The Hamburg Fischmarkt

Yes, I spelled that correctly…

For the last couple days, I’ve been in Hamburg, a port city in northern Germany. Although not much of a sightseeing city, Hamburg is a great city with many parks, lakes, and unique neighborhoods. The feel of the town is very similar to Seattle. After checking out all the churches and some parks on the first day, we woke up early the next morning to go down to the market. Early risers and late nighters join together at 5 am to either get their weekly seafood fix or continue their party with a snack and a concert. Vendors like the one you see in the picture auction off goodie bags of fish assortments to their jovial customers, bickering and bartering with everyone they see.

It doesn’t stop at fish, though. Vendors auction off giant bags filled with anything from fruit to candy to giant plants, with their new owners happy to lug their haul back up the hill to go home. Watch out for Banana Fred, though. One unsuspecting market-goer walking by was whacked in the head by a stray banana being tossed into the crowd. He must have been dazed by the impact because he didn’t stop to pick up his free banana. Luckily for me, that banana was just what I needed to wash down the fish skewer and crab sandwich I had for breakfast…

Thanks Banana Fred!