Flea Market Adventures Part 3

You know when you want to go shopping in a foreign country, and then you realize it’s a Sunday (most shops are closed Sundays in Europe). Well we found ourselves in this precarious situation just last week. So what better way to beat it with some great flea market shopping…and the adventures continue. To Berlin!

As I said, my husband and I were in Berlin last Sunday and found ourselves wanting to do a little shopping so we looked up some local flea markets and found Mauerpark Flea Market (bonus tid-bit: the flea market was actually located at part of the former Berlin Wall). Anyway, once we realized we could get our shopping in, we of course headed straight there. We arrived at about 9:30am to the market. The vendor cars were still driving in at that time and many were still setting up. By 10:30 it was getting quite crowded but before that, it was nice and quiet.

The best part though was that this place had something for everyone. There were rows of every food you could think of – sweet and savory and everything in between. After you filled your belly, you could shop for everything else imaginable – new and previously owned. There were vendors selling clothing all the way to musical instruments.

Stalls of local artists were nestled in between selling anything from jewelry to painted canvas bags, watercolors to objects made from wire. Many people were having caricature drawings drawn of them by one of the few local artists.

Authentic German beer steins can be expensive at most shops (unless you go for the imitations from China). But we found several vendors selling the real deal at a fraction of the cost, which was so cool! I would suggest buying one here if you are traveling to Germany and want to bring back a beer stein. I knew I wouldn’t have room in my suitcase for such a large breakable item but wish I had – some were beautiful – and I don’t even drink beer!

The thing I had the most fun with was sorting through the rows and rows of unpacked boxes looking for plates that were interesting and made in Germany (with evidence written on the back). Just make sure you bring some hand wipes (if you follow my lead). And don’t forget them in your hotel room like I did (your hands will get dirty finding treasure but it’s always worth the dig)! I did bring my own tote bag and my husband had his backpack but I wished I had brought our morning newspaper from the hotel for extra packing material.

Vendors here expect you to negotiate price, so it doesn’t hurt to learn how to verbalize numbers up to 20 and work from there – at least they recognize you are trying to speak the language. Most items will be less than 20 euros anyway.

Once we were done shopping, we headed outside the stall areas toward a grassy opening resembling a real park– kids riding bikes, dogs running off leashes, and guys blowing giant bubbles for kids to catch. I must admit I jumped up to pop a few myself. There were local bands playing all about, so I just couldn’t resist dancing and jumping up to the music as well.

By the end of the morning, I ended up buying some pretty hair clips, lovely watercolor paintings, and a funny Ampelmannchen (German green light man) magnet from the local artists section. But, I really love the plates I scored while rummaging through the boxes of “used” goods. I would be interested in what those plates would say about the history of families they’ve served so faithfully– of course I could probably only understand a fraction of what they would be saying since my German is pretty limited. Still, I now have those plates and they remind me of the wonderful time I had in Germany this past trip. So don’t forget to find your own memories when you make it to local flea markets traveling abroad. You won't regret it!