For months, I’ve been hearing about Türkischer Markt, the Turkish farmer’s market in North-Neukölln, but never made it there myself. Basically, it’s a long row of booths lining the waterside, featuring everything that one might expect from a farmer’s market. In addition to ready-made food stands, there is a giant selection of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, and breads. Crafty individuals can buy fabric, sewing supplies, or other related wares. Meanwhile, there are plenty of kinds of clothing and accessories to choose from.
The market occurs on every Tuesday and Friday, from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., and is the most well-known in my district. And after my flatmate mentioned it yesterday, I realized I have been living in Neukölln far too long for me not to have gone.
As luck would have it, a friend is in town from Slovenia, so we made plans to meet there in the morning, in order to mill around and catch up after two months of separation. Unfortunately, she was unable to make it, but rather than forego going alone, I decided to make the most of a warm day (5 degrees C!) and head out on my own.
On the way, I received a text from the boyfriend, responding to my query about whether or not he wanted me to get him anything. He didn’t have any requests, but he did suggest I pick up anything I might need for dinner this weekend. With that on my mind, along with last night’s first (and somewhat lackluster) attempt at pumpkin pizza, I decided to pick up supplies for Round 2.
The main issue with farmer’s markets is that I want to buy everything. Luckily, having a shopping list helps keep me on track. So, that said, I limited my purchase to a 3 euro pumpkin of some sort (although I’m not certain the exact kind) and 1,50 euro for some arugula (known in these parts as rucola, and known in the United Kingdom as rocket, which is equal parts cool and stupid).
Actually, there was one additional splurge: avocados. Considering most avocados are 1 euro or more, I was stoked on finding 2 for 1 euro. The only downside? A dozen or so stands later they had 5 avocados for 1 euro. This always happens to me at farmer’s markets. But what can you do? Buyer’s remorse is a waste of time when I still got a bargain, comparatively speaking.
Annnnd, this is one thing that’s super fantastic about this farmer’s market as opposed to the ones in California: whereas the cost of goods back home is usually more at a market, often times, things here are cheaper.
No worries though; I definitely have plans to return to the market – hopefully sooner rather than later.
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