One of the things I enjoy most about spending time in Europe is the ability to find local fresh produce markets. I have no idea if they really do, but it seems like these markets happen in most towns and even some of the larger cities – we found one in the middle of Paris once.
So I was delighted to discover that there was a market the day we arrived in Gorlitz. Usually these markets seem to take place once a week and host a sensory overload of mouthwatering scents from the array of local fresh fruits and vegetables. The market in Gorlitz was no different – mounds of ripe strawberries, mouthwatering tomatoes, crispy radishes, and a wide variety of other locally grown produce.
Of course, no market would be complete without a wide selection of locally-produced meats, cheeses and fresh bread. Or a number of food carts where diverse snacks and light meals can be enjoyed while you browse the market.
As you can imagine, Craig and I were overwhelmingly tempted by what was on offer. We bought salad vegetables, cheese and cold meat with the intention of eating some of our meals in the apartment where we were staying. After all, we were there for 4 days and it wasn’t like the market was going to be there the next day, was it?
I’m sure you can imagine our surprise when we returned to the market square the following day and there the market was, albeit with fewer stalls! So it turned out we didn’t need to buy quite as much as we did on the first day.
To our credit, we did finish most of what we bought – with the exception of the lettuce, the seemingly never-ending box of strawberries, and one lone onion. Even though our plan to eat both breakfast and lunch in the apartment didn’t quite work out – there were just way to many tempting restaurants in Gorlitz – proving the old adage that the best laid plans of mice and men have a flaw, we were totally thrilled to be able to experience the market at Gorlitz and I wish we had the opportunity of enjoying this type of market culture back home in Cape Town.
