Hannover and the Hamburg Fishmarket
We had a great time partying in Hannover with our expat American friends Hugh and Erica, and fellow visitors Marwa, Jesse, and Zac who made it out to Germany from Michigan for the World Cup, and we even managed an all-nighter to make an early morning run to the famous Hamburg Fischmarkt, which was a site to see and experience.
We visited our friends Hugh and Erica, who have been living in Germany for the past year as Hugh is doing some crazy mind-blowing artificial hearing technologies research at a hospital in Hannover. He had some really interesting stories to share about his experiences in Germany vs. the U.S.A and we also had fun hearing about the crazy experiences that they have had adjusting to the different lifestyle and way of doing things in Germany.
Hugh is a party animal so it was no surprise that we had a great night out with him and the crew. Somehow a long night of drinking and dancing inspired Anthony and me to keep going so after we left the club we hopped on a train to Hamburg just as the sun was coming up to catch the infamous Hamburg Fischmarkt which only takes place on Sun mornings.
Though we did not get to see much of Hamburg we did spend time along the water which was beautiful. Hamburg is a thriving port city, with a lot of activity right along the Elbe river where the market was taking place. We arrived at the Fischmarkt just as hawkers and shoppers were getting busy and other all-night partiers were giving it all they had and dancing to music being played in the main hall. True to its reputation, you can buy pretty much anything under the sun there – clothing, hardware, food, flowers, gadgets, toys, and etc. The best part about the market was the unique selling strategy and method that many of the vendors used. It was particulary popular with the fish and fruit vendors, but we also saw people selling pasta, cheese, and chocolate the same way. Basically, the vendor sells out of an open stand or the back of a truck and gets the attention of passing pedestrians by putting a bit of a show. So in the case of the smoked fish vendor it would go something like this:
(yelling) “Who wants to buy some smoked fish?! (as he rips off a big piece of butcher paper and lays it on the counter) If you buy from me today I´ll give you…..3 pieces of smoked trout (throws three big hunks of smoked trout on the paper) AND 2 whole smoked mackeral (holds up 2 beautiful smoked mackeral and throws them on the paper alongside the trout). That´s not enough for you?? How about if I throw in this kilo of smoked salmon (which lands in the pile on the butcher paper) and 3 smoked eels (ditto)…”
…and so on and so forth until there is a huge pile of smoked fish on the paper. Then he calls out:
“5 Euros for all of this… Who wants it?”
Sure enough, at this point there is a number of passerbys that have congregated outside his stand, many of which are now waving their 5 Euro notes in the air for the bargain basement priced pile of fish. After that pile is sold, he starts over again from the top with a new empty piece of butcher paper. It is like a combo circus act, with vendors making jokes and involving the audience and live action. It is also a bargain shoppers dream – we saw one fruit vendor fit like 20 kilos of fruit into a wicker shopping basket for 10 Euros and another vendor selling a basket of 15 different cheeses for 5 Euros. It was a shame that we weren´t staying in Hamburg as I would have loved to buy out the place.
Despite the fact that it took us a few days to recover from this last minute early AM jaunt to Hamburg, it was well well worth it.
Just a few pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlovesphotos/sets/72157594195445418/
Over and out,
Shan
Tags: Europe, Germany, Travel
Shan
October 26th, 2006 at 11:36 am
We just has a similar experience with the Hugh and Erica. Hugh was back in town for a few days, so we went out Friday night. Of course, needless to say, we went to Rick’s, where I haven’t been for about a year now. Closed out the bar, and then went for some twilight karoake at a Korean place, where Hugh and his wiley Korean antics got us alcohol (not allowed) and 3 plates full of dumplings. Was there until 5am. 🙂