeping me motivated! I checked out the link -- I am with Sara -- it is so fun biking around. My old bike was stolen in 2004, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to start again. My bike is a 5-speed, old Schwinn cruiser style. It is so comfortable. I love it.
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