Fish Market

A big monthly event in my home town is "Fischmarkt" (Fish Market) It is held on the first Sunday in every month except in August when Pirates are taking over the town. Fischmarkt draws thousands of day visitors to Eckernfoerde and I, who have never visited it before, needed to get the taste of it. 

          A Search and Rescue boat was among the many vessels this morning.
So this morning I walked the short distance down to the harbour, and even before I had gotten across the old harbour bridge dividing the outer harbour from the inner part, I saw crowds heading to Fischmarkt. Once I was across the bridge, I found it hard to make out a path through the throngs. 
First vendor had parked a huge truck right off the bridge, selling bananas. 

What? 

                                       A crowd watching "Banana Fred".
Why would people buy bananas at a fish market? I couldn't be sure of it, but it looked like the guy pulled off quite a show with selling his bananas. A huge crowd had gathered in front of his truck and to me it looked like most people were there to watch the show. But then he threw empty banana boxes out to the side so I guess he did make substantial sales.
I walked on and noticed a parking attendant doling out tickets to vehicles parked illegally. I shouted a friendly Good Morning to the lady adding that she would be very busy throughout the day. She just laughed and greeted in return.

Following along, I noticed the crowds were getting even bigger. Pretty soon, most people were almost at a stand still. Vendors offered sausages, fresh baked goods, fish sandwiches, drinks of all kind, but also crafts of wood and imported articles, like fashion jewelry and stuff made of leather. In fact there wasn't a thing missing and it reminded me of the big flea markets in Quartzsite, Arizona, except for the fish, of course. A favorite at fish market is smoked eel, which is a big tradition along the coast of the Baltic. 

          Of course, the fishermen sold fresh fish directly off their boats.

I was slowly making headway towards the outer area of the harbour. Some people had taken seats on an old windjammer eating "Fischbroetchen". Even though I had had a great breakfast, I could feel how I got a hankering to buy a Fischbroetchen or a "Schinkenbratwurst" myself. The only thing preventing me from doing so was that I had no Euros in my pocket, and my Credit Card would not be valid tender here at the harbour. If you plan going to Germany you should have cash at hand, if you want to avoid embarrassing

situations with a credit card you can't pay your bill with.

Today was the first real warm day and temperatures were about to reach 70F when I decided enough was enough and started heading back home.