Big Town Small

It’s like going to a fair. Each attraction is beautifully decorated and filled with delicious details.

I love farmers’ markets. I’ve mentioned it maybe a dozen times, and the choice of ingredients makes it kind of obvious. Of course they are convenient: Once or twice a week they come to town, even in different places. You can buy fresh vegetables, fruits and other things directly from the producer, ask the experts. All said and done.

But farmers’ markets are really something special. They have always had a high cultural value, as people have used them for ages to meet and exchange information about the present and the past. They played the same role as modern digital communication and the newspapers, long before the printed paper was accessible to everyone.

Even today, you can learn something new every time you go there. Because there are different kinds of merchandise from all over the place, changing throughout the year. … don’t tell me you haven’t wondered or registered with these ‘news’ frequently!

Plus, you might run into someone you haven’t seen in a while and find out how their back, son, and dog are doing. Not to mention the state of their garden or balcony. Because they sell plants at the farmers’ markets, too, so those might look out of the bags your friends are carrying and give you a source for information exchange, too.

If you are lucky, they will have one of those lovely tea and coffee carts or a tiny bakery on wheels that makes lingering in front of them just delicious. And while you’re there, you might find something nice to nibble on (small apple cakes – you’ll never want to go without them again) while you laugh and feel at home in the middle of a big crowd on a spacious square. Then the big, big city gets smaller and smaller, time slows down and the surroundings become familiar and comfortable, just like in a village.

With the vegetable stands and the little corner of the nice lady who sells only what she harvests from her small field. The egg family is there as always, and they actually know a lot about potatoes, even how to make bread out of them. The berry people who only come here in season. The specialty cart with father and son potting olives in all kinds of flavors, the mother behind them filling the big bowl with homemade garlic cream. The fishmonger with the funny looking display in the icebox. The flower siblings, tying beautiful bouquets. The baker with his different shapes and sizes of bread. The two friends in hats making crêpes. The scarf forest auntie. The colorful cheese cart with uncle and nephew discussing the flavors of old cheeses. The herb tent in its floating clouds of fragrance…

See you there next Saturday!

They played the same role as modern digital communication and the newspapers, long before the printed paper was accessible to everyone.

Side Notes:

• I wonder: What do you call ‘window shopping’ at a farmers’ market? Maybe ‘virtual cooking’ or ‘basket browsing’?