Given that stores are generally not open as late in the evening (if at all in the evening) here as they generally are in the States and they're closed entirely on Sunday, Saturday is about the only day to shop here. So I got my heathen self out there this past Saturday and joined the festivities.
My first stop as at the Licht Centre, a lighting store that was recommended by a colleague here. I would describe it as something akin to Lightology in Chicago where I bought the funky Stuchu Moon light that was over my dining room table in Chicago, as well as the ceiling fans and the cool glass fixture in the foyer. Anyway, interesting gazing to be had. Fascinating Euro designs that I really like, though I don't particularly care for the prices, which generally started no lower than €350. I particularly enjoyed that they had a special section for gold-toned stuff and another for more traditional stuff, so I could focus on the rest without being distracted (you know, 'oooh, gold.... pretty....'). I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that there was only one ceiling fan in the entire store, but I was. I mean, if there's no A/C, shouldn't ceiling fans be even more popular here? Perhaps the breeze they cause is considered unhealthy?
The helpful colleague had also mentioned a store on Zeil (one of the main drags of shopping near my hotel, amongst which the Konstablerwache station is located, for those at-home players following on their Frankfurt maps) that would sell coffee/espresso machines. (I will expand upon coffee here in some other blog, but suffice it to say they take their coffee beverages seriously and it can be tasted. I have no idea how Starbucks survives here.) Anyway, I didn't find the store because I was so distracted by the veritable carnival that surrounded me. There was a guy with a miniature pony that was actually from a carnival. Then there was a guy playing accordion outside one of the stores. Women in all manner of colored hair. A store called Chicago. Dogs everywhere, including one who had a set of apparently homemade rain booties (though it wasn't raining) made out of clear plastic bags taped around his paws with fuschia tape (gotta wonder if dog paws need to breathe or if they just get smelly like human feet, but I digress...).
Oh yes -- and the open air market that I had spotted the previous week. This time, I waded on in. Generally what seems to be going on is there are a few produce stands and a few cheese stands, and quite a number of meat stands. The meat stands are then each generally connected to a purveyor of fine street meat, which one assumes (but I suppose isn't actually guaranteed) is from the meat stand next to it. Now, most of your reading this, realize that while I may enjoy a fermented beverage every now and again, I avoid eating the pig -- land-based, dirty sea pig or any other variety -- like the dirty bottomfeeder it is. So, being in a country where everything seems to be some version of pig is, um, challenging, particularly when one doesn't necessarily know all the words for all the meats that contain said porcine product. So there I was, surrounded by all manner of fresh, grilled or fried street meat bratwurst. I was delighted, then, to discover a meat stand from a farm/entity that appeared to specialize in lamb, which also had an attached street meat purveyor. I choose to believe the brat I got was a baa-brat, rather than lamb mixed with pig, so let me just believe that, okay? Cuz it was really, really good. To enjoy the experience (and because it really was quite cold to be standing around outside), I also bought the beverage of choice at the open air market -- hot apple wine. Now, apple wine is apparently a specialty product of Frankfurt. Maybe it's just the hot kind, but I'm thinking it's an acquired taste, and one I'm not particularly keen on developing. Thank goodness portions are relatively small here, as I think it would've been rude to leave the full glass at the street meat stand.
After this interesting episode, I got into the car and headed up near the office area to visit my first German mall. It's kind of fascinating in that the stores are accessible from an inner open-air (read, 'cold') courtyard area -- like an Oakbrook Center with less fancy stores, or California malls if California got cold. And IT WAS PACKED. You'd never know that Germany, like the US, is experiencing an economic downturn. It easily took me 20 minutes to find a parking spot, even though they have a big multi-level parking ramp. It was like how parking gets around the holidays. Nutty. And it took even longer to get out because we couldn't get to the exit easily because of all the cars backed up waiting to get in.
My target at this mall was Media Markt (www.mediamarkt.de), which seems to be a German version of Best Buy. My goal was to check out pricing on TVs, DVD players, stereo amps, washer/dryer dealios, microwaves, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, irons, blow dryers, espresso machines and the like, and they had it all. Suffice it to say there was a lot of sticker shock, but the biggest surprise was the espresso machines. Most 'good' ones (because you've got to at least have a milk frother) were at least €350 and I had to walk away and catch my breath when I saw one that came in at €2,200.00. Seriously???!!! I could drive to the office for free coffee on weekends for four years and still not spend that much. It was an interesting shopping experience, though, and I now have a better idea for what settling into my digs is going to set me back if I want to be surrounded by good technology.
I also stopped at the Mann Mobilia store, which I can see from our office. It appears to be an upscale version of Ikea and I love it. They have an excellent lighting department with things a bit more reasonably priced than the Licht Centre. Also lots of interesting things for the home. And I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at the price of glassware here. I saw a set of four glasses for €4.50 (for the set, not each) and small glass bowls that one could use either for food preparation or serving starting as low as €2.50. That seems value priced. I mean, you could buy nearly 900 of them for what some people would pay for an espresso machine, for example.
Anyway, good times to be had. Alas, the internet service was out at the hotel upon my return and has yet to return. I typed this at home and will attempt to upload it at the office so that those who are following this blog don't think I've dropped off the face of the earth!
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