Every Tuesday and Saturday in the morning there is a fresh market in the ‘Stadtmitte,’ which is the German word for the middle of the city. In the US these are not very common in the winter, or even in the summer. I mean, we have our farmer’s markets but the market here seems to have a lot of things that you would not find at a farmer’s market. I saw a fruit that was apparently called a lychee (pronounced leechy). It’s a fruit that has a harder shell on the outside. This wasn’t the only strange thing about the market, though. There were vendors selling meats and cheeses. I don’t know about the rest of America, but when I think market, I don’t automatically think of cheese and meat. There were also a lot of vendors selling bread. Let me tell you. Germany is one giant country made up of bread! Bread is a staple part of any meal here. It almost seems as though they need the bread here in order to survive. It’s a way of life, I guess. Anyways, the location of the market isn’t too shaby. Reutlingen is an old town, as are most towns in Germany, and so the location of the market is in an old world feeling place. Everyone here seems so nice, from the vendors to the shoppers. I haven’t even said the most mind boggling thing yet, at least it’s mind boggling to me. Germany’s citizens are very environmentally concious about everything. Everyone tries to recycle every little thing they can. Well, when everyone goes shopping, especially at the market, they bring their own bags. I’m pretty sure, though I am assuming and you know what that means, that every person in Germany owns at least two to three canvas bags to do their grocery shopping. The best thing about the market, I mean besides all the fresh food, is the one vendor off to the side selling lunch. We went to the market for one of our first class trips and while at the market we were getting hungry, so some of us went to this vendor to get something to eat. This next part is a little embarassing to admit, at least on my part, but I’ll tell it anyway. I had ordered a bratwurst in a bun. The ketchup and mustard were in the oddest looking containers I had ever seen. My friend must have seen how confused I was, that she explained to me that I needed to pretend I was milking a cow. The face I made had a couple people around me start giggling. That was possibly the coolest way to put mustard on a bratwurst. So after I finished my lunch, I quickly snapped a picture from afar! The market was just such a good place to visit. It seemed a little peaceful at the time, because we went when the snow was falling and the temperature was bearable. All in all, it was a successful outing in the Stadtmitte!!!